Mists of Penjar
by The Kobold Necromancer
Summary: Graduated students of Hope's Peak Academy want to know how Despair was able to spread so fast and ruin so many lives. In an abandoned town known as Penjar, where windless mist creeps down old streets, they have come to find the answers. But Despair, and its Kubs, still have plans even in this seemingly forgotten place. [Part 1 Spin-Off of Crit Fail's Legacy of Despair Series.]
1. The Cast List

**Prologue**

Despair.

How little we truly know, and yet how much it has affected us all.

What causes Despair to spread and infect the innocent? How is it that someone who hasn't a violent bone in their body can suddenly transform into the most sadistic killer you could imagine?

Is it the lack of compassion being removed? Is it truly the evil within us all? And where did it all even begin?

It's about time someone found out the answer to all of these questions, isn't it?

We all know Despair was the cause of The Greatest Tragedy, the deaths of millions, the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game. We know it's treatable, we know it's dangerous.

And now we might know where it originated from.

Two years after the Hope's Peak Academy game, after several of the Killing Games that were broadcasted, there was a breakthrough discovery on the origins of Despair. This plague-like emotional manipulation of people down to their very core wasn't there throughout history, but something about it says it came from some place.

There is a small town, far from all other civilization. It is cold, misty, broken down but still standing. It is the kind of place that time forgot, the typical setting for something mysterious too. After all, atmospheric scenery is ideal, is it not?

Mist creeps down the streets, it runs through the houses, it flickers through the windows. It seems to beckon and repulse at the same time, it has no rhyme or reason, it spreads when there is no wind.

Here in these mysteriously foggy, rundown streets, graduates of Hope's Peak Academy will find themselves unintentionally gathered, searching for the answers to all those questions they have about Despair. Something led them all here, and they want answers.

There will be blood, there will be distrust, there might even be love and hope; however, there is one certain thing about Despair, and that is that it will not be an easy quest to get those answers.

Some want to destroy Despair.

Some wish to control it.

Some hope to study Despair…

And some desire to wield it.

Welcome to Penjar Town, ground zero for the Despair outbreak and the Greatest Tragedy ever.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : This is a side-story of **Crit Fail** 's _Legacy of Despair_ series. Yes, I have his permission! If you are not familiar with his work, you should probably read it, as this will follow his AU's canon, not the officially canon. You will not need to have read them to understand what is going on at first, but when we get further in, you might need to have an idea.

Seriously, go read his stories, what are you waiting for?

In this story, it is after the events of A New Hope, and shortly after the events of Final Horizon, Sea of Tranquility, and Kuma-Kuma Land. Graduated students from Hope's Peak Academy are now investigating what could be the origins of the awful Despair that ravaged the world.

The cast has been chosen. First is the list of all the submitted characters, and the creative individuals who made them. Here's a shout-out to everyone who contributed.

* * *

 **SUBMITTED CHARACTERS**

1\. **Hikari Tetsuhime, Ultimate Steampunk Model**. (Creator: dashunterman)

2\. **Izumi Watanabe, Ultimate Motivational Speaker**. (Creator: Explosivo25)

3\. **Jin "Olppaemi" Nahm, Ultimate Female Artist**. (Creator: Creaturemaster)

4\. **Yejoon "Yeou" Nahm, Ultimate Male Artist**. (Creator: Creaturemaster)

5\. **Blake Shokyaku, Ultimate Pyro**. (Creator: xPurpleGod)

6\. **Crystal Alexander Wilson, Ultimate Military Adviser**. (Creator: gamergirl101)

7\. **Samson Miller, Ultimate Trader**. (Creator: SootyThunder)

8\. **Isaac Bellamy, Ultimate Reporter**. (Creator: Crit Fail)

9\. **Takeo Onishi, Ultimate Mercenary**. (Creator: Birbddha)

10\. **Fiora R. Stenton, Ultimate B-Movie Maker**. (Creator: TKN)

11\. **Aka Fuyu, Ultimate Skier**. (Creator: richboylion)

12\. **Saiko Kobayashi, Ultimate Forensic Investigator**. (Creator: The Celestial Sky Dragon)

13\. **Castiel Voyd, Ultimate Medical Practitioner**. (Creator: Classic Gone Retro)

14\. **Xavier Zelf, Ultimate Trickster**. (Creator: Classic Gone Retro)

15\. **Drake Flare, Ultimate Cartoonist**. (Creator: BaconBaka)

16. **Colonel Cornelius P. Maize, Ultimate Corn Detasseler**. (Creator: TKN)

17\. **Souma Koukai, Ultimate Public Speaker.** (Creator: Birbddha)

18\. **Kassandra Nikkos, Ultimate Escape Artist**. (Creator: dashunterman)

19\. **Hara Pathik, Ultimate Explorer**. (Creator: PettyPunk)

20\. **Anzu Amika, Ultimate Actress**. (Creator: ?)

21\. **Shuuya Yukimura, Ultimate Bounty Hunter**. (Creator: StoryProducer214)

22\. **Angelique Angolmois, Ultimate Opera Singer**. (Creator: dashunterman)

23\. **Elke Asselman, Ultimate Locksmith**. (Creator: runicwolf)

24\. **Eisei Amane, Ultimate Dentist**. (Creator: Trust Me I'm Me)

25\. **Onna** **Rashi, Ultimate Stage Magician**. (Creator: Raz the Giant)

26\. **Emanuel Salmuera, Ultimate Bête Noir**. (Creator: my death can't be cured)

27\. **Katsuyama Hosuke, Ultimate Fire Expert**. (Creator: Fallenstreet01)

28\. **Ignatia Nazario, Ultimate Mime**. (Creator: Trust Me I'm Me)

29\. **Ishiku Shyre, Ultimate Magician**. (Creator: life among the dead)

30\. **Chang-Min, Ultimate Taekwondo Expert**. (Creator: ShinyOshawottKing)

31\. **Shinobu Takahashi, Ultimate Historian**. (Creator: Blazerxz)

32\. **Odelios Shintani, Ultimate Clown**. (Creator: 1Glimmershine)

33\. **Ken Kishi, Ultimate Cavalryman**. (Creator: MudkipofDespair)

34\. **Yitro Stana, Ultimate Swordsman**. (Creator: AVFireblade9472)

35\. **Hagane Sairento, Ultimate Self-Defense Instructor**. (Creator: Zoozibble)

36\. **Caleb Rainier, Ultimate ?**. (Creator: JCW18)

37\. **Efim Au, Ultimate Scout**. (Creator: bloodshottailsdoll)

38\. **Kimiko Hashiriya, Ultimate Biker Gang Leader**. (Creator: LckiKoin)

39\. **Christel Dreynamo, Ultimate Train Conductor**. (Creator: LckiKoin)

40\. **Yuzuki Enomoto, Ultimate Journalist**. (Creator: StoryProducer214)

41\. **Pyrrha Poole, Ultimate Romance Writer**. (Creator: ShinyOshawottKing)

42\. **Futaba Imajuku, Ultimate Anthropologist**. (Creator: Magus1108)

* * *

 **THE OFFICIAL CAST OF CHARACTERS**

* * *

 **1**. Isaac Bellamy, the Ultimate Reporter

 **Creator** \- Crit Fail

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 25

 **Birthday** \- September 21st

 **Nationality** \- French

 **Blood Type** \- O-

 **Physical Description** \- Tall, fairly tanned with a swimmer's build, workman's eyes. Mint green hair down to his shoulders, amber eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Black leather jacket, white tank top, blue jeans, black work boots, black beanie with company logo.

 **Swimwear** \- Bright green 'n pink floral trunks.

 **Accessories** \- Company backpack.

" _There's a story here, and I am keen to get to the truth of the matter! I just hope there's no more of those demented teddy bears here, I'm sick of writing about those little-_ "

* * *

 **2**. Hara Pathik, the Ultimate Explorer

 **Creator** \- PettyPunk

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 17 (at time of death)

 **Birthday** \- January 14th

 **Nationality** \- Indian

 **Blood Type** \- B+

 **Physical Description** \- Tanned caramel skin, well-defined muscle tone, blessed in all the right places. Black hair in a bun with orange bangs, light brown eyes. Bindi dot on her forehead.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Green vest, silver long-sleeve shirt, jeans, brown hiking boots.

 **Swimwear** \- Sky blue halter top one-piece swimsuit.

 **Accessories** \- Glasses, leather gloves, binoculars, canteen, satchel.

" _I'll follow you anywhere, Isaac. Let's hurry, they need help in there!_ "

* * *

 **3**. Jin Nahm, the Ultimate (Female) Artist

 **Creator** \- Creaturemaster

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 21

 **Birthday** \- April 7th

 **Nationality** \- Korean

 **Blood Type** \- A+

 **Physical Description** \- Small and petite young lady, pale skin. Dyed dark purple fading into pink, hime cut/bun combo style. Brown eyes. Lots of red tattoos that are owl featured on her shoulders, back, arms and hands, and face.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Long-sleeved red belly shirt, custom-made black denim vest, white cowl. Black pants and boots, no burnoose.

 **Swimwear** \- Black one-piece suit.

 **Accessories** \- Upper-face white owl mask.

" _There is a certain beauty to this place, but I wonder if it were meant to be intentionally that way; if it was, then it's trying too hard and I hate it._ "

* * *

 **4**. Yejoon Nahm, the Ultimate (Male) Artist

 **Creator** \- Creaturemaster

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 22

 **Birthday** \- November 13th

 **Nationality** \- Korean

 **Blood Type** \- B+

 **Physical Description** \- Quite tall and wiry, pale skin. Long black hair pulled into a wolf tail, brown eyes. Tattoos of fox whiskers on his face, fox tattoo on his chest.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Black shirt and white suit, white cloak like nine fox tails, dress pants, black dress shoes.

 **Swimwear** \- White swim trunks patterned with black flowers.

 **Accessories** \- Full-face fox mask, black cane.

" _My my, it seems we have entered someone's twisted fantasies. I guess the question is whose do they belong to, and if we want to even meet this artist._ "

* * *

 **5**. Drake Flare, the Ultimate Cartoonist

 **Creator** \- BaconBaka

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 18

 **Birthday** \- July 25th

 **Nationality** \- American

 **Blood Type** \- B+

 **Physical Description** \- Quite tall and built, pale peach skin tone. Black spiky hair, gray eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Dark blue jacket that he wears with the collar popped up, purple t-shirt, faded red pants, green sandals.

 **Swimwear** \- Cyan t-shirt, dark blue swimming shorts.

 **Accessories** \- Sketchpad and a pencil kit.

" _I... um... didn't really expect to find a place like this. I think I made a mistake coming here... but it looks like I have no choice but to stay._ "

* * *

 **6**. Fiora R. Stenton, the Ultimate B-Movie Maker

 **Creator** \- The Kobold Necromancer

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 23

 **Birthday** \- February 7th

 **Nationality** \- Canadian

 **Blood Type** \- B-

 **Physical Description** \- Normal body build, well-rounded, several tattoos on her body. Black and white dyed hair that streaks down to her shoulder blades. Blue eyes, dark tan skin.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Backless black vest, white shirt, cravat, bright red pants with black belt, black shoes. Wears a brown fedora.

 **Swimwear** \- The most gaudy one-piece bikini you've ever seen.

 **Accessories** \- None.

" _Why do you guys keep ignoring me? Hello?! Do I have to pull my top up to get your attention?! I refuse to do that, by the way, I will NOT be directing Killing Games Gone Wild!"_

* * *

 **7**. Eisei Amane, the Ultimate Dentist

 **Creator** \- Trust Me I'm Me

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 27

 **Birthday** \- February 9th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- A+

 **Physical Description** \- Lavender hair tied into pigtails with flower hair clips. Pink eyes. Very short and petite, feminine features and fair skin.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Silver lab coat, dark gray off-shoulder shirt, black shorts, white stockings, Mary Jane shoes, white rubber gloves.

 **Swimwear** \- Frilly one-piece swimsuit.

 **Accessories** \- Lollipops, and an overpacked suitcase full of clothing, water bottles, sweets, oral hygiene products, and dental instruments.

" _This place may be quite unnerving, but it is not a ghost town; the walls are quite solid. You seem stressed out, have a lollipop_ _._ "

* * *

 **8**. Souma Koukai, the Ultimate Public Speaker

 **Creator** \- Birbddha

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 27

 **Birthday** \- June 6

 **Nationality** \- Japanese/Egyptian

 **Blood Type** \- B+

 **Physical Description** \- Average height and build, tanned skin, styled black hair and hazel eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Smart white business suit much like the Future Foundation uniform. Gold tie.

 **Swimwear** \- Black trunks with gold trimming, black shirt.

 **Accessories** \- None.

" _We know that this fiend will try every trick in the book to tear us apart, but that, my friends, is the play of a desperate and cornered monster._ "

* * *

 **9**. Shuuya Yukimura, the Ultimate Bounty Hunter

 **Creator** \- StoryProducer214

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 21

 **Birthday** \- July 26th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- A+

 **Physical Description** \- Lean build, pale skin. Short and messy black hair, red eyes. Multiple scars on his body.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Black trench coat, black suit and tie, dark gray shirt, black boots and gloves, utility belt.

 **Swimwear** \- Black t-shirt, dark gray shorts.

 **Accessories** \- A nice necklace around his neck.

" _Why does evil always have to be so damn creative?_ "

* * *

 **10**. Aka Fuyu, the Ultimate Skier

 **Creator** \- richboylion

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 23

 **Birthday** \- December 20th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Athletic tall build, quite pale skin. Wild and short purple hair, yellow eyes. Big grin.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Green jacket over a red shirt, navy blue workout pants. A nose ring on her left nostril.

 **Swimwear** \- Red one-piece swimsuit.

 **Accessories** \- Skiing goggles, her ski poles.

" _This seems hardcore, way hardcore. Fortunately, that's just the way I like it!_ "

* * *

 **11**. Saiko Kobayashi, the Ultimate Forensic Investigator

 **Creator** \- The Celestial Sky Dragon

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 25

 **Birthday** \- April 1st

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- A+

 **Physical Description** \- Really short, pale white skin, but athletic and curvy. Dark blue hair in twin tails, swept bangs. Silver eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Long-sleeved white button down shirt, pleated skirt, black leggings, black boots, a white shawl with black faux fur, white gloves.

 **Swimwear** \- Big T-shirt with striped white 'n blue bikini bottoms.

 **Accessories** \- A small silver case of forensic equipment, among other things like sweets and stress toys.

" _What a freaking ghost town this is. ... Why thank you, I'd actually quite love a lollipop right now._ "

* * *

 **12**. Crystal Wilson, the Ultimate Military Adviser

 **Creator** \- gamergirl101

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 24

 **Birthday** \- April 14th

 **Nationality** \- American

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Average height, slim build with fair skin. Long blonde ponytail, green eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- A startlingly eye-catching regal jacket with a large collar, cyan with white trimmings. Her suit and pants match, though her boots are white with blue stitching.

 **Swimwear** \- Cyan and white bikini, white-rim sunglasses.

 **Accessories** \- A silver ring around her finger.

" _If you aren't capable of taking care of the situation, I will be taking point. I refuse to lose this battle; and no thank you, I don't care for a lollipop right now._ "

* * *

 **13**. Blake Shokyaku, the Ultimate Pyro

 **Creator** \- xPurpleGod

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 23

 **Birthday** \- June 23rd

 **Nationality** \- Japanese/Australian

 **Blood Type** \- O-

 **Physical Description** \- Semi-tall, mesomorph build, mildly tan skin. Short dark hair, teal eyes. Burn marks on his face, tattoo of flames on his right arm.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Orange tank top and blue cargo shorts, long socks and dark sneakers.

 **Swimwear** \- Black shorts with green flame decals.

 **Accessories** \- Lighter and pocket knife.

" _I'm not going to lie, part of me just wants to burn this town down and be done with this nonsense._ "

* * *

 **14**. Odelios Shintani, the Ultimate Clown

 **Creator** \- 1Glimmershine

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 23

 **Birthday** \- June 7th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- B-

 **Physical Description** \- Pumpkin orange medium length hair with long drill bangs, wiry lean build with average height and weight, terribly pale skin. Jack 'O Lantern face paint style. Full-eye contacts that make his eyes pure azure on one side, and pure yellow on the other.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Yellow and blue jester hat, frilly yellow and blue long sleeve shirt with scarlet pads on the shoulders, vinyl lacy pants with crazy patterns for each leg, yellow and blue jester shoes.

 **Swimwear** \- Flashy clown-styled wetsuit and ducky floaty.

 **Accessories** \- Clown nose! Also, a bajillion (or a more countable number) clown props, including ribbons and bows, squirting flowers, BANG! flag gun, balloons, horn, and more. So much more.

" _It's so absolutely wonderful to be here~ I must remember to tell my tour guide consoler how much I wish for him to stand at the wrong end of a shooting gallery!_ "

* * *

 **15**. Yitro Stana, the Ultimate Swordsman

 **Creator** \- AVFireblade9472

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 26

 **Birthday** \- August 17th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- A-

 **Physical Description** \- Tall, strong, long platinum hair in a ponytail, jaw-length bangs, dark red eyes. Dark olive skin and a long scar across the bridge of his nose, dark gray spade "tattoo" on his forehead. Handsome~

 **Normal Clothing** \- Brown jacket, white t-shirt, black scarf, brown sash over his chest, blue beanie, black riding gloves, black jeans, brown hiking boots.

 **Swimwear** \- Blue and white swim trunks.

 **Accessories** \- A wooden flute, a backpack full of survival essentials (which also includes a bunch of romance novels).

" _Yes, there was a time when I was the Ultimate Swordsman. Not anymore, I'm afraid._ "

* * *

 **16**. Hikari Tetsuhime, the Ultimate Steampunk Model

 **Creator** \- dashunterman

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 25

 **Birthday** \- August 20th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- A-

 **Physical Description** \- Pale skin with long jet-black hair, brown eyes, regal and model-like features from her face down to her long legs.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Puffy-sleeved white button-up shirt, black leather corset, short dark red skirt, black silk stockings, black belt-clasped boots, black riding gloves, black dapper top hat with brass rimmed goggles around it.

 **Swimwear** \- Dark red two-piece bikini.

 **Accessories** \- Black lace parasol.

" _Oh my gears, darling, this is most certainly not my forte; however, I'm not one to back down from a challenge._ "

* * *

 **17**. Shinobu Takahashi, the Ultimate Historian

 **Creator** \- Blazerxz

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 25

 **Birthday** \- September 22nd

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Average body type, long dyed reddish-pink hair in a braid, gray eyes, pale skin.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Mahogany blazer with a university crest upon the breast, a white shirt and black skirt, gray sneakers, cat-shaped earrings.

 **Swimwear** \- Dark red one-piece backless swimsuit.

 **Accessories** \- Notebook and pen, and a small camera.

" _Those no do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. It's more vital now than ever that people realize this._ "

* * *

 **18**. Ignatia Nazario, the Ultimate Mime

 **Creator** \- Trust Me I'm Me

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 19

 **Birthday** \- May 7th

 **Nationality** \- Italian

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Athletic, olive complexion, black hair in an unkempt ponytail, ruby red eyes. Has white make-up on her face with two thin black diamonds drawn around her eyes, black painted lips.

 **Normal Clothing** \- White leather jacket over a dark purple tank top, black jeans, white leather riding gloves, white combat boots. Two steel earrings in her left ear.

 **Swimwear** \- Dark purple high neck bikini with a mesh top.

 **Accessories** \- Steel knuckles, a lighter, and a small container of back-up make-up.

"..."

* * *

 **19**. Ishiku Shyre, the Ultimate Magician

 **Creator** \- life among the dead

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 21

 **Birthday** \- May 29th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese/Spanish

 **Blood Type** \- A-

 **Physical Description** \- Thick black hair with blond tips and messy bangs, mint green eyes, lithe build, light tan skin.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Fancy black tunic with puffed up sleeves and coat tails and red cuffs, green scarf with winged heart jewel at the neck, black shorts, tall boots.

 **Swimwear** \- Oversized ruby and white swirly swimming shorts.

 **Accessories** \- A bone-styled staff with a bony hand as a head clutching a green jewel named the Staff of Magia, dark red riding gloves.

" _It's not magic, because magic's not real. But hey, I can sure make something that's pretty damn cool to look at, can't it? Hehe._ "

* * *

 **20**. Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader

 **Creator** \- Sootythunder

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 27

 **Birthday** \- June 9th

 **Nationality** \- American

 **Blood Type** \- A-

 **Physical Description** \- Highly fit and strong, short buzzed dark hair, brown eyes, dark skin.

 **Normal Clothing** \- He wears a collection of dark clothing: black camo jacket and pants, black shirt, dark boots. Also has a tactical belt on, flexible gloves, and a black camo cap.

 **Swimwear** \- Black swim trunks.

 **Accessories** \- Combat knife, a military-grade pistol, canteen, and binoculars.

" _It is true that I had military training; however, that's just a part of my life. I'm actually an excellent business man. And I just... happen to love how I look in black._ "

* * *

 **21**. Takeo Onishi, the Ultimate Mercenary

 **Creator** \- Birbddha

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 26

 **Birthday** \- May 14th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- O-

 **Physical Description** \- Short military haircut of dark blue hair, goldenrod eyes but right eye paler color, scar over right eye, darkened skin tone, very fit and athletic build.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Dark blue camo jacket and pants, military boots, blue shirt.

 **Swimwear** \- Dark blue camo trunks.

 **Accessories** \- Night-vision goggles, combat knife.

" _I do my job, and I do it well, and that's why I'm here. Seems I'm not the only one who's here for that reason, however._ "

* * *

 **22**. Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman

 **Creator** \- MudkipofDespair

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 23

 **Birthday** \- October 27th

 **Nationality** \- Novoselic

 **Blood Type** \- O-

 **Physical Description** \- Muscular and well-built, fair skin tone with a light tan, messy curly black hair, black eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Casual wear consists of a dark grey hoodie over a blue t-shirt, black sweatpants, dark blue sneakers. Armor consists of a silver breastplate with the Novoselican coat of arms in gold on the chest, silver armor with blue coloring in various areas, a dark blue cape, and a silver helmet.

 **Swimwear** \- Dark blue pair of swim trunks.

 **Accessories** \- A broadsword with a pommel shaped like a horse.

 _"I will see this through to the very end! Despair will not win this day!"_

* * *

 **23**. Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Private Investigator

 **Creator** \- my death can't be cured

 **Gender** \- Male

 **Age** \- 24

 **Birthday** \- March 25th

 **Nationality** \- Venezuela

 **Blood Type** \- B-

 **Physical Description** \- Wiry yet strong body, rich tan skin, dark brown short hair, green eyes, quite tall. Has a tattoo on his right shoulder of a blue skull overlapping the red outline of another skull.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Sleeveless vest jacket, white tinted blue button-up shirt with rolled up sleeves, white leather pants, high rise blue boots.

 **Swimwear** \- Black and gold swimsuit with white laces.

 **Accessories** \- A black eye-mask with long tattered tails, and a keyring with a lot of random keys on it.

" _My title is the Ultimate Bête Noire now, and don't you damn well forget it. Tuh._ "

* * *

 **24**. Futaba Imajuku, the Ultimate Anthropologist

 **Creator** \- Magus1108

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 26

 **Birthday** \- June 17th

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- O-

 **Physical Description** \- Dyed shoulder-length silver hair, purple eyes, exceptionally thin body, tanned skin, tall, dark circles under her eyes normally. There is scarring from her lips to her ears.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Black leather jacket, dark gray shirt, black jeans, black shoes, a black leather glove on her left hand, purple-rimmed glasses.

 **Swimwear** \- Ruby-red two-piece modest bikini.

 **Accessories** \- A cane and a journal.

" _I'm here to observe, not to interfere. There's no need to talk to me, so kindly just let things happen as they may._ "

* * *

 **25**. Pyrrha Poole, the Ultimate Romance Writer

 **Creator** \- ShinyOshawottKing1

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 27

 **Birthday** \- February 19th

 **Nationality** \- American

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Bright red hair in waterfall braids, green eyes, hourglass figure, light peach skin tone.

 **Normal Clothing** \- Purple hiking pants and mauve hiking shoes, emerald green cloak with a heart 'n quill icon, and a teal t-shirt.

 **Swimwear** \- Royal purple two-piece bikini.

 **Accessories** \- A large journal and a fountain pen, a smaller journal, and a green purse.

" _Sure this may be a dangerous situation... but come on, I cannot be the only person thinking of who is going to hook up with who, am I~?_ "

* * *

 **26**. Kimiko Hashiriya, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader

 **Creator** \- LckiKoin

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 24

 **Birthday** \- February 1st

 **Nationality** \- Canadian/Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Athletic and strong body, scratch scar on her cheek, green hair in a pixie cut with a black 'n yellow strand, brown eyes.

 **Normal Clothing** \- A biker jacket with numerous quotes and patches added to it along with her biker gang's logo on the back and a worn out motorcycle license plate attached to it. A chest wrap around her breasts, sturdy boots, tough jeans, riding gloves, a baseball cap, and dog tag necklace.

 **Swimwear** \- Green two-piece bikini with yellow flame decals.

 **Accessories** \- A biker's helmet, boxing cloth straps for her knuckles, and a chain bracelet with several dog tags on it.

" _Nice to freakin' meetcha, now let's get doo'n to business. I'm not here for pleasantries._ "

* * *

 **27**. Angelique Angolmois, the Ultimate Opera Singer

 **Creator** \- dashunterman

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 26

 **Birthday** \- June 6th

 **Nationality** \- French

 **Blood Type** \- O+

 **Physical Description** \- Long waist-length blond hair, light blue, voluptuous build with ample bust, pale skin, long legs, a small beauty mark on her left cheek.

 **Normal Clothing** \- A dark red cheongsam dress, elbow-length dark red gloves, black stockings, red stilettos, wire-frame glasses.

 **Swimwear** \- Red two-piece bikini with her initials on the top.

 **Accessories** \- Silver ankle bracelet with a treble clef charm, and a silver locket.

" _I refuse to let the Tragedy be the end of civilized society. Together, we will find a positive emotional inspiration for everyone!_ "

* * *

 **28**. Anzu Amika, the Ultimate Actress

 **Creator** \- ?

 **Gender** \- Female

 **Age** \- 20

 **Birthday** \- November 23rd

 **Nationality** \- Japanese

 **Blood Type** \- AB+

 **Physical Description** \- Petite, thin and very pale, short black hair with dyed blue bangs, red eyes, a tattoo of a heart on her right breast.

 **Normal Clothing** \- White summer blouse with a low neckline, visible black bra underneath, tight gray jeans, black 'n white sneakers.

 **Swimwear** \- Black skimpy two-piece bikini with oversized sunglasses to go with it.

 **Accessories** \- A purse with the usual items inside, as well as a switchblade.

" _Most of my work did get quite obscure, way out there in some cases. I guess that's why I feel like this place is suited for someone like me._ "

* * *

THE CAST HAS BEEN CHOSEN.  


WHAT SECRETS DOES THIS TOWN CONTAIN?  


AND WHAT SECRETS DO THEY THEMSELVES HAVE?

WHO IS GOING TO SURVIVE?

WHO WILL DIE?

YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE...

(UNLESS, YOU KNOW, THE STORY IS DONE WHEN YOU'RE READING THIS, THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT.)  


(LUCKY YOU.)  


(ANYWAY!)

 **WELCOME**

 **TO**

 _ **PENJAR**_


	2. Prologue 0-1: Ursa Be Mist

**Prologue 0-1**

 **Enter a World of Survival and Horror**

* * *

 **Day 01, 8:45 PM**

 **?**

As the car rumbled down the poorly paved road, the driver squinted as they tried to make something out up ahead. The night was that kind of dark, where the lack of light seems to suffocate you. The driver had their headlights and high beams on, but that barely felt like enough to handle this kind of sea of inkiness.

What the driver saw was a town sign, faded and chipped and old. The sign said:

WELCOME TO THE CITY OF  
PENJAR  
Please stay awhile, you'll appreciate a cozy town!

The shapes of the letters were still there, but the paint had faded or chipped away across the sign. It seemed intentional, because the last line read out just by the paint alone as the light reflected off of it:

Fle e while you c a n

"Wow, how inviting," the driver grumbled to themselves as they carried forward. The car bumped and tossed a little more, then the drive was quite smooth. Though the lights from the car were starting to lose their usage, as a thick mist was forming in front of the vehicle.

After one block into the town, the mist was so thick that the driver didn't want to dare driving any further. Noticing there were parking lots on both sides of the road, with hotels next to them, they pulled into one of them.

It was empty, devoid of all vehicles. The lights weren't working, the only lights from the moon above and the car's headlights. The parking lot's floor was stained and chipped like a well-worn lot would be, but also had the crusty look and feel of a long-since abandoned area.

The driver stepped out of the car after parking, greeted with the stale and slightly damp smell of concrete. The mists that had filled the road were not as thick inside the parking lot, but the area was terribly empty and more than a little creepy. The door slamming shut on the car seemed to echo forever.

As the visitor to Penjar walked out of the lot and glanced down the road, the mists slowly flowed down the street and sidewalk. Walking through it, it seemed to curl and move to allow someone to pass through it. A swift flick from the human's wrist sent it "splashing" through the air, then down into the river of it all.

Trying to shake this off, the person walked up the sidewalk some, eyeing the buildings. It was the usual kind of road, with a hotel, a few buildings of varying business, and a car lot at the far end. Each building was old and dilapidated, the paint peeling off, the windows crusty. It definitely felt like a town that time and people had forgotten for God knows how many years.

As the guest of this ghost town walked down the road, they saw that one of the buildings, a hotel, contained light inside; it had been hard to notice, the time-faded windows and dreary curtains blocked most of it while the moonlight was reflecting off of the mists quite a bit.

Approaching the hotel, the neon sign near it flicked, ever so briefly. "BEDS AVAILABLE" blinked a few times, and the person arriving tilted their head in confusion. For one brief moment, it looked like some of the letters were glowing only… the 'AVA' part, the second 'B' mostly lighting up…

" _BE WARE_ "

A disgusted sigh came from the person as they shook their head and pushed this notion aside. It was just their mind playing tricks on them, who wouldn't be chilled in a time-ravaged town like this?

Still, it was worth investigating. They walked up to the main door and tried it, slightly surprised that it opened. Stepping in, the smell of uncared interior met their nostrils, not a very pleasant one.

The lights were on, showcasing chairs and a sofa that had sheets and cushions on them as a once-pleasant waiting room. The front desk was in ruins, the counter having caved in; possibly some wild animal broke the foundations? It was a bit odd, since everything else appeared fine (but very old) in the lobby.

The person sighed as they glanced down one of the hallways, seemingly to the rooms of this small-town hotel. They shrugged and decided to see the condition of those rooms, probably just as bad as the lobby but still worth a look. The floor creaked as they walked towards the hallway, passing by the couch…

Then the couch moved upwards and greeted them.

"Hello there~"

"AAAAAAAUGH!"

"WAAAAAAAAH!"

Both women shrieked and jumped up a few feet, the one on the sofa underneath the sheets climbing to the head up against the wall. After their heart rates finally calmed down, both took a moment to study the other.

"What the hell," the woman who had entered just a minute ago declared, thrusting a gloved finger at the sofa girl, "was that for?!"

"I didn't do it on purpose," was the girl's response, red eyes wide in surprise. "You just woke me up, and I saw you. I forgot I kind of had a few blankets over me."

Noting that there were about five sheets at least scattered about, the gloved woman scratched the back of her head. Her dark blue hair resembled a waterfall, especially with it draped on her shoulders clad in white. "You still came up quite suddenly."

"Yeah, this place has made me sleep really lightly," the crimson-eyed black-haired gal said as she climbed off of the sofa and stood up. She stretched, her back cracking and her joints popping. "Ohhhh yeah, that's better~ I've definitely slept and passed out in weirder areas and positions though, not all that bad."

"Say what? No wait, never mind that," the white-clad lady declared. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Now now, don't you think I have the right to ask you the same thing? I mean, this isn't exactly a place you just stroll into."

The blue-haired woman sighed in irritation, then crossed her arms. It had to be done underneath her large breasts, to prevent them from noticeably bouncing as she huffed in annoyance. "I don't like having to explain myself to someone who nearly gave me a heart attack. If you would kindly?"

"Oh fine, fine," the only slightly-taller gal said, then grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "Hello there, new acquaintance, I am **Anzu Amika**."

"Anzu, okay then. My name is **Saiko Kobayashi** , and I'm here on official business, you could say."

"Really? Who with?"

Saiko pursed her lips, then sighed again and rubbed her temples. "Okay, maybe not official. But I feel like I need to be here, due to my profession and responsibilities. Maybe coming here was a mistake?"

"What do you do, may I inquire?"

Anzu stepped forward, and her dyed blue bangs bounced playfully as she tilted her head to the side. Saiko noticed that this gal was definitely lacking shame, what with her thin summer blouse showcasing her cleavage and bra, a tattoo of a heart visible on her right breast. Everything about her seemed to showcase a really playful tomboy, except for how very pale this girl was.

"Listen," Saiko spoke, having to glance up just a little as even this short tomboy was taller than her stature, "I'm a forensic investigator, and I am here in this city because I think there is something to be discovered here."

"You too?"

Saiko almost reeled back in shock as she stared at the tomboy. Anzu merely blinked her crimson eyes and giggled, clasping her hands together. "By any chance," the forward gal said, "were you a student at Hope's Peak Academy too?"

"'Too'? Wait, I feel like I am missing something here."

"You see, Saiko, I am a graduate of Hope's Peak Academy too. And I also came to this rather hideous town for some answers."  
Saiko stared at her, then huffed and said, "Okay, perhaps you should explain in greater detail. I do not like vague talk as if we're trying to hide something from someone listening in."

Anzu laughed, then walked towards the center of the lobby. She held her hands out, as if appealing to an audience. "Let me spell it out for you, my dear!"

* * *

 _"_ _Over two years ago, the world was affected by The Tragedy. This event started at Hope's Peak Academy, where the Reserve Course and people around the large school for highly gifted students started to riot. No one quite knows what started it, but what is known is that Despair was involved._

 _What is Despair? We do not know, but it seems to be a plague of sorts. Victims of this epidemic usually catch it by witnessing some of the worst events they could possibly imagine, and thus they start to commit atrocities of the same caliber. It is like witnessing that kind of sadistic cruelty forces someone to become part of it._

 _The moment the riots started around Hope's Peak Academy, it spread like wildfire throughout the world. Every civilized continent was overrun with people who were affected by Despair. Millions died in the manner of one year, and more would continue to die in horrific murders._

 _This disease, or whatever it is, is known as Despair because those who have been affected by it but cured described it as such. There was no joy in their hearts, no care for others, not even themselves. It was as if the entire world was just a cold, horrible, lightless void, and the only way to feel something, anything, was to cause as much sadistic pain as possible. Once would not be enough, a hundred times was not enough._

 _When Despair spread across the world, eventually there would be a light to shine through. Organizations in Japan, America, and Canada came through with a cure for Despair, agents willing to put their lives on the line to save civilization. There were rumors that the Japanese organization known as the Future Foundation consists mostly of Hope's Peak Academy students, staff, and graduates._

 _After all, the most talented and incredible members of generations would be the ones to stop the worst of circumstances. And while we are not members of that organization, there is a part we are meant to play here._

 _You see, even though Despair has all but died out entirely, the Killing Games have continued. Televised broadcasts of cruel games of murder and mystery were sent across the world, Despair the headline for each one. And the scale of how big these murder games showcased that while Despair and those embroiled in it, some of them quite willingly, they are highly connected._

 _A space station, a moon base, a floating island? Such feats would take the efforts of the most powerful nations, but the members of Despair took control of each one. How is Despair so powerful, so resourceful, and so destructive?_

 _Millions died during The Tragedy, possibly a billion in total across the world. Those who lay in hiding are still able of committing world-threatening atrocities. It's even next to impossible to detect someone being affected by Despair until it is too late._

 _So why are you here? What is Penjar? And what do you hope to find here?_

 _The answers… will come in due time!_

* * *

Anzu finished, and curtsied. "There. Does that clear up everything for you, my dear?"

Saiko blinked, her mouth slightly agape in surprise. Then she shook her head, and declared, "Wh-what was all that for?"

"You wanted to know why I would be here? Because I, like you I would guess, am here because we found some kind of clue on what caused The Tragedy, what made Despair."

The raven haired gal chuckled, politely covering her mouth for a moment before she stared at the confused lady in front of her. "Actually," she said, "maybe I should reintroduce myself to you, since we're both graduates of Hope's Peak Academy.

"Hello there, Saiko. My name is **Anzu Amika** , the **Ultimate Adult Actress**. It is a pleasure to meet you~"

There was a silence, then Saiko found the most appropriate word to use. "What."

"Oh, perhaps I should explain that too. You see, my title was the Ultimate Actress when I was registered to Hope's Peak Academy. I am actually a pretty good actress, and I have been performing since I was a little girl. Some say I was so good that they thought I was literally the character.

"But I kind of fell into hard times before Hope's Peak, which I got to enter when I was eighteen. I don't regret it all that much, because I took to my new field like a champ! And thus, I was a bit of a queen of the underground, a leader and pioneer of acting in erotic films."

"Really now," Saiko said, deadpan expression and voice. "You're going to be proud of the fact that you did porn as a Hope's Peak Academy student?"

"Like I said, I'm not ashamed, though they gave me the title of Actress, I just tacked on the adult part when dealing with people who'll find out eventually. Like, say, a detective as you said you were."

Chuckling again, Anzu reached forward and booped Saiko's nose with the tip of her finger. "And I'm guessing I'm talking to the **Ultimate Forensic Investigator**?"

Saiko rubbed her nose, and then shrugged. "Okay, fine. But why the hell are you here? What's a porn star want with this mysterious town?"

"Rumors spread throughout the adult film industry very fast, it is its own gossip ring. I lost a lot of friends and coworkers during The Tragedy, the world was not kind to the men and women who did erotic entertainment."

Anzu sighed and tugged at one of her blue bangs. "When things finally settled down, I heard from this one gal who survived an encounter with a frenzied Despair cultist. She said that there was a town that meant a lot to them, and this cultist dropped a map where it was located. She wanted nothing to do with it…

"But I did. I want to find out what happened, and how to stop it," the pale actress said with confidence. She placed a hand over her heart and said, "And I felt if I find out anything, I'll let the authorities know. No sense going to them without any proof."

"No proof? What about the map?"

"I, um," she stammered, "lost it, when I got here. It vanished on me, as if its purpose was fulfilled."

"Or you were just really clumsy," Saiko said with a frustrated grunt. "I would have liked to see that map."

"Well how did you get here?"

"Not much to tell about that," Saiko said, as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out a bag containing a lot of lollipops, plucked one out, and started to suck on the treat. "I, along with some other colleagues of mine from Hope's Peak Academy, found something a while back…"

"Really? What was it?"

"I would rather find out if they arrived in town yet, I thought I would be the last one to the party. You see…"

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:01 PM**

 **South-Eastern Border Entrance of Penjar**

"During an expedition into one of the cities ravaged by The Tragedy, my fiancé and I found this."

The young man held up a journal, offering it to the person standing in front of them. This person gratefully accepted it, and started to rifle through the pages.

"Oh I should have introduced myself by now, my apologies. I just was so surprised to find someone here, someone else from Hope's Peak, that I forgot to!"

"That's fine, I think we're all a bit distracted right now," the woman holding the journal said as she fanned away some of the mist that had floated in front of the pages.

"Anyway," the tall man said with a smile, bowing slightly, "my name is **Isaac Bellamy** , and I am the **Ultimate Reporter**."

He adjusted the beanie on his head, which had the news station NHK logo upon it. It was fitting for the field look he was definitely aiming for, with his leather jacket, tank top and jeans, and work boots. There was also a touch of stubble on his chin, completing the slightly grizzled appearance.

"And this," he said, as he wrapped his arm around the lovely lady next to him, "is my wonderful fiancé!"

"Hello," the Indian woman said with a polite but shy smile. She leaned up against Isaac for a little extra support, and said, "My name is **Hara Pathik** , and I was the **Ultimate Explorer**. Though most of the time, I just end up making sure this fellow here doesn't get in trouble."

Isaac laughed aloud, and said, "Well, I mean, we both have the same passions, what can I say? We love to go out there and find the answers, see the sights, do the right thing, you know?"

The person holding the journal nodded, glancing down at the drawings of fairly disturbing macabre. They sighed and glanced back up at the couple, smiling a bit and saying, "You two look just adorable. Tell me, did you meet in Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Sure did! We kind of hooked up there, and we've been working together ever since," Isaac said, grinning proudly.

Hara lifted a hand to her necklace, which had an engagement ring around it. It was quite fancy looking, compared to her clothing that was definitely the apparel of someone who would be legging it through tough terrain and times.

"When Isaac, Saiko, and myself found this journal, we wanted to find some answers," she explained. "I told Isaac I wasn't going to let him go alone, no matter what; you have no idea how hard it is to get him to change his mind."

"Hey, if I wasn't stubborn, I wouldn't be a good reporting, sweetheart!" Isaac protested. He laughed it off, and then stared at the person holding their find. "So, what was your name again?"

He pulled out a notepad and a pencil, ready to take notes. The woman reading the journal took a second to realize she was more or less being interviewed, and said, "I am **Pyrrha Poole** , and I am the **Ultimate Romance Writer**. Thank you, by the way."

"For what, letting you see the journal?" Isaac asked, as he scribbled down notes.

"No, for showing me what a sweet romantic couple can look like," Pyrrha said with a joyful laugh. "A Hope's Peak Academy couple, it's SO romantic! I have always wanted to see something like that happen, I mean, I am sure there have been couples before, but I haven't met anyone who got married! Or engaged, but you get the gist of what I'm saying! So…

"How'd you meet? What was it like? When was this? Have you met each other's families yet? Do you plan on honeymooning at some far off place because of your talents? Are you-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Isaac exclaimed, stopping his writing as the romance writer went off like a bullet train. "Calm down there."

"He's so not used to being the one interviewed," Hara said with a giggle, playfully pushing his shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry," Pyrrha said, blushing as she ran a hand through her hair, the red waterfall braids appearing to be a crimson waterfall. She adjusted her clothing, which also looked like a hiker's get-up, except for a rather splendid cloak that she had on. "I just get so excited over romance, I forget what I am doing at times!"

"Well, what brought you here, Pyrrha?" Isaac questioned. "You didn't come here to Penjar for romance, I am guessing?"

"A bit of a tip I overheard in the writer's community. You see, there were rumors that to create the greatest tragedy of written works, you'd have to follow Despair, but I'm not for that; however, I am interested in how to conquer it, how love can shine through~!

"So I kind of felt around in the writing community until I found directions to this… town," she said, glancing down the forgotten roads with mists combing through them. "I wanted to see what I could do, and what I could create as a result."

"Well, we definitely found something here," Hara remarked, also glancing around. "The only question is… what exactly?"

They stood in silence for a few seconds, and during that brief time, they could hear footfalls. They were heavy, almost intense, as they were coming from around a corner. When the owner turned around it, the three of them almost jumped in astonishment.

The young lady appeared extremely pale at first, but then they realized that was face paint. What looked to be ritualistic scarring was actually thin black diamonds painted over her eyes. She was wearing mostly white and gray, her dark hair done up in a long, messy ponytail.

When she saw them, she rolled her eyes and strolled forward. No one spoke, waiting for her to say something, but she never did.

"Um, hello?" Isaac said to the frowning lady. "Can we help you?"

The woman shook her head.

"You don't live here," Hara asked, "do you?"

The woman shook her head again.

"Are you single? Do you require any advice on how to find a proper match?" chirped Pyrrha.

The mysterious woman made a face of confusion, glancing at Isaac for an explanation. Instead, Isaac cleared his throat and said, "You wouldn't happen to be from Hope's Peak Academy too, would you?"

She shrugged, then pulled something out of her pocket: a business card. Isaac read it out loud, " ' **Ignatia Nazario** , **Ultimate Mime**.'"

Taking back the card rather abruptly, the mime tucked it back into her pocket and started to walk away. Hara called out, "Wait! Shouldn't we stick together, if we're all here looking for answers?"

Ignatia didn't respond with anything but a shrug, as she walked off down the misty road. The three graduates stared in confusion, until Pyrrha said, "Wow, she certainly is dedicated to her craft, isn't she?"

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:06 PM**

 **Eastern Border Entrance of Penjar**

"What kind of crap is this?!"

A horrible cracking sound echoed throughout the surrounding area, amplified by whatever acoustics were provided in the derelict town. The small, dead tree that had been kicked broke in half and crashed down to the ground.

"I traveled all this way for a place that looks so fucking dead, not even hobos would want to move into it? What is this shit?!"

He huffed angrily, adjusting his rather casual clothing. It was a rather stark contrast to the lady who was standing nearby him, wearing a very regal jacket with a highly pronounced and pointy collar. Even their colors were different, with the young man in orange and dark blue, her in cyan and white.

"So then," the lady said, "not even going to introduce yourself, are you?"

"I'm not here for pleasantries," he snapped, glaring over at her. "Though I am wondering why someone who looks like she stepped out of a king's court is here."

The young lady laughed, covering her mouth before flipping her blond ponytail back dramatically. " **Crystal Wilson** , the **Ultimate Military Adviser**. I've been handling Despair ever since it started around Hope's Peak Academy, and I am here to find a few answers for myself… since I doubt anyone would believe me if they saw this town that something important was here."

"Sounds all really fancy and above my pay grade," the guy grumbled. "Well whatever, I'm-"

" **Blake Shokyaku** , the **Ultimate Pyro** ," she finished for him. Crystal merely raised an eyebrow when she saw his flustered expression. "Do you really think you would not be noticed by a military tactician when you were at Hope's Peak Academy?"

Blake stammered a bit, then growled. "What, you wanted to hire me for my usage of fire? I heard the army does love napalm, but my speciality is more with Greek fire."

He flexed his arm, showcasing the tattoo he had of flames that raced up and down that strong bicep. Crystal shook her head, tsk-tsk'ing at this.

"Heavens no, but I was quite aware of people of interest and concern in the classes around me, and you caught my attention… mostly because you had to be escorted off of school premise multiple times to go back to prison."

"Hey, I did my time, blondie," Blake shouted angrily. "What, you think I didn't deserve to be there? I have a perfectly legit job now, I help out in preventing fires too."

"Even if that is true, you are the last person I expected to see in a place like this. What on Earth would bring you here to find out more about the Despair that ravaged our world?"

"Just goes to show you, you don't know everything about everyone, lady," Blake said. "Anyway, I don't need your help or your commentary, so if you'll excuse me-"

"Excuse me."

"GAAAAAH!"

Blake nearly leapt three feet in the air as there was not one, but two people standing nearby him most suddenly. Crystal didn't so much as flinch, but watched in amusement as Blake gaped at the two new persons near him.

They were rather startling to see in person. The male was wearing a full-face mask that resembled a fox, his clothing a regal combination of black and white, the cloak resembling fox tails as well. He was leaning on a black cane, gently pulling his large black ponytail behind his back.

The woman who stood next to him silently seemed a bit more impatient. She had her arms crossed in a huff, lips pursed and eyes rolling behind her upper-face mask that resembled an owl.

Both of their clothing was so astonishing, it had been the reason Blake had reacted the way he did. She had on a red belly shirt with a black vest, a white cowl on top of her wildly colored hair, and black pants and boots. The skin visible was covered in tattoos, resembling owls at every part.

The man's black 'n white shirt and suit were like something of a gentleman's attire at a fancy costume ball. When he lifted his fox mask, however, the tattoos of fox whiskers on his face proved it was more than just an elaborate costume.

"Am I to believe," the fox-themed male said, "that both of you are also Hope's Peak Academy students?"

Blake's expression and clenched fists were much more saying, 'I am going to flatten you weirdly dressed freaks.' So it was Crystal who spoke. "That is correct. Forgive me, I do not remember you two."

"That is quite alright, my dear, but I am sure I would have remembered you; that is one smart jacket you are wearing, I must say."

"Designed it myself, but I get the feeling that it's nothing compared to what I am seeing on you two. It's very impressive."

"Why thank you, my dear lady, but I have not introduced us. My name is **Yejoon Nahm** , known in some cases as **Yeou** , and I am known as the **Ultimate Male Artist**. The gender part is simply because my dear counterpart and blood relation here was accepted shortly after."

"Oh, you just have to mention that you were excepted first, didn't you?" the gal snapped, her eyes shooting daggers up at the tall artist. "I am so going to get you for that."

"I await with great anticipation," Yejoon said with a teasing smile. "But maybe you should introduce yourself too?"

The gal sighed, regarding both of them. "My name is **Jin Nahm** , though sometimes I go by the name **Olppaemi** , that's just for art shows and such. I'm the **Ultimate Female Artist** , but you can leave out the female part. I'm so much more the artist than he is, he's just a showy showman."

"You're just a couple weirdos, is what you are," Blake spat out. "What's a couple artists want with a town like this, anyway? You cannot be here for the same reason we are!"

Jin growled, placing her hands on her hips as she glared right back at Blake. Yejoon hummed as he glanced over at Crystal, and asked, "I don't know, are we?"

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:20 PM**

 **North-Eastern Border Entrance of Penjar**

"You're here for WHAT?"

The lovely lady in red laughed at the rather astonished reaction she had received from the other gal. With a brilliant smile and a rather sensual coo, she reached forward and placed her hand on the shorter lady.

"Relax, my dear, I was only teasing. I had thought this was just going to be a small town, according to my sources, not some hideous ghost town. I didn't know that a cutie-pie like you would be here alone, but I mean you no harm."

The shorter gal sighed in relief, but still looked very tense. She quickly adjusted her clothing, which had the appearance of a proper school uniform; the blazer she was wearing was a bit more official than that, something more like what staff would wear.

"Okay, sorry, I kind of overreacted. But I have to say, upon hearing you say you came here to steal my heart, and looking at you, I think I know who you are."

"Oh really now?" the glorious looking gal said, taking a rather elegant pose. Her red cheongsam dress gleamed in the moonlight, giving her quite the flourish with the mists swirling around her long legs clad in black stockings and red stilettos. "And who am I?"

"I am going to guess… **Angelique Angolmois** , the **Ultimate Opera Singer**. I went to Hope's Peak Academy too, and you had quite the reputation… and voice."

"Oh my darling, you are most kind! You saw me perform?"

"A few times, yes. It was amazing! Though I do kind of know a lot of the history of students at Hope's Peak Academy, due to my own talent."

Angelique stared up and down the girl, admiring her dyed mauve hair, cute features, and the professional school look to her. She smiled, and said, "I'm guessing something that has to do with librarian?"

"Close, but I am **Shinobu Takahashi** , the **Ultimate Historian**. I am rather knowledgeable about a great many things, as well as the history of Hope's Peak Academy."

"Beauty and brains, what a catch to find out here in the middle of nowhere," Angelique said, stepping closer to the now quite nervous Shinobu. "So what brings a lovely thing like you out here then? I am guessing something that has to do with Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Yes, and the Tragedy. You too, I would imagine?"

"Yes, I hope to find some answers."

"Me three!"

Both Shinobu and Angelique cried out and jumped back (which was very impressive for Angelique with her high heels). Someone had snuck up on them, which was incredibly startling because this person was anything but subtle looking.

This clown was wearing azure and yellow all over, from his jester hat to his insanely gaudy and frilly shirt and pants, and big ol' jester shoes. The patterns on his clothing were a spectacle of themselves, and that wasn't counting for his face. His make-up, resembling a Jack O' Lantern on his face, his clown nose, and his eyes which a pure solid azure on one side, and yellow on the other.

As he leaned forward, his orange drill-like bangs bounced around with his movement. "I'm telling ya, ladies, this is the place to be for when you want answers! My travel agent, hoo boy, he's going to hear from my lawyer about this as soon as he graduates from law school!"

Shinobu and Angelique just stared in astonishment. Neither of them had ever been approached like this before, ever, and certainly not by a clown.

"But I'm telling you right now, girls and more girls, this ghost town looks so dead, that even the ghosts have packed up and moved to a new place! We might even find spooky scary skeletons here, don't that put shivers down your spine!"

He lifted his knee and slapped it, then proceeded to fall over backwards, roll around, and get right back up on his feet. Adjusting his hat, he said, "And now I should introduce myself before I start to look silly, shouldn't I?"

"I'm **Odelios Shintani** , the **Ultimate Clown**! Haha, and what an audience you've been! Put 'er there!"

He extended his hand towards the two ladies, who simply stared at him. An awkward silence followed, then Odelios said, "There's no joy buzzer, that's the one prop I didn't bring with me. C'mon, I don't want to look ridiculous here."

"Are you intentionally trying to scare them," a voice behind Odelios said, "or are you normally this thick?"

A rather handsome man walked up from behind the impressive collection of blue, yellow, and goofy. This man was dressed rather normally but definitely for movement, with a scarf, riding gloves, and a sash on over his regular clothing. The scar across the bridge of his nose, as well as the marking of a spade on his forehead that was a combination of tattoo and scar, were rather intimidating.

Though one who wasn't intimidated was Angelique, who ran over and threw her arms around the man in a big hug. "Yitro, my dear friend! I am so glad to see you are alive! Where have you been, my dear?"

Yitro chuckled and hugged her back, then looked her over. "You still are as amazing as ever to behold, glad to see you're alive too."

"Oh Yitro, you still have that charm to you; you shouldn't keep wasting it on me, though."

Giggling in joy, Angelique turned to see the other two were watching in confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry dears. This is **Yitro Stana** , the **Ultimate Swordsman**. He was my classmate throughout Hope's Peak Academy!"

"Really now?" Odelios said, grinning and it being so much of a grin with his make-up. "Way to go, dude."

"First off, no, Angelique and I are just friends," Yitro said. "And secondly, I'm sorry to say, Angel, that I'm not the Ultimate Swordsman anymore. That… is something that I have left behind."

Angelique covered her mouth in astonishment, then said, "Yitro, dear, what happened to you? Please, tell me."

Before he could speak again, there was a howling roar in the distance. It was rather unsettling, like a monster that was making its rounds around the ghost town…

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:25 PM**

 **Northern Border Entrance of Penjar**

The roar of the engine died down, as the rider came to a halt right in front of the old-school bar with large, time-crusty windows. The motorcyclist pulled the helmet off of her head, and placed it on the bike's seat. She blinked as she stared at the derelict building, and chuckled.

"Might as well see if they got a damn drink in this ugly-ass t'oon," she said before heading on over to the front door.

When she opened it up, there was a faint flooding of light, which hadn't been able to penetrate the filthy windows. The lights were dim but working, and they illuminated the inside of the pub.

There was a man and a woman seated at a table, as if they were casual customers in this ghost town. From behind the counter was another guy, working with the tools like a barista. The three all turned around as one when the biker pushed the door open.

"Wow, another person?" the woman said, correcting her glasses as she stared at the biker. "This is becoming quite the pattern, just how many people got a tip about this place?"

"Maybe that theory you were talking about earlier is true?" the man seated at the table asked. "Though I doubt four people would make it 'common knowledge'."

"H-hello there," the young man behind the counter stammered, smiling shyly at the lady. "Would you like some coffee? The stuff here still works!"

"Coffee? Made here? Whatever grounds they have here ain't gonna be worth shit, man," the biker declared. "Well, I mean, did you bring your 'oon?"

"Y-yes, but it's all rather instant stuff, if that's okay?"

"Honey, you think I'm gonna get picky in a place like this? You just do your thing!"

The biker walked over to the table next to the two seated, and sat down in the chair while quickly leaning back on it. Kicking her thick boots up on the table, she crossed her arms behind her head. "So… some of you look a little familiar. Especially you, handsome."

She pointed at the seated young man, who almost flinched at receiving such attention. "Um, I don't recall seeing you before, m'lady, and I am certain that I would remember someone who looked like you."

The biker laughed, rubbing her cheek where a scratch scar was rather prominent. Her bright green hair shimmered in the faint light as she shook her head. Pulling off her leather biker's jacket, she set it on the chair's head as she leaned back further on the chair.

"Sorry, but I recognize an accent like that anywhere, handsome. You're from Novoselic, aren't you?"

The man ran a hand through his curly black hair, trying to calm himself down. With a deep breath, he said, "Yes, I am **Ken Kishi** , the **Ultimate Cavalryman**. I assume you went to Hope's Peak Academy then? I know that I wasn't the only one from my country who went there."

"Sure did. My name is **Kimiko Hashiriya** , the **Ultimate Biker Gang Leader**. You're definitely not dressed like one, but I kind of can tell by your accent and looks that you are Novoselic; it's very distinct, eh."

"So's your accent," Ken replied, a small smile on his face. He straightened out his plain hoodie, which did look rather unusual on someone who was quite fit and strong looking. "Canadian, right?"

"That's my home, eh," Kimiko said with a smile. She glanced over at the woman seated at the table with Ken, and asked, "And what about you, cutie?"

"Oh please stop the ridiculous flirting," the woman said with a roll of her eyes. "My name is **Futaba Imajuku** , and I am the **Ultimate Anthropologist**. It's my job to watch and observe, not to get involved, so I don't need you coming onto me."

"Then why are you seated at a table with handsome here?" Kimiko asked.

"That's different! Do you know how hard it is to find someone from Novoselic these days? Their country, my apologies Ken, is gone, and their culture needs to be remembered! I just wanted to talk to him and gather what I could!"

Ken sighed heavily, and ran a hand through his hair again. He then rested it on the handle of a broadsword, still in its scabbard, that Kimiko had managed to not see due to her previous angle.

"I'm more of a Japanese citizen than Novoselician nowadays, m'lady," Ken said to Futaba. "My apologies, I just don't have much enthusiasm talking about home. I'd much rather try to find out what I can here. To get information of this place was a miracle in itself, I refuse to let it go to waste."

"I understand, but that's why I am here too," Futaba said, then glanced over at Kimiko. "Though I have no idea why a punk like you would be here."

"Nice knowing you too, four-eyes," Kimiko replied with a cheeky grin, then she glanced over at the counter. "And you, cutie-pie!"

It took a few moments before the young man making coffee realized that Kimiko was talking to him. When he realized this, he stammered out, "Oh, h-hi. Um, well, I managed to find out about this place by someone I knew, and that's why I'm here. I… I just want to know if I can find some answers to what happened to the world, especially the Tragedy."

"Hon, we all do, but what's your name, what do you do?"

The young man adjusted his clothing, which was actually rather brightly colored like glossy paint samples. He still sounded nervous, especially with a biker gang leader questioning him. "M-my name is **Drake Flare** , and I was the **Ultimate Cartoonist**."

"A cartoonist came to a place like this... gosh, you got some balls, kid. And come to think of it, you look kind of young," Kimiko commented, scanning him over. "Are you even eighteen?"

"Y-yes, I am! I was actually… well, I kind of raced through Hope's Peak Academy, was only there for two years when I was younger. I was actually in the last class that graduated before… before all that bad stuff started to happen."

He finished the coffee and brought the mugs over to the three. Kimiko drank hers down quickly, the lack of a kick to the drink clearly bothering her, but she shrugged it off. "Thanks, kid. I appreciate it. But do you have any clues to this place? Because that's why I'm here, eh."

"Not really," Drake admitted. "I think we're all a little lost…"

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:31 PM**

 **North-Western Border Entrance of Penjar**

"I AM SO LOST!"

The frustrated screams and grunts of an angry woman echoed down the misty streets, as well as the upset ripping of paper and stomping of said object on the floor.

"Lead me to a wild goose chase to this place that wouldn't even be a proper setting for a horror movie! It looks like you could get tetanus from simply staring at this place for too long!"

More angry huffing followed, as well as a swift kick to something metal. Then there was a strained cry as the one doing the kicking had thought that the old mailbox would be knocked over, but it had only refused her angry attack by standing firm and leaving her quite perturbed and sore.

"Aw, anteaters," the young lady cursed, sitting down and rubbing her leg. She sighed as she watched the map she had shredded in anger flutter away in the wind, having destroyed her hint of where this place would be. With an angry groan, she muttered, "Well, at least it cannot get any worse."

 ** _HONK! SCREEEEEEEECH!_**

There was barely any time to react as she saw headlights suddenly pierce the mist and come straight at her, as well as the several tons of metal that was a car. The woman shrieked and did what someone who is about to be hit by a car should do: hold their hands up in the hopes that would stop a vehicle from running them over.

Instead of being road kill, the lady was spared when the car swerved, spiraled, and then smacked up against a tree. The lady sat there, in shock, as the driver pulled their very angry self out of the car.

"… hijo de puta, what the fuck is wrong with you, you dumb broad!? Sitting in the middle of the road! I should have run your dumb ass over, look at what happened to my car!"

The tall and wiry man stomped over to her, intimidating her all the more. His sleeves were rolled up, as if ready for a fight, and she spotted a tattoo of what looked like a couple skulls on his arm. With his green eyes blazing, his stern face tightened in a furious glare, she felt it would be best to explain herself to this very angry man.

"… I kicked a mailbox, and it didn't move," she started. "And then when I was nursing my leg, I sat down here, and-"

"Dios mio, I so do not want to hear it!"

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask that had a couple skulls much like his tattoo printed on it. He opened it up and downed quite a bit, as he ran a hand through his hair. "God damn it, I knew it was a mistake coming here. Not one minute into this… what the fuck is up with this town, anyway?"

He started to wander off, not looking at the woman or his car. As he continued to drink and ramble, footsteps could be heard approaching.

"What happened?" declared a young man who suddenly came from around a corner, along with another man right behind him. He glanced around at the surrounding area, trying to find out if he had indeed heard a car crash of sorts.

The one who had spoken was wearing a black trench coat, as well as a nice looking suit and tie with his pants and boots. He was also wearing a utility belt, something that kind of stood out amid his apparel.

Next to the young man was a rather stern looking soldier type, also wearing a utility belt. The blue-haired man was dressed in black camo clothing from his shoulders down to his feet. When he was done surveying the scene, the blue-haired man sighed as he leaned against a mailbox.

"Do I even want to know what happened here?" he asked.

"Are you hurt?" the black-haired man inquired, extending a hand to her.

The young lady winced as she pulled herself up. "I… may be looking at a lawsuit, but I'm fine nonetheless."

She brushed herself off, which gave the men time to notice how oddly dressed she was. Her vest was black, her shirt was white, her pants her red. She also had on a cravat, which covered up what would have been rather impressive cleavage with how much her top was stacked. The lady also had on a brown fedora on top of white 'n black hair.

The lady was so much of a contrast to how stern the two men were dressed, that even her dark tan skin made her look completely different from the two Japanese men.

"Um, well," the raven haired man said, "perhaps we should introduce ourselves. Hello, I'm **Shuuya Yukimura** , known as the **Ultimate Bounty Hunter**."

"And I'm," the blue-haired soldier said, " **Takeo Onishi** , the **Ultimate Mercenary**. Looks like you unfortunately picked the wrong two people to get involved when you caused an accident, lady."

The young lady groaned and rubbed her arm, still feeling rather embarrassed and ashamed. "Um, well, I can afford it, so I don't have to make a run for it. Anyway, about introductions, I am **Fiora R. Stenton** , and I am the **Ultimate Movie Maker**! I have to say, I didn't think I would run into other Hope's Peak graduates here too! How fascinating-"

"Hey, speed bump bitch!"

The driver of the car stomped over, wiping his mouth and exhaling forcibly. "Don't try to lie to these people, I know who you really are!"

"Wh-what?"

"Yeah, there's no mistaking that stupid look of yours and that name! You aren't a movie maker, you make some of the dumbest, pieces of shit movies ever made! Trust me when I say that your work is basically what a bunch of people watch when they get drunk at a film festival…"

He laughed and poked her chest, adding, "You've been known as the **Ultimate B-Movie Maker** , ever since you graduated from Hope's Peak!"

Fiora whined, gripping her fedora. "No no no, don't spread that title around! Are you telling me even in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere, I cannot escape it?!"

"You seem rather… observant," Shuuya said, eyeing the man who had revealed Fiora's secret. "I'm going to guess you're a detective too?"

"Listen bounty hunter, I'm sure you've seen some shit, so forgive me I don't want to identify myself in such common terms. I…"

He sighed and took another swig of his flask, before continuing. "My name is **Emanuel Salmuera** , and I will only go by the title of **Ultimate Bête Noir**. Don't fucking forget it, just like this bitch here shouldn't forget that she's gonna have to pay for what she did to my car."

Emanuel walked back towards his vehicle, leaving the three behind as if the conversation was complete. Shuuya just stared in silence, as Takeo glanced over at Fiora.

"B-movies, huh?" he asked. "Wait, that name! Were you the one who made that movie about zombie cavemen and sabertooth cats?"

"Um… maybe."

"I saw that on an inflight movie, that was some of the funniest shit I've ever seen in my life!"

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:31 PM**

 **Western Border Entrance of Penjar**

"This has got to be the freakiest shit I've ever seen in my life."

The young lady walked through the road, trying to see if there was a building, or anything at all really, that didn't look like a rundown rotting piece of crap. It didn't seem very likely, because every building was as close to collapsing as the next.

She huffed, pulling her goggles down over her eyes to see if that had any affect as she tried running down the road. The mist bounced off her goggles, but it was just as slow as when it flowed down the street.

"This is a bust," she grumbled as she pulled the goggles back onto her head. "Nothing fun or exciting here, might as well…"

That was when she spotted a figure standing in a clearing of dead grass amid the buildings. This figure was reading what appeared to be a bulletin board, and it was a very feminine figure. Intrigued, the goggles-wearing gal walked forward.

"Heyo~" she called out, immediately catching the attention of the one reading the board. "Looks like I'm not alone out here! Wow, what are the odds, huh?"

As she approached, she noticed that the feminine figure was definitely a female, because of how incredible her curves and looks were. It was like she was approaching a supermodel, with one of the most beautiful frames and faces she had ever seen… as well as some of the most interesting but odd apparel.

The beauty was wearing a puffy, long sleeved white shirt with a black leather corset over it. Her short, dark red skirt was just enough for modesty, and her boots and stockings covered her long legs. On her head of raven hair was a dapper top hat with steampunk goggles around them.

"Hello," was all the goggles-wearing gal could say when she came close up to this incredible sight.

"Hello yourself, darling," the lady said, a winning smile spreading across her face. She twirled an umbrella in her hand before spearing the tip into the dead grass. "I must say I didn't think I would run into someone all the way out here, as well. But that leads me to think…"

She tapped her painted lips with her long nail, before speaking again with a more serious but just as sexy tone, "You are also aware that this place may contain some answers to what caused the Tragedy?"

"Sure did, gorgeous. I actually had to do a ton of favors and such to get here! I heard there was action, and I came for it! But…"

She stared at the fancy beauty, and asked, "Okay, I give up, why on Earth are you dressed up like that?"

"Wait, you don't know me? Well, allow me to clear that up then!"

The fancy beauty struck a fabulous pose, which had her chest sticking out, her hat tilted forward, and her arms posing with her umbrella. "I am **Hikari Tetsuhime** , the **Ultimate Steampunk Model** ~ Huzzah, my darlings!

"… You can applaud now, sweetheart."

The tomboy did so, clapping as she took more time to stare at the incredible figure of the lady posing for her. Hikari also took the time to notice just how fit the other gal was.

With an athletic build behind casual workout clothing and a jacket, the purple haired girl definitely had some kind of sports theme going on. Her nose ring in the left nostril definitely gave her a punky look, while the goggles on her head painted a much more clear picture.

"Aha, an athlete of the snow and slopes, I am guessing?" Hikari said, reached forwards to trace the outline of those goggles. "I'm afraid this place isn't really fitting for that, however."

"Yes, I am **Aka Fuyu** , known as the **Ultimate Skier**. But you know what? After finding you, I don't care that there are no slopes here. It is a much more interesting place with a person like you here."

"Oh, you flattering female you! Yes, I could tell you were a skier when I saw you, you definitely look like a skier! Now normally, I'd ask a clever girl like you for coffee but… I very much doubt we can find a Starbucks in this place."

Aka shrugged and said, "I'm pretty sure you can find one anywhere. You wanna know how many slopes I've been on where the rest cabin had a Starbucks?"

Hikari giggled, then she noticed movement from behind Aka. She gently pushed her new acquaintance to the side, as a sudden rush of worry made her concerned about what was going on behind Aka's back.

Who it was didn't appear intimidating, and her fears vanished as quickly as they came. It was a young man dressed up in a black tunic and shorts, with a rather impressive scarf around his neck. Between his rather unique clothing and messy black hair with blonde tips, Hikari found herself thinking someone from a Renaissance festival had found them.

Though the staff he was carrying that appeared to be made out of fake bones, with a bony hand clenching a fake emerald in as the head, was a rather intriguing item.

"Hark!" the young man declared, approaching the two women. "I knew I heard voices, and lo and behold, there they are! My my, I truly didn't expect to see such people here…"

Before either of them could comment, he reached over to Aka, near her ear. She flinched slightly, before his hand came back with a gold, circular object in his fingers. "Aha! No wonder you didn't hear me coming up, you had a chocolate coin in your ear! Oh well, who am I to question someone's traveling habits?"

"What now?" Aka replied, confused.

Hikari chuckled, and walked over to the young man. "Now now, you shouldn't just come up on two women and shock them like that. Even though you don't look that threatening."

"Oh my poor wounded ego, I shall vent my frustrations on a pillow later, only for it to laugh at my attempts because I am not remotely threatening," the young man said, laughing and leaning on his staff.

"My, aren't you the funny one! I am guessing we have another performer here, huh?" Hikari said with a charming smile.

"I guess so, you two definitely look like the kind of people who know quality talent! I am **Ishiku Shyre** , and I am the **Ultimate Magician**! And while I don't know the one who has chocolate coins in her ear, I have heard of you, Miss Tetsuhime."

"I am so very flattered to hear that, my dear! Though I don't really do magic, so I don't know if we're in the same circle."

"It's all about the performance, my dear! The stage presentation! You simply dazzle people with how you roll, how you flow, how you go-go-gadget gizmos!

"Though I must confess, I haven't actually… seen you perform," Ishiku admitted sheepishly, his tan face reddening some. "Your performances are always sold out."

"Hehe, tis the curse of being one of the few in my field. But I think we should skip the small chat, as we are all here for a purpose."

Hikari and Ishiku nodded, but Aka seemed a touch distracted. When the two stared at her for a response, she said, "Oh sorry, I was just thinking if I had my skis right now with Hikari's umbrella and Ishiku's staff, we'd look like a fantasy adventure party."

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:31 PM**

 **South-Western Border Entrance of Penjar**

The last entrance to the city was the most quiet, as there was currently only one soul amid the mists and cruddy buildings. This man was seated on a bench that was old and creaky, but still sturdy enough to use. He was staring up at the sky, the stars clear and bright; they were the only things shiny to be seen in the town.

As the man sat in silence, footfalls could be heard from afar. Despite how they were getting closer, the soul at the bench didn't appear the least bit concerned. And even when someone dressed like a soldier stepped out of the mists and into sight, the bench-sitting soul merely smiled and turned his head to meet him.

"Hello, **Samson Miller** ," the man at the bench said, "the **Ultimate Trader**. I'm very pleased to see someone like you here."

Samson stared in shock for a few seconds, before he recognized the person seated there. He let out a soft sigh and ran a hand against his head because his hair was too short to comb. "Okay, who are you, how do you know my name, and why are you here?"

"Why? The same reason you are, I assume. I received word of a mysterious town, shrouded in mist and forgotten with time, that contained answers to some of the biggest questions we have. I was certain I wasn't going to be the only one who could discover such an important find, so I decided to wait a bit."

He stood up, brushing off his smart, white suit. "Okay, big mistake sitting there," he said with a laugh. "I honestly thought that it would make for a really cool entrance for the first person to show up."

"Doesn't answer all of my questions, man," Samson said, crossing his strong arms over his well-built chest. The man did appear quite intimidating in his black camo gear, from the cap to his boots, he appeared ready for action at any moment; it was a stark contrast to the man in white in front of him.

"Oh, I apologize. My name is **Souma Koukai** , and I went by the title of **Ultimate Public Speaker** when I was at Hope's Peak Academy. But for now, I am simply trying to help the world, our country, and people rebuild as a member of the Future Foundation.

"Though this is a bit of a private investigation for me, because the tip I got didn't feel one hundred percent reliable. I was afraid that if I told my superiors in the Foundation about it, they would think I was just trying to look important. Well, turns out that I might not be boondoggling after all."

Samson shrugged, and replied, "Same here, in the sense that I came to find some answers. Though I was more assured of my intel, since when I get the facts, I always make sure they're good first."

"Ever the businessman, I see. Though you appear to have your military apparel than a suit… oh I'm sorry again, I appear to be getting ahead of myself. You see, as a member of Future Foundation, I do know of all the surviving graduates that made it through the Tragedy.

"So I keep tabs on some, see if I can invite them into the fold one day. I am quite good at recruiting people and motivating them, that's more or less my job in the Foundation. You, Samson, have been on my radar for some time."

Samson chuckled and cracked his knuckles. "I didn't know I was attracting so much attention. That's cool, though, I don't mind being a hook-up or merchant for an organization like the Future Foundation. Maybe if I find something here, you can recommend me?"

Souma chuckled, and was about to speak again when the two heard something. It sounded like squeaking, wheels that were overburdened and pushing hard into the ground.

The mists were thickest around their feet and legs, so the exceptionally short figure that approached them was almost hidden until there was a waving of a petite hand. Lavender pigtails with flower ribbons on them surfaced first, then there was a clatter of a suitcase being set down.

With a high-pitched, "Hup~" the person down below hopped up on the suitcase and sat down upon it, now clearly visible. It was hard to believe, upon seeing this person, how they could be hidden from sight.

The lavender hair on their head was paired with such a feminine face, fair skin, and a petite figure. A silver lab coat with a dark gray off-shoulder shirt, black shorts, white stockings, and fancy shoes were all part of a rather elaborate dress-up. And last but not least, the person was sucking on a lollipop.

"Hello there, Souma," the lavender-topped newcomer said, glancing up at the public speaker. "Nice to see you again."

"Eisei," Souma declared happily, walking over and shaking the petite being's hand. "The pleasure is all mine to see you again in person, my old friend!"

"I'm the same age as you, I'm not old."

Samson watched the exchange, and then raised an eyebrow. "You know this woman, Souma? What would bring a little girl like her into this place?"

Both Souma and Eisei stared at him. "Excuse you, Samson," the public speaker said, "but Eisei is a man."

"… What?"

Eisei raised a hand and waved. "Hello there. **Eisei Amane** , and I am the **Ultimate Dentist**. Would you like a lollipop, or would that be an upset to your image? You do appear to have a machismo look going for you right now."

Samson listened to the words coming with a deadpan, feminine tone. He stared at the flowers in Eisei's head, his clothing, then back at Souma. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me," Eisei said, hiking up one of his legs onto the suitcase for support. "Would you perchance like to see my genitalia for proof?"

"No! No no, I don't really need to go that far."

"You have an odd way about you," Eisei said, swirling the lollipop in his mouth. "But if you could step forward for one minute?"

Samson did so, as Eisei stood up on his rolling suitcase. When Samson was within reach, the petite dentist _grabbed_ his mouth, forcing it open and looking into his maw. "Hmmm…"

"Aaaaugh! Wha… uuhwha tha all ahh ooo oo'in?!"

"Don't bite him, Samson," Souma cautioned. "He's just performing a check-up."

"Do you floss?" Eisei casually asked as he kept the struggling Samson's mouth wide open. "You look like someone who hasn't used floss in a while. I do have some if you would like, or some dental picks. It's quite handy for someone who travels a lot like I am sure you do."

"Aaaaaugh… Oo'ma, aan ooo ell im ahh lea oh ow?"

Souma shook his head, and replied, "It's best to let him finish, or he'll just try again later."

"I'll just trust that you've been brushing too, Souma," Eisei commented. "After all, you always did have the most dazzling smile I've seen."

"Your words touch me, my friend."

"And my fingers touch this guy. Now, let's really get in here and make sure this young man has no cavities."

Souma chuckled, and opened his mouth to speak. Then there was a shrill noise that blasted from nowhere and everywhere, the sound of microphone feedback.

Eisei let go of Samson, who rubbed his jaw before joining the two in trying to see where the sound was coming from. Eventually, the feedback and clattering noises could be seen coming from old, derelict megaphones attached to buildings. The rather primitive version of a city-wide broadcast was now in use.

 **CRRRRRRKK!**

 _Whiiiiiiiiiiine…_ CRRRKRKkkkkrrrkkk… _rrrrrgh_ …

Kkkkkkrgkkkk… whrrrrnnn… "- _can't we get a working_ -" _bzzzzt_ … brrrrrgh…

" _No, don't try hitting it on_ -" **CRACK! CRRCK! RRRRRNNN!**

Bzzzzz… brrrrzzz… "- _ain't paying fer a new one_ -"

 _Whiiiiiineeeeeee_ … " _If it don't work this time, trying hitting_ -"

Kkkkkkkrghhh… "… _I-THINK-IT'S-WORKING-NOW_."

" _It's about bear-ly time then! Ahem ahem ahem ahem! Ahem! Ahem…_ "

The multitude of voices echoed around every part of the city, and twenty-eight heads swiveled and tried to find the source of the sound. As it turned out, there was a plethora of megaphones set up around the city, ensuring no one would miss the message.

" _Ahem_ ," the high-pitched voice on the megaphone declared one last time out of eighteen. " _Okay, now I KNOW you all out there can hear me! I'm certain of it! Trust me when I say that even though we haven't really got every camera running, we can see you. This place is being heavily monitored!_ "

" _HELL YEAH!_ " another voice somewhere behind the first one declared. " _We're gonna call out the guard dogs, and the guard bees! Guard bees are really hard to train, so we're gonna get our money's worth with them!_ "

" _We don't have any guard bees!_ " a third and feminine voice declared. " _And these are our guests, you brute!_ "

" _Wait, are we security?_ " the first voice asked. " _I mean, security can still treat guests, right?_ "

" _Oh for crying out loud, give me that, youse absent-minded slubberdegolion! Gimme the mic! Gimme!_ "

" _No way! And I'm not a slubberdegolion! I don't even know what that means!_ "

" _I don't either, but it fits you! Gimme!_ "

There was more struggling sounds, whacking echoes, and a reverb effect that made the megaphones around the city tremble a little. Finally, a voice that was rather monotone and stilted spoke.

" _IF-YOU-BASTARDS-COULD-MEET-AT-THE-CENTER-OF-THE-TOWN, AT-THE-PLAZA-IN-FRONT-OF-CITY-HALL, THAT-WOULD-BE-PREFERABLE. THANK-YOU._ "

" _Who the hell,_ " came the raspy second voice, " _gave YOU permission to talk!_ "

 **WHACK!** _Kkkkkkkkkkkknnnnnnnnrrrr…_

The city was in total silence after that, Penjar feeling like a ghost town that someone aggressively tried to breathe life into it, only for it to be left with only the swirling mists again. The twenty-eight graduates around the city, exchanged glances with those they were nearby, wondering what exactly to do.

"Maybe it would be best," Souma said to Samson and Eisei, "if we do go to the heart of the town then? I mean, at the very least, that's where others will be."

"While I'd rather not follow mysterious orders from disembodied voices," Samson muttered, "I think if we want answers, that is the place to go."

"And see," Eisei commented, "if that monotone fellow needs medical attention after being hit on the head with a microphone."

* * *

 **Day 01, 9:45 PM**

 **Town Hall Plaza**

It took a little bit of time, but eventually all of the graduates found their way to the center of the city. The plaza was as run-down as everything else, with a dried-up fountain amid dead trees and grass at the very center. It was a rather pitiful sight, it probably meant something to the townsfolk when it was full of life.

The town hall was a rather big building, and the marble that was used to make the front of it and the pillars to support the roof wasn't as corroded and awful looking as everything else. Sadly, the rest of the building was part of that everything else, as the windows were either crusty as hell or broken, the paint all but curled off, and the front doors looking ready to fall off.

As the graduates of Hope's Peak Academy gathered in front of the town hall, between the large building and the run-down fountain, they exchanged in some conversation with the new faces.

"Hey, I like your style," Samson said to Takeo. "Tell me, do you have a good source for your military goods?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're about to pitch me something," Takeo said with a pleased smile. "Please, lay it on me, anything but crappy rations I would be interested in buying."

"There you two are," Saiko declared as she made her way over to Isaac and Hara. "We really should have gone together, I got stuck having to deal with a porn star for a half-hour!"

"You did what now?" Hara asked in confusion, as Isaac was trying very hard not to laugh out loud.

"Aha! A fellow performer!" Odelios declared as he approached Ignatia! "I have always wanted to have a partner in crime who would let me do all the talking! And," he chuckled as the mime held up a very threatening fist near his face, "I will be doing all of the walking away now, thank you, come again."

"Wait, THE Pyrrha Poole?" Yitro declared. "Oh my, I must say, I am quite the fan of your work!"

"You are? I wouldn't think a," Pyrrha started, but then smiled and said, "I'm happy to meet a fan. Do you have a favorite?"

Blake saw Emanuel taking a swig from his flask, and the Ultimate Pyro walked over to him. "Could I get a belt of that? I think I'm gonna need it with all the weirdos around here."

"I," Futaba stammered as she looked over Yejoon and Jin. "I have so many questions."

"My my, there's definitely a variety of lovely ladies around here, aren't there?" Hikari said as she winked at Aka. "You sure you want to spend all your time on lil' ol' me?"

"Oh come on, I can already tell you love the attention, Gear Girl," the skier said with a sly grin.

Of everyone present, only Ken didn't seem to want to get involved with the conversations. The Novoselician instead wandered around the area, trying to find some hint of whoever was talking to them earlier. Something was making his skin crawl, something unshakeable and awful.

" _Okay, I know that those voices weren't the same as the ones that haunt me_ ," he thought to himself as he stared at the old, dry fountain, " _but there's something about them that I cannot shake. It sounds like the evil voice that was used to showcase cruel Despair across the land…_ "

He squat down in front of the fountain, as Fiora walked over to him. "Hey there, whatcha looking at?" she asked.

The cavalryman saw the plaque on the fountain, and reached over to wipe it clean. The words on it were a little confusing…

"In honor of Aaron Beardsley, the founder and voice of Penjar. May he rest in peace, knowing he fought the good fight to the very end _._ "

"Huh?" Fiora spoke up after reading this. "Who is this Mr. Beardsley? This town was actually prominent enough that they could honor someone who lived and died in it?"

"That's an awful lot to gather from a simple fountain and plaque," Ken said, standing up and facing Fiora. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"DON'T WORRY, WE'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"

The megaphones in the city exploded with noise very suddenly, though the voice seemed to come from more than just them. From deep underground, up in the sky, from every crack in the run-down roads and concrete walkways, the voice blasted from there and hammered the eardrums of the living.

The ground shook, hard enough to feel like an earthquake. Someone shrieked in uncontrollable fear, though it was hard to gather who it was unless they were near them. The unnatural earthquake continued as the dead trees in plaza cracked and crashed down…

Then the fountain exploded, upwards with a blast of concrete shards and water. The way the fountain exploded with the water pouring out, it now looked like a hollowed out cave.

And five bears leapt from that cave, and landed in front of it.

The red one landed with ninja-like grace in the center. The blue eye landed on its knees and posed with its guitar. The pink one almost stuck the landing, spun around on its feet, and then fell down on its butt. The orange one face-planted, then pushed itself up and posed as if nothing happened.

The green one crash-landed on its head. It stayed there, as if it had nothing better to do than stay perfectly balanced on its flat head, facing the wrong way.

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~** "

The chorus of five voices chimed all at once, not really in harmony but close enough. Though it wasn't their words or actions that spoke, it was the underlying tone behind it all. Every single one of the graduates could feel it, it gave them a shiver in the spine.

These bears all resembled Monokuma, the symbol of Despair, the cause of the Tragedy, the pinnacle of evil, sadism, and destruction.

And then a black 'n white bear leapt out from the hollowed-out fountain, water splashing dramatically around him as he made his grand entrance. There was a spring-loaded sound as he soared through the air, spun around, and then landed on top of the destroyed fountain's head.

" **Welcome,** " Monokuma declared, " **to Penjar!** "

"I'm Monotaro, and I bear-ly mist you coming in," the red one said.

"I'm Monophanie," the pink one blurted out, "and I wouldn't mist this for any-bear!"

"I'm Monokid," the blue one screamed, "and I won't mist if I swing my guitar at your bear head!"

"I'm Monosuke," the orange one stated, "and I believe it'll be grizzly if you vape, okay?"

"…" the green one commented. "MONODAM."

" **And I** ," the black 'n white at the top, " **am their handsome and intelligent father, the master of the Killing Game, the leader of the Despair, and just all-around swell guy… Monokuma! Phuhuhuhuhu!**

" **But you already knew that** ," he suddenly stopped laughing to drop his voice as he leaned forward, malicious red eye gleaming in the dark, " **didn't you, Hope's Peak graduates**?"

"Phuhuhuhuhu!" declared Monotaro, Monosuke, and Monophanie.

" **Phuhuhuhuhu!** " laughed Monokuma again.

"Bwahahahahaha," cackled Monokid, followed with, "Ahahahaha… huh?"

That was when Ignatia ran up and punted Monokid into the air and off into the distance.

"WAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaugh…" * _Ping_.*

* * *

 ** _28 Students Remain in Penjar…_**

 ** _But this is only the start. And the start isn't finished yet._**


	3. Prologue 0-2: Ursa In The Midst

**Prologue 0-2**

 **Endure the City of Mystery and Death**

 **Day 01, 9:50 PM**

 **Town Hall Plaza**

Silence filled the plaza immediately after the departure of Monokid by Ignatia's boot. No one knew what to say at first, the flood of emotions and worries coming in fast.

"Hey!" Monosuke declared. "You cannot do that to him-"

"Ooo, I had no idea," Odelios declared, his grin so very wide, "that it was Bear Kicking Day! My favorite festivity day!"

"Wait, what?" the orange Kub stammered, then saw the clown coming at him. "Wait, no no no no AAAUGH!"

Odelios' clown shoe punted Monosuke in the face, though it wasn't as powerful as the mime's. The orange Kub rolled backwards, head over heels. Chasing after his target, the Ultimate Clown shouted, "GET 'EM!"

While most of the twenty-eight graduates were not going to outright attack the smaller bears that looked like the dreaded Monokuma, some of them were more than willing to jump in. A fight commenced, as Monokid came sprinting back, kicking up dust behind him and raising his guitar in a battling manner.

"You'll pay for that, you mute bitch," he shouted as he leapt at Ignatia.

Odelios was trying to stomp and kick Monosuke, chasing the tangerine-tinted bear around. Ignatia punted Monokid again, who cursed a great deal as he soared through the air.

Aka and Jin were punching Monophanie on the head repeatedly, the pink bear trying to cover her noggin as she sobbed pitifully. Ishiku was doing the same thing to Monodam, only this resulted in him hitting his rounded end since he was still balanced on his head.

" **Okay, as hilarious as it is to see my children getting kicked through the air** ," Monokuma said, " **I'm going to have to ask you to cease this fight.** "

"Bitch, I am so going to end you-" and another kick sent Monokid crashing through a dead tree, hitting almost every branch on the way.

"OW," Monodam repeated as Ishiku struck him. "OW. OW. OW."

"Owwwww, stop it please," Monophanie whined loudly.

"Urk! Urrrrgh… le-leggo!" Fiora struggled to say, as Monotaro had her in a headlock. The red Kub tightened his grip as she flailed about.

" **I said…** " the most menacing voice growled viciously.

" ** _SILENCE!_** "

With a megaphone in front of his twisted mouth, Monokuma's bellowing of a single word felt like a hurricane-level gust and a punch to the eardrums. All of the graduates flinched, and the ones wrestling and fighting the Kubs froze; the Kubs froze too.

The only sound was the faint gagging sound of Fiora still being choked by Monotaro, as Monokuma lowered his megaphone. The largest and most infamous of bears raised his other paw, claws extending as a rumbling growl elicited from his mouth.

" **I am not going to have you all turning this fine city into a wrestling match! There will be no more fighting, no more kicking my Kubs, and no-** "

 ** _BLAM!_**

A bullet hole formed in Monokuma's chest, in an area fitting for where his heart would be if he wasn't a robot. The evil bear glanced down, and sighed regretfully. " **They… they got me.** "

And thus he fell over backwards, falling from the top of the broken fountain and bouncing lifelessly behind it.

"WAAAAAAH!" Monotaro screamed, letting go of Fiora as he threw his paws up in the air. "FATHER!"

"Daddy, no," Monophanie hollered, covering her mouth.

"Sunuvabitch," Monokid stated as he bounced from foot to foot, "why'd it have to be Father? Why couldn't it have been Monodam?!"

All of the graduates turned to see the one who had fired. Samson was clutching the smoking pistol, and he was staring at the place where Monokuma had been. When he noticed all of the stares, he said, "What? I've learned how to handle those damn things after the Tragedy; if it had a bomb, I destroyed it."

"You are allowed to carry, aren't you?" Crystal asked casually, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I wouldn't dare carry one if I wasn't allowed to."

The Monokubs frantically raced over towards the other side of the fountain; however, they came right back, wringing their paws and fretting a great deal. "He's already gone!" Monosuke lamented. "He's like a video game character, vanishing after his death!"

"Oh woe is us," Monophanie whined. "We had only just united with him, and we planned out this whole intro so well!"

"Let's all hit Monodam until we feel better!" Monotaro suggested.

"Yeah, let's… wait, what?" Monokid said. "That's MY line!"

"…" was Monodam's response.

As all of this nonsensical dialogue continued, Samson stepped forward and pointed his gun at the five Kubs. "I don't exactly know what you freaks are," he said, "but I'm not going to be taking any chances if you are in league with the face of despair."

"Nooooo!" four of the Kubs screamed, clutching each other in fear.

"THAT-WOULD-BE," Monodam said, staring undaunted up at Samson, "MOST-UNWISE-FOR-YOU-TO-DO."

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

The ground shook. It vibrated as if something very big was moving. Futaba shrieked, gripping ahold of Shuuya again like she did during the first earthquake. Though this time, the shaking wasn't quite as intense, but still as worrying.

It was only when Anzu screamed as well and pointed towards north, in the direction of the buildings that were across the street from the main plaza, that they saw the source of the rumbling.

One of the buildings was moving, changing, sections of the walls moving out of place like puzzle pieces. It was all connected by heavy machine. The building formed legs, shaking off most of the crusty paint on the walls that formed plates over its limbs. It formed arms, also with walls as its cover for the limbs, and a smokestack replacing a fist.

The roof of the building turned over the head of the gigantic machine, and one would notice that it had been painted white and black. Even more noticeable was the lack of tiles where it would have had a left eye, and it instead had a lightning bolt hole where the demonic red glare from the machine shone through.

It stomped across the street, now three stories tall and composed of intense machinery. Putrid-smelling smoke came from some of its joints, and a collection of exhaust pipes on its shoulder. When it approached the crowd in the plaza, it raised its left arm, which had the smokestack…

And one quite large machine gun turret poked out from the smokestack, pointing at the humans.

"THAT," Monodam said, "IS-WHY-NOT."

All of the humans froze, too intimated to consider running from this thing in the possibility it would aim and open fire. Crystal, the most calm of the lot, asked, "What exactly is that?"

"That," Monotaro proudly stated, "is the Guardian of Penjar! It is a high-tech, state of the art machine-house that was made in Towa City, and brought here to protect the town of Penjar."

"It was procured," Monophanie explained, "during The Tragedy. So much gore and blood during that time, it was awful! But now that we have it here, we can stop senseless violence from happening here!"

"Wait, what?" Isaac spoke up, venturing forward towards the Kubs. "You little ones brought it here?"

The Monokubs exchanged glances, and then Monosuke cleared his throat. "That's on a need-to-know basis, kid. The only thing you do need to know at this moment, I would say, is that any acts of violence committed towards us, the Monokids, would be a very, very bad thing when the Guardian is around."

"Yeah, the machine gun on this thing," Monokid declared, "fires ten thousand rounds per minute, and each bullet costs approximately twenty-two thousand yen!

"It costs about forty-four million yen to operate this gun for just ten bloody seconds! So, we actually don't really want to shoot anyone with it. Unless of course it's Monod-"

"IN-OTHER-WORDS," Monodam spoke up, "ALL-FUTURE-ATTACKS-UPON-THE-KUBS-WILL-RESULT-IN-YOUR-VERY-BLOODY-TERMINATION. YOU-HAVE-BEEN-WARNED."

"Don't kick the Kubs again," Odelios loudly stated. "Got it, lesson learned, please don't make any sudden purchases."

Ignatia let out a silent scoff, taking a few steps back. The graduates stood there nervously, staring up at the huge Guardian or down at the Kubs. Samson holstered his gun as he regarded the Monokubs.

"So what do you want?" he asked them.

"What do we want?" Monotaro repeated. "You showed up in our town."

"There is no way," Kimiko said, "that this is _your_ town."

"The Tragedy was only two years ago," Shinobu pointed out, "and this place looks to be abandoned for years."

The Monokubs exchanged glances again. None of them spoke for some moments, as if wanting the others to speak up on their behalf. Monophanie was finally the one to do so.

"I'm not sure how much we can officially say, to be honest," she admitted. "To be honest, Penjar… works under its own set of rules."

"What does _that_ mean?" Jin asked impatiently.

" **Perhaps Ah kin answer that fur ya, partner.** "

A sudden wind blew through the area, sending the mists streaming around everyone. There was the distant sound of a whistle, as a rounded figure leapt up onto the top of the broken fountain.

Monokuma was wearing a large stetson, and had a belt with bullets in it and two holsters, one on each side; there was also no bullet hole in his chest. He lifted his head enough for his glowing red eye to gleam from under the brim.

" **For ya see** ," he spoke, staring specifically at Samson, " **it's high…** **…** **…** **wait.** "

Monokuma glanced down at his wrist to a nonexistent watch, and sighed. " **It's not even 11 yet? Damn it, cannot do that reference then**."

He unlatched the belt and threw it behind him; the sound of it hitting the ground was never heard. " **Allow me to explain some things for you, graduates of Hope's Peak Academy,** " he spoke, grinning maliciously again at the humans. " **For you see, I am the mayor of Penjar, and I** -"

"Hey, Kubs," Samson shouted over Monokuma's voice. "You said the giant robot will shoot us if we attack you, but does that count for Monokuma?"

"Huh?" Monotaro blurted out. "Um… well… officially…"

"No," Monosuke interrupted. He corrected his glasses and sniffed haughtily. "It doesn't count for Pops. Why do you ask?"

Samson turned towards Monokuma, and grinned.

" **Huh? Whoa whoa whoa wait! No no no nonononono** -"

 ** _BLAM!_**

With a brand-new hole in his head, Monokuma let out a sad little sigh as he tumbled over backwards. As he lifelessly plummeted out of view, his stetson floated down as well, slower and much more dramatically.

"FATHER," Monotaro shrieked. "NOT AGAIN!"

"Boom, headshot!" Monokid cackled. "Oh wait no, that was Dad!"

"Oh, the senseless violence!" Monophanie wailed, and then proceeded to vomit a rather thick but scentless liquid from her mouth.

Samson chuckled as he twirled his gun around in his hand. Isaac walked over to him and nudged him, saying, "You might want to calm down on doing that. If Monokuma is here, there is most likely more than just a couple of him, and you don't want to make them angry."

The Ultimate Trader regarded him, and then sighed. "Fine," he grumbled, as he holstered his gun. "But if more come out, I'm going to start shooting again."

" **You're gonna need a LOT of ammo then**."

For a third time, Monokuma jumped up on the fountain. With no bullet holes in him at all, it was like some invincible monster was getting back into position. As the mists swirled around the broken fountain, the black 'n white teddy bear chuckled and rubbed his paws together.

" **I assure you, graduates of Hope's Peak,** " he spoke once more, " **that brute force will not get you the results you hope for. You see, I know why you are here, I know what it is you are hoping to find, even if you don't know.** "

"Then why don't you tell us?" Blake asked, clenching his fists tightly. "If you know so damn much."  
Monokuma laughed again, throwing his squat head back to howl up at the moon in his amusement. Then he leaned forward, that evil red eye gleaming like devilish brimstone.

" **You all came here because you're hoping to find out what exactly causes Despair.** "

There was silence amid the many souls and robots there. No one dared to say a word, either horrified that Monokuma knew, or not wanting to encourage the fact that he was right.

" **I can tell you right now, it's wonderful to see so many successful people want to come to a place I hold so dear to my heart** ," Monokuma carried on. " **It's like a gigantic party that I am hosting, and this time, I brought my kids!** "

"Yeah, we're Monokuma's kids," Monotaro needlessly added. "Or rather, his Kubs! We run this town when Father's not here!"

"Ptoo," Monophanie said, cleaning the rest of the vomit from her mouth. "Yes, we're more than happy to watch over this little city for Daddy!"

"And now that we have so many guests," Monokid shouted, "we definitely are gonna be having a fucking party! Maybe we can play a game or two!"

Monokuma giggled as his children spoke, before speaking up again. " **That's right! If we're going to have so many accomplished members of Hope's Peak here, we HAVE to play a game. It seems fitting, seeing that games with Hope's Peak members are all the rage nowadays!** "

"Oh my," Yejoon said, shaking his head in dismay. "It seems we have walked into a trap of sorts. That's rather unfortunate."

"What are you going to do, you fiend?" Ken declared, pointing at Monokuma. "Are you going to force us into a Killing Game?"  
" **Actually, no**."

Everyone was silent for a few moments after this statement, from the humans to the Kubs. Pyrrha managed to speak first among everyone there. "Wait, what? You're not?"

" **Oh believe me, I'd love to host my own Killing Game here** ," Monokuma said, " **but I simply don't have the power or ability to. You all came here of your own free will, and aside from this giant robot house here that transformed-** "

"Careful, Pops," Monosuke cried out, "copyright infringement!"

" **I know how to avoid it just fine, thank you! Anyway, since the giant kill-bot is programmed to only attack if the official hosts of Penjar are harmed by outsiders, I'm not able to force you all to do anything. You are, after all, guests.** "

With this bit of information, a great deal of relief washed through the graduates. Some of them were still dubious, unable to believe what they had heard.

"No, no, no," Saiko spat out, glaring at Monokuma. "You're here. There is no damn way that you don't have something horrid planned out. Where there is Monokuma, there is despair."

Eisei nodded, his lavender pigtails bouncing from the action. "That's true, it is a worldwide known fact that wherever Monokuma is, death follows. You are like rats with sores on them, a sign of the Black Plague. Which, coincidentally, killed almost as much people as-"

" **Excuse me, but if you would all kindly stopped interrupting me,** " Monokuma growled, showcasing his claws again. " **I would LIKE to EXPLAIN!** "

"Yeah, quit interrupting Dad," Monokid interrupted.

"His word is law here," Monotaro bragged while butting in.

There was a fierce growl from the black 'n white papa bear, and he clenched his paw. The mist swirled around that fist, and then he swept his arm in front of him

As if turned into a physical battering ram, the mist shot forth from the side at the same time as Monokuma's motion. The five Kubs were all knocked off their feet and sent hurtling through the air.

" **THAT INCLUDES YOU, BRATS!** "

"AAAUGH! Father, don't send us over the hill, we'll be silent from here on!" Monotaro begged.

"Gaaaah! This residence has gotten so evil since Dad came back to town!" Monokid shouted.

"Maybe we should just let him finish?" Monophanie cried, before crash-landing alongside her fellow Kubs.

Monokuma growled and then shook his paws, mist flicking off of them. Glancing up at the giant robot, which didn't react, he then turned back towards the graduates.

" **Here in Penjar, there are secrets that I am sure you all want to find. You see, Despair is a very powerful thing, and it didn't just one day appear like you were led to believe. You really think someone just found it, and then managed to spread it across the world? To fit it into technology?**

" **No no no. The answers you seek are going to be in this little town, forgotten by time and people, and so very hard to find. Penjar may be a ghost town, but I daresay it is not dead; nay, it is very much alive.**

" **Are you curious about why your friends and family died? Why the world was in such a beautiful state of Despair two years ago? Or maybe you're here for… other reasons. Puhuhuhuhu~!** "

The humans all stared down the laughing bear, unnerved by his words. It was like they were taking the first step towards their main goal as to why they were there, and it was the most intimidating step of them all.

"Wait a minute now," Isaac said, braving forward. "You said you aren't forcing us here, but are we allowed to stay?"

Monokuma tilted his head as he regarded the Ultimate Reporter. " **Huh? You want to stay here? Discover secrets, find answers, brave the mists and whatever despair you come across?** "

"That's," Hara said, staying close to Isaac but also finding her voice, "why we came here to begin with."

"If you're not going to stop us or force us to stay," Yitro spoke up, "then why are you here, Monokuma?"

" **Well, simply put, I'm going to be monitoring you all. I may also be interested in seeing if I can help some of you.** "

"There is no way," Hikari shouted, "anyone would willingly accept help from YOU!"

" **Oh really now, beautiful? Because how well do you know the twenty-seven others in this large group of yours? Do you know who they are? What they did during the Despair, and after it?**

" **You might be surprised just how close despair is to you. Or some of its other forms, which are a bit like the seven deadly sins. Because with despair comes violence, sadism, chaos, sociopathy, and more…**

" **How do you KNOW that the people around you didn't come here to learn about despair to be a little more like me?** "

Everyone took a step back from those nearby them. The words from Monokuma had a greater impact than they cared to admit. The bear's sinister laughter amplified this, as he carried on.

" **You see, that's mainly why I'm not forcing you to stay, because I want you all to stay. I want to see who wants to become more involved in my little neck of the woods, where despair is the true king of the jungle.** "

"Pops, you're mixing your metaphors again," Monosuke said. "You gotta watch out for that, it may be too much for their tiny minds."

"I say, Despair fucking rocks," Monokid shouted, breaking his guitar over his head. "Who wouldn't want to be part of the club that's all about living in the moment?"

"I could do without the blood and violence," Monophanie squeaked, "but I don't mind being part of a family."

"And that's why we're were, because we're Monokuma's kids," Monotaro explained again, "and we're the greatest prodigies of his efforts there are!"

"…" added Monodam.

"Grrrr," Monokuma responded to all this, twitching unnaturally. The black 'n white bear raised one of his feet, and stomped down hard.

White steam, much like the mist, blasted up underneath the five Kubs. They were sent hurtling into the air, as Monokuma roared up at them, " **I SAID STOP INTERRUPTING ME, AND I MEANT IT!** "

"Aaaaaaaah, I can see my house from here!" Monokid shouted.

"Kyaaaaah, Daddy, stop going at us in non-threatening ways that don't trigger the Guardian," Monophanie pleaded.

"He's just mad that he doesn't get to do cool punches on us anymore," Monosuke hollered, before he and the others crash-landed on the ground.

Monokuma waited a few seconds, then sighed and shook his head. " **Okay, listen up, graduates of Hope's Peak. There are a few rules here for this town, as well as what little explanation I'm willing to give you**."

"My, how generous," Angelique grumbled.

"Are you going to explain," Blake asked, "how you managed to do that with the mist?"

" **FIRST OFF** ," Monokuma roared, " **you will find out that wherever you parked your vehicles, they're gone now. All of your cars and bikes and such have been taken out of the city.** "

"What?!" Kimiko shouted. "You… how? There's no way-"

" **Yes, ALL of them! Even your car, Emanuel! Don't underestimate the powers of this city, I'll tell you that right now.** "

Emanuel sighed and took another swig from his flask. "It's fine, I'd rather not have to explain to the rental company what happened anyway."

" **Oh, your cars aren't gone entirely, they are just outside of Penjar. You see, they have been taken outside of the city limits, about five miles out of the area. It's a bit of a walk, but should you wish to leave town, that's where your ride will be.** "

"Wait, which road?" Aka asked. "I think a lot of us came from different roads."

Monokuma snickered. " **It doesn't matter which road you choose, your car will be there. Like I said, don't underestimate this city.** "

No one liked the sound of that.

" **That does bring me to one of the most important rules of them all. You are welcome to stay here, and you are free to leave at any point in time. HOWEVER! If you choose to leave Penjar, you can never come back.**

" **You will never get the answers you want, and you cannot return.** "

"Why, what's stopping us from returning?" asked Shuuya.

" **Finding Penjar again will be extremely difficult, I assure you. This town… it doesn't like to be found anymore. You all were lucky to do so to begin with. So I doubt you could find your way back again…**

" **And even if you could, especially if you bring back help, let's just say that the Guardian will treat all guests who were rude enough to leave into Swiss cheese. And that goes for any help they bring alongside them too!** "

This sank into the hearts and minds of the twenty-eight graduates. Some of them exchanged glances with the others, trying to gauge how they were all taking it.

" **And I should mention that the rules of a Killing Game still apply in Penjar-** "

"I knew it!" Fiora shouted in terror, gripping her fedora.

"You are planning to have us kill each other," Futaba snarled. "You lying, evil machine."

" **Hey, watch your language, little missy!** " Monokuma snapped. " **While it is true that there will be a Killing Game of sorts here, it's not going to be like the others that were broadcast to the world. You're not forced to stay here, and you're not going to be forced to kill each other.**

" **However… there may be motives along the way. Because you are all here for answers, for something that'll give you a sense of purpose, I, Monokuma the mayor, may be able to grant you that. And in my town, I do require a good bit of death to encourage my generosity.**

" **So while no motive or rule is going to make you kill anyone, it may just encourage you. And people who succeed in their murder will get the answers they want all along!** "

"You… you're saying that," Drake stammered, shaking as he clenched his sketch pad close to his chest, "that you want us to kill each other and then you'll tell us about Despair?"

" **That's more or less the gist of it, buddy boy,** " Monokuma said. " **Though I will say, I'm not about to just spill my heart out if you kill someone right away, so don't go killing each other just yet! Let's let you guys and gals stew in the mists a little longer…** "

The bear spun around on the top of the broken fountain for a moment, cackling merrily. The Kubs, for the most part, burst out laughing too. As the humans watched, trying to comprehend all of this, they felt such a swirl of emotions.

" **Now then,** " Monokuma said as he stopped twirling, " **are there any questions**?"

Twenty-eight voices all started shouting at once.

"What the hell is wrong with this town?!" Saiko hollered.

"Who's behind all this?" Isaac demanded.

"Who exactly is Mr. Beardsley?!" Fiora snapped.

"When is lunchtime?!" Monokid screamed.

" **Okay okay okay, stop! Stop stop stop,** " Monokuma screamed, waving his paws in the air. When the noise finally died down, he growled and said, " **I think that was a mistake. I knew I should have gotten tablets for the lot of you, but I think we blew the budget with the big robot there.** "

"Father," Monotaro spoke up, "maybe you should tell them about the Killing Game's rules, and then their lodgings?"

"That sounds like the logical thing to do," Monosuke agreed. "And it's almost too good for these twerps."

" **When you're right, you're right, my adorable little Kubs** ," Monokuma crooned. " **They're so-ooooo cute~! Oh how I wanna squeeze their widdle faces off!** "

"Waaaaah, don't do that now!"

" **Okay, you pack of humans with Hope's Peak degrees** ," Monokuma declared, punching one of his paws into the air, " **the rules to the Penjar Killing Game are simple and as follows:**

" **Everyone inside of Penjar is part of the Killing Game, so as long as you stay inside the town, you are taking part in the rules. No exceptions!**

" **As of now, there are no rewards for killing someone, but after the first motive is announced, the rewards for a murder will be answers to Despair! How far are you willing to go for answers, for power, for rewards?**

" **If someone kills another guest, they have become the Deviant Tourist, and we will be holding a Town Trial! In the trial, all surviving guests will be made to participate and try to discover who the DT is! If you guess incorrectly, every guest of Penjar…**

" **…** **Will be executed without mercy!** "

Monokuma paused for a moment, rubbing his paws together and chuckling deviously. He basked in this feeling, the evil eye of his scanning the graduates.

" **If the Deviant Tourist is discovered, however, it's a little bit different here. You see, like I said earlier, I want you all here, I want to see who is worthy of my brand of Despair! So… there will be an execution for the guilty party if and when discovered…**

" **But there is a chance for them to survive. If they do, well, hehe, let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Though I dare say, they might get closer to the answers, maybe the fastest way possible!** "

Monokuma crossed his arms, and laughed loudly. This was a rather shocking announcement for the graduates, as answers were what all of them wanted. Some of them were scribbling down notes, some scanning those around them to gauge their reactions.

"So wait, let me get this straight," Souma asked, holding up his hands. "You're saying that you have the answers that we seek, here in Penjar? But you will only reveal them to successful murderers or ones who survive their execution?"

The white 'n black bear of despair snickered even more, staring down the public speaker. " **Sure, why not?** "

"Is it yes or no?"

" **Puhuhuhuhu! You'll just have to trust me and my Kubs over that one, big guy! Don't worry, you'll be fine. To the west, you will find lodgings for each of you, buildings that have running water and power and a few luxuries… hehe, and before you ask, no, I am NOT going to explain how they have them.** "

"We weren't exactly holding our breath for if you were," Shuuya grumbled.

" **But don't worry about that now! All you need to know is that while you are here, you can be our guests! Hehe, yes, be our guests, put our** -"

Monosuke cleared his throat as he corrected his glasses. "Pops, let's really not risk that one. Shall we just summarize everything to these thick meat-bags already?"

" **Please do! If you could, my adorable sweet little Kubs, recap the rules! It's like the Closing Argument!** "

"The… the what now?"

"Alright then!" Monokid declared. "You dumb pack of losers and hoes, here are the rules! You are allowed to stay here for as long as you want, but once you leave, you can never come back!"

"Please refrain from violence before the first motive," Monophanie pleaded. "Daddy will reveal it two days from now. You are free to explore Penjar, but as it stands now, there isn't much. There will be more later, however!"

"Your rooms and accommodations are located west of here, or rather in that direction," Monotaro said, pointing towards the far end of the plaza, away from the town hall. "Everything you had in your cars will be found in your own room, which will have your name and picture on the door. There are locks on the doors, but they only work during nighttime."

"If any of youse wants to commit a murder, after the first motive and then on," Monosuke commented, "we will host a Town Trial to discover the Deviant Tourist. If the town fails to bring the correct verdict, the town dies and the Deviant Tourist survives; if the DT is found, they will be pulled into an execution, but there is a slim chance they could survive."

"NO-VIOLENCE-FROM-THE-GUESTS-TOWARDS-THE-KUBS-IS-ALLOWED," Monodam reminded them. "THE-GUARDIAN-WILL-OBLITERATE-YOU-IF-YOU-DO."

" **And finally,** " chimed in Monokuma, " **remember to keep your wits about you! You're going to need it if you want to find out the truth behind Despair! Phuhuhuhuh!** "

"Phuhuhuhuuhu!" laughed Monotaro, Monophanie, and Monosuke.

"Bwahahahahaha!" cackled Monokid.

"…" was Monodam's addition, as the green Kub walked off in the midst of the taunting laughter that echoed throughout all of Penjar.

The twenty-eight graduates of Hope's Peak Academy watched as the bears mocked them. It wasn't easy to take in, in fact, most of them were far more nervous than they would ever care to admit. It wasn't just the bears that worried them, however…

Eyes darted from Monokuma and his laughing Kubs to the humans that stood around in the plaza. How much could they trust the other people here, how did they know someone wasn't here to get answers, no matter what?

This was definitely a Killing Game, even if they weren't forced here; but maybe, that made it all the more dangerous. Because they had the chance to leave, but it didn't look like anyone was going to take it…

And that meant there were people who wanted to know about Despair, at all costs. Whether it was risking their lives…

Or maybe even sacrifice someone else's life, or all of their's.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Well, you're screwed," Emanuel said towards Fiora, as he casually sipped the last from his flask.

"What? Why?!"

"Have you even noticed your stage name? Fiora R. Stenton, the first part of each of your names literally spells out 'FIRST.'"

Fiora glanced upwards as she did some mental calculating to see if that was so. Then her eyes went wide, and she reacted in the most reasonable manner one could.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! I AM GONNA DIE!"

She ran off, screaming and waving her arms in the air, into the mists of Penjar. Despite moving very quickly, her screams echoed around the buildings, reaching back to the graduates at the plaza, even when they couldn't see her anymore.

"Was that necessary?" Hara chided Emanuel.

* * *

 _ **28 Graduates remain in Penjar.**_

 _ **The Penjar Killing Game has begun.**_


	4. Chapter 1-1: The ABCs of Penjar

**Chapter 1-1**

 **Aquatic Behemoth Carnivores**

* * *

 **Day 01, 11:11 PM**

 **Near the Western Border Entrance of Penjar**

The whine of a train whistle could be heard echoing around the empty parking lot. Though this wasn't exactly a train whistle, it was Hikari pursing her lips and letting out a frustrated sigh. The Ultimate Steampunk Model had a rather sharp whistle.

"That sure sounded like steam escaping there," Ishiku remarked, glancing over at the lovely model. "Guess you're a steampunk model through and through."

"So I've been told, dear. Sadly, I don't think now's the time for small talk," Hikari remarked as she walked around the parking lot, trying to spot something, anything, that showcased her car had been there. There wasn't even tire marks where she had left it, no shattered safety glass like she had thought someone would need to get into her vehicle.

"It really is true then, they took all of our cars out of here, without having to break in even," she continued, glancing up towards Ishiku and Ignatia, the two who had followed her to check on the cars in this parking lot.

Ishiku nodded regretfully, and glanced over at Ignatia. The mime gnashed her teeth, kicked at a small stone, and stormed off. When she was gone, Ishiku leaned in towards Hikari and whispered, "She's all bite and no bark, ain't she?"

"Calling her a bitch, are you?" Hikari said with a sly smirk, covering her mouth to hide a titter. "Though I must admit, I respect her courage. I never would have in a million years tried to punt something that looked like Monokuma."

"I hit one of them too," Ishiku said in a teasing sulk, then shrugged off the mood as quickly as he could physically shrug. He twirled around his bone staff, and set it down on the parking lot floor. "So then! What do we do now?"

"We'll go back and tell everyone that our vehicles are gone, and try to pick things up from there. Though honestly, I think it's a waiting game now," Hikari admitted. She sighed as she scratched her head under her fancy hat, and added, "To be honest, I'm kind of tempted to just leave now. This may be a bit much for me."

"Really? Why'd you come?"

The two started to walk out of the parking lot, venturing back into the misty streets of Penjar. There was a bit of a ruckus, as they could hear Ignatia kick over a trash can somewhere up the road.

"To be truthful, I didn't really come for a deep reason," Hikari said, resting her umbrella on her shoulder. She opened it up and spun it around, twirling mist gently around the lacy edge. "I just wanted to find out some answers, figure out a little more about what happened.

"I'm no investigator, and I didn't really have anyone who was seriously affected by Despair or the Tragedy. Still, I always had that feeling, throughout all of my life, of doing something that I think no one else will. That's why I took to steampunk modeling, it was like a sign of my passion combined with something relatively untouched."

She twirled around on her feet, walking backwards and tilting her head to the side as she spoke to Ishiku, looking ever the model. "I simply felt that Penjar would hold some answers, and even though it's not my field, I thought no one else would go. My how wrong I was to see about thirty people here!"

With a mirthful laugh as she spun back around and walked normally next to him, she said, "What about you, hon?"

"I… I kind of have one of those sob stories," Ishiku said, glancing to the side. His own mirth seemed to die out when he became lost in thought. "I'd rather not go into too many details, I hate being a drag when we're trying to stay positive."

"I don't mind hearing about your motivations, my dear. But if you'd rather not… let's change the subject. What's on-"

Another clanging sound could be heard, Ignatia going to town on another garbage can. Hikari pouted, lips pursed as she tried to dismiss the sounds of violence. "What," she said, yet another clanging kick interrupting her, " _what_ are you going to do? Stay, or leave?"

"I'm staying, no powers are forcing me out of here! Unless the room service stinks, I insist on my bed being made every day, and a mint there on the pillow, every day! Plus, no gentleman should leave a suspicious scene and let others do the work for him!"

Ishiku spun his staff around and then tucked it under his arm. "Plus, you know what? I got my life for free, I ain't afraid to risk losing it just because it's a mite dangerous! What fantastic magician doesn't go against the grain sometimes?"

Hikari chuckled again, and then said, "Anyone you got your eye on?"

"… What?"

"Honey, there's a large amount of ladies here, and/or men if you're into that, all highly accomplished and cool and talented. Don't tell me you aren't seeing this like a bit of a dangerous dating site."

Ishiku tapped his chin, murmuring, "Must like D&D, chocolate coins, a good prank every now and then, and stick to dangerous scenarios involving bears and ghost towns. Interesting start."

"There you go, my dear! You already have something else on your mind."

"Oh, I would think that would be you, because," he grinned most mischievously, "you already kind of do have a not-so-secret admirer."

"Who, Aka? Oh I dunno, maybe she was just a little enamored with me. I mean, I don't blame her, I kind of made myself up for coming here…"

"Hikari, she was staring at you so intensively, I'm pretty sure I saw drool."

The Ultimate Steampunk Model fanned herself a little, giggling. "Oh my, really? My gay-dar must have been a bit off, I thought it was just normal attraction. I guess I do have a reason to stay… I do like tomboys."

"And the first thing I'm going to do," the magician said, "is make popcorn and watch like a very unusual but entertaining soap opera."

Ishiku reached over towards Hikari's ear, and then the model noticed the magician was holding a popcorn packet in his hands. He grinned, then asked, "I wonder where I can find a microwave in this town."

* * *

 **Day 01, 11:23 PM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Outside of Crystal Wilson's Room**

Crystal reached down to the doorknob of the house that was labeled as hers. When she tentatively opened it, she peered inside. It almost resembled a hotel room to her.

The bed was almost in the center of the room, with a TV hanging from the wall for a resting soul to watch. There was a secondary, presumably with a shower and toilet though she couldn't see in the closed washroom. Most astonishingly, everything inside of the room appeared clean and well maintained, even pristine!

The military adviser noticed her luggage, everything that had been in her car (including an empty soda can that she had finished on the drive here), organized near a table. She sighed, rubbed her thumb around her silver ring, and then closed the door.

Glancing over at the picture that was next to the front door, she stared at the drawing of her that was framed behind glass over a nameplate that had her full name. The artwork style was that of an eight-bit video game, blocks formed to make a primitive but effective representation of her. The fact that it was modeled after the clothing she was wearing unnerved her a little, as it was the same for all the other houses; their digital-pixel pictures were representation of them in the clothing they had shown up in.

"Seems the Kubs were telling the truth," she said aloud, for the benefit for the person behind her. "Everything that was in my car is now in here. It's unnatural, but I feel like it is the least of our worries now.

"By the way, thank you for coming with me here, I would have imagined that you would have gone with everyone else to see if our vehicles were really missing."

Eisei shrugged as he rolled his current lollipop around in his mouth. "Cars are not really my concern, mostly because it's a hassle to rent one despite having a driver's license. I get told a lot I'm too short to drive, which isn't statistically true."

Crystal ran a hand through her blond hair, and said, "I'm sure we'll find out eventually if it is true from the others, but I'm going to assume it is since my stuff is here. What about you?"

"All of my essential belongings are in this suitcase," he said, giving a nod towards his overstuffed suitcase. "I care not for anything I left in the car, but if they put the spare from the trunk in my room, I will be mildly amused."

The Ultimate Military Adviser chuckled. "You seem rather calm about all this. It's rather amazing, I would have thought most non-military personal would be freaking out since we are in dangerous territory."

"Technically, if you ever read up on some of the treaties and alliances our countries have with neighboring and hostile governments and dictatorships, you would be shocked to learn of how safe we truly aren't. I once wrote an essay about the-"

Crystal held up a hand, interrupting by saying, "It's okay, I assure you, I'm more than familiar with how those affairs go."

Eisei nodded, his lavender locks bouncing from the movement. "If you could just come down here really quick, Miss Wilson, there's something I just need to do for my profession's sake."

The military adviser nodded and knelt down. She was shocked when a gloved hand moved into her lips, and pried open her mouth. Eisei hummed as she inspected the insides, clicking his tongue against his sucker. "You look fine, but I have a feeling that you don't brush all that often… would you be interested in dental picks, perchance?"

"Woo'd ooo ee eneresed en lehhin o?"

"If you insist."

Crystal shook her head as she corrected her jaw. "You aren't going to make a lot of friends doing that, you know?"

"I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to find out what exactly is the origin of Despair, if possible. Dental hygiene is second on my list, but that's something I can do right away. Speaking of which, the history of dental hygiene in the military has been-"

He was interrupted as a loud banging sound startled them both. Scanning the area, they saw that Ignatia had kicked the door to her place open, and was stomping in.

"I would advise," Crystal said, "that you hold off on trying to check the insides of that one's mouth."

"I'm actually quite fascinated to see what the inside of a mouth of one who doesn't talk looks like, but I think I really do appreciate my fingers being intact, same with my bones."

* * *

 **Day 01, 11:45 PM**

 **Northern Area of Penjar**

"Phooey! My metal steed is gone, and I have no idea how I'm going to explain that to the rental company," Ken declared, face-palming with his free hand as he held onto his broadsword's handle for a comfort grip. "How do you explain that your borrowed vehicle has been moved out of your reach by a _town_?"

"Yeah, this sucks ass," Kimiko grumbled, kicking at a loose stone on the sidewalk. "I rather liked that rental motorcycle, and you have no idea the paperwork I had to do to rent a bike!"

Ken shook his head, as the two walked down the sidewalk. They eventually found their way back to the plaza, knowing where it was mostly by the barren area where a house had been. The Guardian's resting place was a rather dirty, disheveled patch of stale-smelling dirt and concrete.

The two stared at it, reminding themselves that there had been what looked like a house there, and now it was the three-story mech with a machine gun arm standing in the middle of the plaza. Ken sighed as he rubbed his forehead, grumbling a little more about his stolen metal steed.

"Okay, let's not dwell on this for too long, or we're gonna depress ourselves," Kimiko said. "I've always wanted to talk to a Novoselician, and you're here, eh! I didn't have one in my class at Hope's Peak!"

"What, are we a prize token minority or something?" Ken said, chuckling lightly. "Though yes, it did seem like I was a bit of a celebrity being from Novoselic. What do you want to know?"

"I mean, I heard what happened to your home country. Have you been living in Japan this whole time?"

"Yes, I have. It's been very nice, but I miss my homeland every day. Novoselic is still a mess, hostile and overrun with Despair-ridden psychopaths. From what I have heard, there's still no way I could return home without being in a war zone."

"About that, you're a cavalryman, I'm curious… do you all still ride horses, and fight a'geenst the enemy with spears and swords, eh?"

"I was trained how to fight on horseback since I was very young, yes, including many forms of melee weapons. I know how to use firearms, but I highly prefer my swordplay. If I get a chance, I could show you, but I doubt swinging my weapon around would warm me up to everyone here."

He sighed and turned around, not wanting to stare at the house-less patch of land anymore. "Sorry, I don't really want to talk about it much more right now. With how things are, it's silly to reminisce about my past."

"Soo'ry, tough guy, just trying to make conversation."

"I don't mind that so much, just no more about me, please. Though I am curious about something, your accent is so thick, yet you appear to be Japanese."

Kimiko laughed as she crossed her hands behind her head. "Long story short, eh, I was born in Canada from parents who moved there, was invited to Hope's Peak Academy, then when I graduated I went back to Canada."

She pulled down her jacket down off of one shoulder, and exposed a tattoo that appeared to be an odd mixture of the Japanese and Canadian flags, a red flag with a white maple leaf and a red dot inside of it.

"You wanna knoo' moo'r a'boot me, handsome? I'm a bit of an open book with how stereotypical Canadian-Japanese I am!"

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Alright, steel steed rider, I do have some questions for you. Do you like hockey?"

"Fucking love it!"

"You proud of your Canadian beer?"

"It's like water to me with how much I drink it!"

"Do you consume a lot of maple syrup?"

"Actually, that's the one thing I never really got into. Don't tell anyone, you'll ruin my image!"

The two shared a laugh, missing as Ignatia stomped down the other side of the road, trying to find more things to kick over. As she traveled down the road, heading back towards the housing area for the travelers, she passed by old stores that weren't just decrepit, aging, empty buildings…

* * *

 **Day 01, 11:51 PM**

 **Ye Olde Antique Shop**

"Kind of odd to find a place that deals in antiques," Futaba said, checking over a gramophone near the window and missing a very upset mime walking by the store, "when the whole city we are in feels like we stepped several decades into the past."

"Yeah, and quite the collection here," Samson agreed, holding up a large walkie-talkie that appeared to be something from World War II. "I am almost tempted to find out if I can take some of these, they could make a mint with some of the collectors I know!"

Futaba rolled her eyes and shot a glare at him. "Are you _really_ going to contemplate theft, considering our circumstances? Is the Ultimate Trader more or less a glorified petty thief?"

"Hey, this shop isn't natural, considering the town, missy," Samson replied, setting the walkie-talkie down. "Everything here is organized and, despite the thin layer of dust, it doesn't have the same kind of aging as the city."

He gestured around the shop, which was a large collection of dirty glass displays and countertops covered with items. There was a blunderbuss in an overhead display, along with some framed pictures and a moose head nearby. Displays were full of old-looking knives, mugs, statues and trophies, outdated kitchen appliances, typewriters, and much more. The countertops had all kinds of items, such as outdated medical tools, soda bottles, old TVs and a camera, and much more as well.

"This place is so unnatural in its own odd way," Samson said, crossing his arms, "inside of a town that's odd in a completely other way. You can see that, right?"

Futaba nodded, but clicked her tongue as she added, "I'm still not in favor of provoking our so-called hosts' wrath by stealing stuff from the buildings. If you wanna risk it, fine, but I'm going to feign ignorance if you do that."

Samson scoffed and muttered, "An anthropologist who doesn't want to closely examine stuff from the past? Makes me think you're all about studying people instead…"

The silver-haired lady scowled angrily as she corrected her glasses and went back to looking at the gramophone. She had to bite back an angry sound when Samson followed up with, "Though looking at you, you definitely seem like someone who would be overly cautious."

"I'm here to observe," she growled through clenched teeth, "so if you want to get involved, go ahead, but I sure as hell am not."

The entrance chime, a classic little bell at the top corner, rang as a third person entered the building. Blake glanced back outside, and sighed heavily. "Man, that mime is PMSing big time out there, don't go out there just yet. There's a trash can that's taking a pounding big-time!"

The pyro glanced around the shop, slightly curious now about where he was. Walking down the side of one of the long counter-displays, he stopped when he noticed a box TV, the kind with big knobs, an antenna, and the speaker upon its side.

"The fuck is THAT?" he asked, pointing at it. "That's not a TV, is it? My God, how would you set that on the wall?"

He reached over and turned one of the knobs, the loud clicking sound echoing throughout the building. Blake laughed, and added, "Was there only like ten channels in the past?"

As he fiddled with the TV more, he entertained himself as he ignored the clanging sounds outside, that sounded closer to the next building.

* * *

 **Day 01, 11:51 PM**

 **Ye Olde Taxidermy Shop**

The store had the most unnerving collection of preserved animals from wall to wall.

A rather large raven was atop the main counter, next to the primitive cash register. The glass display under the counter had rodents from mice to raccoons, and insect displays. A hyena mid-lunge was positioned next to the counter, as if to attack a customer.

Birds and beasts were lining every wall, with mantle heads of bigger beasts like moose and tiger and even an elephant. Predators and prey were all there, as well as insect and arachnid collections in much bigger cases that would have been fine normally, but the glass and wood were aged horribly.

"This," Shinobu muttered as she stared at a taxidermy wolf that, despite the dust upon it, was so well-positioned that it made her shiver, "is the most unnerving building ever. I cannot imagine a business _trying_ to look this creepy!"

Jin grabbed a taxidermy owl upon a mantle, its wings spread wide and its eyes sharp despite the dust upon it. The artist gal smiled as she stared right back into it, and blew a little upon those preserved pupils. Clearing it up, she happily held it up. "I think it's remarkable. The craftsmanship is amazing."

Her brother was nearby, scanning the shop with interest. Yejoon silently scanned as Jin continued to clean off the owl, with Shinobu watching them out of curiosity. The historian chewed on her lip, and then said, "So, do you two usually work together?"

"Something along those lines, although I daresay big brother relies on me more than he'll admit," Jin said with a sly smirk, glancing at her brother. She finished cleaning off the owl, and set it down on the counter she found it. "Before Hope's Peak, we had one art display between the two of us in Korea. After we graduated, we opened several art displays in both Korea and Japan."

"Most of them were burned down during the Tragedy," Yejoon commented, voice slightly muffled because he was wearing his mask again. "It's such a shame, I do miss a lot of the work we did, but I never let setbacks get me down."

Jin scoffed and glanced up at her tall brother, adding, "You trying to act cool in front of the lady? The mysterious masked stranger appeal has never worked, why are you trying it again?"

Yejoon chuckled, shaking his head as he turned towards Shinobu. "You'll have to forgive my sister, she tends to be a bit territorial wherever she goes. That's why she loves owls so much, she likes to have her surroundings in her control."

"And my brother here," Jin commented, pointing at her sibling though her fingers were displaying the same contempt as her voice so she had her wrist up in the air but her digits pointed at his feet, "is jealous that there's not a fox here!"

Shinobu drummed her fingers against each other, trying to think of what to say. She eventually just sighed, and commented, "I wish I could have seen your art galleries. I'm quite familiar with the history of Hope's Peak, and I heard you two had amazing work when you were there."

"Thank you kind-"

There was a creaking of an old door, as Yejoon opened the one at the back of the store to explore more of the area. He was cut off with a sharp cry as he leapt back, startled but able to compose himself immediately. Shinobu and Jin peered into the room he had opened…

A taxidermy tiger, jaws wide open and eyes blazing even in preserved death, had one of its claws raised towards whoever would be going through that door. With only the light from the main store shining in to illuminate its claws, fangs, and eyes, it was a rather startling sight.

Jin burst out laughing at her brother, who composed himself quickly and then swung his hand back at his cackling sister. The artists fought over this little incident, as Shinobu watched and wondered why the shopkeep would position a taxidermy tiger there…

And just how this small town had the funds and means to have a taxidermy tiger, among the other creatures that were in this building.

* * *

 **Day 02, 12:02 PM**

 **Ye Olde Time Shop**

The walls of this shop were lined with all kinds of clocks, especially cuckoo-clocks. The amount of styles, features, colors, makes and models, it was like a gigantic clockwork maker's life work on full display. There were even a few wide-face clocks, some of them with unique hands and numbers, font-styles and pictures and other features.

Not a single clock was running. A store full of clocks, mostly cuckoo-clocks, and there wasn't a sound to be heard from the timepiece machines.

"This is like the start of _Pinocchio_ ," Pyrrha commented, staring at a rather cute looking cuckoo-clock, "but it's all so sad and inactive."

"I swear, I'm hearing ticking noises in my head," Aka muttered, "because I'm, like, certain that there _should_ be in this shop! But there aren't, and I'm worried I'm going to go insane!"

There was a deep scoff nearby, and the two ladies looked over at the third patron of this non-working clock shop. Emanuel was staring down a display case full of watches, trying to find a way into it. "Pretty sure you were already crazy, the way you act, purple-top," he cursed, words slurred a bit. "If you two could stop making so much noise? I'm trying to see what there is here."

Pyrrha scowled at him, and then turned towards Aka. "It really is weird that this place is here, when you think about it," she said to the other lady. "I mean, there's dust on all of these clocks, but everything seems a bit organized compared to most."

"Yeah, and I gotta admit, it makes me a little homesick, or whatever the feeling is for a home away from home," Aka admitted. "You see, in ski lodge cabins, there are usually cuckoo-clocks, like they love that old-timey feel! It's so cute, and now… I feel like I want one for my room here."

Aka surveyed the shop for one in particular she liked, while Pyrrha watched her in some surprise. "You really adjust fast to our situation, don't you?" she asked the skier.

"Hey, when you do the crazy shit I do, you gotta learn to adjust fast! Speaking of which," the purple-topped tomboy said, glancing back at Pyrrha, with a grin on her face, "I've already got my eye on someone here."

"The model lady, Hikari, was it?" Pyrrha said, biting her lower lip as a spark grew in her eyes. "Oh my, you do aim high."

"Hell yeah, she's gorgeous and hot and wow does she look like someone who you want to get to know more! And that steampunk stuff, that looks so good on her! She's more than enough reason to stay!

"Say, aren't you a romance writer?" Aka remarked, glancing at the writer. "You ever do something like that? Do you write lesbian romance, even?"

"Um, not yet, I haven't," she admitted. "I was told that lesbian stories are expected to have more sex than story, and I don't do that. I'm not into writing smut."

"Aww, but that's some of the best stuff! So tell me, think I got a chance-"

 ** _CRASH! Tinkle tinkle tinkle…_**

Both women jumped in shock, Aka almost dropping the cuckoo-clock she had taken off of the wall. Outside, Ignatia also jumped in surprise, glanced in, then noticed no one was hurt so she stomped off. The two women inside stared at the shattered display that Emanuel had broken, along with the clock he had used as a blunt instrument.

Pulling a few watches from the display, he muttered, "Might as well go along with the theme of wonton destruction this stupid town has encouraged. I just hope someone knows how to fix a watch in this weird group of people we collected."

* * *

 **Day 02, 12:12 PM**

 **Outside of Penjar Public Pool**

Odelios pressed up against the bars that surrounded the rather large pool. The clown eyed up the diving board, the pool chairs, and a beach ball floating in the water. There was even a hot tub next to the pool, full of flat water.

"Pool," the clown droned, putting his feet on the lower bar of the tall, metal pole fence. He glanced up at the metal spikes at the top, too intimidating to dare vault over the top. His painted face moved back down towards the waters, and repeated, "Poo-oooooooooooool~"

Souma watched the clown press right up against the bars, then threw his head back and howl, "POOOOOOOOL!" The public speaker raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the other two who were nearby.

"You think he's like that," he asked Takeo and Shuuya, "when he doesn't have an audience?"

"You're a public speaker, aren't you?" Takeo replied, smirking. "I'm sure it's the same thing, only he's more about humor than motivation."

"Touché, good sir," Souma said with a laugh, pointing at the mercenary. "Though this brings up many, many questions."

"Yeah, I know I'm baffled," Shuuya declared. "How the hell is there a pool full of clean water in this town?!"

It was true, the pool seemed rather clean and well-maintained, the tiles around the area more or less clean as if someone had scrubbed them. Even the beach ball in the water appeared new, which stood out so damn much in a town of rot and peeling paint and dirt.

"Even the mist isn't creeping in there," Shuuya commented, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow. "I really, really don't understand that, but I'm not going in those waters."

"I don't think we could even if we wanted," Takeo said, pointing to the main door of the building connected to the pool. "I tried the front door, it's locked."

Souma chuckled and said, "Oh, but we have two combative fellows here, surely a locked door isn't that big of a problem?"

"I'm not kicking down the door for a public pool," Shuuya declared.

"I WOULD!"

"We know, Odelios," Takeo commented, rolling his eyes.

"I'LL KICK THE SPLINT OUT OF THAT DOOR!"

"We know, Odelios."

Souma scanned the surrounding area, gathering his whereabouts. He remembered that they headed south from the plaza to get here, but this town had a rather confusing, almost dizzying affect when trying to navigate it.

"Maybe we could ask our hosts about this building?" he asked his fellow Ultimates. "I mean, as much far as it is to discuss bashing down a door, I'd like to know why this place is the only place locked, besides the town hall…"

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

The five Kubs popped up, almost out of nowhere because of how shrouding the mists were. None of the humans flinched upon the sudden arrival, but they were rather confused.

"We actually wanted to answer that," Monotaro said, crossing his arms and looking as tough as possible. "It's important everyone knows what goes on in our town!"

"And kicking down doors is a no-no," Monophanie commented. "I mean, it's not against our rules, but it's violent and mean and a little too rough."

"BUT IT IS HARDCORE," Monokid bellowed, breaking his guitar over his own head. "So, answers! Answers to questions, we got them!"

"Ahem," Monosuke said, adjusting his glasses. "We wanted to make sure the pool was in tip-top condition for humans, as we understand that pool parties and gatherings in skimpy clothing is highly important to youse all, according to Hope's Peak Academy records."

"There was an awful lot of pool parties at Hope's Peak," Takeo commented, getting an odd stare from Shuuya. "Learing how to swim was just as important as being fluent in English and Japanese."

"So why is this locked then?" Souma asked, casting his eyes across the Kubs.

"It's not ready yet," Monotaro admitted, visibly deflating with how defeated he looked upon revealing this. "We… procrastinated. And some of us forgot whose turn it was to do the pool cleaning."

"Still gotta get the heater working, especially so we can get the jacuzzi up and running," Monosuke said. "You see, there's big money in what is known as the 'Fan Service' shot, and we're gonna profit big-time from this!"

"'Profit'? For who?" Shuuya asked. "This isn't a TV show! No one can even see us here in this hidden town."

Monosuke chuckled haughtily. "Sex sells, no matter what, good sir! That's why Monophanie wears a bikini at all times, and I look as smart as possible!"

"Wait, what?" Monophanie shouted, her little paws on her cheeks in shock. "No one told me about this-"

"HOWEVER!" Monokid hollered, waving his broken guitar around. "We will have the damn pool open tomorrow, including the shower room, the changing room, and the supply closet inside of the main building! Shower before and after swimming, bitches!"

Souma pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Noting that there was no signal whatsoever, he still could tell the time. "It's tomorrow now, technically. It's 12:18 AM now."

There was silence from the Kubs for a few seconds, and then Monotaro said, "Wait, what."

"Yes, it's the next day, all things considered."

"Oh," Monosuke growled, "you're one of _those_ guys, are you?"

"You really want to get into a pool, don't you Souma?" Takeo cracked. "I'm not a Navy SEAL, I'm not really a pool person."

Shuuya sighed, trying to push how ridiculous this scenario was out of his mind and think of something, anything else. The idea that a famous public speaker was appealing to five mechanical bear cubs to open up a public pool in the middle of a ghost town, while a wildly dressed clown was bowing gratefully at the man trying to plead the case.

"This is ridiculous," the bounty hunter commented.

"I agree, why do we have to wait?" Odelios declared, jumping up from his bowing. "We have strong, strapping men right here! Takeo!"

The mercenary stared blankly at the clown. "What?"

"Kick down," Odelios shouted, pointing at the main door, "this doo-ooooaaaaaawr!"

"Maybe have a little patience?" Souma advised, drumming his fingers on his knuckles. "I mean, it might be open later today-"

 ** _WHAM!_**

Souma, Shuuya, and the Kubs jumped, startled, as a rather strong kick to the door echoed around the area. They all turned to see Takeo's boot print on the door, and the mercenary's leg raising up again.

"Oh no," Monophanie said, hands on her face in shock, "please STOP!"

Takeo froze, leg up in the air, and then lowered his limb. He turned and shrugged. "So is it going to be open later today or tomorrow?"

Everyone stared at him, and Odelios spoke up first. "Dude, are you joking around, and may I add stealing my shtick if you are?"

"No, I," Takeo said, nervously running a hand through his blue hair, "I just kind of have a tendency to follow orders when I'm given them. Life as a mercenary."

To say a grin spread across Odelios' face would be like saying it became brighter when the sun rises in the morning.

"No," Souma scolded the clown, "don't misuse this knowledge."

"So the pool," Monokid shouted over the chaos, "is gonna be open _later today_ , since Mr. It's Tomorrow Now had to make us clarify! Just come by during the afternoon, mandatory pool party at 1:10 PM!"

"We'll provide swimsuits if someone didn't bring one," Monophanie said. "But we know our Hope's Peak students, you love your pool parties!"

"And your fan service!" Monosuke declared.

"And if you can donate to the barbecue that we will be having," Monotaro said, "we highly appreciate all supplies! Vegan meals are right out, we're bears, we don't support full plant eating!"

"…" concluded Monodam.

" **SO LONG, BEAR WELL~**!"

The five Kubs vanished off into the mist, so fast that not even the military veterans could track them. The four humans stood there, confused, bewildered, and most of all, pondering how the heck five little mechanical bears could prepare a pool.

* * *

 **Day 02, 12:19 PM**

 **Ye Olde Café**

"Here you all go," Drake said, placing three cups of decaf coffee down in front of those at the table. "It's actually quite amazing how much of the stuff back there is working! I, um, got some cream and sugar packets that still look good."

Angelique bat her eyes affectionately at the young man. "You're such a sweetheart. We're gonna have to find you a nice girl while we're here, my dear."

Drake was all blushes, then he noticed movement outside of the café. Ignatia had found Monokuma somehow, and was now chasing the panicking bear around; the mime had obviously remembered that he was the only bear she was allowed to abuse.

As the chase scene left his view, the cartoonist shook it off and glanced down at the people seated. Angelique had brought Yitro into the café with her, and Anzu had followed them in, wanting something to drink as well. Drake had already been there, making decaf coffee, when he had offered to make more for them.

The pale actress sipped from her mug, and muttered to herself, "I wonder if they stocked alcohol here too. I could do with a shot, it'd help me sleep well tonight."

"With how skinny you look," Yitro commented, raising an eyebrow, "I wonder what your limit really is."

Anzu grinned wickedly, running her finger around the rim of the mug. "You heard I did adult films, right? My limit is actually quite high, even if there's a lot of, ah, shots."

Her grin just grew even more wide with how flustered the two boys there looked. Chuckling, she sipped her drink again, and winked at Angelique. "But I am known for being able to take a nice, long drink from another source of shots."

The opera singer chuckled, and shook her finger at the actress. "Now now, my dear, a lady can be a little lewd, but should know the limit before it's crude."

Anzu nodded with a smile, then said, "I should probably leave then, I know you and Yitro wanted to talk alone and I kind of intruded."

"I'll go too, if you want," Drake offered.

"Not if you don't want to," Yitro said, "but it's just a bit of a sob sorry from a former Ultimate. Just the reason why I'm here and all."

Angelique's flirtatious smile instantly turned into a concerned frown. She stared at her friend, and said, "Please, tell me. You were so very proud of your skill when we were at Hope's Peak, and you look… so defeated now."

Flipping his platinum-white ponytail behind his shoulder, Yitro took a long swig of his decaf coffee as if it were the stiffest of stiff drinks. Exhaling, he groaned for a second before he spoke.

"After Hope's Peak, I traveled around the country for a while. Learned how to play a wooden flute, got pretty good at hiking, maybe read a romance novel or two when I got bored…

"I made some friends too. Jules, Malachai, Sylvia, great group of crazy personalities, you'd love them. We were a league of our own, especially when my brother joined up with us."

"Yone?" Angelique said, clasping her hands together. "Oh, I remember when he visited you sometimes! Almost as handsome as you are, my dear, it definitely runs in the family."

"I'm so gonna inquire more when you're done with your tale, my good sir," Anzu said, winking over her mug of decaf.

Yitro chuckled weakly, and then sighed. "It was great while it lasted, but unfortunately, the Tragedy was a dangerous time even for our wanderlust crew. It was hell, trying to defend ourselves from people with no fear of pain and all desire to hurt others. A sword is not the best way to non-lethally repress someone."

He placed his hand on his forehead, and stared down at the table. "We all had a lot to drink one night, and crashed at a trailer park. When I woke up, Yone was… dead. Pinned to the wall by my sword driven through his chest."

Angelique covered her mouth in shock. Drake and Anzu were both silent, unable to think of what to say.

"The trial went so swiftly, because the courts were desperate to put killers behind bars. I always thought it was also to make an example of me, to show they weren't afraid to punish Ultimates from Hope's Peak, but it was never made public. Probably why you didn't hear anything about it, my dear Angel."

The opera singer shuddered, and stared at him questioningly because she was having trouble finding the words. Yitro seemed to know what they were, however.

"I didn't know if I had killed my brother during some blacked-out drunk state, or something else. When I was in prison, I was convinced at one point, because when you're in jail with a bunch of violent, unstable people, even those not psychotic with Despair, it's hell. It's hell and I could barely survive some days, I was convinced I deserved this.

"But my friends never gave up. Those three, they kept trying to appeal my case, and eventually, they found a defense attorney who would take the case. Her name was Moji Salihan, a woman from the States who had made a name for herself defending those who had been falsely accused of murder.

"She was quite amazing. The moment my friends paid to fly her over, she was on my case, and found proof that I couldn't have killed my brother, proof that even I overlooked.

"But even with my freedom restored, and my amazing friends having my back, I still feel like it was my fault. My sword, in my brother, when I was too drunk to stop whoever had done it. I'll never unsheathe my sword again…"

He sighed, then managed a small smile. "Though it's still with my stuff, my friends made me promise to take it with me when I went on this little adventure. I want to know more about Despair, I want to know what causes it, and maybe, just maybe, I can find out who killed my brother down the line."

There was silence for a few seconds, then Drake sniffed as he repressed a sob. "That's… you're so cool, Mr. Stana," he said. "I hope we can help you out too, I'm sure all of us want to find out the answers to this place."

"Definitely," Anzu said, lacing her fingers together and tilting her head cutely to give him a sweet smile.

"I'm by your side," Angelique said, beaming at him and placing her hand on his shoulder. "We're going to find out the mystery of this place, mark my words!"

Yitro smiled at them, and breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled at this odd but comforting group of people…

Then he saw out of the corner of his eye Ignatia punting Monokuma through the air, in front of the window of the café.

* * *

 **Day 02, 12:21 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Hara inspected the stovetop, and lifted one of the pot lids. It was pristine inside, no grease or dust or old food inside. A quick look at all of the pots and pans showcased a rather clean, working kitchen. She glanced up from it, through the glass-less window that served for staff to get food immediately from the kitchen and bring it out to the serving tables.

"It looks all pretty workable back here, honey," Hara called out, waving to Isaac. "Looks like we won't have to rely on the breakfast and protein bars we brought."

"Oh great, our murderous, psychotic bear hosts are warningly accommodating," Isaac responded, rubbing his beanie against his head. "Well, I suppose that it is at least some comfort to know that there were funds and effort put into this. It's not one of those copycat killing games that is just some wannabe murderer hoping to get a lucky kill."

"We handled way too many of those copycats," Saiko remarked, leaning back in her chair. She glanced out the window lazily, as if she couldn't be bothered to get energy for the Killing Game she was in.

Her eyes widened as she saw the white 'n black bear of despair bounce down the sidewalk, waving his arms frantically and yowling, as a very determined mime chased after him for another kick.

"These people we're with are weird," she commented, glancing back at her friends. "I would have been so much more happy if it had just been the three of us."

"Maybe they'll be able to help us out," Hara said, offering a smile as she walked back into the dining area. "I mean, this is a pretty big town, if all the walking we did is any implication."

"That's the weirdest thing," Isaac said, sitting down at the table Saiko was at, joined shortly by his fiancée. "I actually feel like things… changed when we were walking."

"What do you mean?" Saiko asked.

"You see, when we were walking into the town before we met Monokuma's crazy kids, I _swear_ that some of the shops that people are going through now weren't there before. It's like… the shops materialized inside of the buildings after we were introduced to the town."

Saiko raised an eyebrow at the reporter, and said, "I think you're reading too much into how the Killing Games that were broadcast. I know they had what appeared to be an evolving course, but I am not going to chalk this up as the supernatural just yet."

The three of them were quiet for a moment, trying to consider their options. It was obvious Saiko had something else she wanted to say, but didn't know if she should; eventually, she didn't want to repress it anymore.

"If you two want to get the hell out of here," she remarked, looking at them, "I will hold down the fort."

"Absolutely not," Isaac said, clenching his fist. "Hara and I decided we were going to do this together, no matter what."

"This isn't the first dangerous encounter I've had, Saiko," Hara explained. "You want me to rattle off all the things that have tried to kill me in my travels?"

"No, because I revised my list of horrific ways to go since I last saw you two," the forensic investigator commented, drumming her fingers against her temple. "It's not a fair competition if I tell you what happened to that professional bowler."

Hara removed her glasses and cleaned them off with a fabric cloth. She smiled and said, "Saiko, it's kind of you, but I'm not afraid to stay here. And thus, neither is Isaac."

Saiko glanced over at Isaac, who scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I did consider it," he admitted, "but she has told me that neither of us should stop our work just because we're worried about the other."

"You both better have a very nice and long honeymoon after this," Saiko commented. "In a place where there are _no_ bears! Go explore… Antartica, adopt a family of penguins. There's no way a Killing Game could happen there."

Isaac cleared his throat. "If it could happen on the moon, it could-"

"Don't correct me on the rare occasion I'm trying to be nice!"

Saiko pulled her phone out of her pocket, and sighed angrily as she realized there was no internet connection. Turning on one of her offline app games, she started to play away.

Isaac and Hara realized this meant there would be little chance to get in contact with her any time soon, so they decided to chat amongst themselves. Isaac put his arm around Hara, and said softly, "Look, I won't lie when I say I reconsidered when I saw how many people would be here. Are you sure you want to stay?"

"I'm not afraid," she replied, smiling at him. "Trust me when I say that I can handle this, especially since this is important. If we can do anything to dispel Despair, I want to do it."

"You're such a brave woman," he said, leaning in to kiss her.

"I know," she chirped after the sweet smooch.

Their tender moment was followed by a rather loud slamming sound, as the main door of the cafeteria flung open. Fiora stood there, panting and gasping, sweat running down her forehead as she clenched her fedora with one hand, and the door handle with the other.

"It's _crazy_ 'oot there," Fiora shouted, staring wildly at the three seated in the cafeteria. "This town is like a misty labyrinth! I swear that the roads and buildings kept changing whenever I backtracked."

"Hello there, B-Movie Maker," Saiko said, without even looking up from her game. "Thought you were leaving town when you realized your parents doomed you with their name choice."

"Oh come _on_!" The black 'n white haired woman stormed over to a nearby seat and plopped down in it. "Does everyone here knoo' about that dumb nickname? How is it I cannot escape it no matter where I go?"

"I never heard of it," Hara said. She felt guilty when Fiora smiled brightly, so she admitted, "But that's mostly because I haven't seen many movies in the past few years, I'm mostly traveling or working with Isaac on something."

"Ooo, I like to travel too," Fiora declared, clapping her hands together. "Like, I have been to a lot of places, where have you bin?"

"Are you really going to try and compete," Saiko said, still not looking up from her game, "with the Ultimate Explorer when it comes to travel, B-Movie Maker?"

"Hey now, anything to get the subject off that! Why you gotta be so harsh, eh?"

"Anyone who makes a movie called _The Octopi With Nine Legs_ doesn't deserve to forget it."

Fiora pouted, crossing her arms underneath her breasts and turning her head to the side. "Hmmmph! At least it wasn't a shark movie. I was told I needed to make an aquatic animal attack movie when shark movies were becoming all the rage again, but do you knoo' how many stupid shark movies there are?!"

"No?" Hara admitted.

"Don't care," Saiko commented.

"Fiora, it's fine," Isaac tried to say, "we're not-"

"There was like thirty shark movies made in the last five years! Thirty shark movies, and I was expected to make one?! No, no, no I was going to make things about more creepy aquatic creatures!"

Isaac sighed as Fiora gave a rather animated rant about how octopi are so much scarier and original than sharks. During it, Saiko wordlessly got up, still playing her game. She waved good-bye to Hara and Isaac as she left the cafeteria. It took Fiora a few minutes to realize that she had lost a third of her audience.

"Um, was it something I said?" she asked Isaac and Hara.

"Saiko's a very focused woman, so to speak," Hara tried to explain. "If it's about work, she has the most amazing focus like you've ever seen; however, when she hasn't something to do professionally, that focus is all about how she can do anything else other than work."

Fiora glanced to the side, and then sighed. "Okay, maybe I went a little overboard with the sharks. … Hehe, overboard, sharks. I should remember that, that's clever."

She yawned rather loudly, and then checked her own phone. "Holy crap, it's past midnight. How's that possible, we only just got here, didn't we?"

"Time does go by remarkably fast when you're endangered, I have learned," Isaac commented. "Yes, it may be best to turn in for a while. We're definitely going to have to keep our wits about us."

Fiora nodded, then grinned a little sheepishly. "It's a shame, I kind of wanted to know a bit about you two. It's so cute, seeing a Hope's Peak couple like you two."

Hara hid her blush, and managed to giggle as she said, "We'll tell you more tomorrow, Fiora. For now, it's important we get some good sleep."

The three of them left the cafeteria, and headed towards the housing area. Only a few of the other Ultimates were still up, and those that were appeared ready to get a good night's sleep; it wasn't easy to accept, trying to sleep in a mysterious, dangerous ghost town.

Fiora watched as Isaac and Hara walked towards a building together, and noticed that the house was meant for both of them; even the pixel art of them portrayed them holding hands. A bit of envy welled up in the movie maker, but it was still so cute that she couldn't help but smile.

Inside of their room, Hara and Isaac did a quick search through their things. Finding everything there, they quickly dressed for bed, and pulled themselves into it while holding each other.

"Do you think," Hara whispered to him as she snuggled up close, "that it'll be okay to trust the others?"

"That I don't know yet, because that's the tricky thing about Despair. It hides within the best of us, and the worst of us may not have it. But I know that as long as I have my wits and you with me, we'll be good."

She smiled and kissed him, sighing in relief. The two became comfortable, and quickly fell to sleep, the exhaustion of such a roller coaster of a day hitting them hard.

Though they were only a couple in the few that did fall asleep right away. Some of the Ultimate graduates were unable to slumber, nerves and worries keeping them awake; it wasn't easy, falling asleep in a place that was passive-aggressive with its hostility, inhabited by a sadistic entity.

Some of these restless souls tried showering to help themselves calm down. Some of them tossed and turned for hours. A couple of them used their digital devices to get their minds off of the horrors (one of them had even brought a console, casually plugging it into the TV that was in their room).

And some of these people were preparing weapons.

Knives were sharpened. Guns were checked and double-checked, cleaned and prepared. Unorthodox weapons were also readied, from brass knuckles to hidden blades.

One of the most dangerous weapons of all, a cunning mind, was being used in several of these rooms. Plans were being made, strategies were being formed, lists were being made.

As the mists swirled down the road outside of the houses, formulas for either survival or devastation were stewing far more fervently inside of the buildings.

From across the road, Monokuma was staring the buildings. His evil red eye seemed to be forging animosity inside of that furnace-like glow. He stood there, motionless except for the wicked gleam of his left eye illuminating the mists curling around his body.

The Penjar Killing Game had officially begun, whether it had dawned everyone in the party of twenty-eight Hope's Peak graduates. Everyone was going to find out the limits to hope, despair, life, death, kindness, and sadism.

Welcome to the city of Penjar, indeed.

* * *

( **Day 01 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is riding on a motorcycle that looks suspiciously like Kimiko's rental. He is wearing shades, a leather jacket, and is holding a particularly large rifle._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "What is survival horror? Is it always in some dark and gloomy place? Is it enduring jump scares, or can it be just taking on the normal difficulties of everyday modern life?"

* _He is driving towards what looks like a heavily armored-up, painted black tank, which has flames spewing from the main cannon for some reason._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "If you think about it, the world is a very scary place if you compare it to an apocalyptic setting. Food, water, shelter, and ammo are you need there. The real world requires taxes, vaccines, mortgages, possible wars, traffic accidents, car insurance, thief insurance, someone saying you don't like somewhere on the internet…"

* _Monokuma drives underneath the mega-weapon of a tank, and places a bomb underneath it. He does this as the motorcycle is run over._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Phone bills, internet bills, gas prices, grocery bills, pill bills, toll road payments, credit card bills, tips, hip replacements, the list goes on. So you see, real life should be considered survival horror as well. You're actually lucky to be part of something so simplistic."

* _Monokuma walks away from the giant black tank, which is exploding and smoldering. He lowers his shades to grin all the more at the camera._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "This has been the first installment of the Monokuma Theater, for your viewing entertainment and your mental stimulation. I hope to see you all more in the future!"

* * *

 **…**

 **28 Graduates remain in Penjar.**


	5. Chapter 1-2: The ABCs of Penjar

**Chapter 1-2**

 **Ahola Basin Celebration**

* * *

 **Day 02, 9:30 AM**

 **Housing Area**

The TVs inside every room turned on in each room, as if a universal remote had hit the power button. Not everyone was asleep at this time, but those that were awoke suddenly. The sound of the television loudly turning on, the buzz and morning chime that followed, which was more than enough to wake those slumbering.

* * *

( **Day 02 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The picture on the TV seems to be the five Monokubs are standing in a row at the front steps of the town hall. It's still run-down, faded, and old, but they're standing proud as if they are mighty politicians at a prominent government building._ *

 **All Five Kubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Today begins your first day in our lovely city!"

 **Monokid** \- "Hell yeah! And don't forget that today is going to be our pool party! You dumb fucks all better be there, it's mandatory and shit!"

 **Monophanie** \- "If you like barbecue or making drinks, we could always use some help~"

 **Monosuke** \- "The time for the pool party for our new guests is 1:10 PM. We will be opening the doors to the public pool building thirty-seven seconds after the party time starts."

 **Monophanie** \- "Wait, what? Why are we opening after the party is supposed to start? And why such a weird number of seconds-"

 **Monosuke** \- "Bathing suits are mandatory for the pool, so if you didn't bring your own, they will be in the storage area inside of the public pool's building. You have fifty-three minutes to get them on once you have found one your size!"

 **Monophanie** \- "What is it with you and weird time limits today, Monosuke?"

* _Monophanie turns towards Monosuke to pout at him. Monotaro pulls a barbecue out from the side, with it already having what appears to be a full pineapple being roasted on the grill._ *

 **Monotaro** \- "It's such a shame no cooking professionals came here, but we'll manage with anyone with any culinary experience."

 **Monosuke** \- "You have approximately two hours, forty-two minutes, and twenty two seconds to get the food and drinks ready, or else-"

* _Monophanie hits Monosuke over the head with a blender, dazing the orange Kub. As he falls on his face, she poses triumphantly, and the other three Kubs don't seem to notice._ *

 **Monokid** \- "That about sums it up! So hell yeah, come on down to the pool party! If you all come, there will be a reward for all of our guests to Penjar! We welcome you with all the open arms! Anything to add to that, Monodam?"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "HA! Gotcha! You know you're not allowed to talk at the town meetings! Get over here, we're gonna BBQ your face!"

* _What follows is Monokid grabbing Monodam, who doesn't appear interested in struggling, and pulling him over towards Monotaro's barbecue. The red Kub is fervently trying to stop his blue fellow, while Monophanie watches._ *

 **Monophanie** \- "Oh no, don't grill his face again! How horribly violent! Um, anyway, that's all!"

 **All Five Kubs** \- "So long, bear well~"

* * *

"I think," Isaac muttered as he rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, "that I have already had enough of their shenanigans. How about you, honey?"

He glanced at the side of his bed, only to notice he was alone. Isaac felt a sudden wash of panic, but then he noticed how their things had been gone through, as well as a little note left on the table of the room. He read it over:

" _Sorry, wanted to do my morning walk, no matter where we are. Didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful sleeping. See you soon, my love!_

 _~Hara_ "

Isaac smiled, and muttered, "And she says I'm the stubborn one."

* * *

 **Day 02, 9:31 AM**

 **Main Plaza**

Hara took a moment from her morning hike to stretch. She bent her body side to side, popping out all the joints that still hadn't flexed enough, and curved her back. With a relieved sigh, she glanced around at her surroundings.

It almost surprised her to see the Guardian, in all its height and glory, staring off into the distance. The idea of a three-foot mech still shocked her, and since it was motionless, it was almost easy to forget it could move.

With a sigh, she muttered towards it, "Just how on Earth did they get you across the country unnoticed?"  
"Hello? Is someone there?"

Hara froze up, easily riled by sudden interaction. She then recognized Crystal, who was walking through the mist across the plaza. The military adviser had on exercise clothing, instead of her rather prominent attire.

"Oh my apologies," she said to Hara, smiling and bowing slightly. "I usually do a bit of exercise in the morning too, but when I got up, I realized how much I do not to walk around this town alone."

Hara smiled a little, and admitted, "Neither do I, but the wanderlust is a bit hardcore in my blood. I couldn't resist."

Crystal chuckled, and looked over Hara real quick. "You are Hara Pathik, correct?"

"Y-yes?"

"Ultimate Explorer, that's right. Sorry, I do have a good memory of those who went to Hope's Peak, especially close to my time. You are only a year ahead of me, but you do kind of stand out."

Hara blushed, and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm, um, not sure what you mean."

"Your ethnicity, dear, not your figure."

That triggered more blushing from Hara, who stammered out a weak, "I… I knew that."

"Relax, I am straight. Though from what I have gathered from lots of talk and very obvious behavior, we might be the few who are. Hope you didn't get the impression I was making a pass at you."

Crystal was a little bit surprised when Hara burst out giggling. The explorer whispered, "Don't tell anyone, but I don't think Hikari remembers me."

"The steampunk model? What makes you say that?"

"Let's just say… that amorous doesn't fulfill a description when she's on the prowl. And though she wasn't in my class, she did make passes at girls in other classes. I still remember some of her pick-up lines."

Crystal smirked, then placed a hand over her heart in a feminine pose. " 'Oh darling, you definitely look like an Ultimate Military Adviser! That's exactly what I thought you were when I first laid eyes on you.'"

Hara's eyes widened at that. "She hit on you too?!"

"I'm pretty sure if you were female, she had a tendency to try at least once. Makes me wonder what she's going to do at the pool party?"

"Oh my, I don't even want to imagine."

The two ladies talked more as they walked around the city. Though it seemed so casual, even both of them realized how unusual it was to act like this when they were in a bizarre and unsafe city…

But it still made them feel a level of comfort that was much needed in this apprehensive situation.

* * *

 **Day 02, 10:00 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

"Pancakes~" sang Odelios, dropping a very large stack of them on a plate and putting it on the serving table. "Come get your pancakes! We got better, we got blueberries, we got enough maple syrup to drown a Canadian! We got any Canadians here who can help me out here?"

"You're ridiculous and offensive, and I love you," Kimiko said as she placed a bunch of pancakes on a plate. Winking at the clown, she walked back to her table, where several of the graduates were already seated.

"You seem to be a clown of numerous talents," Souma commented as he helped himself to breakfast. "You made all of these in just this morning?"

"I had some help."

The public speaker glanced into the kitchen area. Takeo, wearing an apron, was hard at work making more. Souma face-palmed, and muttered, "You didn't."

"Sure did! Even gave him five for his troubles, since he's a mercenary."

"Oh, well, I guess if he's getting paid…"

Souma started to walk back to his table, stopped, then turned to glare slowly at the clown. "When you say five, do you mean…"

"A high-five, yes sir!"

As the public speaker walked away to eat his breakfast and covers with some of the others, another person walked up for pancakes. "Hey there," Aka said, staring at all the food, "do we have chocolate chip pancakes?"

"No, couldn't find any of those," Odelios admitted. "Left us with a bit of a chip on our shoulder!"

"What? Oh, I see, you mean-"

There was a sudden scream that startled everyone in the cafeteria. Aka had jumped back from the serving table by about ten feet, staring horrified at the server himself.

"Uh-oh," Odelios commented, "we got an It-Scar."

"What's that?" Takeo, who had left the kitchen to see what the noise was about, asked as he walked into the serving area.

"Basically something us clowns call the people who hate clowns. This is normally caused by people who saw _It_ , and thus, it scarred them and they don't like us much. Tragic, really."

Aka flinched as Odelios pulled a hanky from his pocket (which was connected to other hankies), and blew his nose on it. He then yanked on the hanky chain, and it went back into his pocket, pulling back in like a seat beat.

"I don't think she's going to eat if I'm here, and I don't want to endanger my life by accidentally starving her to death. Takeo, take orders for now!"

"Yes sir!"

"And adjust your apron, it's crooked!"

"Yes sir!"

When Odelios walked back into the kitchen, Aka braved forward and spoke to Takeo. "S-sorry. I can handle a lot of things, I can handle going down a steep hill like a bullet, but I cannot handle clowns."

"I do not judge," Takeo said.

"Thanks. Anyway, I'mma gonna get a lot of these, you might have to make more. That'll suck for the next person in line, so are you okay-"

The room was once again shook by a scream as Aka leapt away from Ignatia, who frowned darkly at the skier. The mime set her plate on the serving table and crossed her arms, huffing silently as she waited for her turn.

At the end of the cafeteria, Hikari and Shinobu watched the commotion. The steampunk model chuckled lightly, and murmured to herself, "I must remember not to wear too much make-up around her if that's how she feels about our comedy performances friends."

"She's a little jumpy this morning," Shinobu commented, while poking at her pancakes. "But I guess that's understandable, considering the circumstances we are in. You said you were interested in her?"

"Yes, I do kind of fancy the tomboys," Hikari said, slowly inserting pancake into her mouth, and pulling it out slowly and surely. She chewed, then her eyes glanced over at Shinobu. "Still, I am a lady who likes to leave her options open. I'm sure a smart historian like yourself would understand?"

Shinobu nodded, then noticed that Hikari was looking her over. "Um, I'm straight, just to let you know. Again."

"Again?"

"You hit on me way back when we were in Hope's Peak Academy. I was in one of the other classes, but we are the same age. You don't remember me?"

Hikari blinked a great deal, and a blush spread across her pretty face. "Um, oh dear, it seems my teenaged years of being overly forward have caught with me. I was… a little flirtatious back then."

"You hit on every single girl in my class too," Shinobu remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Trust me, I remember; I am a historian, after all."

The steampunk model hid her face in her arms, sighing heavily. "And you're not going to let me live it down," she murmured behind her arms, "are you?"

"Oh I dunno," Shinobu said, giggling a whole bunch as she put a blueberry into her mouth. "History does have a way of repeating itself, from what I've seen."

* * *

 **Day 02, 10:45 AM**

 **Ye Olde Taxidermy Shop**

"Why don't you just take that to your room?" Blake asked Jin, who was admiring the stuffed owl again. "I mean, I don't think the owners are going to be too upset."

"There's no high shelf in my room," the artist said, slowly spinning the owl around in her hands, "and I refuse to have an owl be so close to the ground."

"Uh-huh," the pyro remarked as he inspected the shop that he hadn't a chance to look at last night. "Heh, part of me wants to take the tiger out and put it my room, bitching decoration."

"I would advise against that," Jin said, slowly turning towards the tall man. Her eyes flashed for a second, and she added, "Because I want to put it in my brother's room and scare him again."

"Really? That sounds hilarious. Imagine that, opening a door and BAM! there is a tiger! Haha, I'll so help you with that. Want some help?"

Jin placed the owl back where she had found it, and nodded. As the two went into the backroom and started to haul the taxidermy tiger out, they heard the front door open.

"What's all this then?" Ishiku declared, standing dramatically in the shop as he stared into the backroom. "Are you all seriously trying to claim the tiger?"

"We're going to prank Jin's brother," Blake explained, huffing a little as he was doing far more of the lifting than the petite girl was.

"What? WHAT? You mean to tell me you two are going to play a prank, a rather unique and odd prank on someone, who'll surely get a heart attack because we're in a creepy town and a tiger showing up wouldn't be the weirdest thing…

"And you didn't plan to get ME involved?"

"If you want to stop being so dramatic," Jin dead-panned her response, rolling her eyes as she tried to shift her weight to lift the tiger some more, "and actually help us, you're more than welcome to. It's going to be beautiful."

"It sure is! C'mon kitty," Ishiku said as he moved towards them. "Let's get you a new home!"

* * *

 **Day 02, 11:03 AM**

 **Outside, Road to Main Plaza**

Anzu stared up at the sky, sighing. She was almost motionless, her arms and legs crossed as her head hung back, eyes trailing all over as if lost in thought. There was little movement and less sound to come from the young lady.

It wasn't until Pyrrha came walking by, and noticed her sitting there. The romance writer stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on; she eventually decided asking was best.

"May I ask if everything's okay?" she asked Anzu.

The raven-haired actress turned towards the writer, a nice smile spreading across her face. "It's all good. I'm just… a little bit off right now."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, to be honest. But come here, look at the sky."

The actress offered a seat next to her, and the writer sat down. She stared up at the sky, which was so overcast with clouds that the sun could barely shine through.

It had been something she had noticed when she got up this morning. Though it was definitely daytime and not exactly dark, the overabundance of natural shade felt a little miserable. The overcast clouds stretched as far as their eyes could see, no end in sight.

"Not exactly a vacation town," Pyrrha managed to joke, "am I right?"

The actress chuckled and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being weird. It's just that, ever since I got here, it's been killing my mood. Like, I haven't…"

Anzu stopped herself, then waved her hand. "Wait no, I shouldn't be talking about that with you. That'd be inappropriate."

"It's all well and good," Pyrrha offered. "I can certainly understand, mood is everything."

As the two talked for a little longer, Angelique was going for a walk of her own. The lovely singer noticed the two, and then thought about her next move. She tapped her lips, which had a nice shade on for this morning because she never believed in rushing anything.

"What to lead with, what to lead with," she whispered to herself, smiling as she thought of what to say to the two.

As she tried to think of a line to use that would be appropriate to chat up a pretty romance writer and a sexy adult actress, she was startled to see someone else come jogging up the road.

"Hello ladies," Ken said, jogging in place as he took a moment to breath. The Novoselic smiled at the two, and said, "Doing alright this morning?"

"Yes," the two responded in unison, both smiling at the handsome man.

"Are we all seriously considering going to the pool party, by the way?"

"Of course," Anzu said.

"I don't see why not," Pyrrha said.

"Don't you want to see how all of us look in bikinis?" added Anzu with a batting of her eyes.

Ken flushed ever-so-slightly, then tried to pull back to his casual mode. "O-okay then. I guess I'll see you there. Stay safe now."  
"We will," the two said, in unison again, and both giggled at this. Ken jogged off, still flushed and definitely not from his morning exercise.

Angelique sighed and snapped her fingers, walking away. "Too late now," she muttered, rubbing her locket. "But I must make sure I do have a good bikini for that party…"

* * *

 **Day 02, 12:03 PM**

 **Housing Area**

"Okay, are we really all considering this?" Shuuya said to the others who had gathered around their living quarters. The graduates had, for the most part, broken apart as they went to explore the city again, during the day. The bounty hunter was one of those done looking through a molding, rotting city for one day.

"I feel it would be best," Yitro remarked, crossing his arms. "I mean, I very much doubt there is going to be anything sinister at the pool party."

"And if there was," Emanuel remarked, shrugging, "we can handle it. We have more than enough firepower amongst us to cope with anything, except for that Guardian bot."

"I'm just here to observe," Futaba remarked, correcting her glasses. "I'd much rather do it in a nice open place rather than some mist-filled, falling apart old building."

Shuuya sighed heavily, then glanced over at the others in the group who hadn't spoken up: Samson and Yejoon. "What do you two think?"

"I'm not going to go against the flow," Samson admitted. "If most of you are going, I'mma gonna go too."

"Indeed, it seems that this would be the best course of action for us," Yejoon remarked. "Even if it does seem a touch silly, I believe if we appease to our hosts, we might find out a little more, like they promised."

Shuuya sighed, realizing his suspicions and hesitations weren't shared by everyone else. "Fine, I guess it can work out. Just I know a lot of you are fighters, like me, so stay on your guard. We don't want any foul play from the bears."

Samson cast a salute. Emanuel shrugged again. Futaba and Yitro nodded, while Yejoon chuckled and added to the conversation, "Then I will see you all at the pool at 1:10."

The artist walked towards his room, and opened the front door. He froze in place for a minute as he stared into his room, and then said aloud, "I am going to get my sister for that."

* * *

 **Day 02, 1:03 PM**

 **Outside of Penjar's Public Pool**

Fiora impatiently tapped her foot on the ground, staring at the front door to the pool's building. She glanced over at the pool, behind that gate, and frowned harder.

"Can't you just let me in now?" she declared to Monodam, who stood outside with her, in front of the door.

His response was no response at all. Fiora groaned, and then saw someone else coming up the road. Saiko, who had a satchel on her shoulder, was focused with a game on her phone as she approached the building.

The forensic investigator had on a white shirt, so it was a little obvious she was wearing a blue 'n white striped bikini top on underneath the shirt. Her bottoms were the same style as her top, which had a cute look on the otherwise stern-looking woman.

"Hey there," Fiora called out to her. "Saiko, maybe you could convince the green one here to let us in."

Saiko glanced up from her phone at Fiora, then at Monodam, then at Fiora again. "What," she finally said, brushing her blue bangs aside to get a clear view, "are you _wearing_?"

Fiora glanced down at herself. She had on her one-piece bikini, which she thought was totally normal. The white-outlined swimsuit was a tie-dye mess with cartoonish characters all over it, one of them mimicking bench-pressing right underneath the movie maker's ample bosom.

"I like it," Fiora said, staring cluelessly at Saiko, "what's wrong with that?"

"And why are you still wearing your hat?"

"I never go anywhere without my hat," Fiora shouted, gripping her hat with both hands. "Come on, Saiko, why you gotta judge?"  
"Why you gotta look so ridiculous, B-Movie Maker?"

Before she could respond to that, someone came walking up to them. It was Eisei, wearing a one-piece bikini that could have looked like a mixture of trunks and a swimsuit, but it covered his chest, back, shoulders, legs and thighs, and it had more frills than a frilly dress.

"Oh, I'm not too early, am I?" he asked, staring at the front door, then the two ladies. "I assumed if I were to dress for the pool party, and come here, it would be more appropriate for the occasion. Looks like I wasn't the only one to think of this, however."

Saiko just stared at the short man in an outfit more ridiculous than Fiora's. Fiora groaned aloud and pointed at Monodam. "He won't let us in," she whined.

"I-CANNOT-LET-YOU-IN," Monodam spoke, "BECAUSE-I-MYSELF-CANNOT-GET-IN."

"Did your fellow Kubs lock you out?" Fiora asked. When Monodam didn't answer, the movie maker dropped to her knees and hugged the green bear. "You poor thing!"

"This is too weird," Saiko muttered.

"Relax, you are stressing too much," Eisei said, as he reached into his bag and pulled out a couple lollipops. "Would you like a lollipop, perchance?"

Saiko's eyes widened, and she swallowed hungrily. "Yes," she said in the same way someone dying of thirst asks for a bottle of water.

"Excellent! Though if you could come down here real fast, I need to check you for something…"

* * *

 **Day 02, 1:15 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Pool**

 **Women's Shower Room**

"He got you too, did he?" Crystal asked Saiko, who was rubbing her jawline. The military adviser hit the button on the wall to activate the shower, which sprayed her with nice cool water.

The forensic investigator nodded, then rolled the lollipop around in her mouth. "Worth it, though."

Crystal chuckled after she was done washing herself off, and then headed out of the room. "See you out there, then." She was wearing a cyan 'n white bathing suit, and had put on a pair of white-rimmed sunglasses to complete a rather demure look.

Saiko laughed a little too, then she glanced around the room. Several of the other gals had changed into their swimwear, and she noticed that they were all conversing with each other. The bluebell sighed as she realized this didn't come so easy for her, and started to head out.

As she did, she almost walked right into Hikari. The steampunk model was grinning ear to ear as she stared at Saiko, and eyeing her up rather a lot too. "Hello~ there, my dear forensic investigator! My my, you are looking good there!"

"I'm still straight, Hikari."

Saiko walked by her, as Hikari struggled to find the words. The model turned to speak when she finally found them, and the investigator called back, "And I was literally the same year as you, how could you forget?"

Hikari sulked, and then stared down at herself. Her dark red bikini barely covered her supermodel body, the color sensually contrasting with her fair, asian skin. Letting out a sigh, she muttered, "Curse you, teenaged me, you may have doomed me now."

"Curse who 'n what now?"

The steampunk model spun, not a professional model heel-turn at all with how rushed she was. She was now staring at Aka, who had showered down and was dressed in a red bathing suit.

"You seem a bit starved for attention, so guess what?" Aka said, leaning forward with a very impish grin on her face. "I'mma give you _all_ the attention, girl."

"Oh my, I wonder if I can handle it," Hikari said, giggling a great deal. She extended her hand, all lady-like, and Aka took it. The two walked out towards the pool.

It was already a bit busy, but the pool was large enough to accommodate all of the graduates, the five Kubs, and Monokuma. Hikari and Aka, holding hands, walked over to a couple poolside chairs and sat down to engage in conversation.

Inside of the pool, there was a swimming match already started. Samson, Yitro, and Ken, and had engaged in a laps competition, and they were really churning up the waters. Pyrrha watched and cheered them on, enjoying herself.

Blake sat in a pool chair, mostly uninterested. Occasionally one of the ladies would walk by, and his neck would crane to watch them. He would chuckle and sip from his drink, saying to himself, "All things considered, not that bad here."

Ignatia dangled her legs in the pool and leaned back, staring up at the sky as she lazily kicked her limbs. The mime may have had on a dark purple bathing suit with a mesh top for her cleavage, but she didn't appear willing to swim; she still had on her face paint.

Speaking of face-painted souls, Odelios was busy arguing with Monotaro over the barbecue. The two were struggling with the spatula, as both insisted that they knew how to grill a hamburger better. This resulted in a rolling wrestling match, as Monotaro had to stand on the floaty the clown was wearing, bear feet on the ducky head.

Monophanie was serving drinks, which Drake had volunteered to help make. Though the cartoonist knew nothing about alcoholic drinks, this actually worked with the pink bear's rules.

"I'm not about to have a bunch of drunk guests," she declared proudly, "who could drown because they are in the water and are too sloshed to swim."

"Yeah, that would be bad," Drake admitted. "Um, can I get you something, Monophanie?"

"Aww, you're so nice! But no, I'm good for now, I'll get myself some honey later. For now, I think Mr. Shokyaka needs a refill."

Isaac, Hara, and Saiko were all seated together, talking about the good times back at Hope's Peak. Shinobu, interested in hearing some of their tales, joined them and it was a lively, happy conversation. Drake swung by to get them all drinks, and it felt far more of a special occasion than the dark and dreary town they were in.

Jin and Futaba engaged in a conversation near the pool. The artist was at first not so keen with discussing details about her work, but Futaba had been insistent (and could be quite complimenting of her tattoos), so Jin was describing one of their art halls in Korea. She was rather getting into the description of the place until her brother walked alongside them and, very casually, pushed Jin into the pool without breaking stride.

Monokid and Monosuke were standing near the barbecue, taking orders from everyone. They occasionally had to wait for Odelios and Monotaro to stop fighting, in order to get the orders across. There was also the occasional pause as Monokid went to go throw Monodam into the pool whenever he felt like it (which was about every five minutes).

Ishiku had started up the hot tub, and all the jets inside. He had plopped himself in there, and grinned happily as he had one of said jets massage his back. Emanuel sat at the other side, not particularly interested in anything or anyone else.

Amid all of this chaos and goings-on, Souma leaned back in his chair and sipped from his drink. He watched everyone and smiled, resting his body. "Almost feels like we're on a cruise, doesn't it?" he asked the person seated next to him.

"Yes, it truly does," Fiora said in-between bites of her food. "Though I really wonder if this is all safe."

"Why's that, my dear?"

"I mean, we all traveled to this city to find some answers, and now here we are, swimming, lounging, taking food prepared by animatronic bears, and… here I am, eating ribs at a pool party surrounded by graduates of Hope's Peak.

"Don't you think we should be a bit more cautious?"

Souma cocked his head to the side as he watched Fiora stare at him, chewing on her food with the sauce around her lips. "My, you're normally not so serious. Are you alright?"

"I… tend to get a little restless when I'm not working. I'm always working on movies."

" **Ahem.** "

Fiora blinked, then turned to see Monokuma staring at her. The white 'n black bear grinned as he pointed at her plate of ribs. " **When you're done eating those, I would like the bones, please. Bears love their marrow, don't you know?** "

"Aw, did you want some food, Monokuma?"

" **That is literally what I just said, B-Movie Maker.** "

Fiora chuckled, finished the ribs she was on, and then slapped her plate right into Monokuma's face. The sticky rib bones and the plate stayed there, unwilling to slide off with how sticky they were.

" **…** **Thank you.** "

Monokuma waddled off with the plate and ribs stuck to his face. The graduates all avoided him, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the avatar of despair, even if he looked ridiculous.

Angelique stared at a bottle of sunscreen, then glanced up at the sky. She sighed regretfully, the overcast sky was not going to give them enough sun to justify the lotion. "So much for that plan," she murmured to herself as she placed it on the table next to her chair.

Yitro, having won the swimming competition, walked over to her. He was still wet, his toned and fit body glistening in the light. It was a glorious sight for anyone who had a desire for the male body, though his friend wasn't so much interested in that.

"You look kind of down," he said to Angelique as he sat on the pool chair next to hers. "Something wrong?"

"Sorry, Yitro, but I think I'm losing my charm. It's been so long since I was at a social gathering, it hasn't been terribly easy since the Tragedy. France was hit rather hard, I haven't been back home in so long…

"I was so dedicated to my craft and such in the past few years, I don't know how to approach women anymore. Earlier today, I was beaten to it by a handsome man. Wish I could be like her."

She pointed over at Hikari, who was leaning forward towards Aka. The skier was giggling a great deal, giving a rather girly tomboy appeal for the gal she was flirting with.

"Hikari… wait, didn't she hit on every girl in our classroom back at Hope's Peak?" Yitro asked. "Wait, didn't she hit on you too?"

"That's besides the point, my handsome friend. I just don't want to feel like an old woman past her prime, especially since there are more important things going on. I vowed to make this pool party my bit of selfish desires, before I become most serious about Penjar and the troubles that await us."

Yitro hummed in thought, then tapped his chin. "Do you remember the plan we had way back when we were chilling at the pool at Hope's Peak?"

"Yes, why?"

Across the pool, Kimiko slogged down the rest of her drink, and called over to the Kubs and Drake for a refill when they could. The biker's tattoos were all visible, since she was wearing a green, flame-decal bikini. She appeared to be enjoying herself.

When she glanced upwards, she saw the French opera singer standing up. Then the lady stretched, accenting all of her figure, her assets, and she was letting out a long, sensual coo as she stretched. Kimiko stared openly, mouth hanging open a little.

Angelique turned towards to Yitro, and then the opera singer started to walk around the pool. Kimiko panicked, pulled her hat down over her eyes, and pretended to be drinking her drink aggressively sucking on the straw.

"Did you like what you see~?"

Kimiko glanced up, and was at first greeted by one of the most plentiful bosoms she had ever seen. The red bikini top with a golden 'A' on each cup was doing a marvelous job containing the feminine DDs.

The biker glanced to the side, and was trying to pretend to be drinking. "I… don't know what you're talking about. I was here enjoying my sweet drink."

"Your drink is empty, belle fille."

Kimiko realized she had been caught, and set her glass on the table with a sigh. "Okay, yeah. But I get pissed off when I see someone staring at my tits, so I didn't want to come off as a hypocrite."

"As long as you're honest with me, dear."

"Can you blame me, though? I mean… damn girl, you got so lucky from Mother Nature," Kimiko said, grinning excitedly. "Seriously, can you even see your feet when you look down? Look at those."

It was at this point that Drake came over to refill Kimiko's drink. The biker turned towards the cartoonist and declared, "Back me up here, kid! Doesn't she have great tits?"

Drake turned bright red, quietly excused himself, and hurried back to the drink preparation area. Angelique pursed her lips and crossed her arms, staring down at Kimiko. "Don't do that to the poor boy, he's a total cinnamon roll."

"I know, that's what makes it more fun," Kimiko said, grinning wickedly, "but also a little frustrating. I love cute boys like that."

"Oh, so you're bisexual, belle fille?"

"Yeah, pretty much always have been. You too, right?"

"I prefer the company of ladies only."

"Really? But you've been with Yitro since we got here."

Angelique laughed as she sat down next to Kimiko. "He's a good friend of mine, we're catching up since we missed each other so much during The Tragedy. But tell me, my dear biker rebel, what's your type of woman if you have a type of man?"

Kimiko chuckled a little, a combination of nervous and excited. "Well, um, that's a little weird to talk about, all things considered. And um, it's a little hard to at times."

Angelique watched as the biker reached up and touched her dog tag necklace, which was still around her neck; it seemed like a subconscious thing to do. The opera singer reached up towards her own neck, and touched her locket.

"Say no more, my dear, I think I understand. But tell me at least, which of the ladies here caught your eye? Besides me just now, of course."

Kimiko giggled and said, "I'm kind of into that."

She was pointing at Hikari, who was "walking" her fingers down Aka's legs, seeing just how fit the skier was. Angelique stared at this, then turned to Kimiko. "Forward is your thing?"

"I'm not the most patient of bitches, I kind of get into it as fast as I can if I like what I see."

At that moment, Jin popped up from the pool, pulling herself up and staring at the two women. Her bright, dyed hair was clinging to her head, and she had on one of the provided black swimsuits; she definitely didn't look like the type to go swimming.

"Where is my brother?" she growled. "For I am going to kill him tonight."

"See, I like that," Kimiko said to Angelique, and then said, "Why don't you come over here instead, we're having a really fun conversation about sex and attraction."

Jin scoffed, and glared from side to side. She pooled herself out of the pool and wiped her bangs away from her face, slowly turning her neck as she scanned the area. "Maybe another time. I wish to hunt in a different way now."

There was a scream, as Odelios was thrown through the air and landed upside-down in the water. His ducky float kept him afloat, as his legs kicked around until he managed to flip the thing around. When he surfaced, water flying around due to his wild orange hair acting like mini water launchers, he turned back towards the BBQ area.

"You'll pay for that, Monotaro, you poor procurer of properly prepared pork! I'll see my lawyer about this, once he graduates from law school or Hope's Peak!"

The pool party continued for quite a while, everyone getting to know each other a bit more. Almost everyone took part in swimming at some point, though some of them preferred to stay out of the water. The Kubs, Odelios, and Drake helped out with the food and drinks, when some of them weren't getting thrown into the pool at random.

The only disturbance that truly happened was when Monokuma tried to get into the hot tub. He lounged there, as Emanuel stared angrily at him.

"I'm not sharing this tub with _you_ , of all beings," he snarled.

" **Oh yeah? Well, we bears do love a good amount of relaxation and rejuvenation. Don't worry, I won't get any fur in the hot tub.**

" **Or blood… fuhuhuhuhu-AWK!** "

Emanuel grabbed the back of Monokuma's head and pushed him under the water. It was impossible to tell if he was drowning the bear, since there was always a million bubbles due to the jets. Monokuma thrashed around, looking rather desperate to breathe despite being what he was.

This disturbed a few of the party-goers, especially so when Monokuma stopped thrashing and then went perfectly still. Emanuel grabbed the "lifeless" body and threw it out of the pool with one hand. The Kubs shrieked in terror as their father's body flopped on the ground, a "drowned corpse."

"Now then," Emanuel said, resting his tan shoulders on the side of the hot tub, "stop making fruity drinks, we are all adults here. Get me a _real_ drink, now."

As if defeated by the "death" of their father, the Kubs brought around some alcohol bottles. Monophanie seemed to know how to mix liquor with fruit drinks and the like, and taught a nervous Drake how to do so. Monotaro poured some beer on some pig ribs, saying it was an old classic.

Beer cans, as well as alcoholic drinks in glass bottles, were provided. Emanuel got the strongest one and started to drink it down. Kimiko took to the beer immediately. Eventually, a good deal of the graduates had a strong drink or two.

This resulted in the party becoming a little more wild in areas, and more calm (but definitely not placid) in other areas. It was a little unusual, as the one making the drinks for them all couldn't legally drink (nor did he want to), but Drake quickly became a favorite amid the graduates.

Blake was sloshed fastest of them all, claiming that he was "half-Australian, we don't get drunk!" He had his arm wrapped around Drake and saying what a good kid he was, and did he want to see a fire trick with alcohol?

Shuuya and Crystal got into a debate about organized tactics or hit 'n run attacks It almost becoming heated, before they went into the pool's building; the others found them there playing ping-pong, as if the victorious one was correct.

Yejoon watched as his sister tried to tell him off, claiming that, "You, Olppaemi, you take all the credit for the best things I do! And you pushed me in the pool too! I hate you, I hate you…" She was reduced to pounding on his chest with her fists, but only enough to lightly tap him, as he pat her purple-pink hair.

Not everyone was a heavy drinker, thus not as amusing but a bit more friendly and vocal after their drink. Some of them didn't drink at all, which included Yitro, Eisei, and Takeo; the three guys were immersed in conversation, despite their different walks of life.

"I do miss a bit of sake," Yitro mumbled, glancing at the wet bar that was a pink animatronic bear and an eighteen year old cartoonist. "But I don't wish to drink, ever again."

"You'll live longer if you avoid it," Eisei commented. "With the amount of research I've done, I can tell you now, it will increase your life expectancy."

"I personally don't mind drinking a bunch when I have downtime," Takeo admitted. "But I wouldn't want to do it now, I want to keep my wits about me in this strange town. Therefore, I'm not doing anything that could be distracting to my senses."

The guys nodded, understanding this mentality. Then Odelios slid over, waving his arms around. "TAKEO! Belly flop in the pool, NOW!"

"What?" Yitro said. "Why on Earth would he do that-"

The rather painful sound of a flat surface that was someone's stomach hitting the pool water echoed around the party area. Several people glanced over, as the mercenary surfaced and glared at the clown. Cackling happily, Odelios returned to the barbecue area, telling Monotaro he so won whatever bet they just made.

"I hate that clown," Takeo shouted, shaking his fist in the air.

Yitro raised an eyebrow, and then turned to Eisei. "You know, the more crazy things that happen here, the more I think we more or less fit in."

The dentist rolled his lollipop around in his mouth, and nodded. "Say, my good sir, if you could lean in here real quick…"

* * *

 **Day 02, 4:51 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Pool**

 **Game Room**

Ishiku walked into the room, patting himself down with a towel to ensure he didn't drip on the floor. He glanced around the room, stunned by how much it was _not_ like the town. The floor was solid and clean, the walls were painted over with a nice burgundy shade, and everything in the room was well-maintained.

There were a couple arcade games, a table that had a few boardgames nearby (consisting of chess, shoji, and checkers), a ping-pong table, and a pool table. The very last of these items was being used by Samson, who was sinking a shot.

"Ah, still got it," the trader said, smiling as he circled the table. He walked around, and spot Ishiku watching him. "What's up, you want to try?"

"I'm afraid I've never played pool before, I prefer the pool next to the pool. Like a fool."

Giving a cheesy grin to Samson, the magician finished scanning the room, and noticed Shuuya and Crystal collapsed in chairs. They appeared to have nodded off. "What happened to them?" Ishiku asked.

"Oh, they were still going at it with a ping pong table in a rather hardcore way, whacking the shit out of that little ball. Eventually they started falling over due to the alcohol and momentum of, ah, intense sports, and took a seat. I think both of them just need a rest."

Samson chuckled as he rubbed down the tip of his pool cue with the little chalk block. "Even the best of military and combat experts, it would seem, cannot overcome the stereotypes that a blond white girl and an asian dude aren't going to be the strongest of booze drinkers."

Ishiku raised an eyebrow, glanced at the two again, and asked, "Wanna sharpie up their faces?"

"Not especially, since I don't have a sharpie…"

He glanced over at the magician, who pulled a sharpie from 'behind his ear' and was presenting it with a big grin. Samson tilted his head to the side, hummed in thought, then said, "No, still probably shouldn't. I guess I'm babysitting them as they sleep that off."

"Aw well," Ishiku said, tucking the sharpie away behind his ear, where it mysteriously disappeared. "I'd say that you are rather chill about our situation, but I mean, so am I."

"Yes, it does seem like we've become a bit lax about our search efforts, but," Samson remarked as he sank another shot, "I think we can easily search the place more once the Kubs declare the pool party over; hopefully, half of the party-goers so drunk that they cannot carry."

A snort of Crystal in her sleep seemed to accentuate this point. Ishiku shrugged and carried on through the building, keen to see what else he may have missed.

* * *

 **Day 02, 4:53 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Pool**

 **The Pool**

"Just stay there until you feel able to stand up properly," Yejoon instructed his sister, as she lay down in a pool chair. "Honestly, you don't drink, why on Earth did you start today?"

"Hey, I just wanted to try it once! All I ever got from the damn art shows was some wine, and that simple stuff isn't all that exciting. I wanted an incredible… exspear… spear… fence. Words are getting difficult."

Yejoon tsk-tsk'ed and walked away, leaving Jin in that chair as his sister tried to get words back in working shape with her mouth. She turned, and noticed Futaba was in the next pool chair.

The silver-haired anthropologist was busy writing in a journal, not really noticing her new neighbor. She was watching everyone with a hum every now and then, eyes bouncing around the area. Jin took a moment to examine her as she examined the party goers.

The artist took note of how Futaba was still wearing her glove, the wrist of it going down almost all the way to her elbow. Futaba had a rather modest red bikini, nowhere near as daring as some of the other get-ups. Jin also stared a bit at the gal's scars that trailed from the corners of her mouth.

"What are you doing?" she suddenly asked Futaba, who merely glanced over at the artist. "I just ask because I don't understand what you would want out of this odd group."

"Really now? This is a large collection of graduates from Hope's Peak, and after everything that happened, I don't think something like this will ever happen again," Futaba explained. "From all my research, the vast majority of graduates were killed during the Tragedy."

Jin raised an eyebrow, toying with her purple hair. "Sure, fine. I just never got the appeal of people. They can be so very predictable and dull."

"Is that why exactly you have so many tattoos?" Futaba said, glancing over at the artist. Her eyes traced over every ink artwork, noticing that this gal had owl-themed tattoos on her shoulders, arms, hands, and her back as well. It was rather startling.

The purple-topped artist chuckled, and said, "Tattoos are a bold statement that you have a passion for something, for all time. That's why I did it about my favorite creature, and my dumb, sober brother decided to do them over those bushy-tailed mini-dogs."

Futaba raised an eyebrow, then leaned forward and exposed a large, elaborate tattoo of a Chinese dragon on her back. It was rather impressive, so much so that Jin smiled in appreciation. "Not bad, your tattoo artist is very talented. I'd love to know the story behind that, but you don't talk about yourself."

"No, I don't," was the answer, and then Futaba went back to writing.

Jin chuckled, and leaned back in her chair. "Sometimes people say tattoos are to cover up things about themselves. Unusual that you use other tools than that."

Futaba didn't hear her or didn't bother to respond, she was too busy watching something going on. As it turned out, Pyrrha had drunk three whole glasses of a powerful alcoholic drink that she had thought was a rather tasty fruit punch mix.

The romance writer was a laughing, giggling, swooning mess, gushing on and on about romantic tales she loved; she also would break down into tears because the couple dies at the end or something like that. This happened repeatedly, and she was getting more passionate with her descriptions of each tale. She was unable to even stand, she had unintentionally overdone it with the drinking.

Takeo had come over to check on her. The mercenary, unable to ignore orders, was now carrying her in his arms, acquiescing to her desire to be "taken home."

Also, Saiko was checking on Emanuel in the hot tub, making sure the Bête Noir had in fact not died but had just passed out. Isaac and Shinobu helped to pull him out, as leaving him in the hot tub was a rather bad place to have him stew.

* * *

 **Day 02, 5:16 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Pool**

 **Men's Shower Room**

At 5 PM, the Kubs said that the pool party was officially over, and the graduates could leave if they wanted. Some of the graduates immediately broke away, and went back to exploring the town. Some of them had drunk a bit too much, and were resting (or stumbling back to their rooms, or carried there).

Ken finished cleansing himself of the pool water with the shower water, and sighed in relaxation. He toweled himself out, and started to dress up in his casual clothes.

"I haven't been to a pool in a long time," he said to Yejoon, who was also showering and cleaning himself off. "I think I swam too much, my legs feel quite heavy."

"You seem to do a good service to your body," the tattooed artist remarked as he finished toweling off. "As a warrior, your fitness is a work of art as well as a necessity."

Ken wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he nodded and smiled. He walked back out into the pool area to see who was still there, with a protective stare over the area.

Jin and Futaba were seated next to each other, but not talking. Fiora, drunk and sobbing, was bawling on Souma's shoulder, begging to know why she couldn't be recognized as a real movie maker anymore. Blake had passed out in his chair, snoring quietly.

Emanuel, drunken snoring that was far louder, had been placed in a pool chair as well. Aka and Hikari were still chatting, far closer than before with both ladies a touch tipsy and touching a bit too. Anzu was sitting down alone, but when she noticed Ken scanning the area, she waved back playfully.

The cavalryman waved back, a little bit confused as to why the very pale girl was wearing oversized sunglasses and staring up at the overcast sky, but he didn't want to bother her. Speaking of pale girls, Ignatia was washing her legs in the hot tub, flicking her toes in the water.

The Monokubs were busy cleaning things up, packing up the barbecue and wet bar and throwing Monodam into the pool one more time. Monosuke walked over to the "drowned corpse" of Monokuma, who hadn't moved since his hot tub execution; he unceremoniously dragged his "dead" dad away, leaving a watery streak on the ground as he did so.

No longer helping the Kubs out, Drake had taken out his sketchpad and was doing a bit of work there. Ken walked over to the young man, and glanced at it. The cartoonist had done cartoon versions of the few of the graduates, a rather cute but sleek version of them.

"That's a nice style," Ken said, as Drake glanced up at him. "While I have never got into cartoons, I can still appreciate the work."

"Oh, thank you," Drake said with a smile. He was staring in the direction of the hot tub, and was sketching something new. "It's a shame you don't like cartoons, however; there are so many amazing stories and characters to see."

"Heh, I know, but as someone who knows how to fight realistically, to see it being overdone in cartoons always makes me feel standards are too high. I'm not going to jump ten stories and cut a dragon's head off, or fight with a sword in my mouth."

Drake chuckled, and carried on his work. "I understand, but I don't do fight scenes; I'm far more slice of life."

Ken nodded, then he sighed a bit. "Okay, I must admit, I was making tiny talk because I wanted to ask you about something."

"Tiny… oh, wait, I know what you mean. W-what did you want to know?"

Before Ken could ask, someone stood over them, looming rather imposingly. Both guys looked up to see Ignatia, glaring down at Drake. The cartoonist swallowed nervously, and stammered out, "Is… is something wrong?"

Ignatia pointed at the hot tub, then at herself, then down at Drake's sketchpad. She held out her hand, making it clear she wanted something. Ken was rather confused, and he said, "Do you have any idea what she wants, Drake?"

"Um, I think she saw me looking over at her and sketching, and she wants to know what I drew."

Ken stood up and got between Drake and Ignatia. "Listen here, silent improv expert of street performances," he said, pointing at the mime, "you've been very aggressive since we got here, and if you start abusing your compatriots here, I will have words with you. Very harsh words."

Ignatia's snarl curled deeper, and she audibly cracked her knuckles. Ken made it clear in return that he wasn't afraid to fight a woman, as he crossed his arms and stared her down. The tension was mounting, until Drake stood up.

"Ken, it's okay. I… I don't want there to be any problems. Here, Ignatia."

Drake handed over his sketchpad to Ignatia, who grabbed it roughly. She scanned the page, until she found what she expected: the picture of her.

The cartoon version of her, wearing her normal clothing, was checking the pulse of an unconscious, cartoon Emanuel. She was staring at her wrist, and appeared puzzled by the lack of a watch.

Ignatia stared at the picture for a few seconds, and for the briefest of seconds, a smile tugged at her lips. She simply gave Drake his sketchpad, and left for the women's shower room.

As Ken and Drake processed what just happened, they noticed the Monokubs leaving the pool in a line. Monosuke was still dragging "dead" Monokuma behind him, Monotaro was wheeling the barbecue, and Odelios was carrying Monokid.

"Put me down, you damn clown bastard," the blue Kub was hollering. "I'll bash you when I get down from here! I'll get a lawyer! I'll get _your_ lawyer! I'll bash you with your lawyer! There'll be hell to pay!"

* * *

 **Day 02, 5:45 PM**

 **Eastern Area of Penjar**

Isaac sighed heavily as he stared at the buildings of this area. Every building was a run-down and almost nondescript place. Most of them were so devoid of anything noticeable, they didn't have anything inside or any signs outside.

"Okay, I have to admit," he said to Hara, Saiko and Shinobu, "I don't think we're going to find anything. It's like this town doesn't want there to be anything of interest except for what's around the main plaza."

"And I'm not being paid for this, I'm not going to search every single house in the hopes that there may be something there," Saiko muttered. "Though I don't think I would search every nook and cranny even if I was paid."

"Maybe we needed someone like that?" Hara said with a smile. "The Ultimate Nook and Cranny Examiner?"

"With some of the titles throughout the history of Penjar," Shinobu said, "I wouldn't be surprised if there was one. I mean, there were a lot of examiners and restoration experts, but I don't know of a particular set of skills for this place."

"Out of curiosity," Saiko said, glancing at the historian, "do you know the entire history of Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Most of it, since sadly some of the first few years are lost, due to records being unavailable," Shinobu said. "World War II was a bad time to be keeping records."

She sighed, and said, "Hope's Peak Academy actually started during WW2, it is believed that the founders wanted to make a generation who could solve the world's problems without war. Sadly, there is little to go on otherwise, which is a shame because I'd love to know all the answers, good and bad.

"That's more or less why I wanted to come here. I wanted to see if I could find out about the origins of Despair, or as much as I could. It's way too dangerous to leave ourselves in ignorance."

Hara sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. "I actually feel like this may be a lost cause. Considering what the Tragedy brought to the world, and how horrible those Killing Games were, this seems the exact opposite. I mean, a pool party in a ghost town?"

"Part of me feels like we all just got tricked into some weird kind of secret rave," Isaac said. "You know, how a bunch of teens or college kids will find some abandoned place and have a party there with tons of booze and drugs? I remember doing a story on one of those, before the Tragedy."

"Oh dear, was that the one with the four deaths?" Hara asked. "I begged you not to tell me details about that."

"Hehe, I remember that case, four deaths at the hidden rave party," Saiko said, chuckling. "Man, I know kids wanna get high, but I never thought I would see someone overdose on cleaning powder. He had it bubbling out of his nose-"

"That includes you too, Saiko," Hara declared, hands flying to her ears. "Ewwww! Ew ew ew! How can you find amusement over that, I thought you hated it when creepy stuff happened! Like that time a spider-"

"Nope," Saiko retaliated, throwing her own hands up to her ears, "la la la, cannot hear you!"

The two women were now blocking all sound out and singing loudly to avoid hearing what the other wasn't actually currently saying. Shinobu watched, then smirked at Isaac. "Is this what it's normally like?"

"Yes," Isaac replied, grinning as he shook his head, "yes it is."

* * *

 **Day 02, 6:07 PM**

 **Western Area of Penjar**

 **Nearby the Ye Olde Antiques Shop**

Anzu hummed to herself, as her sandals made loud noises that seemed to echo down the road. She had a towel draped on her shoulders, which was far more clothing than her skimpy bikini gave her. She was dry, but her ivory skin almost appeared to be polished after her swim, and soak in the hot tub.

While she was comfortable wearing this, even in a strange place, it was starting to get cold. She regretted changing into her bikini at her place and walking to the pool, because it was chilly walking back in just her tiny bathing suit and a towel.

As she was walking by Ye Olde Antique Shop, something in the crusty front window caught her eye. She took a moment, considering going into the shop to look at it. Before she could make up her mind, she saw the unusual combination of Shuuya and Crystal, walking down the opposite side of the road towards the housing area.

And thus, the adult actress couldn't resist a tease. "Hello you two~" she called out to them, waving gleefully. "Did you two have a nice time sleeping together?"

As if on cue, the two glanced at each other, and Shuuya picked up the pace to not be seen next to Crystal. The blond lady sighed and shook her head, then glanced over at Anzu, raising an eyebrow.

The actress giggled, then slipped into the shop before either of them would come over to give her a lecture. She couldn't help but feel impish, and was covering her mouth as giggles sprang out uncontrollably.

She stopped when she found what she had spot inside of the antique shop, which was a small collection of rings inside of a crusty styrofoam rack. Anzu reached down and checked each one, seeing how they looked on her.

"Not bad," she commented as she appraised them, "they're quite cute, but I dunno if I want to be only wearing one of these during a shoot."

There was a small commotion, and she glanced outside. Souma was helping Fiora walk, the movie making lady _still_ going on about how much she hated her nickname/altered title. The public speaker had an incredible amount of patience, or a poker face to hide his annoyance that a gambler proud. Either way, Anzu could barely comprehend Fiora's drunk, sobbing regrets.

"Girl really needs to own up to what she does, even if there will people who scoff at her," Anzu said with a laugh. Glancing around the countertop, she tried to see if there was any other jewelry she could try. Though there wasn't, she found something else of interest.

"What a quaint looking camera," she chirped as she reached for the lone photography device.

* * *

 **Day 02, 7:10 PM**

 **Housing Area**

Ken, standing rather vigilantly in the area, watched as the graduates eventually returned to their rooms. He had retrieved his broadsword, and was wearing it along with his casual clothing; it was quite the stark contrast.

Shuuya, back in his black trench coat, stepped out of his room and approached the cavalryman. "Hey there, Ken," he said, "what exactly are you doing? Standing guard?"

"I feel like I want to make sure as many people get back alright. Some people were so drunk, it would be best if there is a designated driver… or the equivalent of someone watching over you party animals."

Shuuya rubbed the back of his head, murmuring to himself for a moment before saying, "I think we'll be okay. It wasn't that bad."

Ken grunted in response, and said, "I haven't seen so many people needing to be carried since the Novoselic River Dance competition. Those people would river dance for hours, and they needed to be lifted off of the dance floor afterwards because they couldn't physically feel their limbs when they completed."

"Man, the more I hear about Novoselic, the weirder it sounds," Shuuya said, then noticed the frown from Ken, and added, "Wait, don't mind me, dude. I've still got a big ol' headache. Never let me drink again…"

Ken stared at him for a second, then let out a scoffing laugh. "Asian boys are so 'weird' when it comes to how much liquor they can hold, aren't they?"

"Hey now, I haven't had a drink in a while so-"

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

The loud announcement from the Monokubs made Shuuya cry out in agony as he covered his ears. Ken merely stared at the five Kubs, asking, "What brings you all back here?"

"We're here to help people with their hangovers," Monotaro declared. "We brought the hangover supplies!"

"That's right, we have the antacids and all that good shit," Monokid added.

Monosuke was about to say something, then noticed Yejoon open the door to his room. The artist hadn't bothered to move the taxidermy tiger from his room, and thus it stood there, posing in a clawing motion towards whoever was coming into the building.

"Cripes, there's already a tiger in someone's room!" Monosuke shouted. "This is a hangover situation for sure! Who got a tattoo? Who got married?"

Shuuya growled in frustration, and muttered, "Man, their voices are so much more grating right now, for some reason…"

"Do not fret," Monophanie squealed, making Shuuya wince all the more. "We have the hangover supplies ready for you all!"

"You do realize," Ken spoke up, "that everyone here is either still drunk, or about to sleep it off. The hangover doesn't happen until after they wake up."

"… What?" was their response.

"I knew we were forgetting something!" Monotaro cried out. "Dang it, we got here too early for the hangovers!"

"What if we have an after-party?" Monosuke suggested. "We can milk this party for everything it's got!"

"Dude, we have hangover recovery supplies, we don't have anything for a party here!" Monokid shouted.

As the Kubs debated this with a disinterested Shuuya and a watchful Ken, Monokuma came waddling up. His prominent figure was slightly hidden by the mists until he was close-by, and even the mist seemed more devious when he was around. He chuckled as he watched his children.

" **They're so-oooooo keeyute~,** " Monokuma said, clutching his pudgy stomach and laughing. " **Trying so hard to appease to our guests, working so much!** "

"Daddy," Monophanie declared, "we missed you so much during the party, since you died halfway through! Did you eventually get the rib bones you wanted?"

" **Kind of, I didn't get to rip out a ribcage and feast on a disruptive guest,** " Monokuma said, cackling as he held his stomach. " **But that BBQ was so good! Come here, children, Daddy sees some sauce still left on your faces!** "

He grabbed the Kubs, one at a time, and licked their faces. When he was done, he tossed the Kub through the air and would grab the next one. This rotated a few times, with Shuuya growing rather disgusted.

"Okay so, while that's happening," he said, turning towards Ken, "if you're just going to stand around here waiting for everyone, I'll just let you know who did get back here. I came back with Crystal, I saw Anzu, Fiora, and Souma heading this way. And just now there was Yejoon, no idea where his sister is…"

" **Hey! Don't ignore me just because I'm tending to my children! I came here to give you all an important message, after all.** "

Monokuma tossed the Kub he had in his paws, turning towards the two humans. He chuckled deviously, and wiggled his hands, as if trying to do "jazz claws." " **The motive will be coming out tomorrow! The time and place will be announced during my children's morning broadcast. So don't be a heavy sleeper…**

" **Or you may find yourself sleeping, for all eternity.** "

The bear covered his mouth with repressed laughter, then threw his head back and cackled loudly. It echoed throughout the streets, up into the overcast sky. With the sunlight having all but faded, it almost felt like the last of it was gone with Monokuma's laughter.

"Pops really likes his announcements," Monosuke said, over the diabolical laughter of Monokuma. "Maybe we should let him in the morning broadcast? Morning ratings, after all!"

"I ain't letting him take my fifteen minutes of fame," Monokid declared. "Dad's got enough screen time with all the shit he's been part of, I wanna rock when I got my own show!"

"Maybe we can-" Monophanie started, then she stopped when a metallic slicing sound and a heavy thunk alerted their attention.

Ken had his broadsword drawn, and the tip was now resting on the ground, underneath Monokuma. The bear was silent for a moment, and then said, " **Upu… pu… puuuuu…** "

And then he fell into two vertical halves. The Kubs screamed in horror, as Ken sheathed his sword and lifted up a single finger: a scolding finger.

"I've had quite enough of that annoyingly loud laugh, especially when I have so many people who need peaceful rest," he declared, shaking his scolding finger. "Now kindly vacate the premise or lower the decibel of your voice, as we have a lot of people who need to recover tonight."

"Man," Shuuya said, "that was awesome! Tell me, have you ever thought of taking up bounty hunting as a career? I could show you the ropes."

"I don't really need a job as of now, but if you wish to converse careers, I could entertain the motion as of now."

"DADDY," Monophanie wailed, until Ken whipped out the scolding finger, and she responded with, "Oh, sorry! Ahem. _Daddy, no…_ "

* * *

 **Day 02, 8:15 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

"What an unusual day," Blake commented, as he tucked into the hamburgers that had been made. He was still drunk, but he was able to maintain himself right now. "Still, all things considered, if this is how the Killing Game is going to go, I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Eisei stared at the man, as he nibbled on his burger. Glancing around the cafeteria, he saw the quartet of adventurers were also eating, Aka and Hikari carrying on their flirtatious manner with each other, and a couple others were eating and resting there.

"I don't think we're going to get anything else done tonight," the dentist commented, as he sipped from his drink. "However, I hope you're not going to embrace the ideology that this is a party. This is still quite the dangerous place."

"The tiny guy dressed like a little girl is lecturing me about how to be serious," Blake shot, then gathered up his food. "Not here for a lecture, mate, I'm off."

Eisei shrugged, and said to himself, "Maybe I'll check that mouth later. It is all well and good, but there is no way, physically or emotionally, I'll ever be that man's mate."

The rest of the night went fairly quietly, with it being unofficially declared over without much else that could be done. While some of the souls tried to find more answers in the town by exploring the southern side, nothing new was discovered.

The graduates were all asleep, either from an alcoholic haze or exhaustion from a rather unique day, before midnight this day. And most of them didn't want to know why there was two halves of a Monokuma in the road of the housing area either.

The moonlight could barely illuminate the city, but it did make that mist a little more prominent in the dark. There were no crickets, no frogs, no noises of cars or traffic or any sounds of civilization.

Just the mists and the creaks of rotting houses were there for the graduates.

* * *

( **Day 02 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is super buff, a six pack where his chubby stomach used to be. He is wearing a toga that showcases this fit form, as he stands in a dramatic pose on a cliff, sun highlighting his perfect form._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "We all strive to be the greatest we can be, but tell me, what happens when we achieve that? Do we grow bored, stagnant? Do we try to find something else to do?"

* _The muscular Monokuma is now shown from a bird's eye view, pumping a mighty muscular fist into the air that appears so powerful, he's breaking the air around it._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "After all, if you were playing a game, and you had unlimited health and mana and all your abilities could defeat any enemy in one shot, would you keep playing that game? Would you want to do something you couldn't find any challenge or risk in?"

* _A lightning bolt strikes Monokuma's fist. He seems unfazed._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "So when someone, including you, wants to be the very best, just remember that you shouldn't want to. Or maybe you should, no one can be the best forever, unless they have herculean skills that'll never be bested. That's the case with me and so many records, some of which I am sure could never be bested."

* _Monokuma is now vibrant with energy, posing in his toga and six-pack and electric power. He poses even_ more _dramatically, looking more grand than ever._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Unless of course, the world ends. Puhuhuhuhu!"

* * *

 **Day 03, 9:29 PM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Isaac and Hara's House**

Isaac strained as he stretched, waking himself up. Again, he was alone as Hara had headed out for her morning walk. He had woken up himself, as if his body wanted to ensure he would not be forcibly awakened by the morning announcement again.

Despite having a little time, he was still startled by the TV turning on and a loud chime echoing from the device.

* * *

( **Day 03 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The five Kubs are all standing at the town hall again. They appear normal, though Monotaro is still holding a spatula._ *

 **All Five Kubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

 **Monotaro** \- "We hope you all enjoyed the pool party! I spent so much time making food for you all, it was a lot of fun! I'll cherish these memories forever!"

 **Monokid** \- "The pool will now be open from here on out. If you dumb kids want to go swimming, you can anytime you want. Make sure you crack your head during a dive and drown!"

 **Monophanie** \- "How horrid! You're supposed to warn them _not_ to, Monokid!"

 **Monosuke** \- "There was also something all of you need to know. So clean the wax out of your ears, wake yourself up fully, and listen closely."

 **Monotaro** \- "Yes, because Father is going to announce your first motive today! It's so shocking, so amazing, so overshadowing of everything else that's happened in the town!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Please come to the Main Plaza at 5:30 PM today, as Daddy and us will all be there. While not mandatory, this is something that concerns all of you, and we wouldn't want you to be at a disadvantage."

 **Monosuke** \- "5:30 PM, Main Plaza, your first Motive! And it's going to be a good one, bigger than all other motives that were ever done before. One of a kind, unique!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Yes, this day is going to be incredible! And so much better than the boring, uneventful day yesterday was! Haha! … Wait."

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "Until then, do whatever the hell you want! Buh-bye!"

 **Monotaro** \- * _scratching his head with his spatula_ * "What did we do yesterday, again? The excitement of today is making me forget…"

 **All Five Kubs** \- "So long, bear well~!"

* * *

Isaac sighed, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "Oh great, the motive, the last thing I wanted to hear. Great, now I gotta trust more than twenty people not to be tempted…"

He quickly got dressed, and headed outside. Trying to look and act casually, he glanced around the town. It was overcast again, the sunlight just barely illuminating the place. The mists swirled on the ground, as if inviting travelers to traverse down the creepy roads.

"I cannot believe I'm not used to this place yet," he grumbled to himself. "Of all the awful places I've visited, you'd think I could get used to a crappy, old town that is more or less mist and buildings that are falling apart-"

"ISAAC!"

He was snapped out of his rant quickly, when he saw Hara sprinting towards him. She beckoned him to follow her, and they headed towards one of the shops. He could feel his heart hammering already, pounding against his chest like it needed to leave immediately.

"I… I saw her through the window. Oh God, Isaac," Hara declared, clasping her hands as she panted in worry. "Is she… is she…"

Isaac braved his way into the shop. He stared down at the floor…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Anzu was lying on the floor. She was still wearing her bikini and towel. In her hand, she was clutching a camera, the one that had been part of the antique shop's wares.

Isaac reached down and checked her pulse. It was still there. He examined her, seeing no injuries or blood, and couldn't see anything wrong. Though when he shook her shoulder and tried to wake her, thinking she had fallen asleep somehow, nothing woke her up.

Hara entered the store gingerly, and tried to help out, but nothing worked. Anzu didn't wake up, it was like she was comatose with how unresponsive she was; however, she had the camera clutched tightly in her hand, and they couldn't pry it from her fingers.

* * *

…

 **28 Graduates remain in Penjar.**


	6. Chapter 1-3: The ABCs of Penjar

**Chapter 1-3**

 **Accidentally Borrowed Camera**

* * *

 **? ? ? ?**

 **? ? ?**

 _Anzu raised her head, opening her eyes as there was such of rush of moment that she instinctively closed them previously. She was not in Ye Olde Antique Shop, she wasn't in Penjar at all; however, she knew where she was._

 _She could definitely recognize one of the hallways in Hope's Peak Academy._

 _Anzu blinked in overwhelming confusion, finding her footing. She glanced down at her hand, which was still holding the camera. The strap to wear it around one's neck was swinging gently, even though she hadn't moved at all yet._

 _Scanning her surroundings, she tried to recall which floor she could be on. There were classrooms, but for some reason, they didn't have the numbers on the doors. None of the activity or sports rooms were within sight, and she didn't see anyone within the rooms or the hallway._

 _"_ _Hello?" she called out, taking a tentative step forward. Her voice seemed to echo forever._

 _The actress swallowed nervously, but no matter how shocking this was, she managed to keep her wits about her. Putting the camera around her neck, and then she realized something else: she wasn't wearing her bikini._

 _It was a black schoolgirl uniform with a bright red ascot around the collar. She was even wearing stockings up to her thighs, and sensible shoes meant for movement. Anzu blinked in surprise, and checked insider of her shirt._

 _"_ _Okay, either I'm dreaming," she murmured to herself, "or I took the most hallucinogenic drug ever at the party… and got a boob job? And… whoa!"_

 _She noticed that she had a platinum white braid of hair coming from her head, no wait two of them! With a tug, she realized that it was indeed her hair! Confused, baffled, bamboozled even, she wanted answers._

 _Anzu started to sprint down the hallway, desperately scanning the rooms. There was no one in any of them, and the more deserted Hope's Peak Academy was, the more nervous she became._

 _It felt like hours she was going down the hallways. No one was in sight, and the harder she looked, the less familiar it all felt. Hope's Peak Academy was huge, but it didn't take this long to navigate. She went downstairs, it was the same. All the corridors were impossibly long and tiring, and the rooms didn't look familiar, and none of the activity rooms that were for talents and relaxation were there, and the windows had all mysteriously vanished so she couldn't see outside, and…_

 _She rounded a corner and saw someone standing in the middle of the hallway. The redheaded young woman was facing away from her, her arms crossed, almost resembling a hall monitor._

 _"_ _Hey," Anzu shouted, louder than she meant to. "Hey you!"_

 _The redhead turned around, and her face scrunched up in confusion when she spotted Anzu. Letting out a disgusted sigh, she muttered, "Oh honestly, why are you of all people late? We've been waiting for you."_

 _"_ _What now?" Anzu replied. None of this was making sense, and it was starting to hurt her head with the frustration brewing inside._

 _"_ _You know we had this meeting planned in our classroom, and yet you're late! What is up with that? And…"_

 _The girl's cross lecturing came to a stop when she spotted what Anzu had around her neck and was holding in one hand. With a confused stare of her own, the redhead stared at it, then up at Anzu._

 _"_ _Why do you have my camera, Peko?"_

 _"_ _P-Peko? Camera? What?" was all Anzu could sputter out._

 _The redhead's confusion turned into frustration, and she reached for the camera. Anzu, who hadn't let go of the camera since this had started, jerked it out of the redhead's reach. The two girls were staring each other down, with Anzu so close to the redhead that she could count her freckles._

 _"_ _Peko, what is up with you?" the girl snapped. "And where are your glasses? Did you finally get contacts?"_

 _"_ _Look here," Anzu managed to say, "I think there's some case of mistaken identity here. Please, could you back off a little?"_

 _The redhead was such a mixture of bafflement and frustration, it really did resemble an aggravated mother or older sister. It was kind of weird to Anzu, who knew she was older than this girl._

 _"_ _I don't know understand why you have to be so difficult. Is this about," the redhead started to say, then suddenly the words caught in her throat. She nervously grabbed her arm, staring to the side, and then she sighed. "Okay, I get it. You're still mad at me."_

 _"_ _I… am?"_

 _"_ _Gosh, why do you have to act so mysterious all of the time, Peko? I don't understand you, but if you're going to be this way, I guess I shouldn't push it. Just please, come with me."_

 _The redhead gestured for Anzu (or was it whoever Peko was?) to follow, and the actress felt compelled to do so; anything to get to the bottom of this. They walked down the hallway, but the further down they went, the less familiar it felt to Anzu._

 _"_ _So," the other girl spoke up, walking in front of Anzu, "may I ask why you decided not to wear your glasses anymore?"_

 _"_ _Um, no reason," Anzu said, deciding to keep up the air of mystery that she was apparently known for._

 _There was a groan from the other girl, who pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine, fine, more mystery. Though if I may say so, I think it's not a bad look; it makes your eyes more prominent. It's rather fitting for how red they are."_

 _"_ _If you say so."_

 _"_ _Though don't let Ibuki know I said that, she already-"_

 _The girl stopped when a door up the hallway opened. It was a rather large door, with the words, "Sports Practice Room" on it. The person opening the door was an adorable girl in a green dress uniform._

 _"_ _Oh, Chihiro," the redhead said, walking towards the girl. "Thank goodness I saw you! I wanted to talk to you later tonight, if possible?"_

 _"Um, sure," the short brunette said, blushing already as she stared up at the redhead. "I'd really like that. Oh, wait, was that forward of me to say? I mean, I wouldn't mind…"_

 _"_ _Don't worry about it," the redhead said, waving her hands and smiling much more pleasantly that Anzu thought possible from such a stern girl. "Just meet up with you later, okay?"_

 _"_ _Okay~"_

 _Chihiro walked down the hallway, past Anzu, waving at her and saying hello quite shyly. Anzu watched her go, and smiled over at the redhead. When the other girl noticed this, a blush spread across her face and she growled, "What? We're just friends."_

 _"And I didn't say anything."_

 _"_ _Oh shut up, and follow me."_

 _The two walked towards a classroom, which the redhead opened up and gestured for Anzu to enter. The classroom was almost full, and the teacher was standing at the desk; all of their heads turned to see who was entering._

 _"_ _Ah, Peko," the teacher said, tilting her head so her orange hair bobbed around, "good to see you finally join us. I honestly thought I'd have to hunt you down myself, but your friend wanted to do it instead."_

 _"_ _Um, sorry," Anzu said. She nervously played with one of her braids as she scanned the classroom, trying to find an available seat. Though she did spend a moment studying the teacher._

 _"_ Wow, _" were her thoughts as she observed the orange-haired woman, "_ really digging the look, an apron looks good on you. But I wish you or someone else would tell me what was going on… _"_

 _Seeing one of the available spots, Anzu hurried over to it and sat down. She tried to get comfortable, memories of her time in Hope's Peak Academy coming back to her the moment she was seated; however, she noticed something quite off._

 _And that was that everyone was staring at her as if she was the one off._

 _"_ _Now why," the redhead said, throwing her hands up in frustration, "are you sitting in my seat?"_

 _"_ _She also has your camera," a snarky-looking blonde girl declared, thrusting a finger at Anzu with her kimono fluttering from the movement. "Is Peko trying to take your place?"_

 _"_ _That's enough, everyone," the teacher said, shaking her head. "We have far more important things to discuss. Just sit down for now, seats don't matter anymore, Mahiru."_

 _The redhead, glaring at Anzu, scoffed as she went for the other seat. When she was seated, everyone stared up at the teacher. The orange-haired lady cleared her throat, and said, "Now I know we have a ways to go before we have graduated, but we need to work extra hard from here on out._

 _"_ _After all, you have your futures to think about, and what we want to do with them. We all know that it is a bit intimidating in such a big world, but the world, well, it should feel intimidated by the talent and personality you all are bringing to it._

 _"_ _Am I right, my dear students?"_

 _"_ _Yes, Miss Yukizome," the students all said in unison._

 _"_ _Now then, Miss Koizumi?" the teacher said, staring at the redhead. "Could we see the world for what it is?"_

 _"_ _Of course, Chisa."_

 _The informal addressing astonished Anzu, and then she saw that redhead move for the blinds. With a long tug, she revealed the windows…_

 _And the absolutely hellish view of the world to everyone in the class._

 _Anzu couldn't help but gasp in horror at what she was seeing. The sky was dark red, like if someone turned the very atmosphere into a demonic landscape. Thick clouds of black smoke were pouring from various areas of the city around the school. The face of Monokuma was painted on the side of a building, which had shattered windows and even what looked like a dead body hanging from one of them._

 _As if the blinds were soundproof, Anzu could also hear noise outside, from down in the schoolyard, around the building. It was the sound of a riot, but even worse. For between all of the shouting, yelling, shattering of glass and slamming of metal, she could hear laughter._

 _Intense, sadistic laughter that could only come from someone who had truly lost it, and there were far,_ far _more than one person laughing down there._

 _"_ _It's truly glorious to see the world is ready for all of you, and the joys and pleasures you will bring it," Miss Yukizome continued. When Anzu managed to tear her vision away from the horrid spectacle of a hellish world, she noticed Chisa had her eyes closed and a wide smile._

 _Then their teacher opened her eyes, and the spirals of insanity, the most graphic and evident proof of someone overwhelmed by Despair, were there._

 _Anzu felt her body start to curl up into itself, shrinking into her seat as much as she physically could. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't make a sound. The longer she looked at Chisa, the more thunderstruck and overwhelmed she felt. She glanced to her side, to see if anyone else was as terrified as she was._

 _This was a mistake. Everyone in the room had the spirals of despair in their eyes. Every single one of them, and they were all illuminated in hellish red light from the outside._

 _Before she could move or speak, her eyes registered movement. Mahiru, the redhead who had led her here, was pointing directly at her, and her spiraling eyes narrowed._

 _She let out a shriek. It was so shrill, so intense, it felt like a hurricane burst forth from Mahiru's mouth and a shockwave that made Anzu's ears ring._

 _Then everyone in the classroom turned towards her suddenly. Their spiraling eyes, their bodies illuminated by the hellish world outside, loomed over her._

 _Anzu reminded herself that she could still move, and now would be probably the most ideal time to do so out of all possible times._

 _Bolting from her seat, she pushed a blonde girl who reached out for her, and knocked over a goth boy who had tried to get in her way. She was hurrying for the door, every muscle going into overdrive to get there as fast as possible._

 _An incredibly muscular young man made it over to her, and grabbed her shoulders. Pinning her to the wall aggressively, she cried out as she felt her body shake in pain. The gigantic boy was squeezing her painfully, he felt like a machine grabbing her._

 _With him holding onto her, no one else was able to reach her, but she could hear them. They were shouting, growling, and laughing. It was the same kind of noise as outside. Anzu shivered, but found her stretch and reached up to grab ahold of the pillars that were the young man's arms._

 _Lifting her body up, she kicked with both legs into his stomach. He let go and fell back, and she landed on her feet. Blitzing for the door, she threw it open; Chisa reached for her, but Anzu slammed the door against the tall woman._

 _"_ _GET HER!"_

 _When Anzu sprinted into the hallway, her mind registered something rather awful: all of the lights were the same horrid red that the light from outside was now. The hallway of Hope's Peak Academy was as hellish as the world she was stuck in._

 _She looked to the right, and her body locked up in fear. There was mist pouring down the hallway, like a tidal wave filling the place wall to wall, and coming for her. It especially felt like that because there was Monokuma walking in front of it._

 _His red eye may have been glowing the same color as the lights, but it still was a powerful, evil illumination._

 _Anzu turned towards the left, back the way she came. That was when Mahiru grabbed her, gripping her arm tightly. Anzu managed to push her off, and she sprinted as fast as she could._

 _"_ _You vile, deceitful bitch," Mahiru shrieked, her footfalls closing in on Anzu. "I'm going to KILL you!"_

 _Every footfall echoed down the hallway, almost resembling a hammer hitting a nail. Anzu was wide-eyed and reckless in her escape, but not even a few yards from the classroom did she see another obstacle._

 _There were over ten more teenagers standing in a row further down the hallway. They were blocking the way, staring her down; at least, she thought they were, it was a little hard to tell when their eyes were spiraling too._

 _"_ _KILL THAT THEENG-A!" one of them hollered._

 _There was only one way to go: the sports practice room that was to her right. Anzu hurried inside, pushing against the heavy door with all her might and then pressing it shut. She could hear so many footsteps running for the door, but she found the lock and clicked it._

 _Not having much time to catch her breath, Anzu glanced around the room. It appeared to be a glorious conglomeration of all kinds of sports, from batting cages to a couple bowling lanes to a volleyball court. Though it was rather crowded, it definitely appeared to be something like at Hope's Peak Academy…_

 _The fact that she had never seen a room like this before at Hope's Peak was the last thing on Anzu's mind. She hurried further into the room, trying to find another way out._

 _"_ _Come on, come on, come on," she was frantically saying, "where's the way out of this psycho world? Where is it? Where is it?!"_

 _Then she heard glass shattering from the hallway she had come from. This was rather odd, because that was the only thing she heard. There were no other sounds, definitely not the ruckus a group of over ten people thirsty for blood should be creating; there wasn't even anything pounding the door or trying to force it open._

 _Anzu's body was locking up on her again, and her eyes fell upon something: metal baseball bats left next to the batting cages. She reached over and grabbed one, not wanting to be unarmed any longer._

 _A spine-chilling sound came from the hallway, the sound of something sharp and metallic scrapping against a hard surface. That sound was so loud to Anzu, it was as if it was being broadcasted on speakers in the room._

 _The scrapping sound happened again, so nerve-wracking that Anzu closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, she felt light-headed. The camera bumped against her bare skin…_

 _This sudden feeling was the fact that she wasn't in that black uniform anymore, but rather, a black bikini. She stared down at herself, wondering what the hell was happening, where the hell was she…_

 _And just as she wondered when did her breasts get to be this big, the door to the sports practice room opened._

 _Anzu's heart skipped a beat in terror, the door had opened as if it hadn't been locked at all! It was pushed open, red light flooding in as if to corrupt the area. With it came Mahiru, a dark scowl on her face, and a fire axe in her hand. She was dragging the head against the floor, causing the piercing scrapping sound._

 _The door slammed behind her, hard enough that the entire room shook. Mahiru and Anzu stared each other down, the former lifting up the fire axe, the latter her metal bat._

 _"_ _S-Stay back," Anzu stammered, "stay back!"_

 _"_ _Give my camera back to me, Peko," Mahiru snarled. "NOW."_

 _"_ _Listen, I'm not Peko," the actress exclaimed. "I'm not who you think I am! I'm not supposed to be here, I don't know why I am, but I'm confused as hell and I'm NOT Peko."_

 _"_ _Actually, I do know."_

 _A cruel grin spread across Mahiru's face, the spirals helping accentuate how twisted and warped such a smile could be. "I just don't care anymore."_

 _There was a moment of silence, then Mahiru came forward. She swung the fire axe, aiming for Anzu's neck. With a defiant stance, the actress swung back, striking the staff of the axe._

 _The clang of the weapons reverberated throughout the room. The bat hooked at the head of the axe, and the two girls stared each other down for a moment. Mahiru moved back, snarling as she pulled her arms back for a mighty swing._

 _Anzu sprinted forward, and charged the girl to knock her back. The actress's shoulder hit the redhead's chest, and it definitely knocked her off-balance. Mahiru stumbled backwards, dropping the axe._

 _Her head slammed against the door when she was falling backwards. The grisly sound of bone breaking, almost like a melon being smashed open, came as suddenly and as loud as a gunshot. Mahiru's eyes went wide for a split second._

 _She slid down the door, a ghastly splatter of blood where her head had impacted against it. The trail of blood followed where her head went, and she collapsed against the door without so much as a sound. Her eyes closed as her head flopped to the side, limp and lifeless._

 _Anzu stared, the inconceivable reaction to her push shaking her to the core. Mahiru lay there, dead. "_ No _," she thought to herself, "_ no there's no way I could have done that! I just pushed her, I just… I just… _"_

 _That's when she saw blood all over the bat she was holding. With a terrified yelp, she dropped it. The metallic clatter was as overwhelming as Mahiru's head bursting open against the door._

 _Anzu stared down at the redhead's body, not sure what to do. Here she was, in a room at Hope's Peak Academy, in a bikini, her hair and body completely differently, with a dead girl at her feet. Five minutes ago, she was in a ghost town's antique shop._

 _With no other course, she nervously stepped towards the dead girl. Kneeling down, she reached out with shaking fingers, pressing them against the girl's neck to see if she truly was dead. Because despite everything, no matter how atrocious this place was, she didn't want to think that she killed someone…_

 _Mahiru's eyes shot open._

 _Anzu screamed and fell backwards, losing her balance and falling on her butt. She scooted away, looking frantically for her bat or the axe, or something to defend herself with._

 _"_ _Every time…"_

 _The statement came out more as a sob than words. Anzu braved another glance, and she saw Mahiru hadn't moved an inch. There were tears in her eyes, a quiver in her lip and throat._

 _"_ _I… cannot… why… why… seh… tell me why…"_

 _The ramblings were combined with heart-wrenching sobs. Mahiru still wasn't moving except for her eyes and mouth. Anzu stopped scurrying about, staring at the "dead" girl crying. The smell of blood was now thick in the air._

 _"_ _What… what did I do… seh… why… make… make it… stop… seh… seh…"_

 _Mahiru openly sobbed, and blood came from her mouth and nose. She coughed, hacked, and cried more. Anzu was transfixed on her, unable to move herself._

 _Then the redhead's bitter sobs stopped, and her eyes rolled towards Anzu. She scowled, and turned her head, which made grisly cracking and slick noises. With a single push, Mahiru propelled herself off of the door, and onto Anzu._

 _The actress screamed as the redhead gripped her shoulders and pinned her down to the floor. "Please stop," Anzu hollered, "I didn't mean to hurt you! Get off of me! Get off-"_

 _"You're in more danger than you realize in Penjar."_

 _Mahiru spoke, matter-of-factly in a way that was fitting to her personality when Anzu first ran into her. The actress stopped struggling and looked up at the redhead. Her blue bangs clashing with said red hair, due to how close they were._

 _"_ _The forces behind this Killing Game are greater than any other. And if you aren't successful in keeping them contained, the entire world could suffer a second Tragedy. Maybe even greater."_

 _The redhead leaned in, her forehead almost touching Anzu's. "The amount of deceit amid your ranks is far greater than you could guess as well. You have no idea how dark, how deep, this truly goes. For in Penjar, there lies true despair. And when it comes to despair…_

 _"_ _Some want to destroy despair._

 _Some wish to control it._

 _Some hope to study despair._

 _And some… desire to wield it."_

 _Mahiru sat up, her thighs straddling Anzu's hips. She stared down at the actress, as blood ran down from the back of her head and dripped from her hair. "It is going to escalate today. Despair wants something more than blood and death, it is more shrewd and crafty than seh… seh… yewseh…"_

 _The redhead gripped her forehead, gasping and straining out in a mixture of pain and struggle. When she threw her head back and howled in agony, Anzu saw the room was now illuminated in the same evil red light. It was suffocating, it was hideous…_

 _Mahiru grabbed Anzu's shoulders and yanked her up. She leaned in and whispered, "The first motive will bring blood before the day is done. Do not venture outside past 9 PM, unless you wish to be prey to the predator. The mists will work against you, but you can trust the silence."_

 _The room was filled with silence, except for the heavy breathing of the two young women. Anzu stared into Mahiru's eyes, trying to think of what to say, what to do._

 _"_ _Who are you?" she managed to ask._

 _"_ _Who are YOU, actress? I am the Ultimate Photographer, so give me back…"_

 _Mahiru reached down and gripped the camera with both hands. Before Anzu could react, the redhead yanked it towards her, shrieking, "MY CAMERA!"_

 _The back of the camera's strap snapped against Anzu's neck, and she was jerked forward. Falling backwards, she felt like she was falling down for an eternity, her head never striking the sports' room floor…_

* * *

Because it hit the pillows on her bed. Anzu flinched hard, and stared around. She was in her room, the room that had been assigned to her in Penjar. She was still in the skimpy bikini that she had worn to the pool party.

Sitting up quickly, she scanned her room, and saw nothing different from how she had left it before going to that pool party. She started to pull herself from the bed, when she realized her hand was clutching something tightly, despite her not meaning to.

It was the camera she had found in the antique shop. As she stared at it incredulously, the hard metal it was made out of felt a little less than hard after a few seconds. It was starting to feel like it was made out of dried sand, and the slightest movement of her palm caused a portion of the lens to peel away.

With a desperate panic in her movements, Anzu sprinted for the door and outside. The camera was feeling less stable with every step she took. She hurriedly looked around, trying to find someone, anyone, in the mists.

As she moved out of the housing area and towards the main plaza, she caught sight of two people: Isaac and Hara. The lovely couple were sitting on a public bench, having a conversation that she couldn't hear. When she came sprinting over, they saw her and stood up immediately.

"Anzu," Hara declared, clasping her hands together, "you're awake! We were so-"

"Wait wait wait!" Anzu interrupted, thrusting her hand with the camera in it forward. "This thing…"

The camera dissolved. It broke down as if it had been made of dust, to the tiniest fragments that disappeared within the wind and the mists. The strap it was on fell to the ground, and disintegrated upon impact. There was absolutely nothing left of it.

Isaac, Hara, and Anzu stared down at the ground, then at the pale girl's empty hand. There wasn't even any flecks or spots on her palm, the camera was utterly and completely gone.

"Tell me," Anzu said, her heavy breathing signaling how stressed she was, "you two saw that happen too?"

* * *

 **Day 03, 10:31 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

A great deal of the graduates had gathered in the cafeteria in the morning, since it seemed there was an unofficial meal plan going on. It had been delayed when Isaac and Hara had found Anzu unconscious in the antique store, but was now in motion again.

Odelios and Takeo were hard at work making pancakes again, though now Pyrrha was helping them out. The romance writer hummed as she chopped some fruit up, which surprised the apron-wearing mercenary working next to her.

"You don't seem to be the least bit phased," Takeo said as he watched her. "I thought for sure that you'd be suffering from a big ol' hangover today."

"I don't think I drank that much," Pyrrha responded, smirking at him. "But I do remember you carrying me back to my room. Thank you for that, good sir."

"It was nothing. Though I want to say, I would have helped you out even if you hadn't ordered me to do so."

"I'm sure you would have. I have a great deal of respect for men in uniform."

Takeo smiled as he flipped a pancake, then glanced over at her. "There's a bit of a difference between a soldier and a mercenary, my dear."

"I know that. But there's always a certain appeal of the brave fighter who has someone waiting for them back home, and once their duty is done, they are reunited. It's a romantic reality as much is it is a story.

"Haven't you ever had anyone you wish you could come back to, Takeo? Be honest now, if I gotta order you to be so, I will."

Takeo chuckled as he finished the pancakes he was on, and handed them to Odelios. "I'm afraid I long since gave up on trying to find a soulmate, Pyrrha. Don't waste time with romance on me, my love for action, adventure, and a great paycheck for my efforts have been my passion all my life."

Pyrrha sighed, and cut more strawberries. Odelios leaned in the kitchen, declaring, "Takeo, we're gonna need more fast! If we don't feed these starving graduates faster, they're gonna start cannibalizing us! Or just yell at us… either way, I'm not about to get chewed up, so chop chop!"

"Yes sir!"

"And call me Mister Perky Nipples for today!"

"Yes, Mister Perky Nipples!"

Odelios went back to the serving table, as Takeo poured more batter. Pyrrha stared at Takeo incredulously.

"Do you literally do anything ordered of you?" she asked.

"Not everything. If it has to do with my mercenary work, soldier or bodyguard stuff, I won't do it if simply ordered, no matter how sternly. I need to be paid for that."

Pyrrha took this in, then took a deep breath. She placed the large knife she was using next to the flatbed stove Takeo was using.

"Takeo, kill me. Stab me with that knife, right now."

No words were spoken, but no actions were taken either. Takeo stared at her, then went right back to working with the pancakes.

"Kill yourself then, right now."

Again, Takeo worked as if he heard nothing. Pyrrha drummed her fingers on the cutting board, and tried, "Throw that knife past my head close enough that I can feel it."

With movement so fast that the writer couldn't see it, Takeo gripped the knife and threw it. One of her waterfall braids was trimmed a touch, bright red hairs falling down onto her shoulder.

The knife embedded deep in the wall over the sinks. Pyrrha stood there, frozen in place, and then let out a shocked gasp. Takeo stopped tending to the pancakes, and stared at her in concern.

"I'm… I'm sorry," he said, "but you asked me to, and-"

"No. No it's okay," she said, smiling at him despite the color in her face not having fully returned. "I just wanted to make sure I could trust you in the kitchen with me."

Her smile was eventually returned, and they went back to work. Odelios leaned in and shouted, "Why aren't the next batch of pancakes ready? And why's there a knife in the opposite wall?!"

"I'll explain later, Mister Perky Nipples."

"Excellent work, keep it up!"

With all the hollering in the kitchen, it was a wonder anyone could hear their own conversations at their tables. Crystal was trying to speak to Ken and Samson, though it was hard when someone was constantly shouting about nipples in the background.

"So anyway," she said, setting her glass of milk down as she eyed the two fighters, "do we have a deal?"

"I believe there is a problem with your strategy, Miss Wilson," Ken spoke up. "If we don't know what Monokuma's motive is going to be, how can a patrol help us?"

"I have to agree with him," Samson said. "The problem with it is that they said this motive is unlike anything we've ever seen. That makes me think it's more than blackmail or secrets, or even something crazy like I heard what happened on the moon."

"For everything good and holy," Ken grumbled, "I sure do hope we're not going to have a body and mind swap. I cannot imagine how confusing that could be."

"While I understand your concerns, I just ask you to consider it," Crystal said. "And while I doubt you would ever part with your firearm, Samson, I would like to inquire if it is ever possible for me to borrow it. I am licensed as well."

"I don't know about that right now, you'll have to drive a good bargain," Samson said, smirking slyly. "Even for serious matters, I tend to prefer a bit of negotiation. Makes me feel like I have done right by both parties, especially when I'm involved."

Crystal raised an eyebrow, then glanced over at Ken. Before she could speak, he said, "No one touches my sword but me."

As the three carried on this conversation, Hikari and Aka were busy conversing at the next table. The two were sitting rather close, and occasionally, one would feed the other strawberries.

"I didn't think," Hikari said as she slowly chewed on the latest strawberry placed in her mouth, "that I would find something so fresh in a ghost town like this."

"I know, but what can I say? I tend to lose myself a bit when in the presence of sensual greatness," Aka replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

The model laughed, and though she tried to explain she had meant the strawberries, she realized that she had walked into that one. When this was over, she leaned in closer, putting her hand on Aka's knee.

"Just so you know," she whispered, ensuring no one but they heard these words, "while I love your forward nature, I don't want to rush things _too_ much. I hope you understand, I've just had a problem with… girls who move in too fast."

"Like what do you mean?" Aka asked, a little confused.

"Like, while I love the passion and heat of something swift and sweet, I just need… um… I…"

For the first time since arriving in the town, Hikari was at a loss for words. The model sighed heavily, and tried again. "I promise not to be clingy and crazy if you promise me the same, Aka-dear."

Aka bat her eyes, and her arm wrapped around the model's slim figure. Her other hand reached up and cupped Hikari's face, and she kissed her. It lasted a few seconds, and it definitely tasted of strawberries.

"Wherever this goes," the skier whispered when the kiss was finished, "I promise you, I am not going to be a clingy bitch."

Watching the two from another table, Jin let out a big sigh. Futaba, sitting across from her, turned around to see the two ladies getting rather close. The anthropologist turned towards the artist, and remarked, "Interesting reaction."

"Hmm? You have no idea what I'm sighing about."

"Maybe not, but I do still find it an interesting reaction. You have become a bit more forthcoming with your feelings since you got here, so I'm wondering if you're warming up to the others."

"Says the ice-cold queen who talks as if she isn't here," Jin retaliated, raising one of her eyebrows. Her tattooed hand pointed at the anthropologist, and she said, "Listen here, a case study of me is a bad idea, and I don't think you'd want to dive in there."

"And why is that, precisely?"

"Because an artist doesn't want their secrets found out, _precisely._ So kindly try to dig into the heart of the matter with someone else, because I don't want my art's secret meaning to be revealed to the public; you'll find that some things should be kept close to the heart."

With that, Jin grabbed her food and headed off with a flick of her purple hair. Futaba shrugged, and started to write something down when someone sat across from her. It was Yejoon, who was wearing his mask again so she couldn't see his face and read his expression…

But the mirth in his voice said enough there. "Did you get an earful from my dear little sister? I'm sorry about that, she gets defensive when people pry into answers."

"Most people do," Futaba simply replied, and continued to write.

"Would you like to know one of the main reasons why she doesn't want these things revealed?"

"I have the feeling you're going to tell me," she responded, her expression and tone neutral, but a curious spark in her eyes.

"You have seen her fascination with owls in her tattoos and clothing, and if you've ever seen her art, you'd know owls are a grand inspiration to it all."

"Yes, of course I noticed that. Where's the shame in that?"

"Did you ever have to dissect an owl pellet in biology class?"

Futaba nodded, frowning in confusion. She tapped her gloved hand on the table, the sound almost like a metronome, until she stopped. Her eyes widened.

"Are you implying-"

"My dear little sister's first successful piece of art was inspired by the dissected results of an owl pellet. She's terrified that if that goes public, people will start ugly rumors about her."

Futaba's mouth was hanging open in disbelief.

"Oh, and don't tell her I said this," Yejoon remarked, "or she might kill me. It's just such a juicy secret, isn't it?"

* * *

 **Day 03, 11:02 AM**

 **Ye Olde Café**

Emanuel sighed as he dunked some of the donut he had in his coffee. He nudged his eye mask slightly, as if trying to get a better view somehow. Leaning so close in towards his coffee, he almost head-banged the table.

"Man, I've seen moo'r lively people in a zombie movie," Kimiko said, smirking at the man. He gave her a sideways glare, to which she merely laughed. "Oh come on, the way you've been drinking since we got here, you cannot be that hungover."

"I consumed enough alcohol to kill a grizzly bear last night," he replied, then snarled and added, "Fucking bears. Fucking _osos_ , so sick of them."

Kimiko shrugged, then took a big bite out of the donut she had. She grinned, with all the cheek in the world, at him before walking off.

"Rather nice of our hosts to give us food at both the café and the cafeteria," she commented to herself, walking past Drake. She pat the cartoonist on the shoulder, and said, "Hey there, cutie-pie, how's everyone's newest favorite mixer?"  
Drake was rather confused, but shook that off and managed to say, "Um, fine, just fine. How are you doing?"

"Why you always stammering as if walking on pins and needles, Drakie? C'mon, we're all getting along, for the most part. Whatcha drawing today?"

She leaned over, pushing her breasts against his shoulder teasingly as she viewed his sketchpad. There were numerous drawings, some of characters she didn't recognize at all. Then there were a few that appeared to be versions of the graduates at Penjar.

"Hey, not bad," she said, pointing at some of them. "I especially like the ones of the mime girl. You seem to like her."

"She… she really does have an amazing style and works will with what I normally draw," Drake admitted. "I like characters who can express themselves without so many words."

"Even if that expression is usually totes pissed off at all times?"

"There's more to her than that, I'm sure."

"Guess we'll have to see about that; but hey, she's right up there with Mr. Attitude when it comes to personality."

She gestured to Emanuel, who made a gesture of his own back at her. This whole conversation was going on as Fiora and Shuuya were at the other side of the café, one trying to pitch a great movie idea and the other wondering how on Earth a peaceful meal got this crazy.

"Look, I meant it when you say you'd be great in the movie industry," Fiora was saying. "You'd be great at stunts, the action sidekick or back-up, tough parts that don't have a lot of lines…"

"Okay, even if I was remotely interested," Shuuya interrupted, "why would I want parts that don't have lines? Isn't that the whole point of getting into acting?"

"You'd be surprised how hard it can be to have a speaking part in front of a camera, not to mention the amount of takes you have to do. I have knoo'n a lot of guys and gals who prefer the smaller parts."

Shuuya ran a finger around his mug's rim. It was a little odd, hearing her talk with such passion and also not sounding way out in left field. "I must admit, the idea of being a stunt double or such, but I make a lot of money with my current career; it's also far better for society, what I do."

"I'm kind of curious about that, but I guess a lot of it is confidential."

The bounty hunter chuckled, and said, "You could say that."

"What a shame, but if you ever need something that is less intense, you can always contact me. I wouldn't mind a cool looking guy like you in one of my upcoming films, eh."

Shuuya nodded, then sipped his drink, before something about that last sentence caught his attention. "'Films'?"

"Yeah, I'm working on multiple films at once. Right now I'm on a bit of a hiatus for this trip…"

"Wait, how do you work on multiple movies at once?"

Fiora tilted her head, white and black hair waving under that fedora like an old-school movie reel. "The same way anyone else works on multiple projects at once, silly. I mean, I guess if you're hunting someone down, you don't go after more than one target. But when it's a story or such, you can easily do multiple at once. Just gotta be good at multitasking."

" _It might also explain_ ," Shuuya thought to himself as Fiora happily carried on, " _how a movie like_ Attack of the Flying Eye Boogers _got made._ "

"It's like that one time," she was saying as he sipped from his drink, "where I had to make a prop that looked like a real man for one movie, but then we needed it another movie which had these violent aliens ripping people's chests out. Oh man, I had to pull that fake guy's insides out and get all this gooey fake blood and such, you'd love it…"

* * *

 **Day 03, 1:32 PM**

 **Ye Olde Time Shop**

"So the porn star is okay then?" Blake said, as he glanced around the store.

"From what I gathered, she said she fainted and had the strangest dream," Souma remarked, as he was looking into the smashed display case that had watches in it. He took one out and admired it. "What fine craftsmanship! Oh, she seemed okay when I got to talk to her, but she didn't seem as chatty as when we all first met."

"Man, it makes me wonder if she has episodes or something, you know? Must make porn hard to shoot if she passes out mid-sex."

Blake chuckled, then noticed Souma didn't react at all. With a disgusted sigh on his part, he muttered, "Fine, be that kind of guy."

"And what kind of guy would that be?" Souma asked, raising an eyebrow at the pyro. "I assure you, even if we walk different tracks-"

"Yeah, that's sure putting it fucking mildly," Blake snapped, glaring at the man. "I'm not a big fan of the Future Foundation. You guys had an agent following me for months, thinking I was some Despair-sick arsonist torching places, which I wasn't!

"Not to mention, from what I've heard about you, Mr. Koukai, you're quite the rich entrepreneur," he remarked, crossing his arms. "That's quite a different 'track' we walk down, so don't act so patronizing."

With that, Blake stormed out of the store, almost pushing Yitro out of the way. The former swordsman watched him go, then he walked in. "Everything alright?" he asked Souma.

"He got a little mad that I didn't want to make jokes about porn with him," the public speaker remarked with a small chuckle. "Guess there's a bit of a chip on that shoulder."

Yitro hummed in thought, staring at the clocks on the wall. He found one cuckoo-clock that appeared to be a chipmunk and a blue bird dancing. With a smile, he asked, "Everyone's got a bit of a story for coming here. I just hope we can find a bit of purpose, something to do."

"Purpose, possibly one of the biggest reasons for one to strive forward. I hope that we all find that here, for purpose is something we all strive for."

Souma let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, maybe I am dealing with a bit of a chip on my shoulder too. Do you think it was a mistake, coming here?"

"No," Yitro replied defiantly. "No I do not."

* * *

 **Day 03, 5:20 PM**

 **Near the Main Plaza**

Waiting for the scheduled time had everyone walking on pins and needles. Exploring the city was something that a lot of the graduates were getting into the swing of, though the results were as dry as ever. Some of them, like Blake and Ignatia, even kicked down some doors, but nothing was in the abandoned buildings.

It felt like the longest wait for everyone there, longer than anything they could ever remember. The expression of a watched pot never boils was standing true, maybe even more with how the mists curled around legs and down the roads. It felt like time was slowing down more, moving at a crawl like everything else.

At around five, some of the graduates were waiting in or around the plaza. They didn't have anything else they wanted to do, and wanted the answers they had come to this town for more than anything. While most of those waiting weren't the most social, there were still a couple people getting to know each other.

One of those duos was Eisei and Takeo, the former realizing that the latter had to take all orders, so he was now inspecting the first obediently still mouth in the visit to Penjar. The nearby duo, seated on a bench, were having a more gentle conversation.

"So are you sure you're feeling better, my darling?" Angelique said, looking over Anzu. "I mean, when I heard how they found you, I would think you would take the day off."

"What, and lay on my back? No, that's what I do for my career," Anzu replied, winking at the opera singer. "Oh wait, sorry, I remember you don't really like talk like that."

Angelique chuckled, leaning back on the bench the two were seated on. "Oh, I don't mind it so much. It's a little refreshing to hear a woman who can be open and free-spirited about it, positive even! I knew a lady who got in the adult business, and it…"

She sighed, and glanced over at Anzu. "Sorry, I may be projecting a little. Drama seems to follow me around, from my career to those I know. I worry about sweet young things like you."

"Oh, now now, I'm perfectly fine with what I do. And I will say, with how my career is going, it's an A-rank job! I like to say that because of the alliteration that seems to fit with you."

"I noticed that. Maybe I should try to court you, so we can have the alliteration of a lifetime~"

Both ladies laughed, and Anzu admired just how pretty Angelique appeared when happy. She smiled as she tilted her head, and let the lovely lady talk.

" _I wish I could be fully honest with her, she's like a big sister,_ " Anzu thought. " _A… really, really beautiful big sister that I wanna go to bed with, but that might just be naughty little me._

" _No, see, that's precisely why you shouldn't tell her,_ " another voice in her head scolded her sternly. " _Or anyone else, for that matter. Who's going to believe some porn star over an intricate hallucination like I just had? Leave it be, Anzu, you had a bad dream… and… wait…_ "

"Anzu? Anzu, are you okay?"

The actress flinched when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Angelique there, quite concerned. Nearby, Ishiku had walked over, alerted by the noise.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Anzu insisted. "I just, I have to admit, I'm having a bit of a memory issue here. Like, my first night here, before you all showed up."

"Are you sure you don't want to lie down?" Ishiku asked, leaning towards the lady. "Maybe you do need a bit more rest…"

He moved in close, reached behind Anzu's ear… and there was a throw pillow in his hand when he pulled back. "Here you go, got you a pillow!"

Both ladies stared in amazement, then Anzu laughed aloud. "Okay, that was very impressive, I have no idea how you did that. Also, I appreciate you all, but trust me when I say I'm okay; just got a bit on my mind.

"And it's amazing how many people want me to go to bed, and not for the usual reason."

Before anyone had a chance to laugh at this naughty joke, the speakers around Penjar whined to life.

" _Okay, you bunch of beautiful, big-breasted bastards,_ " Monokid was shouting over the intercom, " _get to the Main Plaza! Now! Move your breasts!_ "

" _Monokid, that's sexual harassment,_ " Monophanie hollered from the back. " _They could sue us, or leave a really bad review on the travel app!_ "

" _I've called them bastards before, how is it sexual harassment now?!_ "

" _No, you spoony bard_ ," Monosuke shouted. " _Get off the mic, right now!_ "

" _Now THAT is sexual harassment, you small-breasted bastards! No one calls me spoony and gets away with it! TAKE THAT!_ "

Fighting noises followed, almost like a soundtrack for everyone heading to the Main Plaza. It was a rather unusual collection of noise, unfitting for such a dramatic and tense time for the graduates. Nevertheless, they filed into the Main Plaza, exchanging glances and waiting for the bears.

Sure enough, when all twenty-eight graduates were there, Monokuma popped up from the water fountain. " **Alright then, you interested investigators and obvious oddballs, are you all ready for Monokuma's First Motive?** "

"As much as one can be for something like this," Samson muttered, the trader keeping a hand nearby his hip.

"Wait, what about your psycho kids?" Futaba remarked. "You really are going to do this without them?"

" **I don't need my adorable, adorkable, annoying adolescents to announce my-** "

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

The five Monokubs leapt out from the busted fountain, and all posed dramatically upon landing in front of it. Monokuma, standing on top of it right on the plaque, went silent.

"We're late, we're so sorry, Daddy," Monophanie declared. "I had to stop these boys from fighting!"

"Don't think this is over, you tiny-titties trollop," Monokid shouted, swinging at Monosuke.

"I'll punch you in the bear necessities," Monosuke responded, swinging his arms around like pinwheels.

The reason the two weren't actually hitting each other was because Monodam was between the two of them, a paw on each of their heads, holding them back.

Monotaro stepped forward, letting his cape billow dramatically as he stared down the large crowd. "Listen up, everyone! Father is going to tell you how this motive is going to go down, and I expect you all to listen and behave!

"Just remember that the Guardian is nearby, at all times," he said as he gestured at the incredibly tall, incredibly intimidating mech nearby. It was very still, though everyone glanced at the machine gun arm that was the biggest threat of them all. "And I have to let you all know, attacking Father during the Motive speech is illegal.

"There will be no attacks upon Father as long as the Motive speech is happening! Do I make myself cle-"

Monokuma pulled one of his stubby legs back, and then swung it forward as if to punt something in front of him. The mist formed into a solid mass, resembling what appeared to be a soccer shoe, and punted all five Monokubs.

" **Stop interrupting your father,** " the bear of despair hollered, " **when he's doing one of his signature moments!** "

With a chorus of screams from the Kubs, silence filled the Plaza after they had received the boot. The graduates didn't know how to really react to this, except for one of them.

"He was just trying to tell us not to attack you," Drake remarked. "You don't have to be so rude to them."

"Stop showing sympathy," Saiko snapped, "for those idiotic twerps! Now just keep it down, and let the mean little bear tell us how he plans to scare us."

"Yeah right," Blake muttered. "Like we can be intimidated or bribed or scared at this point in our lives. We survived the Tragedy, we made lives for ourselves before and during and after it, and we all came here voluntarily."

Monokuma cleared his throat loudly, and faced the graduates. " **I know you all have a lot to say, but keep in mind, there are twenty-eight of you. So be considerate of others before you speak up! Now then…**

" **How have you been enjoying Penjar thus far? Do you have any questions? One at a time now.** "

Isaac stepped forward, staring down the evil bear. "We've been searching this town all three days, and we haven't found anything. Just what exactly is this town, was it ever a real town?"

"What's with the shops nearby here?" Souma inquired. "How come they are the only buildings with items inside of them?"

"How on Earth can there be more of you here after we've destroyed so many of you?" Ken snapped. "Do you have some foul replication machine in the bowels of this dead town?"

"Who is Adrian Beardsley?" Fiora shouted. "You are standing on his plaque right now!"

" **Enough questions! That's quite enough for now,** " Monokuma barked, throwing his paws up in the air. " **Those questions, they're all very good…**

" **Except for the Mr. Beardsley one, that's a stupid question, and you can shut up about it.** "

Fiora fumed over this, and appeared far from done. However, before she could speak again, Crystal stepped forward. "If you are going to answer questions, that would certainly be a first in the history of the Tragedy and the Killing Games. What are you playing at?"

" **Playing? I'm not playing a game, I'm quite serious right now. You want to know about this town, about the buildings and the state of it all? You want to know how there is more of me, how we got the Guardian here?** "

"And about Mr. Beardsley," Fiora added.

" **SHUT UP! Anyway, there is one very simple answer to this, something that you should all be quite familiar with…** "

The white 'n black bear climbed up to the top of the ruined fountain, and spread his arms out wide. " **Talent. Talent that leads to power, talent that leads to possibilities, and the impossible becoming possible. Talent is what made Penjar, and talent also made the despair that you all so want to know more about.**

" **I know a lot of you thought that there would be more truth to it than that, but I am bearing it all to you now. Talent played a gigantic part in all of this, the town, the Tragedy, the reason why so many people you loved died, the reason why you are here.** "

"I'm not interested in you waxing poetic over talent and despair," Emanuel snapped, pointing at the bear. "Get to the point, if you even have one."

"How exactly can talent be the cause of it all?" Aka spoke up as well. "I mean, I thought you were about despair, Monokuma, not talent."

" **I like to think I am a mixture of the two. There's two sides to everything, after all, or however many shades you can get if you split hairs. But let me ask you all something…**

" **How much do you believe in the supernatural? Do you really think that everything in this world can be described by science and reason?** "

The graduates didn't answer at first, but Yitro braved an answer first. "Does this have anything to do with the idea that despair was so powerful, it was a supernatural force?"

"I don't believe that for a second," Hikari spoke up. "People were to blame for all the terrible things that happened, and that's simply how it is."

"I'm of a more open mind," Yejoon remarked, rubbing his chin underneath his mask. "There's been a lot happening in the world of late that makes me wonder if there is truly something more than meets the eye now."

" **I'm here to tell you right now, that if you think you can explain everything here with science and logic, you're going to be struggling for answers for a very, very long time. Though every last bit of this still has to deal with the supernatural, the arcane, the, dare I say it, dark and sinister side that none of you want to acknowledge exists.**

" **I am living proof that talent and powers beyond your explanation is out there. And while I know you pack of goody two-shoes want to ignore it, the dark and sinister desires that lie within us all can take form in so many ways…**

" **That's why I want to give you all a shot at seeing just what it has to offer you.** "

"Wait, what do you mean?" Shinobu asked, crossing her arms as she stared down the bear. "Are you saying you're going to answer our questions seriously now? Because that's not what you've been doing."

" **I'm doing better than that, toots! My first motive is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it's right here in the most fitting of all places! Penjar! A little out of the way place where, like a golden boy story, talent can be born and find its way into the big ol' world out there!** "

"So this was a town at some point?" Hara tried to question. "Not just a giant prop?"

"That means," Fiora piped in, "there really was a Mr. Beardsley-"

" **I SAID SHUT UP ABOUT THAT, AND THE UP YOU WILL SHUT!** "

"Will you stop aggravating him, B-Movie Maker?" Jin snapped at Fiora.

The movie maker pouted, crossing her arms and muttering under her breath, "Since when are we supposed to be nice to Monokuma? Jerk probably knows a'boot Mr. Beardsley…"

" **I HEARD THAT! KUBS, GET HER!** "

The sound of mighty war cries from two foot robot bear cubs could be heard sprinting into the plaza. Fiora shrieked in fear and ran for her life, as Monotaro, Monokid, and Monosuke chased after her. Monophanie and Monodam stood near the fountain, not interested in chasing as well.

" **Okay then,** " Monokuma growled, " **allow me to make myself very clear. This is like the story of talent forming and then going out into the world, showing everyone that even the tiniest of people can grow into the greatest of giants. You all know that story, come from nowhere, become the everything.** "

"We already have talent," Shuuya declared. "We have made ourselves in this world."

" **Yes, but what if I could offer you MORE?** "

Monokuma chuckled, and rubbed his paws together. " **You see, I know that you all have accomplished so very much in your lives, but I want to make my own tale of a golden prodigy walking out from nowhere and becoming the everything. Your first motive, the Monokuma's Motive, is what I call the New Talent Motive!** "

"You're going with that talent so soon, Daddy?" Monophanie asked, nervously staring up at the papa bear. "But our guests have barely gotten to know one another."

"What are you talking about, 'new talent?'" Takeo spoke up. "We have our talents, it's not like you can change them."

" **I don't plan to take your talents away. I plan on giving you a NEW talent.** "

"Can we make requests?" Odelios questioned, tilting his head to the side.

" **Nope! That's not how this works. You see, tonight, at 9 PM, four of you are going to be bestowed a new talent. Penjar has a way of doing this, far beyond your comprehension, really technical… or dare I say, magical?** "

"This is bullshit," Kimiko remarked, rolling her eyes.

" **I assure you, there are no lies here. Four of you at 9 PM will be granted a new talent, and trust me when I say, you will know it if you were one of the four. It may feel like years of experience, a natural knack for it, and even muscle memory will be suddenly widening your little brains!**

" **These four will be selected randomly out of you twenty-eight. And you will have this new talent of yours until the end of tomorrow. Twenty-seven hours to test out your new talent, and let me tell you something right now, that is a very fitting number…**

" **Because if you want to keep this new talent of yours, or if you want to gain a new talent, there had better be twenty-seven of you before midnight tomorrow.** "

"I knew it would come down to this," Angelique declared, hands over her heart. "It's just a bluff to start a Killing Game!"

"The whole concept is ridiculous," Ishiku chimed in. "It is even, one could say, inconceivable!"

" **I know what that word means, and I assure you, what I am offering is not what that word means. The rules to this are very simple…**

" **Once the lucky four have been selected and bestowed new talents, they have until midnight tomorrow to make their decision. At midnight tomorrow, if no one has been killed, their new talents will suddenly leave them, and they cannot ever get them back.**

" **The next day, four more random members of your group will be bestowed a new talent each, and they have the entire day to make the call. This'll keep going until one of you commits.** "

"Wait wait wait," Pyrrha declared, waving her hands in the air. "Are you saying that if someone with these so-called new talents kills someone, you're going to let them keep the talent?"

" **Yes! Well, if they survive the Town Trial that follows, because murder is still very much frowned on here. Don't think you can escape with your new talents or a murder, anyone who tries to escape the law here will be mowed down, no talent or distance will save you.**

" **Oh, and keep in mind, anyone can commit a murder, not just those with a new talent. Because, well, should you survive the Town Trial by fooling everyone or surviving your execution, I will let you in on more. So much more.**

" **So very, very much more… if I can give and take away talent in this town, and you can see or feel this change with your eyes, let me ask you…**

" **How much more could I give someone who wants to embrace me and my ways?** "

This caused a great deal of silence amid everyone. For even the most skeptical realized that no matter how much they didn't believe this, they realized it could tempt someone of this group.

" **Anyway! I think you get the implications here! Monokuma's First Motive, the New Talent Motive, my very own golden prodigy! Are there any more questions?** "

Monokuma was practically quivering in delight as he stared amongst the graduates. His evil red eye almost felt like he was scanning them.

"I just have two," Eisei said, stepping forward.

" **Ah yes, our froofie fop of a dentist dude! What is your questions?** "

"One, are the talents all the same, or are they going to be different?"

" **That's something you'll all have to see, I don't believe in spoiling everything.** "

"Very well. Second question, if there are no more questions, is your speech completed?"

" **Huh? Are there any more questions? … No? Then I guess I'm done.** "

"Good."

Eisei turned on his fancy shoes, and glanced up at Ignatia. "Enjoy yourself."

Much like a jungle cat, the mime leapt forward, pouncing Monokuma. The bear of despair shrieked, and was knocked to the other side of the fountain. There were tearing sounds, then Monokuma, minus an arm and an ear, ran away screaming as Ignatia fiercely chased after him.

The plaza was quiet after that, the sounds of the ravenous chase unheard after the two disappeared into the mists. Glances were exchanged, though words weren't said so much. The first ones to talk were Souma and Eisei.

"How on Earth did you plan that out, my friend?" Souma asked Eisei, as the two walked away together.

"It took a little bit of time, but I gave her a lollipop and a quick inspection. Mimes, even hostile ones like her, are still performers at heart…"

The two were gone, their voices disappearing just as soon as they were out of sight. Slowly but surely, the group began to disperse.

"W-wait," Shinobu called out to them all, trying desperately to catch their attention. "Please! We shouldn't go our separate ways! This is a test, and we don't want this to go sideways. Please, all the previous Killing Games have shown that not working together…"

"Oh can it," Emanuel snapped at her, pushing her aside with his shoulder. "No one here is going to be told what to do, all a bunch of stubborn jackasses. Now move out of the way, they have some of the good stuff at the café, and I need it after that bullshit."

"Jerk!" Shinobu shouted at him, shaking her fist at him. She turned towards the others, and was surprised to see so many of them had indeed branched off.

Hikari and Aka were heading over to the cafeteria together, talking quietly between the two of them. Crystal wandered off by her own, stroking her chin and completely in her own world at this point. Kimiko walked up one of the roads completely alone, arms crossed and a bit of a stomp in her step.

"Do you think we can convince everyone here," Samson said to Takeo, "that we can try a military patrol or the like tonight? There's a lot of people here who aren't fighters, and we might want to ensure protection."

"I don't think we have to worry too much about everyone," Takeo replied. His eyes glanced over at a certain redhead walking away from the group. "There's plenty of people here who are far stronger than they let on."

Nearby the two were another duo, Ken and Yitro. The cavalryman had watched everyone, noticing how quickly they dispersed. The amount of people wandering off, going their own ways, was clearly distressing the Novoselician.

"I may be the last person to be giving a lecture or advice," Ken said to Yitro, "but I noticed that you, the Ultimate Swordsman, haven't carried your blade with you. Maybe now that Monokuma has made such a bold move, you should consider arming yourself?"

Yitro stared at the cavalryman, but said nothing. The two walked off together, with Ken trying to talk to the now silent swordsman.

"Barely worth getting excited over," Jin muttered, examine her nails. "Like that stupid bear has that kind of power here, he cannot even stop a mime from tearing him apart."

"I wonder," Yejoon mused, rubbing his chin, "but then again, maybe it's just a spectacle, a placebo effect? I do love the mystery of it all."

"You're simple, that's what you are. Go hang out with the cartoonist boy, you both love your art simple and childish. I'd like to not be around you, because I am getting the feeling you're talking about me behind my back with everyone here."

As Jin walked off, and Yejoon casually remarked that she still hadn't removed the tiger from his room, Drake overheard what they said.

The cartoonist sighed, then headed to the cafeteria, desperately needing a place to sit down. Before he made it there, Pyrrha walked over towards him, and smiled softly. "A little chocolate milk can do wonders for the nerves," she said, "I was gonna make some. Want to join me?"

"Me too, me too," Odelios declared, popping out from the side of the building. "Come on, can I have a mug too? I've been making pancakes for you all the past two days, spoil me a little! I deserve it!"

As the graduates broke off into more groups or solo acts, the passing of time went from sluggish to a race car. 9 PM was like a horror movie monster, coming at them most intimidatingly.

It was around 8 PM when most of the graduates made dinner at the cafeteria. There was barely any comradery or teamwork, everyone was used to being independent and strong on their own.

Blake had eaten his food, and pushed Ishiku out of the way when the magician came to him in hopes of forming some kind of strategy. Ishiku stormed out of the building shortly after, fed up with how he was being treated.

Anzu sat at her place, unable to eat her food with how nervous she felt. She scanned the area, trying to see who she could talk to. Futaba was conversing with Jin again, the latter ignoring her brother when he came briefly into the building. Yejoon had managed to find Fiora, and was trying to calm her down as she was blubbering on and on about how vicious those midget bear bots could be…

Odelios, Pyrrha, and Takeo were finishing up on dinner, with a little help from Drake. Shuuya was seated alone, eating, scanning the people inside with a keen eye.

Then she saw the usual trio of Isaac, Hara, and Saiko, and something about their union being the only sign of teamwork made the actress feel inspired. She stood up and hurried over to the three, though someone was right behind her.

"Anzu, darling," Angelique was calling out. "Wait, dear, what's wrong? Please, I'm still worried…"

Anzu was at the trio's table before the opera singer's words registered in her head. When the three looked up at her, she placed her hands on the table and leaned in.

"I need to request something of you guys," she said, her knuckles tightening. She felt Angelique nearby, and turned to her and said, "You too, Angel. Please."

"How the hell," Saiko remarked, raising an eyebrow, "are you looking even more pale, Miss Porn Star? I didn't think that was physically possible with your complexion. I've autopsied corpses with paler skin."

"Saiko, no need to be so rude," Hara chided her friend.

"I have a really bad feeling," Anzu said, unperturbed by Saiko's words, "about tonight. I don't think any of you should be out past 9 PM, or out and about tonight like you normally are."

"What, is this about the motive?" Isaac asked. "You really think that Monokuma, or rather whoever is controlling him and the Kubs, can just give someone talent? It's so farfetched…"

Anzu opened her mouth to speak, shut it, then tried again. She had lied earlier when she had said she just had some stupid dream when she had passed out, because she felt it would be too unbelievable for everyone, and also it might draw danger to herself if some supernatural force was in play…

But the more she thought about leaving this be, the more the words from Mahiru rang in her head, " _The first motive will bring blood before the day is done._ "

"You remember how when you found me, I had that camera in my hand?" she said. "And then when I woke up, it dissolved before your eyes?"

"Wait, what?" Saiko balked, staring at Hara and Isaac. "What's this about a camera?"

"Um, we didn't mention it," Hara admitted, blushing slightly and glancing to the side, "because it was so weird and unnatural. Isaac, Anzu, and I agreed it was probably some kind of trick or something, but… do you think it was something more, Anzu?"

"I… I kind of do," Anzu muttered. "I don't know how to explain this in a way you'll believe me fully, but I just… I like you all. I like a lot of the people here, and I don't want to see anymore people I know getting hurt.

"The door locks for our living quarters work at 9 PM. I think it would be best if you all keep safe tonight. Something in my gut, in my heart too… just everything is telling me that we cannot take a chance tonight."

There was silence amid the five, and Anzu could see the doubt in their eyes. Though before she could try saying anything more, Angelique spoke up.

"There is the possibility," she remarked, "that someone, anyone from our group, came here because they felt that they could gain power or control with despair."

The opera singer tapped her chin, humming with perfect pitch. With a heavy sigh, she remarked, "I doubt we could persuade everyone to do this, or even anyone else; Yitro is too stubborn to hide from danger, I doubt even I could convince him. So yes, let's play on the safe side, it couldn't hurt."

Isaac and Hara exchanged glances, and the latter said, "I… I actually would feel a lot safer if we tried to avoid whatever it is that Monokuma is throwing at us tonight, rather than explore it. A good explorer should know when not to venture forward."

The reporter smiled at his fiancée and kissed her cheek. "If that's how you feel, I agree. Let's sit this one out. Saiko, if you-"

"You don't have to worry about me," the forensic investigator replied. "Though I don't believe in any of the crap Monokuma is trying to pitch, I have had my fill of crazy for a lifetime."

"Do you want to spend the night in our room, maybe?" Hara offered.

"Thank you, but I already have a plan. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be going now, see you guys tomorrow then."

She winked at her friends, and then walked off. Anzu saw her go, then turned to Angelique. "I guess I should be heading to my room too-"

"Absolutely not, you're coming to my room."

Anzu's face was no longer pale. "Say what?"

"If you're this worried, someone's spending the night with you. No arguments, belle, you're coming with me."

The opera singer hooked her arm around Anzu's and pulled the thin girl alongside her. There was no resistance from the actress, just a lot of nervous but happy giggling.

They passed by Fiora and Yejoon, the former having finally switched the subject from the ravenous Kubs. "And then the darn thing caught fire again! Hehe, I'll tell you, never making a movie involving a volcano again. Ahh, boy, what a day that was. But enough about my crazy projects, I want to hear about some of yours!"

* * *

 **Day 03, 9:45 PM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Isaac and Hara's House**

Isaac used his fingers to pry open a couple of the blinds to the window. Peering into the street, he didn't see anyone, which made him worry about Saiko. The mists almost resembled a flowing stream right now, with how they coursed down the road.

"I really hope I'm not letting this town sway my observation," he remarked, "but I swear it's more unnerving out there than before."

"All the more reason to stay in here tonight, I say," Hara remarked. "Maybe Anzu was just overreacting, but I'm going to say that I don't trust everything about this town, or everyone in it. I mean, some of the people are nice, but if there's one thing I learned from you, it's that I cannot always trust my heart in believing people are going to be good just because I hope they are."

Isaac nodded, continuing to watch outside. His fiancée was done changing for bed, and he glanced over at her. She was brushing her teeth, diligent about her health as always. A small smile spread across his face, as he thought back to how much she had encouraged him to do the same; she had definitely changed him over the course of knowing each other.

"Hara, tell you what," he said, peering back outside, "when you go on your morning walk, wake me up. I'd like to go with you."

"What? I mean, I can guess why, but you love sleeping in."

"That is true," he said, as he stepped away from the window, "but I love you more."

The two stayed up for a little while longer, planning everything out for tomorrow. They found that while still unnerved by everything that had happened, there was a sense of peace so long as they had each other.

Sleep came for them a lot sooner than they realized. The mists flowed through the streets, the corridors, licking the side of every building and crawling around them like a wave of spiders. The wind howled above the town, and the buildings creaked even more this night.

* * *

( **Day 03 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is sitting in a small motorboat that is going down a very swampy river. He is leaning back, enjoying himself._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "My cubs are always asking me, 'Daddy, what is the best place to go for when you take someone out on a date?' And you know what I like to say to them? 'Stop bothering me with dumb questions, you dumb, adorable, dumb cubs'!"

* _Monokuma hits a ramp-like rock and his boat goes flying through the air. He is flailing in the air, as an alligator lunges for him from out of the water._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Because everyone knows, these things should just happen naturally. After all, what is life but a series of natural coincidences? That's why I hate it when people complain about 'coincidence' being a bad thing in the movies, because that is life!"

* _Monokuma crash-lands face-first on a small island. He is colliding with a rock that is knocked off of its original spot, revealing a bag underneath it._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "You also have to have a bunch of items and such to boost your score when on a date, and have random facts about them memorized. That's how dating goes, everyone knows that!"

* _The bag has been opened, and the white 'n black bear is holding up paws full of diamonds._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Trust in coincidence, have some nice score-boosting gifts, and dating life will be easy for you! Take it from me, the bear who has everything!"

* * *

 **Day 04, 9:25 AM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Isaac and Hara's House**

There was a series of pokes that were meant to wake a sleeping soul. It took many, many pokes, like a sword banging against a shield with no results from either combatant. Finally, the poking warrior rolled the slumbering one onto his back, and kissed him until he woke up.

"Glad to know that still works," Hara said with an impish smile down at Isaac. "Now come on, Sleeping Handsome, I gave you some additional time, and I refuse to lose any more!"

"Bloody… sleep… tyrant…"

Isaac pulled himself out of bed eventually, and started to dress himself. As he did so, the TV turned on and started it's normal routine.

* * *

( **Day 04 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The five Kubs are standing at the town hall. All of them have jewelry of some kind on, except for a very depressed-looking Monotaro._ *

 **All Five Kubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

 **Monosuke** \- * _flashing his shiny diamond watch on his wrist_ * "There sure aren't enough of you early risers, we have to pick up the slack. But now that we're the 1% in Penjar, thanks to Pops, we can control how society works!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _admiring her diamond necklace_ * "Yes, being rich means everything is in our control now! I can make everyone be nice to each other!"

 **Monosuke** \- "Huh? But I was going to make everyone be mean to each other!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Oh no! Our ideologies clash! Whatever shall we do?"

 **Monokid** \- * _holding up a guitar blinged out with diamonds_ * "Hell yeah! Rich people fight it out! We can afford it!"

 **Monodam** \- * _stands there with his teeth showcasing some bling that says KUB in big letters_ * "…"

 **Monokid** \- "You stay out of this, Monodam!"

 **Monotaro** \- "… It's not fair, I just asked Father where is the best place to take somebear on a date…"

 **Monokid** \- "NO ONE LIKES A WHINER, DUMBASS!"

* _Monokid proceeds to break his guitar on Monotaro's head. The broken pieces and thus diamonds scatter everywhere. The two immediately rush to trying to pick up as many as they can._ *

 **Monosuke** \- "Our town meetings have a shocking amount of brawls in them. Is that normal?"

 **Monophanie** \- "I don't know, but I think we should just let them get on with their day."

 **All Five Kubs** \- "So long, bear well~!"

* * *

"I wonder who actually watches those dumb things," Isaac remarked as the TV went off. "And do they actually plan them out? Now all I can think of is those dumb bears around a writing table."

"Monokuma and his Kubs, taking improv classes," Hara remarked, giggling. "If only that were the case, it might actually be funny if they weren't such horrid beings."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly keen to see what their stand-up would be like either."

After Isaac finished dressing, he and Hara stepped outside. The mist was still flowing down the road, almost curling around the sidewalk as if it had to stay in the street. Isaac took his hand tried to wave some onto the sidewalk, and most of it curled back into the road.

"I really want an explanation of how whoever is behind the scenes," he muttered, "is able to do that."

Hara didn't really have an answer, she just walked alongside him. She reached over and took his hand, something inside of her that was like social anxiety was building up, and she wasn't exactly sure why.

The sky wasn't as bright as it had been the past couple days within the morning. It was like an overcast dawn, a shadow that made everything seem a little gloomier.

The two of them were heading up the left side of the housing area, the large horseshoe-shaped street that all of the houses were on unusual but handy for the travelers. After all, the left side led directly to the street that the shops, the cafeteria, and the café were on.

The fact that they hadn't seen anyone yet wasn't too surprising, though she was definitely squeezing his hand a bit more. They left the housing area, the plaza right across the street from them.

That was when Isaac spotted two figures standing on the edge of the plaza, completely still. He waved at them, but they either didn't see or they didn't care. "Hello there," he called, but this warranted no reaction either.

"Wait, who is that?" Hara asked. "I cannot tell in all this fog."

The two crossed the street, and walked over to the two figures. As they came in close, they could tell it was Takeo and Ignatia. The two were staring each other down, not moving, not budging an inch.

It looked like either the mime was mocking the mercenary's at ease stance, or something like a bouncer refusing to let the street performer in.

Just as Isaac was about to speak again, the speakers of Penjar let out a sharp whine. There was a brief spat of static, then Monokuma's voice echoed around the entire town.

" _A body has been discovered!_

" _Please report to the Main Plaza of Penjar, for further details. Look alive, people! Upupupupupu~_ "

The message cut off with a sharp noise, and then the dull thud of the words were left to echo in everyone's head. Isaac looked around the area frantically, feeling that fight or flight decision of panic settling in.

"A body? What? What's going on? Did you two see something?!"

It was then that Ignatia flinched and stepped back, turning to the two who had unintentionally snuck up on her. Her pupils had dilated, her breath was terrified gasps. Isaac and Hara regarded her, and then looked at Takeo.

The mercenary hadn't moved, not an inch. Isaac stepped forward, the mist felt so thick around him that it was almost like he was wading towards Takeo.

He reached over, and said, "Hey there, are you okay?"

When his hand pat Takeo's shoulder, the mercenary moved ever so slightly but unnaturally rigid. Isaac pulled his hand back, then moved it forward again, this time poking Takeo in the chest.

The rigid body rocked back and forth, one solid mass. There was a brief silence, and then Isaac screamed in primal terror. He fell backwards, landing on his butt as he backed away in terror. Hyperventilating, he stared up at this horrible realization.

Takeo Onishi, the Ultimate Mercenary, was dead. His body had been turned into a preserved statue for Penjar.

* * *

…

 **27 Graduates remain in Penjar.**


	7. Chapter 1-4: Case 1 Investigations

**Chapter 1-4**

 **Abiding Breather, Commando**

* * *

" _To be honest, I was surprised when I got the invitation for Hope's Peak Academy. I was wondering what I could learn at a school that I hadn't learned during all of my training. How would an education help me with my line of work?_

" _I was really surprised how much of a purpose it gave me, to have friends, to realize that I wasn't just fighting for a paycheck. Graduating from Hope's Peak Academy has given me reason to not only become a better fighter, a better mercenary, but also a better person._

" _One day, a mission I am sent on will be my last; however, I am not afraid for that day. I know that every time I fight for a better tomorrow, to protect the good people of the world, it had meaning, it had purpose._

" _Now you all keep to your careers, and I'll keep to mine. Let's leave the world a better place when it is our time to go. Takeo Onishi, signing off from Hope's Peak. God's speed._ "

-Takeo Onishi's graduation speech

* * *

 **Day 04, 9:45 AM**

 **Main Plaza**

 **Western Edge of the Plaza**

Almost everyone had gathered in front of the Takeo's stiff body. Only a couple of them dared to venture closer, Emanuel and Saiko trying to inspect the body closer. There was a lot of fear and whispering amid the graduates staring from the street.

"What," Kimiko stammered, "what the fuck is going on? What the _fuck_ is going on?!"

"What happened to him?" Souma asked, looking to the others for answers. "What happened to Takeo? Does anyone know?"

"He's been turned to stone!" Fiora screamed, gripping her fedora. "He's a statue now! We have a Medusa here! There's an Ultimate Gorgon amongst us! The motive was real!"

"Hey, stop that," Ishiku snapped at her. "Magic is not real! And you can clearly see he's not turned to stone."

"Mythology changes so much over time, however," Futaba remarked. "Maybe it's petrification, or being turned to stone is merely a way of saying that they have been solidified to death."

"Oh, give me a break!" Blake shouted. "Are we really discussing this? There's no fucking snake lady amongst us."

"Actually, the Medusa-"

"Will you all shut up?" Saiko hollered, grabbing the attention of everyone there. "He hasn't been turned to stone! But he is dead, make no mistake about that."

"Then what happened to him?" Odelios asked, gripping his orange hair as he impatiently bounced on his feet.

Before Saiko or anyone else could speak, everyone was startled by the sudden shouting that managed to reach all of their ears.

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

The five Kubs popped up, almost out of nowhere. They were quite suddenly in front of Takeo's body, in the way of the graduates and his preserved corpse.

"Oh," Monophanie whimpered, "oh bear Gods! How gory! How horrid! How… how… BLEAAGHGGH!"

The pink Kub bent over the sidewalk, and puked into a drainage grate. The other Kubs ignored her, except for a comment from Monotaro about how he knew that was going to happen.

"We have a death in our city," Monosuke shouted. "You know what that means, people! We have to have a Town Trial, after your investigation!"

"Find out who did it, you murdering bastards," Monokid declared. "If you don't, you ALL die!"

Saiko, losing all patience as she wanted to move over to Takeo's body, glared at the Kubs. "Alright fine, we get it! We all saw the Killing Games. We know how it works. Investigation, then the Trial, now can I please inspect the body?"

With more vomiting from Monophanie after the word "body," Monotaro approached the forensic investigator. "We understand your concern, but we want to make sure that everyone knows how this works, since this is our first time! Father is getting the trial room ready, we want this to be perfect."

"How dare you!" Hikari shouted in outrage, stomping her foot at Monotaro. "Someone is dead, this isn't a game or a show!"

"It's… kind of all we know," Monotaro remarked, looking dejected at the comment. "Please though, just keep your wits about you and investigate. We will let you know when the investigation time is over."

"How long do we have?" Saiko asked.

"Um, I don't know, that's up to Father. But he'll give you enough time, don't worry."

"If that's how you want to be, fine; I've all but gotten used to your cryptic ways," she snapped, then held out her hand. "Now, the report?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Monotaro asked, staring up at her with confusion in his beady eyes.

"The Monokuma Body Report, the file, whatever it is called here," Saiko said, snapping her fingers. "In every Killing Game, there was the tablet with the death report on it. Give it over now, since that's always been the case."

The Kubs stared at her for a few seconds, then Monosuke burst out laughing. "Youse gotta be pulling our leg, toots! Do you really think we got one of those?"

"Wait, what?"

"Does Penjar look like the kind of city that just hands out tablets?" the orange Kub continued. "Do we have an electronics store? We bear-ly have electricity and water going through our little quaint town.

"What makes you think you're getting a tablet with information on the body and the case?"

There was a stunned silence from everyone there, with the graduates staring at the Kubs. Monosuke and Monokid were snickering, laughing even at their bewildered expressions.

"But, but that's not fair," Aka declared. "There was a case file for every Killing Game ever! It was necessary! How are we supposed to know when or how he died?"

Monosuke's condescending snicker continued, and then he said, "Well, that's just gonna hafta be part of your investigation, now isn't it?"

"You cannot always get what you want," Monokid bellowed. "So bust your butts getting the answers, you dumb fuckers, or this investigation may prove fruitless, and then you'll be ripped gutless!"

"Bleahghghgh!" added Monophanie.

"IF-YOU-ARE-WANTING-INFORMATION," Monodam spoke up, "WE-ARE-ABLE-TO-ANSWER-SOME-QUESTIONS-DURING-YOUR-INVESTIGATION."

"Yes, but we're going to branch off amongst you all, make sure none of you try to make a run for it," Monotaro said. "Like Father said, if you try to leave Penjar during a murder investigation, you will be killed."

The graduates all exchanged glances, realizing just how real this situation had become. Brave faces were put on, though some of them couldn't keep their fear in total check. Saiko and Emanuel were staring at Takeo's body, the former controlling her breathing while the latter took a swig from his flask.

"Okay then, I think we get it," Saiko said, glaring down at the Kubs. "Which one of you is going to be watching over those investigating the body?"

"That would be Monodam," Monokid said with a laugh, "because he's the least likely to tell you anything! Haha!"

"…" responded Monodam.

Saiko growled in frustration, and turned towards the collection of Hope's Peak graduates. "Alright people, listen up! We need to form into five different groups, one of them being this group right here! I will be investigating the body, and unless you think you can help with something I have worked with my whole life and career, keep the _fuck_ out of my way!"

"Wait a minute there," Crystal spoke up, stepping forward. "We cannot just leave you alone with the body. We need some people here as well, two more at most."

With a roll of her eyes, Saiko muttered, "Fine. Emanuel seems to be ready to investigate, so he can stay. And… Drake, you stay here too."

"What?" the cartoonist exclaimed, staring in terror at Takeo's body. "Why me?"

"I'll explain in a minute, we don't have a lot of time."

As she said this, Monokuma peeked from behind Takeo's solidified legs. " **You're right about that, short and well-rounded! I came to give you all a very important message.** "

The graduates and Kubs all faced the bear of despair, silent as they waited for his words. Monokuma walked in front of Takeo's body, and pumped his fist into the air.

" **The investigation has officially begun! Start searching for clues, and get to work! For when the announcement for it being over is played, you are all to form up in front of Town Hall! Anyone who tries to disobey is going to be in big, big trouble! Upupupupu!**

" **Are you all ready?** "

"Ready as ever, Father!" Monotaro declared.

"You'll pay for this," Yitro snarled, "you craven little black 'n white bastard."

" **BEGIN!** "

 **INVESTIGATION START!**

Monokuma ran off as soon as he made the declaration, laughing all the way; when his laughter cut off with distance, the graduates turned towards Saiko.

The forensic investigator walked over to Takeo, putting on a rubber glove. She started to touch his body, trying to move his arms.

"Um, I'm sorry, Saiko," Angelique called out nervously, "I'm sorry, but, what are we supposed to do, exactly?"

Saiko growled and turned towards the large group. "Are you all so dense that you cannot think of investigating anywhere else? Go on then, five groups, each with their own Kub! Get as much info as you can."

"But how are we supposed to know where to go?" Anzu asked, staring with horrified crimson eyes at Takeo's body. "I mean, if he was really petrified or turned to stone or whatever, do we really want to go around this town if someone or something can do that?"

"He wasn't turned to stone!" Saiko snapped. "I think-"

"Taxidermy human statue," Emanuel said aloud, staring at Takeo without pause. When everyone looked at him, he continued. "That's what I'm sure our little bluebell is going to say. Someone turned this poor bastard into a taxidermy trophy." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

Many of the graduates balked at this, while only Eisei remained absolutely calm at this news. "That's definitely more believable than a gorgon turning him to stone. Still, that opens up even more questions; this is definitely going to be a difficult mystery to solve."

Saiko, who had been glaring daggers at Emanuel ever since the "little" comment, turned towards the others. "Will you all get going already?!"

The graduates were still confused, until Souma walked up and raised his hands, gaining all of their attention. "If I may, allow me to divide us up for maximum efficiency:

"Saiko, Emanuel, Drake, and Eisei will stay here to help investigate the body and scene.

"Angelique, Yitro, Ishiku, Yejoon, and Blake, would the five of you investigate the taxidermy store? See if there is any evidence there that this was a taxidermy-styled murder.

"Myself, Jin, Pyrrha, Shinobu, and Shuuya, we will investigate Takeo's house. That is our highest priority, but we will also go through everyone's homes; we are dealing with a murderer here, people, I do not want to hear anything about invasions of privacy.

"Samson, Ken, Kimiko, Crystal, Aka, and Ignatia, you all explore the roads, streets, and corridors of all of the surrounding area. We need to find out anything that may have been hidden or discarded, anything will do.

"Everyone, investigate the other shops and buildings that we have been in, maybe there will be something there. When you're done with those places, start with the right side of our housing area; my party with start with the left side, which is my house, when we're done with Takeo's.

"Let's move on out, people! We have to find Mr. Onishi's killer, for our sake, and for his soul's. Please, let's work together, like I know us Hope's Peak graduates can."

With these motivational words, the groups split off as Souma instructed. Monophanie walked towards the housing area, Monokid went to the taxidermy shop, Monosuke headed for the road, and Monosuke was with the group heading towards the café.

The only person who didn't jump to action was Yejoon, who had stayed back. He stared at Takeo's body, cocking his head to the side to inspect it. Saiko, who was trying to search the body, eventually had enough of this.

"Will you leave and join your group at the taxidermy shop?" she snapped.

"In regards to Souma's instructions, I believe I would like to give my regards to this artistic murder, if I may?" Yejoon replied, glancing over at Saiko.

The investigator glared at him, and responded, "Take off that damn mask if you're going to try and cooperate then!"

Without hesitation, Yejoon did so and ran a hand through his hair. He set his mask on the appropriate latch on his belt, and thus moved forward. As if his own movements made him realize something, he reached towards the waist of Takeo's body.

"Hey! What are you-" Saiko shouted, before the sound of a blade being unsheathed silenced her.

Yejoon was holding a combat knife in his hand, inspecting it closely. "Military-grade blade, blacked out for stealth, nicely sharpened," he listed off, "and it also looks completely clean."

"Takeo had a weapon on him?" Eisei asked. "Or the killer put it on him for the full statue effect of a soldier with his weapon?"

"I'll guess that he had it with him," Saiko commented, "because I don't know why he wouldn't. I even vaguely remember him having it at his side last night." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"I… I remember that too," Drake commented, nervously rubbing behind his ear. "I tend to notice details about you all, since I'm sketching you all. A little, not much, that's not creepy, is it?"

Emanuel grunted as he stared at the body more. He walked up for a closer look, staring at the jacket that was zipped up to the collar. With a quick unzip, he pulled it open and stared at Takeo's shirt.

"Well shit, he didn't stand much of a chance, did he?"

The five people there stared at Takeo's chest and stomach, which were almost visible with the large cuts that had almost shredded his shirt. His shirt was bloodstained all over, soaked and dried with the horrid sight and smell all there.

Saiko pulled at the shirt slightly, and saw that the man's chest and stomach had been stitched up, rather crudely, in numerous places. "Looks like cause of death was blood loss, shock, or a fatal stabbing during the assault," she commented. * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"Emanuel, can you check his back, see if he has more there?"

"I ain't your damn partner, do it yourself."

With more glares between the two, Saiko proceeded to inspect Takeo's back. Yejoon held the combat knife up near the cuts, comparing the hilt to the cuts.

"Hmm, not the same size," he commented. "But then again, not too surprising, since this blade looks completely clean. Doesn't smell of bleach or cleaning chemicals either."

"He's got stab wounds in his back," Saiko announced. "His jacket is all cut here too, bloody as well."

Eisei let out a frustrated sigh, as he pulled a pink lollipop from his pocket. He placed it in his mouth, and seemed calmer to them as he spoke. "So you're telling me the Ultimate Mercenary was stabbed to death without being able to defend himself with his own knife?" * ** _TRUTH BULLET UPDATED_** *

Emanuel reached down and inspected Takeo's hands. He tried to bend the fingers, which worked out a bit. "Okay, I don't think he was totally turned into a taxidermy statue. Killer took shortcuts, he hasn't been stuffed in the hands and fingers."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Drake asked, rubbing behind his ear more. "How do you take shortcuts to such a horrible thing?"

"Kid, shut the hell up if you're not going to contribute," Emanuel snapped, glaring at the nervous young man. He went back to the hands, and muttered, "Amateurs. If stupidity was a source of fuel, this place could run an airport."

"No need to be so rude," Eisei commented, shaking his head. "The information needs to be shared, so please explain to us how the killer took shortcuts."

When Emanuel refused to answer, Saiko took the lead. She gestured to Yejoon to hand over the knife, which the artist did with a confused expression. The forensic investigator took the blade and cut some of the stitches on one of Takeo's chest wounds.

"Isn't that a bit much?" Drake asked.

"Under normal circumstances, yes, but these are not normal circumstances, so I'm taking shortcuts too," Saiko remarked. She finished reopening one of the wounds, and pried it open a bit. What appeared to be straw and cotton was collected inside of Takeo's chest. * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"Okay, he's been stuffed normally in his chest, but let's see other areas. If you haven't a strong stomach, you might want to look away," Saiko suggested.

She started making cuts in other areas of Takeo's body, with Yejoon and Eisei watching while Drake couldn't bear to do so. Emanuel grew impatient with this, and proceeded with his own investigation. The Bête Noir was going through Takeo's utility belt and pockets, and wasn't moving for Saiko.

"Dead bastard doesn't have anything else on him," he remarked, with a roll of his eyes. "Then again, he might have a note in his shoe; I heard some military personal do this if they want to leave last notes. Let's get his boots off."

"Will you hold on for two minutes?" Saiko angrily replied. "I'm still investigating the body."

"Listen, you bitchy little bluebell, I have dealt with taxidermy murders before, four in fact. This fucked up world doesn't surprise me at all, I've seen this kind of shit before. I already have everything I need here, but you're just getting in the way.

"I'm gonna go search elsewhere. Let me know when you're going to cooperate."

Emanuel walked off, leaving the group around Takeo's body rather startled. Saiko merely snarled and turned her attention back to the corpse. "He was right about one thing," she said, "the killer took shortcuts. Takeo's head and hands haven't been properly stuffed; it's his chest, arms, and legs." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"My, how unprofessional," Yejoon remarked with a dry chuckle. "Still, I can only imagine that was due to time constraints. Even if it is just his chest and limbs, I can only imagine that would take an awful long amount of time. Is there any way you can discern when he died, Saiko?"

"That's going to be really, really hard for me to do with what I have here. I'm almost certain the body has been tampered with as well, heat or cold, like I think they do with taxidermy. * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"You wouldn't happen to know how it works, would you, Yejoon?"

"I never dabbled in taxidermy, nor has my sister, or anyone else I know for that matter. It's not the type of art I ever cared for."

Saiko sighed, then glanced down at Monodam. "Hey, green cub! Since we're not getting a case file, will you tell us the time of death?"

Monodam didn't respond to her, he didn't even move. He was as motionless and lifeless as Takeo next to him. Saiko growled again, then turned to Drake. "You, try to get something out of him."

"Huh? Why me?"

"You've spent the most amount of time with these wretched little bears, you're probably the only one they get along with. As weird as that is, we need you to at least try!"

Drake sighed, and knelt down to Monodam. The green Kub glanced over at him, moving for the first time.

"Is there any way we can learn the time of death?" he asked Monodam.

"NO," was Monodam's answer. "FATHER-HAS-DECLARED-THAT-A-SECRET."

"Damn it," Saiko muttered. "Can we get cause of death?"

"Can we, Monodam?"

"I-CANNOT-SAY."

"Guess we're gonna have to go with my theory for now," Saiko remarked. "Damn it, he's useless, never mind."

"Maybe we need to ask different questions?" Eisei offered.

Drake tapped on his temple, then looked at Monodam pleadingly. "About the talent motive, Monodam, did the killer get one of them?"

"I-CANNOT-SAY."

"Did Takeo get one of them?"

There was a brief silence, then Monodam replied. "NO." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"That's something, if that talent motive turns out to be true," Eisei said.

"How could something like that be true?" Saiko replied. "And I sure know that I haven't felt extra gifted, so I'm not going to trust that it's real just yet, thank you. Do any of you feel capable of taking on an ultimate mercenary in a fight to the death?"

"Not in particular," Eisei admitted, while Yejoon and Drake shook their heads.

"THE-MOTIVE-DID-HAPPEN," Monodam insisted. "FOUR-OF-YOU-HAVE-NEW-TALENTS-UNTIL-MIDNIGHT-TONIGHT."

"Wait, so whoever has those talents will have them during the trial?" asked Drake.

"THAT-IS-CORRECT." * ** _TRUTH BULLET UPDATED_** *

Saiko hummed in thought, staring at Takeo's body. Eisei watched her at work, and then spoke up. "I inspected his mouth yesterday, so maybe I could do a dental check on him?"

"You don't exactly have his records," Saiko remarked.

"No, but I can see if this really is him, and not a really, really good statue."

"Eisei, his head is the real deal, I don't think we have someone who could replicate that perfectly. But fine, one minute…"

She moved to his mouth, and tried to pull it down. It refused to budge. Saiko stood in front of Takeo and moved his lips open. With a disgusted sigh, she muttered, "His teeth have been glued together."

"What would the point of that be?" Drake asked.

"Beats me to hell and back," Saiko replied, rubbing the sole of her foot on the floor. "Maybe another shortcut? I wish I could fully inspect him, but this feels like a combination of an autopsy and a deconstruction."

"Maybe we should look in his boots like Emanuel suggested?" Eisei said. "We aren't going to learn more just by looking at him."

"There is one thing that is rather worrying me," Yejoon spoke aloud. "Apologies to you, Drake, but it is a rather gory question."

"What is it?" the cartoonist asked, bracing for impact.

"Well, if he's been stuffed properly in his chest and limbs, where exactly was everything that was in there to begin with?"

* * *

 **Day 04, 10:15 AM**

 **Ye Olde Taxidermy Shop**

"This place has seen better days."

Yitro calmly scanned the entire shop, as the other three were far more visibly disturbed. The displays of animals had been ravaged, including the cases with insects and other, smaller creatures.

"Man, someone hated these critters," Blake remarked. He stared at the hollowed-out hyena, and then noticed that the kangaroo that had been a piece near the window had been smashed. He cast a salute towards it and sighed.

"Not all of them," Angelique said, reaching up towards one of the shelves. She pulled down a taxidermy fox, and inspected it. "Where did this little guy come from? I don't remember a fox here before."

"I don't even remember animals being here in Penjar," Monokid declared, as he made himself comfortable on the main counter. "Stupid fucking animals."

"It was probably in one of the cabinets or something, but it's one of the few survivors. Most of the animals in here have been destroyed," Ishiku remarked, "most of them, anyway. Some really went on a safari in here." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"I wonder why?" Angelique said, as she set down the taxidermy fox. She looked at a mess that used to be a bird of some kind, a touch of cotton amid the outlining of its gutted form. Her glossy pink nails pinched it out as she inspected it more closely. "Did they think there was something important in them or something?"

"Let's just inspect the rest of the building, shall we?" Ishiku said, heading to the back room. "The less time we spend in here, the better…"

When he opened the door, a strange and sharp smell came wafting into the main room. Ishiku made a face, then stepped into the back room. A few seconds later, he gagged, choked, and then sprinted out of the building.

He barely made it before he violently puked on the sidewalk outside. This almost hit Emanuel, who was heading towards the shop.

"Dios mio, you little shit," he shouted at Ishiku. The magician had dropped his staff and was spitting the rest of the sick from his mouth. Angelique ran outside and rubbed his back, trying to calm him down.

"Whoa, we got another Monophanie here," Monokid called out, enjoying himself.

Yitro and Blake walked outside too, quite concerned over what would cause such a reaction. Ishiku managed to collect himself, then he said something that sent a shiver up everyone's spine.

"There's… there's insides in that room. Organs… blood… guts…"

"Oh my God," Yitro remarked, glancing back into the store, at the back room. "You mean…"

"Looks like my case is proven," Emanuel said, before finishing off his flask. "Mercenary boy got gutted and turned into a taxidermy statue, right back there in the store." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"This is so horrible," Angelique said, still comforting Ishiku as he heaved slightly. "Someone butchered that poor man?"

"We're going to have to get the right clues if we want to survive the trial, so push the pity aside," Emanuel snapped. "I need to inspect that backroom, but I doubt you'd all let me go to a crime scene alone. Who's with me?"

"Fuck no," Blake remarked. "I'll search the dead, destroyed animal trophies, but I'm not going into that room."

"I'm staying out here with Ishiku," Angelique replied firmly. She glanced up hopefully at Yitro, who nodded at his friend.

"I can handle it," he said before turning to Emanuel. "Shall we?"  
"Sure, I guess a former swordsman is good enough when investigating a gutted victim."

Yitro scoffed, but went into the taxidermy's back room with Emanuel. Monokid was right behind them, still looking quite amused by everything. The back room was like a workshop of sorts, with a couple cabinets with all sorts of goods and tools. There was a workplace, a large table with a wax paper covering with bloodstains on it.

On the floor in front of the table was a sloppy pile of organs, guts, muscle, and blood. Yitro winced, and pulled his scarf over his mouth and nose. He noticed Emanuel had pulled his shirt up over his own mouth and nose too.

"I'm gonna need," the Bête Noir muttered, "another drink after this shit."

"I might join you for that, I picked a hell of a time in my life to go sober."

Yitro examined the table, avoiding the pile of insides as much as he could. "Okay, it seems that this would be the place of operation. There's a whole bunch of bloody tools here too."

"Everything you would need for taxidermy is here," Emanuel remarked, looking through the cabinets. "Fucking hell, this isn't how a taxidermy shop is really like. Why is everything in this town so wrong?"

"So someone could definitely do taxidermy here if they knew how," Yitro remarked, glancing very briefly at the gore pile. There was a bit of cotton and straw scattered on the floor as well, which he regarded. "And they did." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"Just gotta figure out who can kill a mercenary face-to-face, and who knows taxidermy to boot. What a fucking day," Emanuel muttered, "I think I'm going to refill my flask."

"So that's what inside of a human," Monokid declared, staring at the gore pile. "That's fucking gross, now that I see it. You meat bags are gross!"

"Excuse me, Monokid," Yitro said as he stared down at the blue Kub, "but if we aren't getting a Monokuma case file or something, can you at least confirm one thing for me?"

"What'd that be?"

"Neither Monokuma nor the Kubs are allow to interfere with the crime scenes or the murder, right?"

"Yes, that's… right," the blue Kub looked like he wanted to add an insult in there, but didn't know quite how.

"And there's been no other people in Penjar except the twenty-eight of us since we got here, right?"

"That's also right. Now let's get out of here, it smells." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

* * *

 **Day 04, 10:25 AM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Takeo's House**

"Nothing?" Pyrrha asked, glancing around at the four. "He only had the usual traveling goods?"

"I was really thinking he'd be carrying an arsenal or something with him," Jin remarked, rummaging through a desk. "You'd think a mercenary would have some guns with him or something."

"Maybe he couldn't get the permits or the goods?" Shinobu suggested. "Anyway, let's not give up just yet, let's look a bit more."

"Pardon me, but I doubt we're going to find more inside of his living quarters," Shuuya said, crossing his arms after finishing looking through some cabinets. "There's nothing here."

"Just look a little longer, good sir," Souma requested. "If we find something, anything, it may be vital to this investigation."

With a defeated sigh, Shuuya joined the others in turning the room upside-down. Pyrrha even inspected the toilet tank, while Jin started inspecting all of the items around the sink; it resulted in a lot of toothpaste being wasted.

"Out of curiosity," Shuuya spoke as he looked underneath the bed, "we have a couple knowledgeable people here. Does anyone know what Takeo's combat prowess or history involved?"

"I could answer that," Souma said, as he very carefully inspected one of Takeo's suitcases. "According to his history, Takeo has been trained to be a soldier since he was young, about fourteen, I believe."

"I heard a little something about that too," Shinobu said. "While I don't have all the details, or know everything about everyone at Hope's Peak like some think I do, I remember Takeo had a bit of a special case."

"He was already hardened and trained to be a top-notch fighter by the time he went to Hope's Peak," Souma said. "He was highly trained in firearms, knife fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. He had been on several missions, and had killed before."

"Hope's Peak took him in and gave him more purpose to life, something more than just killing and fighting," Shinobu explained. "It was like a heartwarming story, giving someone who had been hardened and beaten to be the best fighter there was, given a real life."

"I see," Shuuya said, crawling out from under the bed. "The most important part is that Takeo really was the kind of fighter that could handle most anything, and yet he's our victim." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

Monophanie was watching them from the doorway, quietly holding the door for them. The mist didn't travel into the house while she was doing this, it merely rolled on down the street and sidewalk.

"May I ask you all something?" the pink Kub chimed in.

"I thought that you were here for us to ask things?" Jin replied, checking Takeo's hair brush.

"Oh. That's right. Sorry."

Pyrrha glared at Jin, then turned to Monophanie. "Go ahead, we don't mind," she said, before turning her attention back to a chest of drawers that Takeo had been keeping his clothing in.

"Did any of you ever ask Mr. Onishi why he was here in Penjar?"

Pyrrha paused her search, then sighed. "You know, I never did. From what I gathered, he wanted to try to find out more about despair."

"I would imagine he either wanted to destroy it," Shinobu said, "or someone ordered him to come here. He was very prone to taking orders."

"Oh yes, very much so," Shuuya commented. "I mean, he was pretty much doing anything anyone ever asked him to do. That was an unusual quality, but that kind of loyalty is commendable."

Souma paused his searching at well, then glanced at everyone else. "Do you think that's what happened? Did he get orders that were fatal to him?"

Pyrrha shook her head, her red hair swinging wildly. "No. I know for a fact that Takeo wouldn't do anything that could be fatal or extreme." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"Really now?" Shinobu asked, as she was searching the closet once more. "What exactly did you…"

She stopped when she was searching a spare pair of boots in the closet. The historian tilted the boot, and a piece of paper fluttered out. Shinobu picked it up, opened it, and read it out loud:

 _Takeo,_

 _Meet me behind the town hall at 1 AM. That is an ORDER. We need to discuss how to defend the people of this town. There will be a select amount of people at this meeting._

"Oh my God," Shinobu declared, her eyes scanning it over and over again. "Someone lured him out. That's how they caught him off-guard." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"He must have stored that note in one of his boots just in case," Shuuya remarked. "That's what a lot of military personal do, they keep notes in their boots; usually, it's in the boots they are wearing, but still."

Jin drummed her pink nails on the bathroom counter, then said, "Weren't there people talking about about patrols or defense? Is that what the note is referring to?"

"There were a few people speaking about that, I believe," Souma said. "In hindsight, maybe we should have done that, but I believe most people thought that the motive wasn't real. As it turned out, someone took it quite seriously."

Shinobu sighed heavily, and remarked, "I don't understand why anyone would be so foolish to go out alone. But let's hurry, we might be running out of time. Are we, Monophanie?"

The pink Kub nervously tapped her chin, and remarked, "If you want to get through all the buildings, you might want to consider hurrying."

Shuuya fiddled with his pockets, then commented, "Let's hurry then."

* * *

 **Day 04, 10:35 AM**

 **Ye Olde Café**

Isaac was taking deep breaths as Hara rubbed his back. The reporter was gripping his hair and beanie, as if trying to get a physical grip as well as mental.

Odelios walked over to them, holding a tray that had numerous mugs of steaming coffee and chocolate drinks. "A little caffeine or sweet drink for the morning rush? I got hot chocolate, white chocolate, hazelnut, cinnamon-"

"Odelios, thank you," Hara interrupted, reaching over to take two of the drinks. "I'm sorry, we really do appreciate it, but don't rush him."

"Is he going to be okay?" Odelios asked, staring at Isaac. "Takeo's body really seemed to frazzle you."

Isaac let out a small, humorless laugh. "Let's… let's just say I don't do well with posed dead bodies like that."

"Well, I ain't gonna pry into your life story, dude, so allow me to just get drinks passed around."

"Oh, if you could," she called out, "if you could get a mint-tinted decaf drink… I mean, I know I shouldn't do requests, but we haven't even eaten-"

"Say no more, Hara, I'm on it after this!"

Odelios hurried over to Fiora, Hikari, and Futaba, who were searching around the café for anything. The three ladies weren't having much luck, since they were mostly looking for something blood splattered; or at least, that was what Fiora was searching for.

"Okay, what if," Fiora declared, "what if the killer had a frozen icicle, and stabbed Takeo with it? I directed a movie where a killer did that, it's effective because the murder weapon melts!"

Hara pat Isaac's back, then walked over to Fiora. "Fi, sweetheart, the murder weapon isn't probably something like that. Takeo could handle someone holding an icicle, I'm sure."

"But it's possible, eh!"

"Yes," Hara struggled on how to argue with this, "but then what would you be looking for, if the murder weapon doesn't exist? Just you should be looking for something that does, we only have so much time."

Fiora took a deep breath, as she tried to process all of this. "Okay, well, here's the thing… Hikari and Futaba aren't listening to any of my theories, but I have one that's a pretty good lead!"

The movie maker pulled out her cellphone, which she held up proudly. "I have a blacklight app on my phone! I can start shining it around and see if our killer cleaned up blood anywhere."

Hara bit her bottom lip, wondering if it was really worth arguing this, but she had to try. "Fi, blacklight doesn't just illuminate bloodstains. You need luminol spray for that first."

Fiora blinked a great deal, but recovered fast. "Does y'oor forensic investigator have any of that?"

"I don't know…"

"Lemme go check with her!"

Fiora hurried over to the café entrance, and almost ran into Emanuel. "Oh, sorry there, big guy," she said, "but… oh! Do _you_ have luminol spray?"

Emanuel glared at her. "Why would I carry that with me?"

"Because you're a detective, and I have this app on my phone that…"

With a very swift movement, faster than Fiora could react, Emanuel yanked her phone right out of her hand. He turned around and chucked it as far as he could, over into the plaza.

"I told you," he shouted in her face, "to _never_ call me that! _Puta_!"

He stormed off into the kitchen, while Fiora stood there, completely shocked. "Hey come on," she whined, "I had all of my photos on that, you jerk!"

She sprinted outside, calling out for her phone. Everyone inside of the café was shocked, but quickly went back to the investigation. Hikari was inspecting all of the knives in the kitchen, as well as the other tools. Futaba was inspecting inside of the freezer that the café had.

"Anything, darling?" Hikari remarked, scratching her earlobe in thought as Futaba stepped out.

The anthropologist pulled on her singular glove, and shook her head with a heavy sigh. "Nothing that would imply that the body could have been kept in there. I thought for sure that they would do that to throw off time of death."

"But we weren't given a case file."

"The killer couldn't have known that."

The two heard a loud scoff, and they turned to see Emanuel prying through one of the cupboards. "Look at you two, thinking you're so clever. You do at least have one good point, Futaba, the killer wouldn't have known about the lack of a case file, but there's also one thing that escaped your mind."

"And what would that be?" Futaba remarked sharply, pulling on her glove again.

"Our killer only had so much time before everyone was going to be awake. You think they had enough time to freeze the body? Come on."

Emanuel pulled a rather large bottle of whiskey from the cupboard, and started filling up his flask. Then he took a rather big shot of it, making Hikari wince.

"Is that something you really want to be doing right now?" she lectured him.

"I can handle ten times more than this and still solve this case," Emanuel replied. "Mostly because I'm already fairly certain who did this, and how."

"What?" Futaba declared. "You're sure?"

"I wouldn't say it unless I meant it. Now if you would excuse me…"

He started to walk out of the kitchen, then collided with a rushing Odelios. A coffee mug went crashing down to the floor, splashing hot coffee on their feet. Emanuel cried out in shock, then growled at the clown. Without a word, he reached out and shoved Odelios hard.

The clown fell backwards, somersaulted backwards, and was back on his feet again as if taking a tumble. "Sir, not only are customers not allowed back here," he shouted at Emanuel, "but I will be going online and writing a story about how much of a jerk you are as retaliation."

Emanuel just stormed out of the building. Odelios went right back to making more coffee, whistling to himself as he did so. Hikari and Futaba exchanged glances, then agreed to go check out the cafeteria.

As they left the building, Fiora came running back in. She was huffing and panting, rather upset, though neither of the gals wanted to get in her way. The movie maker first turned towards them, sighed as they left, then turned towards Hara and Isaac.

"Okay, why is everyone ignoring me now?" Fiora asked. "I'm feeling really put 'oot, with how I'm being treated."

"Fiora," Isaac muttered, glancing over at her, "people are doing an investigation, we're not really trying to be mindful of feelings right now."

"Oh come on, I was shouting and calling out to you all to come to me across the street, because I found something important! But if you all are going to ignore me even when I'm screaming…"

"I wouldn't ignore you," Hara assured her, "but I didn't hear you."

"What? I was hollering just right across the street! How could you not hear me?"

"I assure you, I didn't."

"Come on, follow me, please!"

Fiora gripped Hara's arm and pulled the confused explorer out of the building with her. They walked across the street, and then Fiora pointed triumphantly at what she had discovered.

"Look here! He's not doing anything to help us!"

Monosuke was fooling around with a cell phone that looked suspiciously like Fiora's. The orange Kub chuckled, and said, "You got quite the interesting collection of photos here, toots," he said, glancing up at Fiora. "Tell me, do you take a picture every time you-"

"Give it back! You're supposed to be helping us, eh!"

She struggled to pull the phone from the orange Kub, who didn't want to give it up just yet. Hara sighed heavily, and shook her head. Fiora's antics were starting to really get to her. "If that's everything, Fi, I'm just going to go back in."

Fiora yanked her phone from Monosuke, and declared, "No! You have to believe me, I'm trying to help! Maybe your future hubby can help us get information from Monosuke?"

"Youse will never get me to spill any secrets!" Monosuke declared. "I'm too loyal!"

"HEY! ISAAC!" Fiora screamed, sharp enough to make Hara and Monosuke jump. "GET OVER HERE! WE NEED YOUR HELP!"

Hara shook her head, her patience wearing a bit thin now. She glanced at the café across the street, the mist flowing rather thickly in front of it. She couldn't make out Isaac through the mist and the window, but she knew where he was and with no obstructions, she would clearly see him.

"Here, use this, youse," Monosuke offered, holding up a megaphone. Fiora gleefully took it, and Hara covered her ears…

" **ISAAC! GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE, NOW! … PLEASE, EH!** "

The movie maker glanced over at Hara, who had still heard that quite clearly even with her hands over her ears. "Soo'ry for yelling at him like that, I remembered I'm still a Canadian."

Hara sighed, then watched the café to wait for Isaac. A minute passed, and still her fiancé didn't come out. Now she was a little confused, she didn't think he would just ignore that shouting.

The two women exchanged glances, then Fiora got her 'idea' face. She held up the megaphone, and declared…

" **IF YOU DON'T GET 'OOT HERE IN FIVE SECONDS, I AM GOING TO DO THINGS TO YOUR FIANCÉE!** "

"Wh-what?!" Hara balked. "No no, don't even joke about that, Fi, he can be really protective!"

But even with this declaration, Hara didn't see Isaac coming out. Now that was suspicious, and she walked back into the café. Isaac was sitting in his chair, sipping the drink that Odelios had given him.

"So what did Fiora find that was so important?" he asked Hara.

"Honey… she was screaming at you to come out of the café to join us. Fi even said something that I was sure would get you to come out."

"I didn't hear her at all."

"She was using a megaphone!"

"What? I still didn't hear her, Hara. And where did she get a megaphone?"

"And where can I get one?" Odelios asked from the kitchen.

Hara tapped her chin, then walked over to her fiancé. "Honey, do me a favor. Go outside to Fiora, and try calling me."

Confused but listening to her, Isaac walked out of the café. He was sipping his drink, not hearing anything in this ghost town, until he was halfway across the street…

"… **AND YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHAT I CAN DO WITH A CAN OPENER!** " Fiora was hollering, the noise almost blowing Isaac's beanie off with the forceful winds from the megaphone. " **I CAN…** oh, hello, Isaac!"

Blinking as he rubbed his ears, Isaac took a moment, before something dawned on him. "I literally didn't hear you until I could see you, Fiora."

Remembering what Hara had told him, he turned around and called as loud as he could for her. She never came out, and when he walked back into the café, she was waiting for him.

"What is going on?" Isaac asked her. "I literally couldn't hear Fiora until she was in plain sight of me, and you couldn't hear me calling out to you from there?"

"No, I couldn't. Isaac, something is very wrong with this town right now. Sound isn't traveling normally."

Fiora sprinted into the café, still holding the megaphone. Monosuke was by her legs, looking very smug. "You two," she declared, "is it possible that the mists are a sound dampener, and we cannot hear people if we're too far away?"

"That's not possible," Isaac replied, then he glanced to the side. "Wait, is it?"

There was a devious chuckle from Monosuke, and the three stared at him. "Youse better get used to Penjar throwing a few surprises and curveballs at you," he said. "Because if you cannot learn to adjust, you might be collecting pigeons on your head like your merc buddy is now!"

Hara stared at Isaac, and said, "The three of us should experiment a bit more, just to make sure this is actually happening, but it truly looks like the mists are dampening sound in the city." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"Great googly moogly," Fiora muttered. "If that really is true, this murder case just became a lot moo'r complicated."

"Indeed, Fi," said Hara, nervously tapping her nails together, "indeed it will be."

* * *

 **Day 04, 10:45 AM**

 **Eastern Side of Penjar**

 **Behind Town Hall**

Aka was kneeling down in the middle of the road, waving her hand frantically around to brush the mist away. It wasn't easy, but eventually she managed to expose the street to everyone around her.

"SEE?! See, I told you I wasn't just imagining things," she declared, pointing at the copious bloodstains on the ground. "I knew I stepped on something odd!"

She even lifted her shoe sole, which had a tiny amount of a blood stain on it too. "Look! Look, it's still wet, even if just a little!"

Ken stared down at the ground, sniffing deeply. With a disgusted sigh, he stood up and corrected himself. Tenderly rubbing his elbow, he remarked, "Yes, that's blood alright. I can never forget that smell." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"God damn," Kimiko muttered, staring at the bloody street until the mists covered it up again. "You think this is it? You think Takeo died right here?"

She was clutching the dog tag around her neck, taking deep breaths. Glancing around at everything, she tried to gauge their reactions as well.

Ignatia was leaning up against the back of the town hall building, looking down at her boots as if she had just discovered them. Crystal was turning around and examining the area, as if she was scanning it and downloading it to memory. Samson had his hand firmly on his hip, as he studied the blood splatter as well.

Monotaro was seated on a trash can, watching all of them with his arms crossed. He wasn't really saying much, mostly because the graduates were ignoring him.

"Is there a trail?" Samson asked. "There is a lot of blood here, was he dragged somewhere?"

"Maybe to the taxidermy store," Crystal remarked, staring at the nearby buildings. "I highly doubt that the killer did their work in a random building around here."

"Maybe they did, we should inspect the nearby buildings," Ken declared.

"That'll take a lot of time," Crystal remarked. "Are you really going to go through all those buildings when the most likely scenario is the killer used the building made for the end result?"

"If you think that, go ahead, but I'm going to double-check," Ken said, defiantly walking towards one of the nearby abandoned buildings. They watched him go, and Crystal sighed dramatically.

"Honor before reason, I see," she muttered to herself. "He's not entirely wrong, but it is still a waste of time and manpower; he's not going to find anything."

"Maybe, but I'm going to see if there is a blood trail or not," Samson said, swinging his arm around to wave the mist away. As if it was becoming more defiant, it was getting harder to see the ground.

"AWK!"

Monotaro let out a cry as someone yanked up the trash can lid and sent him sprawling to the floor. Ignatia walked over with the trash can lid. She swung it, blowing a large portion of mist away. There were some blood drops and smears, leading back to the northeast corner of Town Hall.

"Let's follow the trail, mime girl," Samson cheered, hand still on his hip as he helped lead her.

Aka watched them go, and then stared at Crystal and Kimiko. She glanced around, and remarked, "We don't have to look anymore, do we? I mean, what else could we possibly find, we found the area where Takeo died."

"I'm not going to give up," Kimiko declared, and started looking around the area. "If the killer or Takeo dropped something, anything, we need to find it."

Crystal stood in place, deep in thought. Even when Aka nudged her and asked what was on her mind, she didn't respond. The skier gave up and approached Kimiko, trying to find something to do.

"Our military adviser has gone off into her own military world," she said to the biker gang leader. "Guess she really-WHOA!"

She dodged as Kimiko threw a trash can lid behind her, almost hitting the skier. The biker gang leader turned, and muttered, "Oh sorry, hot stuff, didn't hear you. Could you help me look or something?"

Kimiko turned the trash can upside-down and shook it. Nothing came out of it, no matter how hard she shook. With a frustrated sigh, she chucked the bin away.

Aka watched nervously, then tried to think of something, anything, to say. "So, um, you lead a bike gang, right?"

"That's how I got the title, yeah."

"Well, if things don't work out with me and Hikari, are there any cute single members of your gang?"

Kimiko stopped what she was doing, and turned towards Aka. The confused and slightly miffed look on her face was rather interesting to the skier. "What? You're… you are seriously going on about that now? NOW?"

Aka held up a finger to her lips, and glanced over at Crystal. "There's something about her that really worries me. She almost seems to be leading us astray, and not just during this investigation."  
"What, Crystal? I doo'nt knoo'…"

"I'm telling you, something happened last night that is really suspicious…" * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

* * *

 **Day 04, 10:55 AM**

 **Ye Olde Antique Shop**

Anzu was desperately grabbing at everything in the shop. She tried everything, even the shop items like the cash register. She was grabbing at them in different angles, struggling to get a reaction.

"Come on," she shouted in frustration. "Mahiru, are you there somewhere? Hello? Damn it all, you cannot do this to me!"

She, in frustration, grabbed a vase and chucked it against the wall. It bounced off it, and then thudded against the floor. Anzu blinked, and muttered, "What the hell does someone need a rubber vase for… oh to hell with it!"

The actress draped herself on the countertop, and sobbed aloud. "I could have prevented this! I could have… if I had been honest… why…"

She pounded her fist against the counter, groaning and crying in frustration. "Why… why didn't I just tell everyone? Why…"

So deep in her grief was she that she missed the chime of the front door. Someone approached her from behind, reaching out, and she only heard a floorboard creak as her only warning…

She whipped around and backed up, flinching sharply and almost striking Hikari's hand with her arm when she turned. The steampunk model recoiled, startled as well.

"Sweetheart?" Hikari said, staring at Anzu. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. But… wait, what's wrong?"

Anzu covered her face with her hands, and let out an exasperated sob. "I'm… I'm sorry! I just cannot… I'm so confused."

Hikari offered a calming smile, and reached out again, patting the girl's shoulder. "I know, this whole experience is stressful and terrible for us all. But we have a lot of amazingly smart and clever people working on this, and we will get through this. You needn't be afraid."

"It's… it's not that," Anzu admitted. "I'm… I'm afraid I'm going insane."

"Is that why you're back in this shop? This was where you passed out, right?"

The actress swallowed nervously, and stared at the steampunk model. She was so beautiful to Anzu right now, a picturesque version of feminine loveliness, calm demeanor, and a sensual black and white ensemble that was…

For some reason, Anzu found it amazingly trustworthy, for reasons she didn't even fully understand. Maybe she just wanted to tell someone?

"Hikari, something happened to me when I passed out. It wasn't just a fainting spell, it was…"

She went into detail about her vision, being back in Hope's Peak Academy, about Mahiru and her warnings, and how real and sinister it all felt. The more she talked, the more confused Hikari appeared. * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

The model glanced outside, where Futaba was standing around, inspecting the front of the building. "Um, sweetheart," Hikari said when Anzu stopped explaining things, "I… I don't know what to make of that."

"I'm not crazy, I swear! But I know it's beyond bizarre and crazy, and I'm a porn star so people don't believe what I say…"

"No, it's not that! Look, there's a lot of really weird things going on, and I'm starting to wonder what's reality myself. Look, let me tell you something…"

"There is something that is highly unnerving me, but I doubt anyone would believe me. You see, I am a people person, and I am a big ol' flirt too; you definitely have noticed that, right darling?"

"Yes, I know that, beautiful, but… what's that got to do with this?"

"You see, I know it's only been a couple days, but I think I can get a good grasp of people, both male and female; however, something is disturbing me. I cannot quite explain it, but there is one person who is unnerving me for reasons that people wouldn't believe me over…" * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

As Hikari explained things to Anzu, trying to soothe things out between them, Futaba was left alone outside for the time being. When Hikari had gone into the store to talk to Anzu, she had volunteered to just stay outside.

"Bloody oversexed lesbian huntress," she muttered to herself as she tugged on her glove once more. "I know we're stressed and such, but can you just try to stay focused for a few minutes without going after a girl like you're some teenaged boy?

"And it's not like you were just talking to a girl previously," she added, her grumbling growing more sour. "What am I, chopped liver?"

As she said this, she saw the unusual sight of Ignatia, Samson, and Monotaro. The mime waving a trash can lid to blow the mist away from the street floor. The two were walking slowly, inspecting the ground, while a rather put-off Monotaro trudged behind them.

"What are you two doing?" Futaba asked them.

"They're not asking me anything at all," the red Kub mumbled.

"We found a very large bloodstain on the road behind Town Hall," Samson explained. "There's been blood droplets and smears leading up this road, but we didn't see anything in front of any of the shops." * ** _TRUTH BULLET UPDATED_** *

"I mean, I have loads of information to give if anyone were to ask…"

"If Takeo was dragged or carried up here," Futaba remarked, "do you really think the killer would do it in plain view of all of the shops and cafés?"

"If they did it in the middle of the night, no one would be there," Samson replied. "This is a ghost town, and everyone in our group would be sleeping in the housing area; you cannot see the shops from where we sleep." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

"Though I think I have forgotten most of it by now, since no one asked me for so long…"

"Hmm, good point," Futaba admitted. "But still, that's one hell of a brazen tactic if they went up this road. Have you checked any of the other roads?"

"Not yet, we wanted to make sure this road was clean."

And right after saying that, the blaring whine from the speakers of Penjar reached all of the living souls' ears.

" **Attention, all guests of Penjar** ," Monokuma's voice, thick with gleeful sadism and boastful authority, " **your investigation time is OVER. Please report to the front of Town Hall, at the front steps, within the next ten minutes. Anyone not there may be subject to immediate execution. Thank you for visiting our town~** "

Futaba fluttered her eyes, as she gave one last tug on her glove. "I think we just ran out of time. I don't think we want to test our host's patience on this, a few of us," she glared at Ignatia, "have really been pushing it with the frequent attacks on him."

The mime shrugged, tossed the trash can lid to the side unceremoniously, and walked off. Samson sighed, and followed after her. Futaba glanced into the antique shop, seeing Anzu and Hikari leaving and joining her as they headed to Town Hall.

Odelios ran by, carrying a full tray of coffee and chocolate drinks. He had made it to Takeo's body, offering some to the investigative team there. Saiko slogged down two mugs by herself, while Eisei and Drake gave one more observation of their victim.

"Okay, this is like giving an early morning report before I've even had breakfast, and plenty of java," Saiko remarked, grabbing a third mug. "Thank you, clown boy, you did good. We should get going now."

As the three started to walk away, Drake realized the clown wasn't with them. He turned around, seeing Odelios setting the now empty tray next to Takeo's body. The clown saluted the mercenary's corpse, standing still for a few seconds.

"Sorry I treated you so bad," he said softly, before turning towards Town Hall and sprinting towards their designated area.

* * *

 **Day 04, 11:10 AM**

 **Town Hall**

 **Front Steps and Door**

The graduates were gathering up rather quickly in front of Town Hall, anxious but determined. Some of them tried to engage in information exchanges, but there was so much movement and talk that it was difficult to get everything across.

Anzu and Hikari stayed close to each other, until Aka came over to talk to the steampunk model. The three talked in semi-private, keeping away from the others. Shuuya watched them, trying to overhear but unable to get close enough without seeming suspicious.

Isaac, Hara, and Fiora walked over to the group, the movie maker still holding the megaphone. She had a big grin on her face as she examined everyone there, as if expecting something. Before she could do or say anything, Monosuke yanked the megaphone from her hand and walked away with it.

The Kubs were forming up on the main stairs, observing the humans. It felt like a council, one of the most unusual ones in the world, but still rather intense and worrisome.

"Are we all here yet?" Ishiku asked, rubbing his wrist as he leaned on his staff. "The sooner this starts, the better."

"Why do you smell so bad?" Jin asked, glancing up from her colored nails. "Oh gross, the closer you get, the more I can smell it; I hope I don't have to stand next to you."

"Just stay calm, everyone," Pyrrha pleaded to those around her, as she fiddled with her waterfall braids. "We can do this, we have a lot of brain power and strength amongst us."

"We're going solve this case, no problem," Fiora declared, glancing around at the three who had spoken. "The person who stabbed Takeo, and did that horrible thing to him, is not going to get away from us! In fact, Isaac, Hara, and I found out something really weird about the town that you all need to know-"

"Save it," Emanuel muttered, pointing at the movie maker. "You keep all information until the trial, and you will speak when spoken to. We don't need you running your mouth nonstop."

Fiora sighed, defeated. She crossed her arms and drummed her fingers against her elbow, lost in thought immediately. Something really seemed to have distracted her, but she wasn't speaking like normal.

"Can I at least ask," Isaac spoke aloud, looking at Souma and the others who had been part of his group, "how the investigations of the housing went? Did you get through them all?"

"Sadly, no," Souma remarked, shaking his head. "We only managed to get through half of them, or maybe a little less than that. I'll let you know which rooms we investigated when the time comes during the trial." * ** _TRUTH BULLET_** *

As Isaac tried to get some more information, there was a rather loud, familiar, sinister laugh from inside Town Hall. The front doors were thrown open, and Monokuma stood there with his arms outstretched.

" **Welcome, guests of Penjar. Come on in, and head to the back of the room!** "

The Monokubs turned around and hurried into the building. They scattered, and the faint sound of doors being slammed could be heard before the graduates could walk into the building. None of the Kubs were in sight, but they could see Monokuma at the far end of the building.

The inside of Town Hall was as rundown and old as everything else in the town, but even more dirty. It was a two story building, with doors on both floors; dust was settling around some of those doors.

The large, empty lobby was a circular mess of broken tiles on the floor, and peeling paint on the walls. At the back end of the lobby was an incredibly large service elevator, with Monokuma standing next to the doors. The group of twenty-seven graduates walked towards it, the distance short but felt like hours to cross that lobby.

Monokuma reached up and pressed the down floor button, and the door slowly scrolled open. The twenty-seven graduates managed to fit in, not too much shoulder room but enough so they weren't cramped.

The despair bear reached up and pressed the button again, and the door to the elevator slid shut. There was a mechanical rumbling, the elevator bounced a little, then started to go down…

Down…

…

…

Down…

…

…

Down to however low it would go…

…

…

Down even further…

…

…

Hearts were racing amid the graduates. No one was speaking, no one could find something to say. Some leaned against the walls, some were breathing deeply to calm themselves.

The elevator was still moving, for, again, what felt like hours. It was rumbling uncomfortably, making the ride as unnerving as the destination.

At long last, the elevator stopped. The door scrolled open, and everyone was shocked to see where they were.

It was a gigantic trial room, with a huge circle of stands for all of them. The well-lit room had quite the high-rise ceiling, which, like the walls and floor, were made of dull, gray stone; it was as if someone had solidified dust and made it into building material.

And in partitions amid the circular trial room were large statues of the mythological creatures known as gorgon. They were all posing, some with hideous faces, some with seductive looks, all with large breasts and snakes for hair. Their snake bodies were coiled in different ways, each a work of art.

Some of the graduates flinched and backed away from these statues, trying not to look at them. This elicited a chuckle from the bear at the main chair.

Monokuma was seated on a raised, royal-looking chair that was for a way bigger being. His chair was bright red and outlined gold, making it stand out more than a little amid the dull gray room.

In front and slightly down below from him were the five Monokubs, lined up and waiting for the graduates to arrive. They definitely weren't the most patient, some of them bouncing up and down or spinning around, trying to do something to pass the time.

" **Welcome to the Penjar Trial Room,** " Monokuma declared. " **We're still working on it, so you may see changes down the road. That's just how it is in the PTR!** "

"There are nameplates on the individual spaces in the PTR," Monosuke commented. "Please find yours, and wait for Pops' announcement for the trial to begin."

"Oh, this is so tense," Monophanie whimpered. "I really hope it all ends up well, with as little blood as possible!"

"Hell no, I want a bloodbath!" Monokid declared, rocking on a new guitar.

"Please show respect for the room's scenery, furniture, and our shrine for the departed," Monotaro remarked.

"…" Monodam finalized the speech.

Everyone glanced at the podiums, seeing name tags on them all. They were quick to find theirs, though Isaac and Hara realized they were on opposite side; with a kiss and a quick whisper to each other, they had to moved to their spots.

Twenty-seven people were now standing at their respective podiums. At Takeo's podium was a stand with a grayscale photo of the mercenary, in a memorial frame, with a big, red X over his face. Those who had to stand next to it were slightly unnerved.

" **Isn't this exciting?** " Monokuma declared. " **Very soon, the first trial of Penjar will begin! I hope you're all ready for this!** "

Everyone exchanged glances. Were they ready? Did they find everything? Most of them were thinking about how they couldn't believe this was where they were…

It was incredulous, but this trial of life and death was still going to happen. An incredulous trial, for an incredulous death…

* **Jin glares forward, three fingers correcting the rim of her owl-themed eye mask.** *

* **Yejoon stares through the eye holes of his fox mask.** *

* **Crystal focuses her attention downwards, as if surveying a map or field.** *

* **Isaac is leveling a studying stare straight forward with a hand extended, as if wanting an answer.** *

* **Fiora is gripping the sides of her head, appearing flustered and wide-eyed.** *

* **Aka has a hand on her skiing goggles perched on her head, looking bravely forward.** *

This was the trial for Takeo Onishi, the Ultimate Mercenary. He may not have been a forthcoming man, but he was diligent and reliable. Though mysterious, he didn't seem like a bad person, and he will be missed.

* **Saiko has her hands on her hips, glaring downwards at someone or something.** *

* **Drake is nervously glancing to the side, while holding his sketchpad up and close to his chest.** *

* **Souma has an arm raised as he is apparently in the middle of delivering a speech.** *

* **Hara has her hands clasped together, staring anxiously forward.** *

* **Shuuya is glancing over his shoulder, with his arms crossed defiantly.** *

* **Eisei has a lollipop in his mouth and looks half-interested in whatever is going on.** *

One of the graduates has murdered him, and most brutally. How was that even possible? How could they have overpowered him?

* **Blake is cracking his knuckles and growling in frustration.** *

* **Ignatia is glancing from the side, seemingly uninterested.** *

* **Hikari is taking a confident pose with a smile, hand on the brim of her hat and her chest stuck out with pride.** *

* **Shinobu is holding a finger up, trying to prove a point about something or other.** *

* **Odelios is holding up a rubber chicken and is pointing at it, as if to accuse it of the crime.** *

* **Yitro has his arms crossed and eyes closed, scarf pulled up slightly over his mouth.** *

Are there any other factors in this Killing Game? Was the cause of death supernatural? Did Monokuma really give four random people a new talent?

* **Ishiku is grinning and is holding up one of his signature chocolate coins in-between two fingers.** *

* **Samson glares forward from underneath the brim of his hat.** *

* _Takeo pumps his fist into the air with gusto._ *

* **Emanuel gives a tired stare from the side as he is holding his favorite flask close to him.** *

* **Ken salutes and stands proud, staring up to the sky.** *

* **Angelique has her hands over her heart, silently praying.** *

There's only one way to find his killer, and to survive another day so more of the mysteries of Penjar can be solved…

* **Kimiko is pointing forward while shouting defiantly.** *

* **Pyrrha is making a heart with her hands, a sad but sweet smile on her face.** *

* **Futaba has a finger touching her glasses, narrowing her eyes.** *

* **Anzu stares forward defiantly, her frown and posture confident and ready.** *

And that is to make it through the Town Trial of Penjar!

* * *

 **Truth Bullets for Case 1** :

 **Takeo, Taxidermy Statue** \- Takeo Onishi was killed, and his body was stuffed like a taxidermy statue. He was discovered at the western edge of the Main Plaza, nearby the Housing Area.

 **Cause of Death Hypothesis** \- Saiko's report is that Takeo was stabbed many times, though how suddenly he died is a mystery. The blade wounds are slightly smaller than his combat knife.

 **Takeo's Combat Knife** \- Takeo's military-grade combat knife was still in its scabbard on his utility belt. It is clean and sharp, and it does not smell of cleaning products or blood. He was wearing it all day yesterday.

 **Taxidermy Stuffing** \- The taxidermy stuffing inside of Takeo consists of cotton and straw.

 **Taxidermy Shortcuts** \- Takeo's head, hands, and feet were not worked on. His face was slightly worked on, but his mouth was glued shut.

 **Time of Death Unknown** \- Takeo's time of death cannot be estimated, due to the state of his body.

 **Talent Motive** \- Monokuma's first motive was to give four random guests a new talent. Who received them, and what the talents were, is still a mystery. Monodam has said Takeo did _not_ receive a talent.

 **Destroyed Taxidermy Animals** \- The vast majority of the taxidermy statues in the shop have been destroyed and hollowed out.

 **Gutted Remains** \- Takeo's insides are all over the floor in the back room, as well as bloodstains all over the wax paper on the work table.

 **Taxidermy Tools** \- Everything that could be needed for a taxidermy job is inside the back room of Ye Olde Taxidermy Shop.

 **No Outside Interference** \- Monodam has assured the graduates that no one other than the twenty-eight guests have been in Penjar since the first day. This means no humans or mythological creatures.

 **Takeo's Combat Prowess** \- Takeo was a master in hand-to-hand combat, knife fighting, and more; he was intensively trained, and has had a little over a decade of experience.

 **Orders for Takeo** \- Takeo would do anything ordered of him, as proven by Odelios giving him ridiculous commands. However, Pyrrha knows for a fact that Takeo will not take any orders that would be directly fatal for someone, including himself.

 **Meeting Note** \- A note in one of Takeo's spare pair of boots asks him to meet for security reasons, at 1 AM behind Town Hall.

 **The Mists of Penjar** \- Isaac, Hara, and Fiora discovered that the mists, or something else entirely, is causing a sound-dampening effect around Penjar. If people are too far away to properly see each other, sound doesn't travel to meet them.

 **Bloodstained Street** \- There is a troubling amount of blood staining the road behind Town Hall. Smears and droplets trail towards the road that the shops are on, but do not travel down it.

 **Aka's Suspicion** \- Aka is highly concerned about Crystal's actions, though what exactly she has only confided in with Kimiko and Hikari.

 **Anzu's Vision** \- When Anzu touched the camera a couple nights ago, she had a vivid and puzzling dream in which a girl named Mahiru Koizumi giving her an enigmatic warning. She told everyone she just had a dream, but told Hikari the truth.

 **Hikari's Suspicion** \- Hikari herself has a suspicion about someone amongst the graduates, but who and why are kept a secret because of how ridiculous the reason behind her suspicions are. Only Anzu knows of this.

 **Location of Shops and Houses** \- The shops are on the northern road of the Main Plaza, with the housing area being southwest of them. The shops and houses are too far apart for someone at one of them to see the other; one can see the western side of the plaza from some of the houses, however.

 **Housing Investigation** \- A group of five graduates (Souma, Jin, Futaba, Pyrrha, Shuuya) and Monophanie investigated Takeo's room. They also investigated a little less than half of the other rooms before they ran out of time.

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL WILL COMMENCE SHORTLY!**


	8. Chapter 1-5: Case 1 Trial, Part 1

**Chapter 1-5**

 **Accusation Banter Commences**

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!_**

* * *

Monokuma cleared his throat, piercing the tense silence that had settled in. "Now then, everyone, allow me to give you a brief description of the town trial. We have a Deviant Tourist amid our guests! You all need to work together to find out who is the Deviant Tourist, and if you do…

"I will subject the Deviant Tourist to an execution, where they will be tested to see if they are truly worthy of being a citizen of Penjar! It will be amazing to watch, such extreme entertainment!

"However! If you vote for the wrong person, everyone besides the Deviant Tourist dies! And they will get all the rewards for it!

"During this trial, I will be in charge of how the debate flows, and my Kubs and I will also be answering some questions from you all, just keep in mind, we cannot answer all questions. Got it? Cool, okay!

"Let the first Town Trial commence! Upupupupu~"

The twenty-seven graduates exchanged glances, taking all of this in. They didn't say anything at first, trying to cope with the overwhelming tension and worry.

"Alright then," Crystal spoke up first, standing at attention and wearing a strong, determined expression, "I believe we should start to discuss the murder. If I may, we should first talk about-"

"IT WAS THE GORGONS!" Odelios shouted, waving his hands in the air. "There's a gorgon in the city, and it turned my buddy Takeo to stone!"

"It was a gorgon?!" Fiora declared, gripping her podium in terror. "Oh no, oh no no no, that's not good for any of us!"

"Wait, you mean there's an actual gorgon," Hikari asked, tilting her head to the side, "or you mean one of us is a gorgon?"

"Either is possible at this point," Futaba remarked, correcting her glasses. "We truly cannot rule it out at this point, considering the madness going on in the world."

"Twas the gorgons then!" Fiora screamed, hiding behind her podium now. "Don't look anyone in the eyes!"

"Holy fuck," Aka swore, "I didn't know there were monsters here too! This place is insane!"

Crystal was face-palming so hard, her breath was a hissing noise through her nose. Saiko appeared to be ready to blood a gasket. Emanuel unscrewed his flask, and took a swing.

"Everyone, calm down," Isaac called out. "Please, we mustn't-"

"We've got bigger problems now," Odelios declared, holding up a hand mirror in front of him with the glass facing away, "than the bears!"

"Um, everyone," Drake started to stammer. "P-please… we need to focus…"

With several members of the group shouting in fear, worry, and wonder, it was difficult to get a point across. The only thing the graduates could do would be to join in, and try to find an opening to get the facts in.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"It was a gorgon that did it," Odelios hollered. "Gorgons **killed Takeo** , they must have!"

"That's why he was a **statue** , right?" Fiora agreed, keeping her eyes staring at the floor. "That's what gorgons do, they petrify people!"

"Oh, was that why he had cuts in his chest and back?" Yejoon remarked casually, staring up at one of the gorgon statues with a wry smile. "They do have some nasty nails on them."

"Um, guys?" Drake whimpered, glancing at the rather incensed Saiko.

"It has to be a gorgon!" Odelios went on. "Why else would the trial room have a whole bunch of **gorgon statues** and be made out of stone? Monokuma knew they would be there a gorgon, that's why!"

"Wait wait wait," Hikari spoke up, "I thought the gorgon theory was that **one of us is a gorgon** , not that there was one in town? Surely, we would have seen it previously…"

"That's possible, with the **New Talent Motive** ," Anzu remarked, nervously biting her lip.

"G-guys?"

"Wait, so that is what happened?" Aka asked. "One of us was given gorgon powers, and **they petrified Takeo**?"

"Given mythological creatures' powers and being forced into a Killing Game?" Fiora remarked, tapping her temple. "Ooo, I like that, it sounds like a great idea for **a movie**!"

"Guys… guys… Saiko knows w-what happened…"

"We solved the first part of the case then!" Odelios proudly announced. "We have a gorgon in the mists in our midst!"

" _No, that's wrong_ ," Ishiku shouted, " _that's super-duper really, really incredibly wrong!_ "

* * *

Everyone glanced over at Ishiku, who was flailing his arms around to get the attention of the others. When he had it, he spoke more calmly. "Look, people, I can guarantee you all that Takeo was not turned to stone. He was murdered by a person. There is a pile of innards in the backroom of the taxidermy shop that used to be his."

"Ugh," Angelique groaned, "that's horrid!"

"Look, he wasn't turned into a statue or petrified or anything like that, and I'm not the only one who can attest to that," the magician continued. "I think Saiko could tell us much more."

The forensic investigator had the visage of someone who would rather stand at the wrong end of a shooting gallery than cooperate. "Oh? Are we going back to reality now?" she snapped.

"Saiko, please just tell them," Drake pleaded. "They'll listen to you."

"Fine, fine," Saiko remarked, throwing her hands up in defeat before continuing. "Listen everyone, because I refuse to repeat myself, nor will I listen to any more ridiculous theories about gorgons.

"Takeo was killed by a series of stabbings to his chest and back, though I do not know if the death was shock or blood loss. His spine was possibly stabbed, and it may be possible that his heart was penetrated, but I do not officially know.

"The stitching on his chest, as well as on his legs and arms, implies someone skinned him in these particular areas, and what was there is now on the floor of the taxidermy work room. He had stuffing, namely cotton and straw, pushed into his body."

Saiko paused for a moment, several of the graduates were starting to look green in the face. She waited a second, and carried on. "His head, hands, and feet were not stuffed, and I believe that is because those would be the most difficult to do. I have no idea how good of a job was done on the parts that were worked on, but it seemed like someone knew what they were doing. Also, his mouth was glued shut."

"I have been thinking about that," Yejoon said, raising his hand, "and I believe that the reason for that must be an improv way to ensure his mouth didn't hang open when posed standing up."

"Wait, what?" Fiora shouted, still wide-eyed. "You mean to tell me that someone wanted this to be stylish?"

"More than likely, my dear Fiora."

"Great googly moogly, that's revolting!"

"If I may," Saiko growled, glaring daggers at Fiora, "I do not have time of death, nor exact cause for this. The Kubs didn't help us with this either."

"Hey now," Monotaro protested. "You didn't ask some of us for information!"

"Fine then, what's the time of death for Takeo?"

"… We cannot say."

Emanuel let out an audible sigh of disgust. "Well then, what a great big waste of time that was. All that effort to prove that a snake monster didn't kill Takeo. Let's move on to something more important."

"Do you have a suggestion?" Shuuya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, that would be when he died. If Saiko or the Kubs won't tell us, then we need to narrow it down. Think you collective screw heads can accomplish that?"

Odelios held up a rubber chicken, stared into its eyes, then back at the other graduates. "We're ready!"

"Very well then, if that's our course of action," Crystal remarked.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So if we're going to find out when Takeo was killed," Kimiko said, "do we know when he was seen last?"

"Takeo helped Odelios and I," Pyrrha said, "with dinner. We were cleaned up a little after **10 PM**."

"Did anyone else see him after that?" Souma asked.

No one responded for a while, silently admitting the sad truth that no one could recall.

"At the very most," Hara spoke up, "everyone gets up at **9:30 AM**. Though there are others, including me, who get up a little earlier."

"The killer would have to set Takeo up **before 9 AM** , I would guess," Isaac said. "But do we have any idea when he could have been killed?"

"…" Odelios stared down his rubber chicken, then turned back to the graduates. "Rubarrow says **no**."

"It couldn't have been too late into the morning," Yitro mentioned. "I mean, the killer had to spend some time… preparing him."

"Do we have any notion at all," Eisei asked, "when Takeo was **outside**?"

" _I got it_ ," Shinobu declared, raising an important item into the air.

* * *

"This note was found in Takeo's spare pair of boots," Futaba said, "when we were investigating his room."

She read it out loud, emphasizing on the points of time and place. "1 AM, behind Town Hall. That would be when Takeo was outside, and was killed!"

Blake crossed his arms as he puzzled over this. "That's one odd place to meet someone, why would he ever agree to that?"

"In case you hadn't noticed," Samson remarked, "Takeo listened to any orders given to him. So if he was told to do that, he would do it. That's what happens when you are trained as a hardcore mercenary who his superiors want to do whatever it is they want from him."

"Do we have any proof," Pyrrha asked, "that he could have been killed there?"

"Yes!" Aka shouted, loud enough to startle a lot of them. "I found a pool of blood back there! It was a whole lot, there's no way he could have survived that!"

This crucial combination of information sank into everyone, even the slightly thick headed ones. Crystal hummed in thought, her eyes shining as clues fell into place for her to strategize.

"So we have the time and place," she remarked, "but there are still some big questions we need to answer."

"Like what?" Blake asked, watching her work.

"There are a few questions I have about the method of murder. What was used, and how they were able to kill him, of all people… Saiko, do you have any idea on the murder weapon?"

"Not really," Saiko admitted, "except it was a blade that was shorter in width than a military combat blade, though wider than, say, a butterknife."

"How about a pointed stick?" Odelios asked.

"Shut up," Emanuel replied.

"Let's discuss the method of murder for a little bit," Crystal advised. "I think we could learn a bit more about the case if we do…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So do we have any idea," the military adviser continued to speak, "what Takeo was killed with? Did anyone find something suspicious?"

"Nothing in his room," Souma remarked, "or the **other rooms** we investigated."

"Hikari and I investigated both the **café and the cafeteria** ," Futaba remarked. "Nothing appeared missing, or was bloodstained."

"Was there anything in the **taxidermy work room**?" Ken inquired.

"Or something in the **antique shop**?" asked Drake.

"Or was it," Odelios added, "a **pointed stick**?"

"Shut up!" ordered Emanuel.

"I don't know if this is going anywhere," Souma admitted.

Crystal let out a long sigh, and rubbed her forehead. "If we don't know what killed him, then do we have any idea how he could have been killed?"

"Takeo was the **Ultimate Mercenary** ," Samson declared. "There's no way he was taken down so easily!"

"He's still mortal," Yejoon remarked, "like any one of us."

"What if he was **shot**?" asked Jin.

"What if someone managed to **sneak up** on him?" Anzu said.

"No, that's ridiculous," Samson spoke up again. "Takeo would have heard someone sneaking up on him, he's trained for that sort of thing!"

" _I agree with you,_ " Fiora declared, pointing at Anzu, " _you've got a great idea!_ "

* * *

"Guess what, everyone," Fiora continued, smiling brightly. "A few of us made a very big discovery, and it can turn this case around!"

"What are you going on about?" Saiko mumbled.

"Actually, Saiko, this is rather crucial," Hara remarked. "You see, Fiora found out along with Isaac and I that sound doesn't travel well in Penjar. There's something dampening sound at a really high level."

"What do you mean?" the investigator inquired, though not as harsh as she used to be, as she stared at Hara.

"Well, see, we spent some time trying to yell at each other, and none of us could hear each other if we weren't within visible range of each other. It was pretty intense, like I couldn't hear Isaac if he was about twenty-five feet from me."

"And footfalls were next to soundless," Isaac explained. "Whatever is going on with the mists in this town, it's muffling sound."

"Are you all serious right now?" Yitro asked, raising a dubious eyebrow. "You really are saying that the mist is dampening sound?"

"You remember how I had a megaphone when I approached you all in front of Town Hall?" Fiora said, her grin still wide. "I _screamed_ in it at you all when we were close. And yet when I walked up, none of you, not one, appeared to have heard it."

"She really did," Hara remarked, wincing slightly from the memory. "She does everything with gusto."  
While everyone was contemplating this, Crystal hummed aloud in her chain of thought. "It's rather hard to take in," she admitted, "but-"

"But nothing," Emanuel declared, slamming his fist on his podium. "Sound-dampening mists!? That's absurd! And we've heard noises across Penjar all the time we were here!"

"Then it must have happened last night," Isaac reasoned, "maybe it was something that Monokuma did?"

" **Oh, you mean my little trick?** " Monokuma remarked. " **Hehe, I am so glad someone noticed, but yes. I did make the mists a little bit thick in that way, starting right when the motive started!** "

"He admits it," Ishiku declared.

"Oh fuck right off with that," Emanuel snarled. He pointed at Ishiku, who was on his left, and added, "Monokuma can say whatever he wants, but he and everyone behind this is a lying, sadistic bastard. There is no trick to the mists, that isn't a thing.

"And even if it was, how do we know we can trust those two? For all we know, Hara and Isaac are in on this together!"

"Excuse me?!" Isaac shouted. "You're saying one of us killed Takeo, knowing that the other will die if the murder succeeds?"

"Hey, what about me?" Fiora spoke up, waving at Emanuel who was on her left. "I was part of the team-"

"I don't trust anyone," Emanuel said, "who doesn't have a concrete alibi. Thus we can just disregard Isaac and Hara's so-called findings, until they can be verified."

"I was the one," Fiora tried to speak again, "who found out about this first-"

"Someone who has a smidgen," the Bête Noir snapped, "of competence!"

Eisei rolled his lollipop around in his mouth, and let out a soft sigh. "As much as I don't want to be a devil's advocate right now, we do have to take into consideration that this murder was heinous and vicious, worthy of Vlad the Impaler's sadism. Whoever did this could be suffering from Despair, so we cannot just trust feelings or words."

Isaac took a deep breath, then pulled on his beanie. He clicked his tongue, glanced at Hara (who gave him an encouraging smile), and he started to think.

" _Okay, is there anything at all_ ," he was quickly pondering mentally, " _that can prove Hara and I are trustworthy? We don't have a solid alibi for the time of the crime, but what if…_

" _…_ _Wait. There's one other thing that can prove innocence in a Killing Game, isn't there? Because there's always been something that every Killing Game had, and… this one did too!_ "

"Hold it, stop the presses," he shouted, clapping his hands together. "The Body Discovery Announcement! We forgot all about that!"

"You mean the rule that was in the other Killing Games?" Shuuya inquired. "If memory serves, Monokuma would only make that announcement after three people discovered the body."

"Hey, Monokubs," Isaac turned towards the Kubs, smiling at them for the first time ever, "this game still follows the Killing Game rules with the Body Discovery Announcement?"

"Yes, it does," Monotaro said.

"We're no second-rate spin-off," Monokid added.

"So in this case," Isaac continued, "is the killer part of the three who discovered the body?"

"NO," Monodam replied.

The reporter clapped his hands and laughed triumphantly. "Ha! The Body Discovery Announcement played when Ignatia, Hara, and myself found it. Therefore, the three of us are innocent!"

"What a relief," Hara said with an appreciative smile towards her fiancée. Ignatia mimicked whipping her brow.

"That is," Emanuel remarked, glaring at Isaac, "if you three truly were the ones to see his body."

Isaac shrugged, and asked aloud, "Did anyone see Takeo's body before 9:30? Because that's when the three of us found him."

There was silence amid the members of the trial, and then the reporter let out a sigh of relief. "Well then, I think that verifies-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I may have seen him there."

Souma spoke when nervously rubbing the back of his head. "When I was getting ready in the morning, I looked out my blinds to see if anyone was there; I was still a little bit paranoid of the motive and what it could bring to us…

"So when I did, I saw a figure standing at the edge of the plaza. I thought it was a bit odd, but I didn't think it was that bad… until I found out it was Takeo's body."

"Wait, what time did you wake up?" Isaac asked.

"9 AM, I am afraid. My apologies, Isaac."

"What… you… you apologize?" the reporter stammered, incredulous and losing his temper. "Why did you even say anything?"

"I cannot lie over stuff like this! What if I didn't say anything, but the killer was one of you three?"

Isaac leaned against his podium, squeezing it until his knuckles turned white. "Goddamnit! Well, where does that leave us?"

Emanuel let out a loud scoff, and took a swig from his flask. "Absolutely nowhere, since we don't know what was used to kill Takeo, or how someone managed to kill him, of all people. We wasted a whole bunch of time, since it cannot be verified that the mist really does muzzle sound like you claim it does."

"Hey wait a minute!" Isaac declared, head looking up again. "When I found Takeo's body, I… I screamed. And I know a lot of you arrived shortly, before Hara took me to the café. Did any of you hear me?"

"Isaac, please."

Saiko spoke up, rubbing her hands together. "You know I value the friendship I have with you and Hara, but… this is really out of left field. Now I don't believe either of you did this for a minute, but even if the mists are dampening sound, what does that prove?"

"She has a point," Jin remarked, glancing up from her pink nails. "Couldn't anyone just shank him good?"

"I'm still going to have to protest to that," Samson declared. "Takeo's training was amazing, he and I had a few conversations about the things he had to do, and even tested each other's reaction skills. He was incredible."

"That really does concern me," Souma remarked. "I know of his abilities too. That's why we cannot just assume anyone could have killed him. Unless they were an exceptional fighter… or is already naturally silent and possibly deadly?"

He glanced over at Ignatia, who noticed this and glared at him. As everyone pondered over this, Ken spoke up. "Maybe we should debate this further?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So could Takeo be killed by just **anyone**?" Shinobu asked. "Or would it have to be someone as **skilled** as him?"

"Who here could take on a mercenary with hardcore training?" Crystal asked.

"I could!" declared Odelios.

"They'd have to have some kind of training themselves," Shuuya commented. "Though I shouldn't admit it, **I may be one** of the few who could."

" **Samson and Ken** could too," Jin remarked, "they're trained killers."

"I object to defining my noble training," Ken shouted, "as if it molds me into a killer!"

"Is it possible," Aka remarked, "that someone here has **training** that we're not aware of?"

"I was there when we found out the mists dampen sound," Fiora bitterly grumbled. "Why is everyone **ignoring me**?"

"I doubt someone just became," Angelique said, "a hardcore fighter **overnight**."

"What about Yitro?" Jin said, smirking wickedly. "Isn't he a **murderer**?"

"What!" the opera singer shrieked in outrage. "You awful woman, how dare you!"

" _Wait, that might be the key_ ," Yitro declared, snapping his fingers.

* * *

"Wh-what?" Angelique stammered, staring at her swordsman friend. "You agree with her?"

"No, not what she said, what you said," Yitro said. "Becoming a skilled fighter overnight, wasn't that what the motive was about?"

"Monokuma said that four people were to be given additional talent," said Drake, glancing up at the bears, "and also, Monodam assured us that Takeo wasn't one of them that has a new talent right now."

"THAT-IS-CORRECT," Monodam spoke up. "FOUR-OF-YOU-HAVE-NEW-TALENTS!"

"Wait, seriously?" Ishiku asked. "Which four?"

"Is one of them the killer?" Blake added.

"THOSE-QUESTIONS-WE-CANNOT-ANSWER."

"Damn it," Ishiku said, scratching his chin. "Okay, we may be dealing with someone who became a super fighter overnight."

"Wait, are you serious?" Saiko asked, staring down the magician. "You seriously think that you can just be given new talent just like that?"

"Saiko, sweetheart, there's so many things going on nowadays that make no sense," Hara spoke up. "Isaac and I interviewed the people who were being held hostage on the moon, and they literally had their minds swapped amongst their bodies."

"Not to mention," Kimiko spoke up, "how Despair spreads in ways that make no logical sense, and it only happened when the Tragedy popped up."

Saiko sighed heavily, and rubbed her temples. "Look, I know there are bizarre things happening, but I'm not about to think that new talent can be given at will like that!"

"It is an outrageous claim," Eisei remarked, "however, if three or four people were to speak up and showcase talents they didn't have before, it could be a bit believable."

"But no one has spoken up yet about having new talents," Futaba remarked. "You'd think they would have noticed."

Souma sighed, and glanced over at the Monokubs. "Kubs, if this motive is the real thing, are the people who have the talents aware of such a thing?"

Monosuke let out a loud scoff. "Pops' skills should not be doubted! But if you're talking about new talents, people aren't just going to be aware of them, like we said. If you are trying something, talent means it just comes naturally, so how could you realize it until you are doing it?"

"If you think about what you can do, it might dawn on you," Monophanie added. "It helps to do it first. Once you do it, you're far more aware of it, though if someone were to point it out, that might make you the most aware of it."

A rather pissed-off growl echoed around the trial room. "Are we _still_ ," Emanuel shouted, "going on about this? None of this is important! Monokuma doesn't have the power to just give talent to people!"

"Will you chill out?" Anzu snapped, crossing her arms. "This isn't entirely impossible."

"Oh is it, fuck star?" He took a long swig from his flask, hammered it down on the podium, and clapped his hands. "Alright then! Who here has new talent? Do any of you? Surely if four of you have a new talent, one of you would have noticed by now! SPEAK UP!"

Everyone stood there in silence. Looks were exchanged, nervous glances went all over, but no one was speaking up. There were a few coughs and sighs.

"Actually," Odelios spoke up, "I-"

"FUCK OFF, CLOWN!"

Emanuel's hollering echoed sharply around the trial room. The detective's eyes were brimming with fire, he was glaring white-hot daggers at Odelios. "If you so much as utter one more syllable, I will come over there and beat the shit out of you. No more talking for you! No more dumbass jokes from the peanut gallery!

"We are in a murder case here, we are trying to survive by finding out who the killer is! And you're wasting our time with jokes, dumb remarks, and pointless train of thoughts such as if Monokuma can grant talents, or if the mists just all of a sudden dampen sound.

"So you can fuck right off, and stay quiet for the rest of this trial! And you!"

He pointed at Anzu, who jumped with a start at the sudden attention. "If it is physically possible for a porn star to keep her mouth shut, I'd advise you do it!"

Anzu let out a very annoyed huff, and twirled one of her blue bangs around in her fingers. "Fine, whatever."

"So I don't want to hear any more comments," Emanuel carried on, "from people who are just going to be a burden on us, or aren't trustworthy. So that means you…"

He rounded on Fiora, who nervously backed up in her podium away from his finger. "You are going to shut up, and you two, Isaac and Hara! We cannot trust you, and I don't need to hear any more crackpot theories in the midst of our life-threatening trial!

"And finally," he glanced over at Ignatia, stopped shouting, and then grumbled, "well, guess I don't have to worry about you speaking up. Keep it that way, you damn mime."

Ignatia flipped him off when he wasn't looking. Emanuel took a deep breath, another deep swig from his flask, and found out it was empty. With a sigh, he tossed it up towards the Monokubs. "Refill this for me, will ya?"

"Hell ya," Monokid shouted, "I like your style!"

As the blue Kub ran off, Emanuel turned towards the graduates, saying, "Now then, where were we? We know where Takeo died, we just need to think about what happened next."

Most everyone was stunned by what just happened, but some of them weren't quite as perturbed by the outburst. Ken spoke first, saying, "I believe that Takeo was dragged off, to the taxidermy shop?"

"Let's work with that," Crystal remarked. "Right now, we just need to retrace the steps of the murderer."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Okay, so," Shuuya said, "after Takeo was killed, he was **dragged** to the taxidermy shop?"

"Why on Earth would they do something so obvious?" Hikari asked. "Anyone could have **spotted** them!"

"Maybe," Aka spoke up, staring at the model, "they hid Takeo in one of the **buildings** first?"

"Remember, it was 1 AM," Shuuya remarked, holding up a finger to emphasize this. "There's no one up past **1 AM** normally, correct?"

"I don't know," Blake remarked, "how many of us are night owls?"  
"Don't look at me," Jin said, tracing the owl-themed tattoos on her face.

"It still seems fairly dangerous," Angelique remarked, "to drag a body out in the open."

"I get the feeling," Yejoon muttered, "that our killer is **brazen enough** to do something like that."

" _Wait a minute here,_ " Futaba declared, " _that's wrong!_ "

* * *

"Samson, don't you remember?" the anthropologist said. "We talked about a couple points right before the investigation was over."

"Oh yes, I remember now," Samson remarked. "There was no blood going up the road or sidewalk to the shops. The killer didn't drag Takeo's body up that street."

"So they took a long, out-of-the-way around?" Ken asked. "It sounds like something a wicked murderer would do, to avoid being seen."

"Wait, about being seen," Futaba said, intertwining her fingers and rolling her thumbs around as she spoke, "that doesn't make any sense either. You cannot see the shops from the housing area, so why take the long way? Everyone would be in their house past 1 AM."

"Oh, I know," Ishiku spoke up. "Maybe the killer used the backdoor to the taxidermy workshop?"

"There is no backdoor," Yitro corrected him.

"Really? That's a fire hazard, right there," the magician remarked. "Only one way in and out, shame on the building designer…"

Emanuel growled and turned towards the magician. "If you're going to make pointless comments, you can shut the fuck up too!"

"Oh yeah?" Ishiku turned towards him, glaring at the taller guy. "You cannot make me shut up, so what are you going to do about it, you drunk, washed-up detective? I can talk if I want-"

 ** _POW!_**

Ishiku fell backwards, falling off of his podium and collapsing on the floor. Blood seeped from his nose, and he sat up in a terrible daze. Emanuel rubbed the sore knuckles on his fist, and turned back to the circle of trial members.

"Now then," he remarked, rather calmly, "if anyone else wants to hold up the trial that all of our lives are hanging on, you can see what is going to happen to you."

"You jerkass," Kimiko shouted, pointing furiously at Emanuel.

"You have no right to do that!" Angelique declared.

"Do you have no honor?" Ken scolded him.

"No, I don't have honor, and I don't fucking care about anything," Emanuel remarked, "except for getting out of here alive. And if you all want to too, you'd better take this seriously, and no other way.

"So we were talking about something important before that little _puta_ interrupted the chain of thought," he said, shaking off his fist as he continued. "What was that again?"

"I believe," Samson said, "we were just discussing in what direction the killer dragged the body. But there was no other blood trail that Ignatia and I found, so they either went the long way, or the body wasn't bleeding anymore by the time the killer was heading up that road."

"Is that possible?" Futaba asked Saiko, staring at the biggest expert there.

"It's more likely that the killer used something to prevent the blood from leaving a trail," she responded. "That was probably either a futile attempt to keep the crime scene secret, or some other reason."

"It was past 1 AM, everyone was asleep by then," Crystal remarked.

There was a frustrated growl from Isaac, who was crossing his arms and leveling a very annoyed glare at Emanuel. The Bête Noir simply scoffed at the reporter, and spoke again.

"Look, the time of night means the killer didn't have to worry about being seen by us in the housing area," Emanuel said. "So the killer brings the body into the taxidermy work shop. That's when they do their horrid work."

"But there's something confusing me," Yitro said. "In the workroom of the taxidermy shop, there were tools and such, but there wasn't stuffing. So how did the killer stuff the body?"

"And why was the job only half-done?" Eisei remarked.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"How do you know there wasn't any cotton or straw," Saiko asked Yitro, "in the **workshop**?"

"There were all the tools and such in the workshop," the former swordsman said, "but **no boxes or containers** that would have the stuffing."

"I remember that too," Emanuel spoke up. "That was odd."

"Where would someone get cotton and straw and such in this town?" Hikari asked. "You don't think **they brought it** with them to Penjar, do you?"

"Are you sure there wasn't any other containers in there?" Crystal inquired. "Weren't there **cabinets**?"

"There wasn't really room in there for that much straw and cotton," Emanuel explained. "You need an ample amount for taxidermy. … Where the hell is that **blue bear**?"

"Rrrrrgh," Ishiku growled as he glared hatefully at Emanuel. He was leaning against his podium and rubbing his bloody nose on his sleeve.

"Wasn't there anything else that could have contained **straw and cotton**?" asked Shuuya.

"Hold on, I'm thinking," Yitro muttered, tapping his forehead. "I was there, I'm trying to think…"

" _I got it, mate_ ," Blake declared, pointing at Shuuya.

* * *

"Hehe, I totally remember now," the pyro said, punching his palm as he grinned triumphantly. "There was something in that shop that had additional cotton and straw. The other taxidermy statues, that's what!"

"Oh yes," Angelique said, placing a hand over her head. "Someone broke all of them and hollowed them out… so that means the killer bust open all those poor animals and used the stuffing?"

"Well, all of them," Blake remarked, staring over at Yejoon, "except for the fox."

A lot of people stared at the artist, who merely chuckled. "Oh really? I wasn't even aware there was a fox one, I couldn't find it the first time I went there."

"So the only taxidermy animal not destroyed was the one that your art and style are based off of?" Saiko remarked.

"Oh no, big brother," Jin said, smirking wickedly at her sibling. "You've been found out. How horrible, how could you!"

"You stay out of this now," Yejoon responded, waving dismissively at her. "But everyone, I must say, this isn't really enough proof to declare me the killer, now is it?"

"Weren't you supposed to be part of our group?" Blake asked, narrowing his eyes at the artist more. "You were, but you never showed up."

"I had more interest in the body," Yejoon said with a simplistic shrug. "What can I say? Us artists really do march to the beat of our own drum. I don't do orders."

"Well you will listen to this order," Emanuel declared. "You are on thin ice, so keep your damn mouth shut, and do no speak unless spoken to! You understand that, you fox… fetish… fuck?!"

Yejoon simply nodded, and pulled his mask down over his face. As he crossed his arms, Jin was snickering all the more, her hands on her tattooed stomach and face. "You so just got told off, big brother," she commented, pointing her painted nail at him. "Haha, I'm gonna so remember that nickname too!"

Emanuel didn't say anything to this, as Monokid had returned with his flask. Patting the blue Kub on the head, he took his flask and set it on the podium. "Now then, thanks to Blake, we know what was used to stuff Takeo's body."

"But why was the job half-finished?" Eisei inquired. "That is something that has been concerning me."

"The head, hands, and feet would be incredibly difficult to do," Saiko remarked. "Especially if the person isn't the most experienced taxidermist."

"Wait wait wait, are we just going to assume," Hikari declared, waving her free hand as she held her lacy parasol open behind her, "that someone just improved taxidermy? That they cut a man open, cut and scooped everything out, and sewed him back up, all without any previous experience?"

"Maybe our killer does have taxidermy experience," Samson remarked. "Sadly, there's no way to prove this."

"Jin, does your brother know taxidermy?" Emanuel asked, glancing over at the mask-wearing artist. His sister laughed at this.

"I don't know everything about him," she replied, "it's not like we're glued at the hip! Maybe he does, I don't know."

"…" replied Yejoon, head turned to the side as if he had something much more interesting to look at, possibly one of the gorgon statues.

"Wouldn't the reason for a rushed job," Souma remarked, "was because the killer had a limited amount of time? If they killed Takeo around 1 AM, they only had until 9:30 AM before everyone would be up because of the morning announcement."

"Not to mention they needed time to clean up," Pyrrha said with a shiver. "I mean, there's no way they could stab him to death, carve open his body and make him into a human statue without getting blood all over them."

"The killer would have been up all night," Ken remarked. "The murder, the preparation of the body, and then having to clean up? Surely they would be exhausted with so little sleep."

"I would imagine," Eisei said, "that the fact that they'll die if they don't stay awake during this trial is giving them the adrenaline they needed."

"We are Ultimates," Aka remarked. "We do the most amazing feats that most people couldn't even think of, so it's not like a stretch of stamina and skill is unheard of."

"They could have got some sleep before 1 AM," Emanuel said. "In fact, a lot of you went to sleep early, if I recall."

When he narrowed a stare at Isaac, the reporter couldn't hold in his outrage anymore. "Okay, I don't give a damn if you're going to threaten me, I'm not having this anymore! You keep accusing my fiancé and I of the crime, you don't get to do that and tell us to shut up!"

"Isaac," Hara pleaded, staring nervously at Emanuel.

"No honey, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to just let him accuse us! What proof do you have?"

"Proof? The murder happened at 1 AM, and the killer had to rush things to prepare the body, and have time to clean up," Emanuel replied. "Now I have no idea how to estimate how long a taxidermy job takes, but as was said before, we're all Ultimates; we are more than capable of doing things fast and efficiently.

"But we are still human, we still need sleep. Our killer would have been up since 9:30 AM yesterday, stayed awake all day, killed a professional mercenary, gutted and stuffed him, and then cleaned up, and is now standing up here in this trial room.

"Look around here, does anyone look close to falling asleep, or dead on their feet? Nope. So, Isaac, tell me, what's more likely: someone doing that gauntlet that I just outlined, or someone who went to bed early yesterday and then woke up at 1 AM so they'd have the rest needed for the murder and trial?"

Isaac gnashed his teeth, crossing his arms in frustration. He glanced to the side, and let out a heaving sigh. "The latter," he admitted.

"Aha, so you're not beyond reason."

"But that doesn't mean Hara and I are the main suspects!"

"I never said you were. You're just two of the possible suspects that fit the profile. We're still outlining the case, so let's carry on then without any more interruptions, shall we?"

Emanuel took a swig from his flask, then let out a hacking cough. He glanced up at Monokid, and declared, "Whoa, what is this? This is strong stuff, _amigo_!"

"Hell yeah, because you're a badass who deserves a badass drink!"

"Hoo, I think I'll have to hold off on that, that's really good stuff," Emanuel remarked, tucking his flask in one of his pockets.

"So now where are we?" Shuuya asked, a tinge of annoyance uncharacteristically in his voice as he stared at Emanuel. "We know that the killer took the body to the taxidermy shop and prepared it."

"Then they set up Takeo's body," Crystal said, "cleaned up, and had to wait or rest until the morning announcement."

"I think we have the murder set up from start to finish," Blake said. "It sounds pretty darn good, but what could be next? How do we narrow it down from here?"

"There's an odd combination of skills for this case," Ken remarked. "Why don't we go over that?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So our killer," Angelique said, "has to have some experience in **taxidermy** …"

"They went to **sleep early** , or at least got some time in," Aka remarked, "so they would have enough energy for all of this."

"Was this because of the motive or not?" Blake asked.

"They would have to be skilled enough," Samson said, "to **sneak up** on Takeo, or **beat him** in hand-to-hand combat."

"That's the most confusing part of all this," Eisei commented. "I still can scarcely believe he didn't **draw blood**."

"Was he that unprepared?" Ken said. "How could he **drop his guard** like that?"

"Fool didn't even draw his knife?" Jin asked, then laughed. "Some mercenary, probably wasn't told to do so!"

"…" Aka went silent, lost in thought as she stared at someone from the corner of her eye.

"Wait, what if he was ordered to **disarm himself**?" Futaba asked. "Or, what if he was told to **kill himself**?"

" _No, that's wrong,_ " Pyrrha declared.

* * *

"I know we have a lot to consider, and I don't want," the romance writer said, nervously running a hand through her red hair, "to make this worse… but…"

"It's best to be honest, dear," Souma said. "I hated to have to do it, but please, speak your mind."  
"Takeo couldn't be ordered to do anything that would be lethal to someone, including himself. And I know this for a fact."

"How's that?" Emanuel asked.

"Because I ordered him to kill me, and he didn't do it."

"Good God, girl," Kimiko shouted, staring at her. "Why on Earth would you do that, eh?!"

"I wanted to be sure," she said, smiling despite it all. "I had a feeling he was a good man, and I was proven right. He also wouldn't harm himself."

"That's interesting, however," Emanuel said, "can anyone prove that?"

There was silence for a few seconds, before a loud whistle could be heard. Odelios raised his hand and wiggled his fingers in a wave, giggling.

Emanuel took a deep breath, then reached over to Ishiku. Yanking his staff from his hand, the Bête Noir chucked it at the clown, who ducked just in time.

"Freaking jerkass, that's important to me," Ishiku shouted as he ran over to where it had gone.

"If you're quite done being abusive," Pyrrha snapped, her smile replaced with a very stern frown, "Odelios can back me up on this, whether you like that or not."

"Fucking whatever," Emanuel said, reaching for his flask. He paused, then disregarded it for the time being. "So if Takeo wouldn't let himself die, how was he killed?"

"I think I know the answer to that," Aka shouted, raising her hand up high. The skier appeared rather anxious, almost shaking in anticipation. "There's something I am highly suspicious of!"

"Wait, Aka," Hikari spoke up, "sweetheart, are you sure you want to do this?"

"It might not be the best time," Kimiko said, "to bring up such a suspicion."

"No no, trust me, this is important, because there's someone who could have easily killed Takeo," Aka declared. She lowered her hand, and pointed…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… at Crystal Wilson, the Ultimate Military Adviser.

"I think that she," Aka shouted, "is the most likely person to have killed Takeo."

"What?!" Samson balked, his eyes widening in shock.

"Her?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow at the adviser.

"Crystal?" Angelique declared.

The blond woman merely reached up and traced the long points of her collar, and let out a small chuckle. "My, I didn't think I would be accused, of all people. Care to explain?"

"You see, you've been spending a ton of time with Takeo ever since we got here! You're working with him, a mercenary and a military adviser sure seems like a good team! And you also," the skier cracked her knuckles as she continued the accusation, "were discussing defenses with him.

"And isn't that exactly what lured him out? Talking about defending us?"

"That is true," Shinobu remarked, holding up the note. "That's the cause of concern written out in this."

"Now I didn't know about that until the trial, but I thought that since you were really close," Aka continued, "you would be the ideal person of someone who could approach Takeo, get in close…

"… and **_STAB STAB STAB!_** "

The shrieking words reverberated around the trial room, making a great deal of the graduates flinch. Aka, having proven how sudden and fierce it could be, grinned in delight.

"Now obviously, Samson could have been the same, however," she carried on, "what's the one thing a beautiful woman can do that a big burly man cannot do? Get in close without there being suspicion. After all, what man is going to deny a pretty lady getting up close and personal?"

"… What?" Samson blurted out, staring with the utmost incredulousness at the skier.

"See, you were all so busy trying to think of who could beat Takeo in hand-to-hand combat, but none of you were thinking outside of the box," Aka pointed out. "Now think about it, who else but Crystal could have done this?"

People stared at the military adviser, waiting for her response. Crystal took a deep breath, and exhaled, before looking at the skier. "I admire your passion, but I am not the killer."

"Got any proof?" Aka asked with a smug grin.

Crystal ran a hand down her long collar again, and said, "This jacket I am wearing is custom-made, one of a kind. I couldn't possibly have gotten blood on it."

"There's no way you can prove that, or you just weren't wearing it when you killed him," Aka declared. "Haven't you got anything better as an excuse?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"I must admit, I'm a little bit at a loss for words," Crystal confessed, crossing her arms as she glanced upwards. "I don't know how I can prove my **innocence** under these circumstances."

"Do you have an alibi for 1 AM?" asked Hara.

"I was in **my room**. No one else was with me."

Eisei tucked the straw of the finished lollipop into a little baggy, then put another one into his mouth. "Who rooms next to you?"

"I believe that would be **Angelique** and **Fiora**."

"Did either of you see her go to her house?" Shuuya asked. "Were either of you up past 1 AM?"

"…" Fiora stared at Emanuel, standing as far as away from him as she could in her podium.

" **…** " Angelique nervously glanced to the side, as if she could avoid people staring at her expectantly.

"Why are you both going quiet?" Hikari asked, staring at them both.

" _I'm not afraid to speak!_ " declared Anzu.

* * *

"I have to speak, because Angel is too nervous, and I frankly don't care if that drunk pig," Anzu glared at Emanuel as she said this, "objects. But Angelique, I hope you'll forgive me, but I need to say it."

"Sweetheart, go ahead," the opera singer said, trying to hide her blush.

"I was with Angelique last night," Anzu explained. "We were worried about the motive and what could happen, so she invited me to spend the night in her room."

As she scanned the faces of the group, she rolled her eyes and scoffed, adding, "No, we didn't have sex. I know what you all are thinking, but we didn't. Not that it is any of your business."

"Anzu-love, no need to be defensive, it matters not if they believe us or not," Angelique said, smiling at her. "Because the important thing is, we were both up really late last night. And I remember this distinctly… because…"

She paused, glancing over at Yitro. The former swordsman raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that the singer wanted to draw it out to be as dramatic as possible. "Ever the theater production," he remarked with a small laugh.

"Anzu and I could hear Crystal yelling in her room, after midnight, even after 1 AM," Angelique finished.

People in the group stared, perplexed, at both Angelique and Crystal. The singer was smiling in accomplishment, while the military adviser was covering her face in embarrassment.

"You were yelling?" Hikari asked Crystal. "Whatever for?"

"There were some names being used, as well as a lot, and I mean a lot of swears," Angelique said, giggling impishly. "Names like Mario, Ridley, Cloud, Daisy, and… Wii Bitch Trainer, was it?"

"I was playing on my Switch," Crystal muttered, so softly that people didn't hear her unless they were close. She then said, louder but with just as much shame, "I was playing video games! I brought along one of my consoles with me, the most portable one, and last night, I couldn't sleep. So I played games to try and tire myself out."

"You were screaming as if your opponent killed your cat or something," Anzu remarked, giggling as well.

Crystal hid her face more, sighing. "I'm not… proud of my gamer rage, okay? It's not befitting for someone of my position. And I honestly didn't think anyone could hear me."

"Guess our rooms aren't entirely soundproof," Souma said with a chuckle.

"Oops," Monophanie said from the Kubs' platform, "did we forget to mention that?"

"You still gotta pay your rent when all is said and done," Monosuke remarked.

Amid all of this, Aka was appearing even more embarrassed than Crystal. The skier was trying hard to hide her head in-between her shoulders. "So, um," she whimpered, "does this mean Crystal has an alibi after all?"

"I think it does," Emanuel said, oddly calm, tapping his chin.

"Oh my God. I feel like the biggest bitch in the world right now," Aka squeaked out. "Oh shit, oh damn… Hikari, I'm so sorry, but now I have to be Crystal's bitch!"

"I'm not into women," Crystal murmured, correcting her collar as she tried to restore her image.

"Then how do I restore my honor?! I'm a skier, do I have to stab myself with one of my skis?"

"Please don't do that," Hikari pleaded, smiling softly at Aka. "I mean, you did help reveal several peoples' alibis, so now we're narrowing it down."

A small, nervous noise came from Drake, who raised his hand as he glanced around. "So, um, are we doing that now? Are we going to try and narrow down who it could have been?"

Shuuya hummed aloud in thought, then shook his head. "Even if we are going to declare that Crystal, Angelique, and Anzu are innocent, that's twenty-four suspects. There's no way we can get twenty-three alibis at 1 AM."

"Hold on, now," Emanuel declared, slamming his palm down on his podium. "We needn't do that. Because, thanks to the efforts of the people who took this seriously…

"I know who the killer is, for sure now."

The trial room went totally quiet, with Emanuel's announcement that showcased total confidence and no hesitation.

"Do you now?" Isaac spat out, glaring at the Bête Noir. "Because part of me thinks you've spent more of this trial being abusive than deductive."

"You're going to eat your words, mister reporter, but I don't mind making a statement for you now," Emanuel said, chuckling in triumph. "You see, everything adds up now, every single thing. And, I must admit, I have to thank you, Aka."

"Huh?" the skier honked, placing her hands over her heart. "Me? But I screwed up!"

"Maybe on your suspect, but you see, I was entirely stumped on how someone could have killed Takeo. I was just trying to think how one could beat someone like him, but you brought up the fact that someone can approach and make a fatal strike without having combat skills."

He took the flask out of his pocket, and unscrewed it. "Now thanks to you, every single piece of the puzzle falls into place. The motive, the time, the place, the taxidermy, the method of death, every single piece of evidence has now painted the perfect picture."

"I like the way you're setting things up," Blake said with a laugh. "Come on, don't keep us waiting, mate."

"This is a murder trial with our lives on the line, as you pointed out so many times," Ken said, frowning in disapproval. "Please stop making a big show about it for your ego."

"Sheesh, fine," Emanuel said, screwing the lid back on the flask. "But you see, it seems fitting to make a big show out of declaring who the killer is, because the killer loved putting on a big show with their work…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

"… isn't that right, Fiora?"

"HUH?!"

* * *

…

…

…

 **TRIAL INTERMISSION!**


	9. Chapter 1-6: Case 1 Trial, Part 2

**Chapter 1-6**

 **Accusatory Brew Consumption**

* * *

* **Monokuma Family Trial Intermission** *

* _Monokuma and the five Monokubs are all standing at the front steps of Town Hall. Monokuma is standing on the top step, the Kubs two steps below him._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "The first trial is really heating up! I'm so proud of my widdle cubs! They've made their old man so proud!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Daddy! Your approval means everything to us! We're gonna do everything you can to make you proud!"

 **Monosuke** \- "I wonder what statistics we have gathered so far. Oh, the ratings!"

 **Monokid** \- "We've done a wonderful fucking job, but it may be over soon! We'll have to beat up Monodam to make up for lost time."

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokuma** \- "Let's focus now, children! After all, you want to enjoy the first trial while it's still going on! You always remember your first, upupupupupu!"

 **Monophanie** \- "I am never going to forget my first!"

 **Monosuke** \- "I will always treasure my first!"

 **Monokid** \- "I'll fucking remember my fucking first!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Wait, before we go back, can I just say this is probably the first time I've ever been on television? Hi, Mo-"

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!_**

* * *

"HUH?!"

Fiora's flabbergasted reaction echoed around the trial room. She had her hands up, as if ready to do jazz hands, but was frozen in place as if she had been petrified herself.

"Muh-muh-me?" she asked, staring at Emanuel, glancing all over the place, as if trying to find a hidden camera. "What are you saying? Me?!"

"There's such a long list of evidence that proves it was you, so let me start at the top," Emanuel said, flicking one of the ribbons from his eye wrap behind his shoulder. "First off, you don't have an alibi for 1 AM. To accentuate this point, you didn't say anything about Crystal's loud swearing even though she's in the house next to yours."

"Wait wait wait," the movie maker declared, swinging her hands back and forth, "that was because you told me to-"

"Secondly," the Bête Noir continued, not slowing down in the least by Fiora's words, "as Aka had pointed out, a woman can get close to a man without being suspicious. And who is least suspicious than you, a woman and an idiot, who no one would suspect could try to kill someone?"

"You jerk!" Fiora shouted, raising her fists in the air. "How dare you talk to me like that-"

"Thirdly, and this is possibly one of the most damning things ever, you were talking about something taxidermy you did last night."

Fiora froze in place again, eye twitching in frustration. Her arms dropped, and she spat out, "You're lying, I never said that…"

"You were discussing it with Shuuya in the café that morning, you cannot deny it…"

* * *

 _"_ _I had to make a prop that looked like a real man," Fiora was saying to Shuuya, "for one movie, but then we needed it another movie which had these violent aliens ripping people's chests out!_

 _"_ _Oh man, I had to pull that fake guy's insides out and get all this gooey fake blood and such, you'd love it…"_

* * *

Emanuel stared expectantly at Shuuya, who rubbed one of his temples as he thought back to that day. "I do remember her talking about that," he admitted, glancing over at Fiora. "But she was talking about a prop…"

"A prop that she gutted and more or less did taxidermy on, a procedure that she not only may have done more, but the time she mentioned was along the same lines as what happened to Takeo."

Fiora was starting to shake, and she whimpered out, "I… I don't know anything a'boot taxidermy… that was just a prop…"

"You went into so much detail about it," Emanuel remarked. "So much so, I had to listen to so many details, as did Shuuya. You say you know nothing, but there's two people who heard every graphic word you said, maybe even more."

The Bête Noir unscrewed his flask, and sniffed at it to prepare for a victory swig. "Now, these three pieces are all rather damning, but really, there is the fourth and biggest reason why it was you, and that was the motive."

"What? But you're the one," Isaac declared, "who has been saying that the motive is nonsense!"

"And I meant that," Emanuel replied, "but who here has the most to gain from a motive from that? Who wants to be given new talent, the chance to be more than they are now? We all have talents, we all have purpose, we all were meant to be what we were titled to be…

"Except for the B-Movie Maker, Miss FIRST herself."

Miss FIRST reacted as if she had been slapped in the face, and then she balled up her fists. "I've bin making so many movies and embracing my talent and passion befur', during, and after Hope's Peak!"

Her accent was flaring up the more hysterical she became. "Just because you doo'nt like them doesn't mean I'm bitter! This is all nonsense!"

"Oh please," Emanuel remarked with a roll of his eyes. "You are a Hope's Peak graduate, you were meant for greatness, you are supposed to showcase the talent and prosperity of the future. And what do you do? You make movies that are so terrible, they have scathing reviews before they're even out.

"You haven't had a single theater release in your career. Reviews online that tear your crap movies apart get more views than the films."

"Wha… but," Fiora stammered, gripping her fedora as she struggled to respond to this. "How do you knoo' so much a'boot me, anyway?!"

"You want to know what happened to me after the Tragedy? I lost all my classmates, I heard about so many other graduates dying. It was terrible, but there was still hope."

Emanuel lifted a hand and squeezed it into a fist, his teeth grinding together in outrage. "There were graduates out there still alive, still working towards the future. I heard about the artists that carried on their work, leaders that continued to lead, working class professions that advanced their craft.

"Even the survivors of Hope's Peak Academy's Killing Game carried on, maybe even the strongest points. But YOU!"

He shouted the last word, turning towards the thunderstruck movie maker. "What do you do? How do you contribute to society, and uphold Hope's Peak honor? You've made movies that are nothing but mockeries of art and class!

"And now, here you are, surrounded by people who are actually accomplished, who contribute, who have talent! Quite frankly, your presence here sickens me."

He sniffed his flask, and took a small sip. While he coughed over how incredibly strong it was, Angelique spoke up. "It sounds like you are venting frustrations on her," she said as she scowled at the detective, "and trying to make her sound like the culprit."

"'Trying'? Do I have to repeat myself? Fine, listen harder this time: no alibi for 1 AM, unassuming enough to catch Takeo off-guard, taxidermy-like experience in particular with the chest, and the only one here who would be tempted by Monokuma's motive, which is the promise for new talent!

"That's the reason the killer had to take shortcuts, because they could only do so much with the material they had, and the limited amount of skill was involved. She couldn't do hands, feet, and the head because they were too complicated, and also glued Takeo's mouth shut as a short-cut.

"Not to mention," he carried on, glaring down Angelique as he spoke, "what has she done for the investigation and the trial? Distracted us with talks about gorgons, the mists suddenly being sound dampeners, and other random shit! She hasn't been helping us, she's been trying to distract us.

"But she didn't distract me. I just couldn't figure out how she could have killed Takeo until Aka brought up that theory. After all, we're fragile human beings, a knife to the spine or the heart is still going to end us; it doesn't matter how much training or talent or experience you have.

"This is a dark and cruel world, and we came here for answers. Fiora wanted to see if she could become someone of importance, and she thought Monokuma would give that to her. And Takeo paid the price for her wants."

As Emanuel lifted the flask to his mouth again, he tried to place his right hand on the podium, but was missing it due to his growing lack of coordination. To his right, Fiora was shaking, hyperventilating, with sweat running down her forehead.

"I… I didn't kill Takeo, I didn't kill anyone," she protested, turning towards Emanuel. "I'm not a murderer, you drunk jerk, I-"

Emanuel swung his right hand, hitting her across the face with a rather strong backhand. Fiora grabbed her hat with one hand and covered her face with the other, almost knocked off her podium. She had tears coming from her eyes, and she was shaking harder than ever.

"I'm tired of hearing you talk," Emanuel remarked, as he took a long swig from his flask. Wheezing from how strong it was, he added, "Oh yeah, that's the good stuff. Anyway, Monokuma?"

" **Eee-yessssss?** " the bear of despair asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I think we're ready for the vote," the detective continued. "There's no room for debate at this point."

"Like hell there's not," Isaac shouted in outrage. "You may have outlined a strong case, but this is not over just yet."

"Oh really then? Who here has no alibi, could catch Takeo off-guard, has taxidermy experience, and would be motivated to murder for new talent? Who here? Come on now, little reporter, speak up."

The reporter scanned around all of the graduates, trying to think of who could fit all of those criteria. The more he looked, the more he realized how difficult it would be to pick a suspect. The taxidermy skill was possibly the most pragmatic part.

"No one? What a surprise," Emanuel mocked him, "but then again, you were busy fooling around with her, trying to see if this town had supernatural powers. We don't need to worry about this any longer, we just need to vote."

"I'm," Fiora struggled to speak, holding her cheek as tears spilled from her eyes. She was barely able to speak, her frightened stare glancing over at Emanuel as she struggled with words. "I'm not a murderer."

"Shut up. You're the only person who could have done this. Now, if we could please vote?!"

Monokuma scanned the graduates, not seeing anyone speaking up. It was difficult for anyone to think of something, anything, that would be a valid objection, if they even had one. The idea of Fiora being the killer, along with Emanuel outlining it, made sense to a lot of them.

"I must object," Yejoon spoke up, turning his head back to the circle of graduates.

"Shut," Emanuel started to enunciate, "up-"

"No, I will not silence. I do not believe Fiora is the murderer, and your accusation will get us all killed."

"It'll be majority rules then, I don't care about one or two people who are so blind that they will not see reason."

"Yes, what the hell, brother," Jin declared, glaring at Yejoon. "Why are you defending a talentless, tacky tramp like this woman?"

Yejoon raised his hand, and inspected his nails, in the same way his sister had been doing earlier. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, cordial and polite, "do I need to a reason?"

Jin gawked at him, and then let out a barking laugh. "Don't tell me, you _like_ her? Oh that is rich, that is priceless…

"That is _disgusting!_ "

The owl-themed artist raised her fists and pounded hard on her podium, very hard. "You are wasting all of our time with your desire to become as difficult as possible! For a piece of crap like that!"

"If you want a reason, I can provide one, then…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"This is a waste of time," Emanuel muttered, sniffing his flask. "We know Fiora is the **murderer**."

"Yes, my brother," Jin snapped, "is just trying to be a rebellious, wannabe rebel."

"Yejoon, you've kind of had a habit of being difficult," Blake remarked. "You were supposed to be with the **taxidermy shop** party, but you weren't."

"I…," Fiora whimpered, staring at the floor as she shivered hard, "I didn't…"

"There's also the fact that it was the fox statute," Eisei pointed out, "was the only taxidermy statue spared. Though I don't know the answer to that…"

"What if that was what Fiora did," Aka said, "to **frame Yejoon**?"

"My brother is just being difficult! Just ignore him!"

"I'm innocent, I swear…"

"Shut up already! … Hic!"

"I don't know if that's solid evidence," Ken admitted, "but this does seem rather conclusive altogether. The evidence keeps pointing at **Fiora**."

" _You should know_ ," Yejoon declared, " _that Yeou the Fox doesn't back down!_ "

* * *

"So you believe that Fiora spared the taxidermy fox to frame me, Aka?" the artist questioned, staring at the skier amid the arguing. "But that makes very little sense, considering I am the best thing she has for an alibi the evening before the murder."

"Wait, what now?" Aka said, staring in confusion. "You were with her at 1 AM?"

"No, but we stayed up to around 11:30 PM, almost to midnight; the decision to stay up was hers, and it was because of my insistence that I would walk her back to her house and bid her good evening."

"That's not an alibi," Emanuel snapped, slamming his palm as he gave an unsteady glare to the artist.

"No, but wasn't it you who said the killer needed rest for such an exhaustive plan? Tell me, does a killer insist on staying up quite late on the eve of a murder plan that will keep them up all night and day?"

Yejoon chuckled lightly, and said, "Was it not you as well that we're only human? She's been surprisingly alert and energetic for someone who only could have had an hour's worth of sleep."

" _Olppaemi the Owl doesn't,_ " Jin shouted, slamming her fist on the podium again, " _give up either!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

"You cannot be serious," Jin snarled at Yejoon, the younger sister heaving in anger as her brother calmly crossed his arms. "You're going to poison the minds of the others with this talk! This is just like you, being so difficult that you'll delay the trial just for your own amusement. And for her?!

"You'd do it for this little piece of shit? You really, truly cannot be serious, you want this one? Have your standards gone down that low?"

"Oh my, are we," Yejoon said, shaking his head, "really doing this now, my dear sister?"

"Shut the hell up, and stop acting so posh! There's no way you think this girl is innocent, you're just being difficult! I'm going to stomp this out, right here and now!"

The siblings locked eyes, as everyone watched in amazement at this sibling feud come to life in the trial room. The Monokubs were holding up signs declaring who they were rooting for.

" _Fiora fits every piece of the puzzle, as Emanuel described in eloquent detail,_ " Jin fired off at her brother. " _But your argument is merely that she had only a little bit of sleep!_

" _You've been like this since we were children, always trying to be difficult and get in the last word! Stop trying to upstage everyone, and accept the facts for what they are!_ "

Yejoon curled a finger around the chin of his mask. " _Facts? Emanuel has outlined a plausible theory, but he does not have any concrete evidence._

" _Where is the murder weapon? Where is the smoking gun? Did you fail to notice that his desire to pin this on Fiora is oddly personal?_ "

" _If someone is a piece of crap,_ " Jin fired back, " _then they should be treated as such. Her 'art' is the opposite of beauty, it is trash. And as for a murder weapon…_

" _It is not impossible for Fiora to have brought_ ** _a knife_** _or found one in the city, and then_ ** _hid it_** _after she was done stabbing Takeo to death! Anyway, this is all so arbitrary…_

" _Fiora is the only one motivated by new talent, the only one who would be stupid and desperate enough to listen to_ ** _Monokuma's motive_** _. Are you quite done bothering us now, brother?_ "

" _A fox could take down an owl any day, sister!_ " Yejoon declared.

* * *

"That's it, the key to the plot that you and Emanuel have conveniently forgotten," the artist said as he snapped his fingers in realization. "Monokuma's Motive."

"What are you going on about now?" Jin snarled, her eyes leveling a heated glare at her brother from under her pink and purple bangs.

"Monokuma gathered us all together to discuss the motive, but before he even got to explaining it, he chased Fiora away when she didn't stop asking about Mr. Beardsley."

" **Mr. Beardsley?!** " Monokuma hollered, throwing his claws up in the air. " **Stop bringing that name up already!** "

Yejoon laughed again over this. "Fiora never learned what the motive actually was because it was never explained to her, and also, I was the only person who she talked to that evening.

"And I never told her what it was either. I didn't think I would push the bear's agenda like that."

Silence filled the trial room. Jin gaped at her brother, mouth hanging open in disbelief. There was a sniffle from Fiora, and the movie maker looked up, one hand still on her reddened face. She stared at Yejoon. "You… you believe me?"

"Indeed I do. Can we try to work on this case without our drunk Bête Noir controlling the scene?"

"HEY!" Emanuel roared, slamming the bottom of his flask against his podium. "This does NOT excuse Fiora! She could have heard about the motive in detail from someone else, or the bears! That isn't good enough! … hic!"

"I'm afraid that I'm not fully convinced, either," Crystal admitted. "She still seems quite likely our main suspect."

"I'm not sure," Drake said, quiet but still heard. "I don't want to rush to a conclusion…"

"Neither do I," Angelique declared. "I'm not going to let the trial end just because that jerk wants it to be."

As more people started to speak up, for or against the motion, Ignatia could only watch. She then noticed Monokuma pull out a megaphone, and thus she was the only one who could cover her ears in time.

" **PENJAR CAN SOLVE SPLIT DECISIONS!** "

Everyone flinched, as Monokuma's booming voice made their ears rattle. The Kubs were also treated to this, crouched over and paws over their ears.

"Daddy, owtchie," Monophanie whimpered. "Could you warn us next time?"

"My ears," Monokid wailed, rolling on the floor, "my fucking ears, I cannot hear anything except my own voice right now!"

"Whoa, that was quite powerful," Monosuke groaned. "I should have set it down from the max level before I gave it to Pops."

"But this is great news too!" Monotaro said, rubbing his ears still. "This means Father is going to introduce the new debate mode, right?"

"…" Monodam said, who was wearing earmuffs and hadn't moved an inch.

" **Exactly, my darling cubs!** " Monokuma announced, clapping his paws together. " **For it seems we are split down the middle, and we desperately need to come to a conclusion at this point if we want the trial to go anywhere!**

" **Allow me to introduce you all to Scrum Debate!** "

Isaac raised an eyebrow, staring down the bear. "Alright then, Monokuma, how does this work?"

" **It's quite simple. I'm going to divide you all into two teams, the contrasting points for where the debate is now! You will select your stance within the next two minutes by the electronic tablet that's at the center of your podium**."

Everyone stared down at the electronic touch screen that was indeed at the center of every podium. Right now, it had a line divided down the center, with "Fiora IS the killer!" on one side, and "Fiora ISN'T the killer!"

" **Once you've all picked, we will divide the two teams up, and then you will have to debate each other, one at a time. Now I am the judge of this argumentation and debate round, and thus when the debate is over, I will make the call on which team won!**

" **Whichever team wins will continue the trial in the manner they see fit. In this case, since one side wants to vote for someone, that means if they win the debate, the trial will be declared over and your votes will be cast for the one they deem guilty!**

" **If the other team wins, the trial will continue, and you cannot call for a vote for the accused for a while. Does that make everything clear?**

" **Then here! We! GO!** "

Monokuma lifted a large key, labeled "Key to the City" on the side. A large lock raised up from the floor in front of his garish throne, and he inserted the key into it. With a twist, power could be heard charging up and machinery running throughout the trial room.

The platforms lit up at the base of their stands, and then hovered into the air. Most of the graduates grabbed their podiums for balance, while some took it in stride without moving. As the podiums lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened up, and it was clear they were being moved into a new room.

This would be their first Scrum Debate, and all of them knew how important it would be, so they were going to have bring their A-game…

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE!**

* * *

 **Team Stheno** ( _"Fiora is guilty!"_ )

 **Members** : Emanuel, Jin, Crystal, Saiko, Blake, Futaba, Aka, Ken, Samson, Shinobu, Eisei, Shuuya, Pyrrha, Ignatia.

…

 **Team Euryale** ( _"Fiora is innocent!"_ )

 **Members** : Yejoon, Fiora, Isaac, Hara, Drake, Angelique, Ishiku, Anzu, Odelios, Hikari, Souma, Kimiko, Yitro.

* * *

The podiums rose up into the room, with everyone facing each other now on two sides. Monokuma and the Kubs were standing at the end of the room, watching the debate as it would now unfold.

Emanuel snarled as he leaned on his podium, much more now than he was before, as he pointed a finger at Yejoon from the hand clenching his flask. "Fiora is the **most likely** shuspect, and there's no way to argue that!"

"Fiora is the **least likely** ," the artist responded, "because she didn't know of the **motive** that you claim is her reason for murder."

"Anyone could have told her about that **motive** ," Jin snapped at her brother. "Hell, one of the **Kubs** could have told her about the motive!"

"We haven't had a chance to ask the **Kubs** if that is true or not," Drake said. "We're rushing things in this trial, we need to explore other **avenues**."

"We've gone over every part of the murder and motive," Blake replied. "What other **avenues** can we possibly go over? It's not like we can just discover someone's secretly a **taxidermist**!"

"About the **taxidermy** ," said Hara, "aren't we stretching it a little? Fiora working with props doesn't make her good at **stitching and skinning**!"

"Hara honey, as someone who investigated the body," Saiko replied, "the **stitching and skinning** wasn't perfectly done. It was mostly using the clothing and other **tricks** to make his body look professionally done."

"Wait, about those **tricks** ," Ishiku declared, tapping his staff on the floor, "wouldn't that be exactly what anyone else could do? Maybe they wanted the actual taxidermy to be **slapdash** so it wouldn't look like an expert did it."

"You think that the taxidermy job was made to look **rushed**?" Futaba asked. "Do you have any proof to that? Remember that the killer had a limited amount of **time**."

"Doesn't the lack of **time** ," Hikari countered, "show that someone with more **experience** managed to get it done before everyone woke up?"

"Even if that were true, sexy," Aka responded, staring a little guiltily at Hikari, "it's not like we know of anyone having said **experience**. The killer only had from 1 to 9 AM to kill Takeo, and **wash up**."

"Yes, about that," Yitro spoke up, "if the killer **washed** themselves, wouldn't there be very little time for their **hair** to dry? Fiora's hair wasn't wet in the morning."

"No one's **hair** was wet when we had gathered at Takeo's body," Shuuya said. "Trust me, that's something I took note of, because a killer would have to **scrub away** evidence on themselves."

"Wait, isn't that something that should be considered, considering this crime would require a great deal of **scrubbing**?" Angelique replied. "There was so much **blood** involved, surely they'd have to clean themselves thoroughly!"

"How does the amount of **blood** disqualify Fiora?" Ken inquired. "Perhaps she didn't get blood in her hair, and merely had to get rid of her bloody **clothes**?"

"How could Fiora have successfully hidden bloody **clothes**?" Souma asked. "We were allowed to search everyone in the town, we could have easily **found evidence**."

"However, we didn't **find any evidence** ," Samson retaliated, "and now we're wasting valuable time! Fiora still fits the **profile** better than anyone!"

Kimiko cracked her knuckles, and said, "A **profile** that we've been rather forced to fulfill, since **Emanuel** has been over-aggressive in manhandling the case!"

"You wanna shtart shomething with **me** , biker bitch," Emanuel slurred, pulling his flask away from his lips. "Where have I been wrong in any of my **assertions**?"

"It's the fact that we're having to deal with this case under your **assertions** ," Isaac fired back, "that is making this far more difficult than it needs to be! Have we even **verified** everything yet?"

"Speaking as a devil's advocate in this case," Eisei said, rolling his lollipop around in his mouth, "which of the **verified** proof that we've discovered hasn't been sufficiently **established** to you all?"

"What do _we_ need to **establish**?" Odelios balked, waving his rubber chicken around. "What about you all? Monokuma's Motive, the mists, the heinous fate that Takeo suffered? Why are you all acting like this is a simple case and something **mysterious** isn't behind all this?"

"Are we really going to discuss if the supernatural and **mysterious** are at hand here?" Shinobu snapped. "The **real evidence** is hard against Fiora!"

"But but but," Fiora stammered, then managed to correct herself, "as Isaac was saying earlier, the **real evidence** hasn't been totally verified! What if one of those points is **wrong**?"

"Wrong? Which piece of evidence is **wrong**?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can you mention at least **one piece** that would be?"

"Maybe we could talk about **one piece** or another for more than five seconds," Anzu countered, "if we were allowed to speak without the jerkass drunk threatening us! But there is something that definitely needs to be **discussed** , now that I think about it!"

"What? What needs to be **discussed**?" Pyrrha asked, staring at the actress. "Is there a factor of this case that we **missed**?"

"I think so. If you need an idea of how we **missed** something, let me ask you this: is the time of death really at 1 AM like you've all asserted?"

Team Euryale all psyched themselves up, and declared in unison, "THIS IS OUR REASON!"

" **Holy crap, what a spectacle!** " Monokuma roared in delight. " **Victory goes to Team Euryale!** "

* * *

After the platforms left the Scrum Debate room and settled back down into the trial room, everyone was still flustered and a little confused from the debate. The members of Team Stheno, for the most part, weren't happy to have lost; Emanuel was absolutely livid.

"Fucking… what? You shtupid bashtards trushted a porn shtar over my reashoning?" He slogged down the rest of his flask, and wobbled as he used both hands now to hold himself up on his podium. "Do you all jusht want to die, ish that it?"

"Sloshed comments aside," Crystal remarked, "what was this about one of the core pieces of evidence being wrong? The time of death, you said, Anzu?"

Anzu froze up, then nervously crossed her arms. She had said that during the debate without fully remembering why she had the theory. She took a deep breath, and muttered, "I… I just think that maybe we're just leaving way too much up to chance that the murder happened that late at night. Or rather, that early in the morning."

"Yes, but why?" the military adviser pressed. "Surely, you have some idea."

"There are some pieces of evidence," Isaac chimed in, "that say that might be the case. Like why the killer dragged Takeo's body a different route when they could have just gone down the road the shops were on."

"That's very minor, and also, I am asking Anzu," Crystal replied. She stared down the actress, and said, "Please explain in more detail, or I am afraid it won't be credible to us."

Anzu pulled on one of her blue bangs, coiling it around her fingers as she tried to think of what to say. Her eyes darted around, until they rested on Hikari. The steampunk model gave her a warm smile, and extended her hand, as if to say, "Go ahead."

The actress then let out a big sigh, and spoke. "When I touched that camera in the antique shop and fell into a coma, I told you all it was a dream. But it wasn't, I didn't have a dream, I had a very vivid and nightmarish vision of myself at Hope's Peak, inside of someone else's body.

"In that vision, I met a girl named Mahiru, and she gave me a warning about this motive. She said something along the lines of…

"The first motive will be before the day is done. Do not go outside past 9 PM, unless you wish to be prey to the predator. The mists will work against you, but you can trust the silence."

"I… I know it seems weird and unbelievable, but when this Mahiru spoke, she seemed to know everything about what was going on, like she was connected to Penjar."

Silence filled the trial room, everyone staring at Anzu. Then there was an unkind laugh, as Saiko rubbed the back of her head. "Okay, I'm actually starting to wonder if someone did screw your brains out, girl," she remarked.

"Saiko, no need to be so crude!" Hara chastised her.

"No, I'm sorry, but a vision of some girl named Mahiru telling you that nonsense? We're supposed to take your fever dream or whatever it was as fact? Come on, I don't buy this for a minute!"

"It is… rather difficult to swallow," Souma said. "But maybe we should discuss this a bit more…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Honestly now, we just were talking about if **Fiora was the killer** ," Saiko fired off, "and now you're talking about supernatural premonitions?!"

"Interesting how the premonition says the death will be within the day," Samson said with a snort. "How convenient that gives Fiora an **alibi** if it were true!"

"Hey, I was out past 9 PM as well," Fiora declared. "I could have ended up **dead**!"

"I do believe you're missing the point there, Fiora," Yejoon said, rubbing his chin.

"If we continue wasting time like this," Jin muttered angrily, "I'm actually going to be quite happy you all die alongside me."

"I do believe you're missing the point too, dear sister."

"… **Mahiru**?" Drake whispered, too soft for the others to hear.

"And what's this about the **mists working against us** , or that we can **trust the silence**?" Eisei asked. "Seems to me like someone loves a good riddle."

"Anzu, how hard did you hit your head when you passed out that night?" Crystal inquired.

" _Wait a minute, stop the presses,_ " Isaac declared, " _that's it!_ "

* * *

"The mists work against us," Isaac repeated, drumming his fingers against the podium, "and being able to trust the silence. That was true."

"Wait, are you still going on with the idea that the mists are dampening sound?" asked Saiko, incredulous. "How is that even possible?"

"I know what I know and discovered for myself, and I'm not going to let someone tell me I am stupid and need to shut up because it doesn't fit their ideology!"

Pyrrha sighed heavily, and said, "Well, if you feel able to stand up the wrath of our hair-trigger Bête Noir, maybe you can…"

"Zzzzz."

Emanuel had passed out, hanging over his podium. The flask was knocked on its side, dripping the last drops of potent drink onto the floor.

"He fell asleep?!" Samson balked, gripping his head.

"How the hell do you fall asleep," Souma declared, "during a Killing Game trial?"

"Wow, that was some strong stuff," Odelios commented with a laugh. "But anyway, that's perfect. Now that big, dumb, and punchy is KO'ed from his booze punch, time to kick this trial into overdrive, the right way!"

"What? Oh God, now you're talking again," Saiko muttered. "And no, just because Emanuel passed out from drinking doesn't mean we're just going to let the supernatural be our guide! Anzu's vision of some Mahiru girl isn't credible in any way-"

"Anzu," Drake spoke up, loud enough that everyone heard him and were rather surprised to hear him of all people speak up, "what was she like?"

"Huh? What Mahiru was like?"

"Yes, if you could please describe her in as much detail as you could?"

Anzu scratched her cheek with her finger, slow and methodical, as she thought back to that vision. "Um, her full name was Mahiru Koizumi. Had cherry red hair, kind of shaped like a cherry too. Freckles, quite the imposing and strong personality, like she was trying to lecture you about what to do a bit like a mom. Why are you…"

She stopped when she saw Drake was drawing fervently. He flipped his sketchpad around, and there was Mahiru in a rather realistic drawing on the paper. Anzu was silent for a moment, and declared, "That's her!"

"Wait, Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer?" Shinobu asked. "She was the first victim in the Hope's Peak Killing Game!"

"And it was a camera that we found in your hand, Anzu," Hara remarked. "That same camera crumbled to dust shortly after you woke up."

Saiko glanced around at everyone, and then cried out in frustration. "People, please! Just because she saw a dead girl in her vision doesn't make it true!"

"But Anzu has an alibi, she was with Angelique when they overheard me," Crystal remarked as she rubbed her chin. "She has absolutely no reason to lie in a trial that her life is on the line."

"Plus, the mists part I have been saying all this time is very true, Saiko," Isaac said. "The main reason it's been ignored is because drunkass over there decided that we should just ignore it…

"However, Anzu's vision has some kind of truth to it, and I do believe it does because of the other part of that last passage. We can trust the silence… do you remember who found the body alongside Hara and myself?"

There was a thumping of the chest, as Ignatia pointed to herself. She was making hand gestures that were rather hard to follow, and the others couldn't comprehend what they were. It wasn't until Drake, who stood next to her, offered her his sketchpad and pencil.

She took them with a grateful smile, and started to write fervently. Drake watched over her shoulder, and read it out loud: "'I actually got up at around 8:30, I like to be up bright and early if possible. I saw Takeo set up at the plaza then, but I thought he was waiting for someone and I paid him no heed. It wasn't until 9:30 AM that I noticed he was still standing perfectly still in place, and I realized something was wrong.'"

"See now, that makes me truly wonder," Isaac carried on, "how truthful our estimation on the time of death could be!"

"Wait, are you saying," Ken asked, "that we've been wrong from the start?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"We had established that Takeo met his killer at **1 AM** ," Ken reiterated, "and thus was killed around this time. You're saying that's wrong?"

"Wouldn't the killer have to do when it was really late?" Aka inquired. "I mean, that way no one would **see them**."

"The idea that he was killed before midnight is absurd!" Saiko declared. "That's far too risky, especially with so many **unpredictable** people!"

"…" Drake was staring at the sketch of Mahiru, tears welling in his eyes.

"Are we really doing this based off of her vision?" Jin grumbled, pointing at Anzu.

"Yes we are," Odelios roared, throwing his fists into the air as he proclaimed, "because we are free to do what we want now!"

"Zzz," disagreed Emanuel.

"But to dive into the supernatural is just wrong," Shuuya remarked. "We should go with the **solid evidence** we have."

" _And that,_ " Angelique declared, pointing at Ken, " _is where we went wrong!_ "

* * *

"Darlings, do you remember what made us all so sure that Takeo was killed at 1 AM?" Angelique said, placing a hand over her heart and on her amble bosom. "It was the note that was found in his room."

"Wait, you think the note was faked?" Eisei asked, staring at the opera singer. "But it was found in his room."

Isaac drummed his fingers on his podium, then snapped his fingers. "I see where Angelique is going with this. What if the killer placed that note there, to throw us all off the time of death?"

"What, during the investigation? Or last night after they had murdered Takeo?" Odelios asked. "Don't our doors lock automatically during the night?"

The reporter stared at the clown, and pointed at him. "Brilliant! We weren't given keys or cards to unlock our places, we've just gone in and trusted the locks! Takeo would have been locked outside of his house if he had gone out at 1 AM!"

"Unless he left the door open?" Souma offered. "It's not like it was really his home, he wouldn't have to worry about any valuables being stolen… he had nothing in his room of major value."

"The killer could have done that, stealing his weapons and such after killing him," Shinobu spoke up. "Why are we suddenly treating the note as a phony? Angelique, what proof did you have it was phony?"

"I," Angelique stammered, glancing to the side, "I'm going with the train of thought that we are all going on."

"Shinobu, calm down," Isaac started to say, but the girl slammed her fist on her podium.

" _No, this is unacceptable,_ " she shouted, " _and I refuse to stand on the sidelines this time!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

"You all are going off the deep end with this presumption," Shinobu scolded, pointing accusingly at Isaac. "I demand to know why have veered off-track so much, and we're now discussing the supernatural as a possibility!"

Isaac was startled at first, then he took a deep breath and leaned forward. "Shinobu, if you wish to cross words with me, let us do so. Please tell me how we're on the wrong pathway."

"How we're on the wrong path? Let's start at the very beginning, because that is how I do work!"

Shinobu and Isaac stared each other down, the two being the only ones who dared to speak right now, and thus they started off.

" _You're basing all of these assumptions off of what Anzu claims to have seen,_ " Shinobu said, " _but what proof is there that there is something behind it all? Just because there is a dead woman from Hope's Peak in her vision doesn't make it factual._

" _You really think that her vision has anything to go off of? Are we counting dreams and nightmares as facts now? Come off it!_ "

Isaac adjusted his beanie, and stared her down. " _Anzu has no reason to lie, she has a proven alibi with Angelique and Crystal. Plus, part of the warning in her vision was about the mists and the silence._

" _I know some of you don't believe me, but the mists or something else are really dampening sound. After everything that happened during the Killing Games, the school we graduated from being turned into a conglomerate of execution machines, the moon base being taken over…_

" _Are you all really saying that this old abanonded town cannot have a few tricks up its sleeve as well? Plus, we can trust the silence, Ignatia that is._ "

Shinobu scowled, and fired back. " _You think the_ ** _last passage_** _of the warning means she is telling the truth? But what about the first part, the part that says the murder happened before midnight? That's the part that's turning this whole thing around!_

" _Why even make a note that is_ ** _fake_** _? What is the point of making us believe the murder happened_ ** _sooner_** _rather than later?_ "

" _Thanks for helping me make my point!_ " Isaac declared.

* * *

"There's actually one very big reason why the killer would want us to think the murder was at 1 AM," the reporter said, ruffling his mint green hair as he spoke, "and that is that they wanted to give the idea that the taxidermy was rushed."

"Rushed? Are you saying that the killer," Shinobu spoke, but less forceful now, "is actually good at taxidermy, and just gave us all the signals that they weren't?"

"Yes, exactly. And before you ask, no, I don't think someone was secretly a taxidermist before coming to Penjar. That's why I think the motive is the answer."

"The new talent motive?" Saiko asked. "You genuinely believe that Monokuma bestowed new talent upon everyone?"

" **I totes did**!" said despair bear declared.

"Are we really going down that route?" Samson muttered, his frustration showing now. "But we went over this. No one feels any different!"

"ACTUALLY!"

Odelios's voice boomed around the trial room, his powerful lungs really earning their pay. The clown leaned backwards so he could shout that word up to the ceiling, then dipped forward and leaned on his podium. "I was going to say I do."

"What?" Crystal was more surprised now than she had been throughout the entire trial. "You?"

"Why didn't you say anything?" Anzu asked, staring at the clown incredulously.

"For the same reason you had trouble saying anything, that blindfolded beast who was…"

Odelios stopped, because he was staring at Emanuel. Ishiku had his sharpie out, and was drawing on the unconscious man's face. He was getting really into it, and gave Fiora the pen so she could join in on the fun.

"Do a wang, that's mandatory," the clown said towards them, then looked back towards everyone else. "But seriously people, I _was_ going to say that I definitely feel different. Do you all remember me getting you all coffee? Remember how good it was?"

"Yes, it was nice," Isaac said.

"I love coffee, so I am an expert on it, and even I'll admit it was good," Saiko admitted. "But what's that got to do with this?"

"I've never made a cup of coffee in my life beforehand."

The clown allowed this to sink in with everyone, rocking on his feet. He waited for someone to ask him if that were true, but when no one did, he sighed and did it himself. "Yes, that's true. I've never made coffee before, ever, not during the circus, not during Hope's Peak, never ever.

"And yet, when I saw everyone working hard and needing a boost because we were doing all this investigation with no breakfast first thing in the morning, something inside of me said, 'Odelios, you're a grown-ass man with pumpkin face paint on and you have a strange obsession with nachos. Your self-deprecating jokes suck, too.'

"'Oh, and also, make coffee for everyone. They'll need it.'"

He posed triumphantly, and said, "There you go, people. I became the Ultimate Barista last night and still am today, compliant and knowledgable of all things coffee. Do you honestly think I'd let a heckler like Emanuel tell me what to do otherwise?"

Everyone was exchanging glances, trying to comprehend this. They didn't quite know what to say, it was all so incredible and outrageous.

"Why couldn't you have died instead, clown?" Jin muttered.

"Seriously, you do creep me out," Aka remarked.

"Even if what you say is true," Hikari spoke up, trying to make herself more noticeable since Fiora and Ishiku were really giggling up a storm nearby her, "that's just one of the talents that was supposed to go to four different people. Where does that leave us?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Even if Odelios is a talented **barista** and coffee-maker now," Hikari continued, "it doesn't do much good for our predicament."

"It does prove," Drake sheepishly said, "that the talent motive did come true."

"How's that help us with what we were talking about?" Samson shouted, losing patience. "We keep changing subjects left and right!"

"Zzz," Emanuel snored.

"This is something we should have discussed a while back," Kimiko remarked. "We should have taken Monokuma's **motive** and warnings seriously."

"But no one has spoken up yet," Yitro remarked, "about **new talents** they have as well."

"Didn't the **Kubs** say they might not be fully aware of it?" Anzu inquired.

"Oh hey, **cool watch** , Ishiku," Fiora commented, her cheerful nature coming back after the shock from before.

"Thanks! Now let's **sharpie** that **wang** on his **face** ," Ishiku said, laughing.

" **Zzz** ," protested Emanuel.

" _…_ _Wait a minute there, what?_ " Hikari declared, tilting her hat up and staring at Ishiku.

* * *

"Hmmm? Did you want to do that, Hikari?" Ishiku asked.

"No no, dear, but please tell me, what was that about a watch?"

The magician raised his wrist, revealing an old-school styled watch. It ticked quietly. "Yeah, what about it?"

"You didn't have a watch on when I met you that first day," Hikari remarked. "And I'm sure people can agree with that, with how you would pull things out from behind their ears. No one ever heard ticking, right?"

Ishiku blinked in surprised, and stared at his watch. "Oh yeah, I picked this up from the clockwork shop, and I worked on it last night. It was something to do to pass the time."

"You did what? Darling, do you know how difficult it is to fix one of those old things?"

"I work on little things like this a lot for tricks, but," Ishiku scratched his head, and muttered, "I thought that… wait, I've never worked on a watch before."

Isaac leaned forward, and pointed at the magician. "Ishiku, do us a favor. Take it apart right now, and put it back together."

The magician stared at him for a moment, then reached over to Fiora and pulled a tiny screwdriver out from behind her ear. He then proceeded to unscrew the watch from the back…

Everyone watched as he opened the watch up, took it apart with all those tiny parts clearly across his podium. Then, within a minute, he put them all back in the watch, and it was ticking normally again.

"There's no doubt about it," Hara said, "you received a talent too! You're like the Ultimate Clockwork Maker."

"Holy cow, I honestly didn't realize it. This is insane," Ishiku said, staring at his hands. "It's like… like… wait no, it's not magic, but it's a bit like it."

"Sorcery or not," Ken spoke up, staring over at Isaac, "I am fully convinced now that whatever Monokuma and this city has done, the motive has come true."

"I have a lot of questions," Saiko commented, "but even I am starting to believe. But the question is now, what do we learn from this?"

"It seems that there is a pattern now," Eisei remarked, starting his third lollipop. He tilted his head and hummed, as if trying to start up a cute little tune. "Surely some of you have noticed it by now?"

"What pattern?" Yejoon asked, turning to look at the dentist.

"Yeah, what pattern indeed," Jin muttered.

"There are four Ye Olde shops in Penjar," Eisei commented. "The café, the clockwork, the taxidermy, and the antique building, four of them just like there are four talents being given out. We have here a barista and a horologist…"

"Wait, what did you call me?!" Ishiku demanded to know.

"And we also have a taxidermist amongst us, because we had a taxidermy-styled murder," Eisei continued. "Tell me, do you think Monokuma selected those four talents to ensure someone would know what they had been gifted?"

The graduates thought about this, and glanced amongst each other. "If that's true," Ken said, "then who is the antique expert?"

"Hey, everyone!" Odelios declared. "Who here has a fancy for all things really old? Anyone here got a flip phone?"

Everyone glanced around, staring at the others for answers; however, no one spoke up amid all of the silence. There was a sigh of defeat from most of them.

"Kind of hard to recognize such a talent," Kimiko remarked. "It's not like we have anything really old and needing appraisal here."

"We may need to carry on with what we know now," Souma suggested. "However, I dare say this is quite the startling revelation."

"Wait a minute, let's all get on the same page," Pyrrha implored them. "So right now, we're thinking the motive came true, and someone became the Ultimate Taxidermist, killing Takeo…

"And that this murder happened before midnight, which was really risky but worked for the killer."

"That would finally explain," Isaac said, "why they took the long way around to get to the taxidermy store."

"Yes, but that would mean that the note was fake," Pyrrha pointed out, "and thus, the killer had to put it in Takeo's boots to lead us on the wrong path!"

"That's probably right too! Tell us, who found the note?"

Pyrrha pointed right at Shinobu, who lost all color in her face. "Wait wait wait," the historian pleaded, "I'm not the killer! I just found the note!"

"Weren't you adamant that it was real earlier," Ken asked, "so much so that you got in a heated argument with Isaac? You were, as they believe they say, 'losing your shit?'"

"S-stop it, please," Shinobu sputtered, gripping her podium for support. "I… I was afraid of this! I thought that if everyone decided the note was fake, you'd all accuse me!"

"You did find it," Jin remarked, "and you did declare then and there that it must be solid evidence."

"I wasn't the only one in that room, and that was during our second pass! You were there too, Jin! And you, Pyrrha! Shuuya and Souma were there as well… please… please don't…"

Shinobu crossed her arms and huddled up into herself. "I… I would _never_ ally with despair or Monokuma. I hate the evil they bring, there's been so many people who died to it."

"Everyone calm down, please," Angelique declared. "Now, if the note is fake, and poor Takeo was killed before midnight, then he couldn't have left his door open to ensure he wasn't locked out.

"I'm sure one of you would have noticed when going to bed that his house was left wide open. So it seems we have come down to a narrowed down list of suspects, one of who could have become the Ultimate Taxidermist, and killed Takeo."

"Shinobu, Jin, Shuuya, Souma, and Pyrrha," Isaac listed off. "It had to have been one of them."

The five of the now main suspects reacted with wide eyes, furrowed brows, or nervous shivers. The graduates were all staring at those suspected, trying to mentally compile evidence.

"Wait a minute," Blake remarked, "didn't Souma suggest checking out Takeo's room? How convenient that he did that, and the note was found there?"

Souma took a deep breath, correcting himself before he spoke. "I know that makes me look suspicious, but please, I was never near the closet; I was looking through his suitcases the whole time."

"Oh really now? Got any way to prove that?" Blake said with a scoff.

"With how much we were looking through the room, I doubt that any of the others were watching me. Unless I am allowed to ask Monophanie to be my witness? She was standing at the door the entire time, watching us."

The pink Kub whimpered as water leaked from her forehead; it could have been sweat, but she was still a bot. "Ummm… I'm not sure. D-Daddy? Am I allowed to be a witness? I'm not ready for this kind of pressure!"

" **No asking my little kids to be witnesses for you,** " Monokuma hollered. " **They're not allowed to interfere, remember?** "

Souma snapped his fingers. "That makes things worse for me."

"I think it was the fancy man," Blake shouted, pointing at Souma. "He's the type to do this kind of stuff! Plus, he suggested they go there, he is the most suspicious!"

"However, if it were one of the other four," Futaba remarked, "they could have done it as well. One of them could have been watching the others, slipped the note into the boots, and thus have it discovered. Or pretend to discover it."

"I suppose that the killer could have pretended to find it, or have it found no matter where they were meant to search," Hikari remarked. "Do we have anything else that could used as evidence?"

"Are we still going under the assumption that a woman caught Takeo off-guard?" Kimiko asked. "Because honestly, even though that could be true, Shuuya is a professional bounty hunter."

"Could a woman have distracted Takeo?" Yejoon asked, staring at the three women involved. "Well, possibly two of them could have."

"That had better be Shinobu you are referring to, brother," Jin hissed. "Because if not, I'm going to take your mask and shove it up your-"

"We're starting to go in circles here, people!" Saiko shouted. "We have five suspects, but we haven't got something that ties one of them to the crime any more than the others. Please, we need to focus, and think of something."

Almost everyone was quiet for a minute, considering everything that had been said and done. Monokuma could be heard chuckling, definitely enjoying this very much. Each of the five suspects had reason to seem suspicious but also innocent to everyone else there.

"What are we missing?" Isaac muttered aloud, tapping his forehead. He stared over at Hara, and she was just as confused as him.

"Damn it, damn it," Saiko swore, "if only had any more information about the body, anything!"

"What about all of the evidence we have?" Eisei inquired. The short man still appeared half-interested in everything, casually enjoying his lollipop. "If the note was fake, is there anything else fake? Or something we overlooked?"

As everyone pondered or debated this, one of the graduates was looking down at their sketch pad. Drake was staring at Mahiru's face on the paper, as if hoping she could give them an answer. The young man flipped through the pages of his pad, as Ignatia leaned over to look at them.

Drake had been sketching so many things during the trial, detailing them with small notes on the side. Ignatia stared at them, recalling the items and facts…

There was the bloodstains on the street, the destroyed taxidermy animals, Monokuma holding a sign that read "Talent," Aka making an objection, clocks, coffee mugs, Takeo's combat knife, Mahiru's face, Takeo's body with all of the wounds that Saiko had pointed out to Drake when they were inspecting the body…

Ignatia realized Drake had stopped flipping through the pages, and was staring at one in particular. When he noticed her staring, he pointed to one of these things, then at one of the graduates. The mime squinted in confusion, and Drake whispered something to her…

Ignatia's eyes widened, and she made some hand motions and moved her head to communicate. Despite this not being sign language, Drake seemed to understand her perfectly. He turned to address everyone, though his social anxiety made him freeze.

Drake struggled to speak up, and then Ignatia reached over and grabbed his shoulder for support. Then there was a hearty pat on the back that practically echoed with how hard she thumped him with her palm, and he let out a cry.

"AWK! Alright, I can do it! E-everyone!"

Ignatia smirked in triumph as she stepped back and allowed Drake to be the center of attention. The cartoonist took a deep breath, and said, "I… I think I may have a lead. I may know who did this."

"You know?" Isaac asked, staring at the young man. "For a fact?"

"Well, maybe not a fact, but it could give us a good lead…"

"It's not me," Fiora asked fearfully, "is it?"

"No, not you…"

Drake was staring nervously downwards, not wanting to look forward as he did this. He didn't speak until Ignatia leaned over and nudged him, and he managed to then look up, and point at one of the graduates…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

"It's Jin Nahm," Drake announced, braving a look at her. "I believe she is the most suspicious right now!"

Everyone stared at the artist, who let out a loud, unamused scoff. "Yeah, somehow I thought it would come to this. I insulted your so-called art, so you want some revenge.

"I can already guess what you are going to say. 'Oh, she's an artist, and this is an artistic murder!' That's not proof, you little piece of sh-"

"Actually," Drake interrupted her, "it's because of something you said way earlier in the trial. You see, we were discussing the idea of how someone could kill Takeo…"

* * *

 _"_ _They would have to be skilled enough," Samson said, "to sneak up on Takeo, or beat him in hand-to-hand combat."_

 _"_ _That's the most confusing part of all this," Eisei commented. "I still can scarcely believe he didn't draw blood."_

 _"_ _Was he that unprepared?" Ken said. "How could he drop his guard like that?"_

 _"_ _Fool didn't even draw his knife_ _? " Jin asked, then laughed. "Some mercenary, probably wasn't told to do so!"_

* * *

"I thought it odd at the time, but now I'm truly concerned how you knew," Drake said, "that Takeo never drew his knife."

"Wh-what?" Jin stammered. "The others said that he didn't draw blood, that's how I figured…"

"No, you see, the ones investigating the body were myself, Saiko, Yejoon, and Eisei. We knew the knife had never been drawn, because of how Yejoon found it. No blood, no cleaning products, nothing, as if it had never been drawn at all.

"And yet, you said so casually. It would be one thing to think that he failed to cut his opponent, but to not even unsheathe his knife? What made you say that?"

Jin stared at the cartoonist, then burst out laughing. "You cannot be serious. That's all you have?! It's not even that damning, it was just be making a joke at Takeo's expense. So sorry if your delicate little ears cannot handle a dark joke…"

"Yes, but how did you know?" Angelique asked, frowning at Jin. "I think it's a big assumption that you just suddenly knew Takeo hadn't unsheathed his weapon when fighting to the death; none of us ever said that was the case, we just talked about how someone got the jump on him."

Jin growled, her eyes narrowing behind her mask. She shook her head, and muttered, "You said my brother was part of that group, right? He told me."

"No, I didn't."

The owl-themed artist's head practically swiveled to stare at her brother; she definitely resembled an owl with that movement. "What the fuck!"

Yejoon shrugged his shoulders and repeated, "I never told you that, only the ones inspecting the body knew that."

"You… you mother… fine! I just overheard him! Same thing, really, you talk to yourself all the time."

"Hold on now," Isaac declared, staring at Jin. "Now that I think about it, there's so many things that signal it was you, Jin."

"The fuck you say to me, you troglodyte?!"

Isaac wasn't perturbed at all by the outburst. "You are in the group of five suspects, you were the most adamant it had to be Fiora when Emanuel suspected her besides his drunk ass, and interesting enough, your hair has those pink tips…

"If the killer couldn't wash their hair because of the risk of having wet hair in the morning, you could easily hide any bloodstains in there."

Jin's eye was twitching something hard, her fingers curling like she was trying to make talons. "You… you do realize that listing a bunch of unsubstantiated claims is exactly what you were against when labeling Fiora as the murderer!"

"Wait a minute," Anzu spoke, her eyes squinted in focus as she stared at the purple-topped artist. "Mahiru's warning, she said to avoid becoming prey to the predator. That phrasing, it was a warning, I'm sure of it!

"Miss Owl Lady," she proclaimed, pointing at Jin, "you definitely look and act the part of a predator!"

Jin growled and rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? We're still going on with this ridiculous vision that little miss porn star says she had? How can you people defend B-Movie Maker, but then act like the same route is just fine with me?"

Isaac spoke up, tapping his fingers on the podium. "If we're going down this route, we need to make sure we have all of our ducks in line, that's true. So are we missing anything?"

"Devil's advocate here again," Eisei spoke up. "So if Jin was turned into the Ultimate Taxidermist, how did she know? Are we going to assume she just decided to try it, and then found out she was exceptional at it?"

"Yes! Thank you, cute little man," Jin declared. "Everyone else discovered their new talents by doing them, but how could I have found out I was a taxidermist? Was I really going to go after a hardcore mercenary without any kind of motivation?"

Angelique tapped her chin, then said, "So you're saying that since you didn't have a practice run, you couldn't have known?"

"Are there any dead people in the town besides Takeo? There aren't any animals either; there's no outside interference!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Look, just drop this whole ridiculous accusation," Jin spat out, her face contorting in outrage; her owl mask wasn't doing a good job at hiding how furious she was becoming. "I couldn't have become the **Ultimate Taxidermist**."

"Are we sure," Souma remarked, "that the killer couldn't have discovered this talent **after killing Takeo**?"

"I have to admit, I doubt that," Odelios said. "I only really became aware of my coffee-making skills after making a whole bunch of **coffee**!"

"Are we sure there are no animals in Penjar?" Yitro asked. "I haven't seen any."  
"No one's said anything," Pyrrha admitted.

"And that's because," Jin hollered, "there haven't BEEN any animals!"

"Yeah, **no animals** at all," Monotaro declared from the Kubs' stand. "We made sure of that!"

"Animals would have to be fucking stupid," Monokid roared, "to come here in bear **territory**!"

" **Daddy** helped us out with that," Monophanie admitted. "We needed to keep **Penjar** nice and vacant for guests!"

"Our Deviant Tourist," Monosuke bragged, "has really spruced up this town!"

"…" added Monodam.

" _Wait! What she said,_ " Ken shouted as he pointed at Monophanie, " _that's our trinket to ride!_ "

* * *

"It's 'ticket to ride,' dear," Hikari corrected the Novoselician, "and that's not really the right expression, but do go ahead."

"My apologies, sometimes I get those wrong, but Monophanie mentioned her father," Ken said. "Her father, Monokuma… who we have all had the opportunity to kill."

"Including you," Futaba remarked, staring at the strong cavalryman. "Good point, sir. Monokuma repeatedly comes back with stuffing and such, if someone killed him, they could easily rip him open and discover their knack for taxidermy."

"Oopsie," Monophanie whimpered, "sweating" again, "did I make a mistake there, Daddy?"

Jin strained in frustration, and it resembled some kind of angry bird cry. "How's that connect to me?"

"It doesn't, not directly," Isaac admitted, "however! It does disprove the notion that one couldn't possibly realize they were granted that talent."

The Korean woman pointed angrily at Drake, and started shrieking. "This is all that boy's fault! Just because I said something a little off, that wimpy boy is making me out to be a killer.

"All you've done is add up a bunch of things that conveniently suit me! You could do that with any of the other people who searched Takeo's room, and they'd fit up too! How am I any different to those two redheads, trench coat boy, or Mr. Speaker!?"

"Where's the proof? You don't have any proof, you just have accusations!"

Drake was staring at Jin, her pink nail pointing fiercely at him. " _If I'm right,_ " he thought desperately, " _I am accusing someone who is a vicious killer, someone who slew a mercenary, and gutted his body to make a preserved statue. Maybe…_ "

His thoughts made him shiver, appearing as if Jin was intimidating him, but he was actually thinking, " _Maybe I need to think of this in terms of what a diabolical person would do, and if there's anything on Jin that fits that profile!_ "

He flipped through his papers, as he started a stream of thought inside of his head…

* * *

Okay, so far the only thing we have against Jin is a bunch of circumstantial evidence that may not be good enough…

…

That's how Emanuel claimed it to be Fiora, a bunch of things that just painted a picture. So what do we need to prove it was Jin?

What kind of evidence is convicting enough?

…

…

…

Was there evidence left on his body? Around Penjar? On her?Wait, on her?

…

…

…

I cannot just ask her to be searched, she would have long since gotten rid of any physical evidence.

…

…

…

Or did she?

There's something off about Jin right now, something that doesn't seem the same as when she first arrived.

It's not emotional…

Something physical about her is different…

I'm looking at the sketches I did of her right now. She has on the same clothes, her tattoos are all in the same place.

She looks the same, with those tattoos being her most prominent feature. Well, that and her mask…

I wonder if that's why she never wears make-up, to ensure her tattoos are her biggest feature.

…

…

…

Wait.

Wait one minute.

I think… I think I have the answer… no wait…

TWO answers…

Two pieces of evidence that can fit here!

Though if I am right…

…

…

…

She butchered Takeo, ripped his insides out, and put him up as a statue for all of us to see.

I don't think she's going to be happy when I reveal her secrets…

* * *

"Jin," Drake said, his voice quiet but prominent enough for everyone to hear, "you're still wearing your mask, you've been hiding your eyes. If you wouldn't mind, could you show us your face?"

"Why?!" she blurted out, highly defensive.

"Because it doesn't matter if the murder happened before or after midnight, the killer must have exhausted yourself staying up late, doing all of that hard work. I've worked with a lot of artists who burn that midnight oil, and the bags under their eyes the next day is always visible.

"So if you wouldn't mind, could you show us how you look under your mask?"

Yitro, who was standing next to her, reached over while saying, "Hold still now-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

She moved back, hand on top of her mask, hissing fiercely at the former swordsman. Glaring hatefully first at him, then at Drake, she shrieked, "This… this is an invasion of my privacy! And I'm not the only one wearing a mask! My stupid brother wears one!"

"Accusing me now?" Yejoon asked, casually stretching as he watched the commotion his sister was causing. "My, how very rude of you."

"Yejoon took his mask off during the investigation," Saiko said, staring at Jin suspiciously. "He looked perfectly fine."

"Then what about the drunk jackass who was so quick to set up Fiora?" the purple-topped artist fired off.

Ishiku lifted the unconscious Emanuel's head, pulling the eye band up to showcase his eyes. No bags, just a really awful passed out look.

"Also, there's a detail I've noticed about you, Jin," Drake continued. "You don't normally wear make-up or nail polish."

"Yeah, so?" Jin spat out, glaring piercing daggers at the cartoonist. "You one of those types, thinking that women need to be made up and look pretty?"

"No make-up, no nail coloring, the focus is about your fancy clothes and outlandish tattoos; however, today, and just today, I've noticed that you have nail coloring…

"The same color as blood."

Speaking of blood and color, Jin's face went very pale, very suddenly.

"I didn't want to imagine someone being so horrid," Drake said, "but this is someone who killed a man, skinned him and stuffed him, and displayed his body like a statue, or a trophy."

"Oh my good God," Kimiko said, staring wide-eyed at Jin. "Did she… what kind of a sicko…"

"N-no," Jin sputtered, one hand on her mask to keep it there, but trying hard to hide her nails. "This… this is all just theory! Theory based off of supernatural things like visions of a dead girl and talents being given at random!

"Yejoon! Say something, you stupid fucking worthless piece of _shit!_ "

Yejoon glanced over at his sister, and scoffed. "That's not exactly making me want to help you out now, dear sister."

"No… no, this wasn't how it was supposed to go! This… this cannot be how it goes down!"

Drake cleared his throat, and held up his sketchpad, which was full of his drawings of how the crime was committed; the person committing the murder was a shaded-in, genderless figure.

"Here is how it really went down…"

* * *

 ** _CLOSING ARGUMENT_**

* * *

The killer in this case was swayed by Monokuma's Motive, which was the promise of talent and power. After 9 PM, the killer hunted down one of Monokuma's clones and slew it, discovering that they had a talent for taxidermy. This made them realize the motive was real, and thus plotted their murder plan.

…

Using Takeo's tradition to follow orders, the killer must have asked him to join them behind Town Hall. This was probably to discuss security or another reason, but however they convinced poor Takeo, it was to lure him away from everyone else.

The killer struck hard and fast, possibly killing Takeo outright. Even if he was the Ultimate Mercenary, he was still human, like us. The killer used some kind of blade to stab Takeo to death, and then proceeded to drag or carry his body towards the taxidermy shop.

…

With it not being past midnight, the killer had to go the long way to avoid being seen. It's unknown at this point if they knew the mists were dampening sound, thus covering for them, but it still worked in their favor. Taking the long way, the killer brought Takeo's body into the shop.

There wasn't enough stuffing material in the shop, except for in the taxidermy animals. Cutting and smashing them open, the killer had enough to do part of the taxidermy job on Takeo's body. They wanted to make it look rushed, that an amateur had done it.

They also left the taxidermy fox to implicate their own brother could be the culprit. Maybe they thought that no one would imagine they'd do that to their own sibling, but our true culprit was heinous enough to paint their nails with Takeo's blood. There was a real sadistic side to them that we never saw, until now.

…

Putting Takeo's body up at the edge of the plaza, where he would surely be found, the killer then proceeded to wash off the blood and get different clothes on. They only had a limited amount of time to sleep, because this plan kept them up all night and morning.

When we woke from the Monokubs' announcement, we were all shocked to find Takeo's body standing there. Everyone except the killer, who thought that this sick crime would get them power…

…

And that's how the murder of Takeo Onishi happened here in Penjar! The culprit is none other than you…

 **Jin Nahm, the Ultimate Artist**!

* * *

Jin stood there, twitching her head side to side, looking like an owl losing their mind. Her fingers curled like talons.

"Amazing summary, Drake," Isaac said, casting a salute towards the cartoonist. He turned towards Jin, and said, "Any rebuttal to that, Jin?"

The owl-themed artist threw her head back and let out a high-pitched shriek. This almost supersonic noise reverberated painfully around the trial room, sounding so much like a screech owl on steroids.

"My, she's quite upset now," Yejoon commented as everyone covered their ears.

* * *

" **Now hear this, now hear this,** " Monokuma declared. " **The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podium!**

" **You will see pictures of every graduate here in Penjar! Poke the one you believe to be the Deviant Tourist, and select the Confirm button!**

" **Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully wrong one? Let's find out!** "

* * *

Twenty-seven fingers poked the touch screens on their podium, and the Confirm button was selected by all of them. Digital sounds echoed around the room, then a gigantic screen came down from the ceiling above Monokuma's throne.

It showed a surface much like a blackboard, with chalk drawings that resembled the pixel art representations of each person. Their names were above their pixel-chalk drawings.

" **And the votes,** " Monokuma cheerfully announced, " **are in! Let's see what the results are, shall we everyone?** "

Tally marks drawn by an invisible chalk were made in front of one of the pixel drawings, like if someone was tapping a screen to add strokes to a blackboard app. The results were swift, and rather obvious.

 **Jin "Olppaemi" Nahm** \- 26 votes.

 **Yejoon "Yeou" Nahm** \- 1 vote.

" **And with that, let's see if you were correct!** " the despair bear host carried on.

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced by a digital roulette wheel. On each portion of the wheel was the pixel picture of the Penjar visitors, and the wheel was spinning with slot machine-styled sound effects.

It spun around, highlighting the one at the top, until it started to slow down… slower… slower… slower…

It stopped on Jin's portrait.

The machine lit up with tons of lights, confetti spraying out the top. The bright neon sign showcasing "WINNER!" turned on overhead, and millions of Monocoins spilled out from the slot.

* * *

The trial room was so full of noise from the loud screen, and wherever the speakers were hidden in the room. When the screen turned off, and retracted back up into the ceiling, Monokuma bounced up and pumped his fist into the air.

" **Wahoo-hoohoohoooooooo! Congratulations, everyone! You are most correct! All the corrects! The killer in this murder is none other than Jin Nahm, the Ultimate (Female) Artist!** "

Jin was pale, twitching, breathing quite heavy through her nose. She turned towards her brother, and spoke, her voice sounding a lot like a dying bird.

"You voted for me?!"

"Well, _you_ voted for _me_ ," Yejoon replied, shrugging. "You really are behaving quite rudely, if I dare say."

"Piece of shit brother! I should have killed you! I really, _really_ should have!"

All of the other graduates (who were conscious) stared aghast at Jin. Isaac crossed his arms, and stared down the artist. "You have got some explaining to do, Jin. We want answers, now."

Jin glanced at him, then glanced around at everyone. When she realized all eyes were on her, her mouth moved as she let out an unusual noise.

It was hard to tell if she was smirking or scowling, or if she was laughing or scoffing. What was obvious, however, was when there was a metallic click as she squeezed part of her lower right arm…

And a long blade shot out from under her sleeve, above her hand. It was curved, colored and grooved to resemble a talon. The bladed tip appeared impossibly sharp, and there was a tiny amount of blood still on it.

"You amateur lowlives," she said, her face contorting as she stared at them with hateful eyes, "have no idea of the _hell_ you have just unleashed upon yourselves."

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL HAS CONCLUDED! STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL RESULTS!**


	10. Chapter 1-7: Case 1 Trial, Conclusion

**Chapter 1-7**

 **A Bloody Composition**

* * *

Everyone was shocked, feeling like they had been hit by lightning, staring at Jin as she stood at her podium. The talon-like arm blade was gleaming in the light, the blood almost neon in all their eyes.

"Guys," Odelios hollered, pointing at Jin's talon blade, "I found the murder weapon!"

"Wh-what's going on?" Kimiko asked, to no one in particular but wanting an answer nonetheless. "Jin, what's with the assassin blade?"

"Oh, I'm no assassin, trust me," Jin remarked, her eyes darting all over the place as she made sure no one tried anything funny. "I am an artist. This is just one of my tools."

"Wait, everyone please calm down," Angelique said, raising her hands as she glanced around at the graduates. Ken had his hand on his sword, Samson had his hand ready near his hip. "Please… don't anyone do anything rash!"

" **I must ask that no one attack the Deviant Tourist** ," Monokuma remarked. " **If you do so, I might have to execute anyone trying to execute the possibly executed too!** "

"How horrible," Monophanie whimpered, shivering in apprehension.

"Let's try to be reasonable here," Shuuya said aloud, staring down Jin. "Why don't we let our artist explain herself?"

"Oh ho ho, where to start!" Jin cackled, eyes flashing with a kind of sadistic glee that was hard for most of the people there to look at. They were practically radiating malice. "Where do I begin with… explanation?"

"Why don't we start with an easy question then?" Eisei said, still one of the two people who weren't apprehensive or downright terrified. "Why did you kill Takeo Onishi?"

"Good question, cute little man! Oh, I wish I had slaughtered you instead, you would have made such a _beautiful_ statue. Your cute face and sweet hair, and-"

"I understand, you want to kill me, and I am highly concerned. Please just answer the question."

"Well!" Jin declared, leaning against the podium as she stared at her talon blade, but keeping her eyes on everyone else too. "One of the biggest reasons was simply that he was such a dangerous target. Ultimate Mercenary, who would have thought that a little girl like me could kill someone so well-trained, so combat oriented, so…

"So very stupid," she laughed, a cold and brutal one, and continued. "Though maybe that blindness, just following orders like 'follow me, we're gonna talk about security behind Town Hall.' And of course, the truth and ability that Monokuma gave me."

"It really is true then?" Saiko asked, almost locked up in fear as she stared at Jin. "You became the Ultimate Taxidermist at 9 PM?"

"I found out shortly afterwards, noticed a half-mauled Monokuma running around, and I decided to finish the job. And when I was ripping the stuffing out of that annoying little critter, I found out how easy it was to mold him into a statue.

"It was real, the power that Monokuma blessed me with was real. I felt so alive, so ready to kill to keep it, to earn more even! So I pretty much winged the plan, thinking that simplicity and a fake note to bolster the idea that someone did this past midnight."

"But," Pyrrha stammered, "but you committed murder for it? You would kill all of us? You… you would have gotten your brother killed!"

Jin scoffed. "So the hell what? He's such a useless and stupid, talentless brother."

It was Yejoon's turn to scoff now. "That's just mean, my dear sister."

There was a rumbling growl from Jin, and then she swung her free arm at Yejoon. Only those who had highly keen eyesight could see something fly through the air.

A slender throwing knife embedded deep into the stone wall that was a few yards behind Yejoon's head. The fox-styled artist had tilted his head to the side, the feather-shaped dagger having missed by an inch; the knife was several inches in solid stone.

"Really now?" Yejoon remarked, as several people cried out in shock. "Now you're being mean _and_ unreasonable!"

"What the hell was that?" Ishiku declared. "You carry throwing knives and hidden blades? And you say you're not an assassin?"

Jin had been fuming over missing her brother, her lop-sided mouth still swapping between scowling and smirking. "I told you, I'm not an assassin. I'm an artist. I paint and craft and make things beautiful.

"And I also make people beautiful too."

"My concern amplifies," Eisei said, "but I must ask, are you saying you made Takeo beautiful?"

"Yes, of course I did. I make all of my victims beautiful!"

It felt like time stopped for so many of the people inside of that trial room. Some of them were shaking in fear, and only one of them dared to speak. "Please tell me," Hara whimpered, "that you're exaggerating."

Jin stared at her, then glanced around at everyone. She pushed her mask up with the tip of her talon blade. There was blood smeared on her face, like war paint, that almost covered the bags under her eyes.

And those eyes were brimming with malice, sadism, the radiant energy of despicable desire.

"I'm not an assassin, I'm an artist; however, there are those who would call me a serial killer. I suppose it is a fitting title, though I don't really like it…"

She tapped her chin with the point of her talon blade, and said, "After all, serial just seems like a pattern, like on a quilt. My artistic repertoire is not a quilt, it is more like a cloud that blankets an entire city, or even a country."

"What are you implying?" Crystal asked, crossing her arms as she stared Jin down.

"Is it really that hard for you all to follow? You want my kill count? It's one hundred and fifty-three. Oh, wait, one hundred and fifty-four, counting Takeo. Though there is a bit of speculation on that exact number, due to the art gallery numbers."

Shinobu made a noise that sounded like she was choking. "The… the art galleries? You told me that they burned down during the Tragedy!"

"Oh they did. Mostly due to the chains around the doors, the massive amount of flammables hidden throughout the building, and the sprinklers systems disabled… oh, the screams. It was delightful, so enrapturing, so primal, so full of life…

"Before they withered away, strangled, unable to breathe, but still able to feel agony. So very…"

An ecstatic shudder rippled through her body, with saliva leaking from the side of her mouth. "Oh, so amazing, so pristine."

"Okay now," Kimiko yelled, waving her hands around frantically, "she's fucking insane!"

"No, I'm just misunderstood," Jin replied, wiping the drool from her mouth. "Death is gorgeous, death is art. It all started with my parents."

"We do not," Ken shouted, clinging his hand around the hilt of the sword, "wish for details!"

"Oh, but it is such a wonderfully detailed story! My mother, the way she screamed and pleaded, the way my father begged us to stop…

"Yejoon, you remember how he asked us to stop hurting Mother, don't you?"

"WHAT?!" Fiora shrieked, her head turning towards the fox-styled artist. "Y-y-you…"

"Oh, now you're going to rat me out, dear sister?" Yejoon remarked. "You are showcasing the worst amount of poor sportsmanship."

"Hold on a fucking second," Aka hollered, stomping her foot. "Are you saying that you two are mass murderers who killed your own parents?!"

"I'd like to offer to paint you a picture," Jin said, rolling her talon blade hand around in an impatient gesture, "but I did already. Does Takeo's hollowed-out corpse scream out a normal killing to you people?

"That's how I got away with it for so long. I'm an artist, I changed it up, I did different styles and ways and methods. And it was so damn successful, so wondrous, so delicious…

"Oh, and I think my IDIOT BROTHER!"

She whipped her arm again, and another feather-shaped throwing dagger soared across the area. Yejoon bowed his head, and the dagger embedded in the stone next to the other one.

"Did fine too, I guess. He didn't blow our cover."

"You know, I should be the one mad at you," Yejoon said, raising his head as he stared forward and not at his sister, crossing his arms. "You not only jumped ahead with our plans, but you were going to get me killed too."

"You act like this comes as a BIG SHOCK!"

Another swish, another casual dodge, another dagger impaled slightly between and below the other two.

"Monokuma," Anzu cried out, "can't you stop her?"

" **I said no one is allowed to harm the Deviant Tourist, the DT can do what she wants. Besides, she's missing, isn't she?** "

There was a fourth swish, and then one of the daggers impaled in-between Monokuma's eyes. He wobbled back and forth, and flopped down on the throne face-first with a death gurgle.

"Waaaaah," Monotaro shouted, "Father! She killed him again!"

"Damn, this is so metal," Monokid declared with a laugh, banging on his guitar.

Monosuke was hiding behind Monodam, who didn't move an inch during all of this. Monophanie had been puking over the side of the stand ever since Jin had started her history of violence.

"And now you're being petty," Yejoon said, holding up a finger. "Keep that up, and you may not have enough for when your execution comes around."

"Oh save it, stupid big brother," Jin snarled, and she flicked her wrist. She had throwing daggers between her fingers, three in total. "Anyway, I've been talking about all my works of art, and I said why I killed Takeo. Are we done?"

"I have more questions, at the risk of my health," Eisei said, taking out a lollipop and putting it in his mouth. "If you will?"

"Hmm, sure, for the cute little man, I could," Jin said, smirking quite unpleasantly at the dentist.

Eisei shivered but didn't lose his cool demeanor. "A plan was mentioned between the two of you. What plan is this? You couldn't have known about talent being given away by Monokuma."

"Oh yes, you see, about that…"

Jin closed her eyes, and then opened them again. Everyone saw the change, they were more than aware of it. Anzu reacted the most, shrieking in horror.

The spirals of Despair were swirling in Jin's eyes. The artist cackled, threw her head back, and then blinked with a deep breath. Her eyes went back to normal, as normal as they could be for a cold-hearted serial killer.

"The Tragedy was one of the greatest canvases there was, Despair being a paint that you can brush with. It's gorgeous, it's so beautiful, but it is also… so very sloppy," she described. "I mean, wonton death and violence, sometimes just a clean kill with no flair or care."

"Oh God," Hikari whimpered, "I hate so much how she gets poetic over it…"

"Despair is one of the most wondrous types of material I could ask for," Jin continued, having not heard or cared about what the model said. "But the thing is, we needed to learn more about it. It is like tasting the perfect meal, or just smelling it, but we just haven't had it yet!

"Then we found out that Penjar had something to do with the origins of Despair, something here that was more prevalent than the corruption and destruction of Hope's Peak Academy. And it was far too good of a temptation to resist…

"Lucky me! I was one of those that found out how real the power is, how strong it has become with my own abilities! With this capability, I could turn so many more victims into the most _glorious_ works of art!"

Letting out a gleeful noise that sounded a lot like an owl hooting, she shook her head and cleared her throat. "However, you all decided to make it so much more difficult for me. My own STUPID BROTHER!"

She raised her arm with the throwing daggers, but hesitated and lowered it; Yejoon didn't even budge. "You… I could have gotten away with it, Emanuel had put together a case against that piece of shit movie maker that I didn't even plan for. It was perfect, but no! You defended her! You betrayed me!"

"I hate you! You've always been jealous of me and my style, and how I made the killing blow on our parents! It's such a shame I didn't kill you, a bigger shame that I couldn't kill more of you!"

"Now you're just throwing a tantrum," Yejoon remarked.

Jin heaved and strained, then groaned in frustration. There was a few moments of silence, and then she laughed. It was such a sickening laugh, one that made many of them shiver.

"You want to know one of the best parts? Takeo knew more than he let on. You see, I wanted a little information…"

She tapped her lip with her talon blade. "Would you all like to know the last thing he said? I can always leave out the parts when he was begging and pleading for his life."

"Hey," Samson barked furiously, "there's no way he did that!"

"The first stab did go right into his spine. It's a stab that I have perfected over time, where I reach towards his back, being the cute little Korean girl who wants to give the big strong man a reassuring pat…

"And then the talon blade comes out, and cuts into his spine. He cannot walk all of a sudden, the flailing is so cute and special. Takeo tried desperately to go for his knife, I stabbed his arm. It took several stabs to get him to calm down…"

* * *

 _Jin circled around Takeo, the bleeding man heaving in agony. He had blood staining his shirt more and more, his arms had been mangled so that he couldn't raise them. He couldn't stand, but he showed no fear as Jin dragged her talon blade, coated with his blood, against his body._

 _"_ _Now, this is just a guess," Jin cooed, "but I'm thinking you may be part of the conspiracy here. After all, a highly decorated mercenary who cannot help but take orders? You are part of the reason we all came here."_

 _Takeo glared up at her, feeling that blade cut into his skin. He didn't even squint at more of his blood spilling. His body was still struggling, but his legs and arms weren't reacting._

 _"_ _You… you really think I'll talk?" Takeo said. "I've been trained to not talk."_

 _"_ _Oh, I have no doubt about that. See, the thing is, I am going to kill you. Make no mistake, I am going to slaughter you, because the motive is true; I want to keep my power._

 _"_ _And the only thing stopping me from stabbing your eyes out, filleting your nose and ears, splitting your tongue, cutting off your fingers one at a time… shall I go on? I think you got my point, but I can sweeten the deal."_

 _Takeo still didn't react, his breathing becoming a bit more shallow. "You want me to talk, and in return, you'll kill me quickly? Think I haven't heard that one before?"_

 _"You'll never walk again, the wound I gave you assures that; I've done it before, let one live just to make sure it does. Your career as a mercenary is over, your life is over, even if I just let you live._

 _"_ _How's life in a wheelchair, when your ARMS!"_

 _She shanked him deep in the shoulder, and he flinched. Hissing in pain, he felt his arm go even more numb; he couldn't lift it entirely. Her scream didn't seem to alert any attention._

 _"_ _Arms won't work, legs won't work. What a future for you, you cripple for life; how sad, how tragic, especially if I leave you alive…_

 _"_ _And decide that I want to shank someone else for the murder; after all, crippling you isn't against the rules, so I can do this with another victim. Maybe I can kill that clown who's taken such a liking to you, or that redhead who's so sweet on you?"_

 _Jin reached over, her blade was an inch near his eyeball. "Imagine how pretty that redhead will be when I start slicing her part, piece by piece. Or if I carve a jack o' lantern in that dumbass's face…"_

 _Takeo hissed in a breath, and spat out, "What… do you want to know?"_

 _"_ _Good boy, being the brave mercenary throwing his life into peril for someone else! Now, tell me, what part do you play in all of this?"_

 _The blue-haired mercenary coughed, then spoke. "I was contacted by someone to bring a package here, then told that I could investigate it. I was paid… a lot… to find out the answers of this place."_

 _"_ _So you don't know about Despair, or the secrets of Penjar? What a shame. Do you have anything else for me?"_

* * *

Pyrrha and Odelios stood frozen in place as if they had been made into taxidermy statues. They opened their mouths to speak, but were too terrified to do so; at least, Pyrrha was.

"Oh, I'd like to see you try!" Odelios declared, swinging his rubber chicken around like nunchucks. "I'm the Ultimate Clown AND the Ultimate Barista! I'll serve you the worst cup of coffee with circus popcorn in it!"

While almost everyone was too scared to move, Isaac had hurried over to the one he loved. He stood next to Hara, and held her close. Due to how violent the artist was going, the reporter wasn't asking any questions.

"Wait a minute here," Yitro snapped, staring down the owl-themed artist. "What was this package that Takeo was talking out?"

Jin fluttered her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Aww, let me tell the story at my own pace, handsome. I promise you, I'll tell you all the details. I'm feeling a bit generous, because I don't have anyone to tell these tales to… it's kind of liberating.

"You want to know more about how Takeo betrayed you all? It's quite juicy!"

* * *

 _"_ _I just don't understand how you could be paid to do all the things you do, and remain willfully ignorant. I mean, you say such vague things like 'package' and 'contact,' but what do they mean? You wanna lose extremities while you make me guess?"_

 _Takeo let out a laugh, and muttered, "Okay, here's the whole deal then. One of you is not like the others, one of you is not a graduate of Hope's Peak Academy. You see…"_

 _The mercenary winced, as she cut into his side. "More of those vague terms?" she snarled. "I hate that."_

 _He spat out a bitter laugh. "I don't know which one of you it was. The contact told me to pick someone up who was unconscious, but not to open the bag."_

 _"_ _Bag? The person was kept in a bag? Like a body bag?"_

 _"_ _Something like that, I put the body in the back seat and drove all the way up here. The instructions said to place the bag with the person in it inside the town hall, and leave them there. Kind of betrayed that trust a little, and looked at one point; person was out of the bag and gone._

 _"_ _And almost six hours later, you all started showing up. I don't know which one of you it is."_

 _"_ _Any idea why you were asked to deliver a hostage who is now acting like they're part of our group?"_

 _"_ _No idea, I was just told they were the 'seed.' Something about the 'seed' of despair, buried in Penjar and set to grow."_

 _"_ _A seed? Oh my, I like the sound of that. So someone in our group was, aha, planted here, and now we have something akin to a traitor. Lovely, what a complicated nest we have made here."_

 _She reached forward and poked at his chest with her talon blade. "So who gave you the order? Come on now," she scratched at his chest, over his heart, "don't be dubious now."_

 _"_ _I don't have a name, just a title. It's… dubious, but it is all I know."_

 _"_ _Then spit it out before I puncture one of your lungs."_

 _"_ _The contact was called… The Entity of Chaos."_

* * *

"'The Entity of Chaos'?" Blake repeated. "What kind of edgelord, council of shadows name is that?!"

Jin chuckled, and said, "I thought the same thing myself! You know, I wondered exactly how someone gets a name like that. But that led me to think about some things, things that I am certain you dumb sheep couldn't comprehend."

Crystal raised an eyebrow at this. "You really think so?"

"Now what are you going on about?" Ken demanded.

"Haven't you all wondered how we all came here at the same time? How all of us, only graduates of Hope's Peak Academy, survivors of the Tragedy, arrived here at around the same time? We all just so happened to be given clues to this city?"

Jin curled her fingers into talons, her eyes gleaming with that malicious energy again. "We were _lured_ here. We were brought to Penjar for a promise of something great, something bigger than ourselves! All of us given hints and details about where this pitiful little city was, and we flocked here to find out what the answers were!

"Ha ha HA! And there's a traitor amongst you all too! Someone is trying to corrupt the last of the graduates from Hope's Peak Academy, someone wants to see us, the future of talent and potential, dead or Artists of Despair!"

"I'm not calling us that," Ishiku muttered.

Isaac could feel Hara shiver in fear, and he was too. "What she is saying," he whispered to Hara, "do you think it is true?"

"I… I do think it is something that was odd, twenty-eight people showing up at the same time."

Jin basked in the attention. She ran her tongue around her lips, and then, as sudden as she could be, spat. "The nerve of that little twerp, taking away such an amazing moment of revelation! It was so perfect, having my suspicions confirmed, showcasing how I am right!

"Oh, the nerve of that guy! He… he ruined everything!"

* * *

 _Takeo groaned as Jin leaned in, her sickening grin not so much terrifying but disgusting to him. "That explains so damn much," she cackled, "maybe this Entity of Chaos is the mastermind behind this! Maybe it's one of us?"_

 _The laughter was wild and loud, Jin was unhinged and enjoying herself too much in the moment. Takeo was able to spring forward, with his one good arm, and grabbed her talon blade. With his fingers wrapped around her weapon, all of his mercenary strength built into that grip._

 _She tried to pull back, but no matter how strong she was, he had all of his strength in this action. He stared into her eyes, seeing the confusion, and laughed._

 _"_ _You said you'd hurt someone else," he explained. "Now, guess what, I talked to the Kubs in secrecy as much as I could, to get information, and they told me something very interesting…_

 _"_ _Monotaro forgot to say one of the most important rules for their Killing Game: the Deviant Tourist can only kill one person, or suffer immediate execution."_

 _And he yanked with incredible strength on her weapon. She struggled, and then thrust forward with a vicious cry. He had triggered her desire to kill, as the blade plunging into his chest. His eyes went wide, he gagged once, and muttered his last…_

 _"_ _Pyrrha and Odelios are safe now… and I unearthed the Despair here… you. My final mission… a success…"_

 _Takeo fell back and onto the pavement, dead._

* * *

Pyrrha sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Odelios was struck silent, except for his teeth chattering with how much he was shivering.

Ken pulled the hood from his jacket off, and hung his head. "Fallen soldier, you did right by us," he said.

"I still don't understand how it didn't count as him killing himself," Jin muttered, staring down at her blood painted nails. "I thought Monokuma would give a break to me, like he would do every time someone set up a booby-trap or something. Shouldn't Takeo have been declared the killer, Monokuma?"

" **…** " was the response from the keeled-over despair bear, still slumped over on his throne.

"We don't play that way, Jin," Monosuke shouted from the brave defense of hiding behind Monodam. "Besides, you thrust your blade into his heart, you done did it!"

"Brhggbgbgh," Monophanie blubbered. "So… many… gory details…"

"How did I forget telling everyone that key detail?" Monotaro fretted. "I could have prevented more deaths! I could have saved more people!"

"Monotaro, only one person died," Monokid said to the red Kub. "Well, Dad died a whole bunch, kind of like how he's dead right now."

Jin sighed, quite the bored expression on her face now. "The fun is over now. I told you all just how right I was, how amazing my track record is, and I simply adored the looks of fear and astonishment. I think that's everything, it's such a shame that I cannot kill you all now…

"Though if I could just say that some of you would have been great substitutes for Takeo. Cute little man, you stay that way, I want to see you like that when I have more freedom. Fiora, go right to hell.

"Futaba, it was nice talking to you, you really would have made a wonderful taxidermy statue; however, you're just so ugly with those unfinished scars and that fake hand of yours."

The anthropologist grabbed the wrist of her gloved hand, and she glared at the artist. "You know what? We don't need to listen to this. Monokuma should just execute you right now!"

Jin laughed, clenching her hand that had her throwing daggers. "You really think that he'll destroy someone as useful as me to his plans? But let's do that, I want a real challenge. I think I'd like to try out Monokuma's test now…

"Just one more thing, however: allow me to kill those WHO WRONGED ME!"

Pulling her arm back, she swung faster than most eyes could see. Her three remaining throwing daggers went for three specific targets, all of whom had less than a second to react.

Odelios dropped to the floor, the dagger flying over his head and embedding in the wall. Drake couldn't react fast enough, but Ignatia could; she reached out and snagged the throwing dagger by its handle, two inches from his face.

Fiora had no reaction time for it at all, but another thrown object collided with Jin's throwing knife midair. The slimmer throwing knife, resembling a whisker, clattered to the floor alongside the feather-shaped one. The movie maker flinched, and tried to comprehend what was happening.

Jin let out a vicious snarl, and saw Yitro reaching for her out of the corner of her eye. She swung at him, her blade ready to slice his arm off. He moved out of the way fast enough, but she moved back so that she could stab him…

And then a metal cord with a pincer clamp shot out from the wall. It secured around her neck, yanking her back suddenly. There was a startled yelp from her, but then she pushed down with her feet. Jin had nightmarish strength as she resisted the pull of the machine, apparently.

" **Now then!** "

Monokuma was standing on his throne now, with no visible injury or knife in the head. " **I believe I procrastinated this long enough! I've prepared a VERY special punishment for Jin Nahm, the Ultimate (Female) Artist!** "

Jin struggled against the pull of the cable, reaching for her podium as she swung her talon blade around. "Get… errrrgh! Wh-what are you doing? I would have gone willingly, you piece of shit bear!"

" **I'm not about to make exceptions for potential Despair Artists! But please, save your energy, unlike how you didn't save your knives, Jin! So let's give it everything we've got…**

" **IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!** "

And as he announced this, the cable around Jin's neck pulled back, yanking her off of her feet as if all of her struggling earlier was nothing. The wall opened up like a hidden double doors, and she was sent screeching into the darkness beyond. Those large double doors, surprisingly swift despite made of stone, slammed shut.

* * *

Monokuma pulled a rather primitive looking gavel from out of nowhere, as a screen with a rusty bell atop of it popped up in front of him. He leapt up and swung horizontally, clanging the bell as if he were making an old-school announcement. The moment he struck the bell, the screen lit up.

An 8-bit ghost town showed up on the screen, with black bars at the top or bottom. Jin's pixel art version of her was standing in the center, as a pixel version of Monokuma came walking up.

 **JIN HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

Jin was hoisted above Monokuma, and started walking off with the fretting pixel-art artist. The five Monokubs all followed behind him, celebratory animations from them.

 **TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

Inside of the trial room, five large screens came down from the ceiling, so that everyone from any point in the circle could see what was being broadcasted on the screen…

* * *

There was a rush of movement, like something being pulled against a rugged dirt ground. Jin was being dragged across it, struggling with that metal collar around her neck. She was being forcibly brought towards a large factory, as rusted and aged as every building in Penjar.

When she was pulled in through an open door, it slammed shut with a reverberating bang. There was a message painted crudely on the door's front:

 _Ultimate Artist_

 _Jin "Olppaemi" Nahm's_

 _Execution: Commenced_

 **slARTerfest autOWLmation**

Rolling against the metal floor, Jin had been unceremoniously freed from the collar. She was in the middle of a hallway, the walls and floor and ceiling all in bad shape.

She stood up, heaving in fury. Her body and clothes had dirt all over them, her hair was messed up, and her eyes were blazing with more of the hateful, violent energy than before. As she composed herself, she saw Monokuma standing in the middle of the hallway.

" **Hello there, Jin Nahm,** " he declared. " **If you want to survive this execution, you have one assignment…** "

The despair bear put on a mask that was almost identical to Jin's, and he cackled, hooting out his laughter.

" **Kill me. Let me see if that homicidal rampage you call your life's work of art is strong enough to take down me!** "

With that, he turned around, and his little legs became blurs with how fast he took off. Jin was startled for at least one second, then she sprinted after him. The hunt of evenly matched speeding killers left the hallway, and into the main room of the factory.

There were numerous conveyer belts, all moving, machines running noisily. On each assembly line were works of art, themed after Monokuma, being made. While all of the machines were rusty, they were moving just fine.

Monokuma sprinted underneath one conveyer belt, and continued to retreat from Jin. She leapt over it, vaulting off of the belt to try and stab down into Monokuma. Missing, she yanked her talon blade from the ground.

The despair bear ran towards an area where paintings produced in mass were being moved down a crane line. Monokuma ran under one of the paintings…

Jin slashed through it and leapt through the destroyed art. She was closing in on Monokuma slowly but surely.

Monokuma ran under an assembly line that had vases with his image on them; Jin smashed one when jumping over. Another crane line of paintings being moved got in the way, this time portraits of the Monokubs. Jin slashed through one of them too.

Monokuma dove into an area where there was a bunch of plushies in his image being made. Screeching in fury, Jin slashed at them, sending stuffing everywhere, until she saw him jump onto one of the assembly lines.

As Jin pursued him, he had the benefit of running under the large, framed paintings that were facing towards the two heading down the long belt. Jin slashed through each piece of art, no matter what it showcased: Monokuma, the Monokubs, her brother, her parents, one of her own pieces, several more of her own pieces…

Then there was one of an owl. She dove through it, shredding the paper and slamming into Monokuma. They bounced off of the assembly line, and into an rather large, empty space in the factory area.

Jin gripped Monokuma's neck, and raised her talon blade upwards. She grinned so sadistically, her lips were almost reaching each ear.

A metal coil wrapped around her arm, preventing her from thrusting down into the bear. She turned around to see who it was, and it was quite the surprising sight…

There was a mech, as big as a car (if turned vertical), with legs and arms. One of those arms had the metal coil coming from its hand, and was pulling at Jin's arm. Inside of a cockpit, which was a glass screen so one could see the pilot, was Monokid.

"Let go of him," he shouted, "you bitch!"

The cable started to retract, and Jin was yanked off of Monokuma. She stumbled but managed to get back on her feet. The murderous fiend grabbed at her other arm, and a talon blade extended from under her sleeve there.

A vicious slash and the metal cable was severed. Monokid cried out in shock, and started to move. Jin chuckled and reached into her sleeves…

Only to realize that she had used all of her throwing daggers in the trial room. Cursing a blue streak, she merely sprinted towards Monokid's mech.

Another metal coil wrapped around her ankle, and she fell on her face and chest. She rolled around to see another mech, this one piloted by Monophanie, trying to pull her back. Jin severed the coil from that one too, and stood up.

Heavy footfalls echoed around the clanking factory, and soon she saw five of the mechs approaching the area. Monokuma was beating a retreat, and she went after him. As the mechs ran forward, shooting more metal coils at her but missing now, she saw an incredibly large bin up ahead.

The factory's work line was dropping the pieces of art into the large bin, already filled to the brim. The bin's front side appeared to detach from the large container, and there was a button on the side that read, "Press here to empty contents onto pursuers."

Jin smirked, and struck the button as she ran past it. Sure enough, the front part of the bin opened up, and tons of art pieces, or rather pieces of art, spilled out.

Vases and plushies that would have distracted the Monokubs, who wouldn't destroy visages of their father, were fragments and cloth pieces. Paintings were slashed through, so even if the large canvases fell upon the mechs, the pilots were not blinded.

Jin was almost upon Monokuma, who was backed up against a wall. The murderous artist pulled back both arms, ready to skewer with both of her blades. She was panting, gasping, exhausted but enthralled.

Coils wrapped around both of her wrists. She was yanked back painfully, and dragged across the floor. Coils wrapped around her ankles, and soon she was being lifted up into the air, suspended by her limbs.

The four Monokubs who had a strong grip on each of her limbs moved in, before she could sever any of the coils again. Large mech hands grabbed each of her limbs, and began to pull. They pulled hard, with Jin straining from the intensity and fighting back. Steam hissed out of the mechs, metal joints made creaking sounds, Jin sneered as she pulled them in.

The only Kub not participating in this lethal tug o' war was Monodam. He watched silently from inside the cockpit of his mech, not moving in the slightest. He still didn't react when blood shot out and splattered all over the windshield of his mech.

The shrill shrieking from the one who had just lost one arm and both of her legs masked all of the noise in the factory. Monokid, scoffing at the girl who he was holding up by her remaining limb, walked over to a lone assembly line, and dropped her on it.

Bleeding profusely, sweat running down her forehead, Jin was straining from the overwhelming agony of it all. She could hear machinery running at the end of the conveyer belt, and she weakly raised her head to see what it was.

There was a large shredder at the end of this belt, with a plate above the "entrance" that said, "FAILED PROJECTS."

Jin's eyes went wide in horror for the first time in her sadistic life. She struggled to get off of the conveyer belt, but she could barely move her ravaged body. Pulled towards the chopping blades, she reached out and tried to grab the rim of the machine with her one remaining arm.

The blades caught her mangled body, and started to shred it, pulling her in. She screamed, shrieking, struggling with all of her might. Her body was pulled in inch by inch, and soon blood was spurting from her mouth. Her eyes rolled up as she was pulled into the shredding machine.

The agonized shrieks morphed into metal blades shredding a human body, bones cracking and crunching. At one point, the machine stopped, stuck from the intense job. The four Monokubs, sans Monodam, had left their mechs to peek into the shredder, to see what was wrong. Monokuma slammed his paw on the side with great impatience.

It reversed for a second, and all of the Kubs looking inside were sprayed with blood. They cried out in shock (and in Monophanie's regard, disgust) as the shredder finished its job.

Out from the other side came a plushie, shaped to look like an owl dressed up as Jin. It was hard to tell what color it was originally supposed to be, because it had been filled with gore, and was leaking blood from its seams.

Monokuma dusted his paws and walked away, leaving four of his kids to wipe their faces of blood, and one of them who was still in his mech and staring at the gore on his windshield.

* * *

The trial room was silent, save for the occasional gasp, sob, or disgusted gag. They couldn't speak, they didn't know what to say or do. What had they just watched? Was it real? Did that really just happen?

And just as soon as that last question entered into so many of their minds, Monokuma and the Monokubs were back at their trial room positions. Monokuma was holding the blood-soaked owl plushie, and four of the Kubs had blood all over their faces and bodies.

" **Woohoo! Or should I say hoothoot!** " Monokuma cracked. " **That was so extreme, extreme to the core! Because what's in the core of my new owl plushie line is hardcore AND extreme!** "

"Ewww, ew ew ew ew ew," Monophanie chanted, as she was using wipes to clean herself off. "I should have stayed in the mech!"

"So metal! So hardcore! So fucking awesome!" Monokid declared.

"Glad the mechs still work after all this time," Monosuke remarked, wiping the blood off of his glasses. "I was worried that we hadn't been using them enough of the time."

"But I don't get it," Monotaro said. "We really could have used someone like her for our town. Why'd she fail the test, Father?"

"…" said Monodam, staring blankly forward.

" **The answer to that is really simple, my darling widdle cubs,** " Monokuma crooned. " **She destroyed the art to get to me, and that was the problem. What we need is REAL passion, someone who recognizes true art in what we do, not just destroys and kills willy-nilly! Talk about poetic justice, right?** "

"Oh, Daddy, you're so smart!" Monophanie praised him as she continued cleaning herself off.

"Poetry in motion, just like our new assembly lines," Monosuke pointed out. "I wonder if any of our new guests will buy our new product line?"

When the bears stopped talking, the humans realized that they were expected to answer. However, purchasing bloody pieces of art from the bears was the last thing on their minds.

"What," Kimiko shouted, white as a sheet and shaking, "what was _that_?!"

"Where the hell was a factory like that around here?" Blake hollered. "You had an entire building for an execution?"

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you totally killed her," Aka blurted out. "Poetic justice… what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"I still don't get how these masterminds manage to make such large and specific machines for executions," Odelios remarked, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, how many trips to the hardware store does that take?"

"Odelios!" Futaba shouted, glaring at the clown. "That's not important in the least right now!"

"I'm kind of trying to distract myself from the fact," he responded, "that this is just as diabolical as every other Killing Game, we just saw someone who admitted to murdering more people that the original number of Pokémon, and also that her likewise serial killer brother is still among us."

That sure alerted a lot of people to a certain fact. Twenty-five heads swiveled to the fox-themed artist, who had watched the screen with a curious tilt of his head, and resting his chin on his hand.

"A touch sloppy," Yejoon said. "You sure seemed to delight in making her suffer at the end. I always did think she'd go out kicking and screaming, but it seems you stopped one of those from happening."

" **Here, have a consolation prize, Yeou,** " Monokuma said, and he tossed the plushie towards Yejoon. The artist extended a hand, and it landed on his palm with a disgusting splat. Blood oozed from it, as the eyes studded on its face seemed to stare up at Yejoon from underneath the bangs styled after his sister's hair.

He grunted in disgust. "Poor quality. Not worth even considering as a keepsake, much less art."

Yejoon snapped his arm back, and the plushie was hurled back against the wall. The stitches burst upon impact, and the plushie was nothing more than fabric, gore, and blood splattered against the wall and floor. _Splort_.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what?" Ishiku stammered. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Oh my dear sweet God," Angelique whimpered, hands over her heart. "It's true? You… you two killed over a hundred and fifty people?"

"You came here to discover what Despair was," Samson shouted, "and you want to use it slaughter people?"

"Your sister was just brutally executed," Pyrrha shrieked, "and you don't even care?!"

"You actually think my movies suck," Fiora whimpered, "and that my hat looks bad on me, the opposite of what you said last night?"

Yejoon flicked off the excess blood from his hand, and sighed. "I should really clear up some things with you all. My sister has… had a tendency to exaggerate. She didn't have a kill count of one hundred and fifty-four."

"My, what a relief," Eisei said.

"The little credit-stealing scamp just didn't like to admit that I'm close to two hundred when she's barely over one hundred, so she claims a lot of those were her doing, not mine."

"… Disregard what I previous said."

Crystal and Hikari backed the hell away from Yejoon, getting off of their podiums. The artist chuckled, then reached up and raised his mask onto the top of his head. "What's the matter, my fellow graduates? Wasn't I the one who proved to you all that Fiora wasn't the cul-"

He didn't have time to finish, as he heard running footsteps coming at him. Yejoon squeezed his arm and a duo of arm blades shot out from under his sleeve. Raising his arm, he parried a sword strike from Ken.

The Novoselic warrior swung again, and the two men were engaged in a lock as they stared each other down. Yejoon flicked his other wrist, and there was a thin, steel dagger in it. He swung it at Ken's neck, while shouting.

"Put the gun away right now, Mr. Miller, or I will puncture the most vital part of Mr. Kishi's neck!"

With the blade point pressing up against Ken's neck, the two men still locked in a pushing contest with their blades, Yejoon could hear the pistol being holstered. The artist shoved with incredible strength, and Ken stumbled backwards several steps.

"If you would all remember where you are," the artist snapped, his voice raising for the first time ever, "if any of you commit a murder, including myself, there will be no escaping the execution that follows from Monokuma. Now I will not be trying anything for now, but if you attempt to kill me…

"I will not hesitate to massacre whoever tries to kill me. And unlike my sister, I will not fail to hit my mark."

Yejoon stared down Ken, who slowly backed away, but was glaring down the artist the whole way. The cavalryman heaved in frustration, then snarled.

"You want to release Despair onto the world again," he spat. "You want to murder more people in its name. Do you really think that we'd risk that happening?"

Yejoon glanced at him, then at the other graduates. Shuuya, Samson, Crystal, Yitro, Souma, and Ignatia were fiercely glaring at him. Isaac was too, but holding onto Hara in a tight hug protectively.

"I am sorry, but you have no choice but to. To attempt to murder me will simply lead in more deaths, and while I am sure you don't want to become an agent for Monokuma if you survive the execution, I know I do."

He placed his palm on his forehead, extending his fingers with a rather dramatic pose. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened them again. The swirls of Despair were there, along with the same red, gleaming sadism that were in Jin's eyes.

"It is my dream to finally learn the true meaning of the beauty of death, the passion that has driven me so far, for so long. And none of you will stand in my way, unless you truly want to die by my hand, or Monokuma's."

"Wh-what's stopping you," Shinobu stammered, "from trying to kill all of us, or leaving here to continue your murdering?"

" **Ahem! Since my Kubs dropped the ball on this rule,** " Monokuma announced, " **allow me to make something very clear: should anyone in Penjar commit more than one murder, they will be terminated immediately.** "

"Sorry again, Father," Monotaro muttered.

Yejoon chuckled. "Well, I suppose there is no stopping me from leaving and going back to my art. But then you're free to explore the town without me being able to return."

"Like hell we'd let a serial killer just leave and not do anything about it," Saiko hollered, pointing at him accusingly. "You won't get away with your crimes!"

"Why don't we break his legs or something?" Shuuya asked, his voice cold and monotone as he stared down Yejoon.

The artist stared right back at the bounty hunter. "Any attempt at injuring me will be met with a very painful, bloody death. And probably not yours, I would like to make you feel responsible in that regard, because that's an intense form of suffering that lingers forever, does it not?"

"How the hell," Isaac growled, "did someone like you ever get into Hope's Peak?"

"A question for the ages, is it not? Though I saw the Killing Games, and there has been a suspicious amount of murderous fiends that have been in or accepted to the school. Maybe that belief that they really were trying to experiment and create ultimate talent is true?

"Though it seems my dear sister had some points to make before she was made into a poor excuse for a piece of art. Monokuma bestowed talent to her, and some of you. And the fact that we were all lured here, it means something rather prominent. Last but not least, this non-graduate who is a seed of despair. I want to find the answers too…

"So you're all going to have to tolerate my presence if you want to get to the bottom of these mysteries. I believe I shall head up to the surface alone, and stay in my room for the rest of the day. Just remember one thing before you all make a fuss…"

Yejoon pulled his mask down, and finalized his little speech by saying, "You all would have been dead right now if I had just let my sister win the trial. Yeou the Fox still has use for you all."

The Korean man walked over to the elevator, and pressed the button. It opened up, he stepped in and faced the graduates as the doors closed. His only movement was a short wave towards them, or someone in particular.

"Well then," Odelios said, pulling the throwing dagger that had been meant for his head out of the wall, "I can safely say this is my third worst day ever."

"I don't feel good," Pyrrha whimpered, her hands on her stomach and mouth. "Please tell me that didn't just happen."

"I literally cannot stop shaking," Shinobu whispered, staring at her hands. "I… I don't want to stay here."

Drake was gripping his podium in terror, swallowing and breathing deeply. Ignatia had dropped the throwing knife meant for him, and watched him to ensure he didn't faint.

"Zzz," responded Emanuel.

"Everyone," Isaac called out to the graduates, "I know this is bad. But right now, you all have to make a call on your own. If you leave, no one will think any less of you. But if you stay, there's still many questions that need answers, the whole reason we came."

"What? You're going to stay?" Hikari shouted. "We have a serial killer, a traitor in our midst, and who knows what else! We need to get out of here and alert the authorities!"

" **Ahem,** " Monokuma shouted his fake throat clearing, catching the attention of them all. " **Must I repeat myself so many times? No one else is going to find this town, especially those who try to return here. Don't you think that's why no one ever discovered this place?** "

"It's not like we just made a town in the middle of nowhere," Monosuke chimed in. "Do youse really think we just found an abandoned town, and settled in here at random?"

"The Monokubs don't just do random shit," Monokid roared, breaking his guitar again. "Penjar means something to Dad, to us! To everything we stand for!"

"It… it would be beneficial for you all to stay," Monophanie said. "You don't have to kill each other, nor die, if you just try to get along and work with us."

"Just remember one thing, you chose to be here," Monotaro remarked, crossing his arms. "It is definitely something you all want to find out, because you never know who might find out the secrets of Penjar, of Despair, of everything!"

" **You might live longer if you leave Penjar, but the world sure would be in a worse place if you don't stick to your guns!** " Monokuma remarked. " **Upupupupupu~** "

"Upupupupupupupu," the four speaking Kubs cackled.

Then there was a rush of movement, and the five of them were gone. The only one who stayed was Monodam, who hadn't moved an inch since he returned. The graduates stared at him for a few seconds, wondering if he finally had something to say.

"Monodam," Pyrrha spoke up, her voice fragile but still carrying on, "did Takeo really bring in someone like a hostage? Did he really betray us?"

The green bear glanced to the side, rocking on his legs. He then turned towards Pyrrha, and pointed at her. "I-DON'T-KNOW-WHAT-HE-WAS-THINKING. BUT-I-DO-KNOW-ONE-THING."

"Wh-what is it?"

"TAKEO-REALIZED-THE-DANGER-HERE. PENJAR-IS-MORE-THAN-OUR-HOME. IT-IS-A-PLACE-WHERE-GOOD-AND-EVIL-HAVE-BATTLED-MANY-TIMES-BEFORE. AND-THE-BATTLE-WILL-CONTINUE-HERE.

"IT-IS-UP-TO-YOU-TO-ENSURE-WHICH-WAY-THAT-WAR-WILL-CONTINUE. HOPE'S-PEAK-GRADUATES-ARE-THE-KEY-HERE.

"ALSO-CHECK-TAKEO'S-ROOM. HE-LEFT-SOMETHING-FOR-YOU-ALL."

* * *

 **Day 04, 4:36 PM**

 **Town Hall**

 **Front Steps and Door**

The twenty-five graduates had traveled up to the top floor in silence, and walked back out into Penjar. The mists were still traveling down the roads, drifting into the plaza. Yejoon was nowhere to be seen, and the place was just as quiet.

Isaac walked out front with Hara, hand-in-hand. He turned to the collection of the graduates, and said, "I know some of you may want to leave, but Hara and I will be staying. If anyone else is sure they will be staying too, join us at the cafeteria."

"Or just… come for the food, since none of us have eaten," Hara said with a sad smile.

"Coffee's on me, boys and girls!" Odelios declared, bounding forward. "But first, I want to make sure that Takeo's body is fine…"

He ran down the plaza, out of sight after a minute due to the distance and the mists. A lot of the graduates didn't know what to do, except for Ignatia. She had seized Emanuel's collar, and was now dragging him behind her on his butt. She waved at them as she carried him off to his room.

As she walked off too, Odelios came sprinting back. "Okay! Did anyone hear me? I was screaming and hollering, and the only one who walked by was the mime hauling our resident wrong guesser."

"You mean the mist stuff was real?" Saiko muttered. She shook her head and walked off towards the cafeteria, groaning in frustration. "Great, I cannot trust reality anymore."

Pyrrha walked towards Odelios, asking, "Wait, what happened to Takeo's body?"

"It's gone! Gone like the wind! As God as my witness, they took all the evidence!"

Pyrrha gripped her head in frustration, and sprinted off, towards the housing area. Some of the graduates followed her, while some of the others went to the cafeteria. The rest of the graduates kind of scattered about, not sure what to do.

* * *

 **Day 04, 4:36 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Isaac flipped a burger in the kitchen, humming to himself. He called out to those in the cafeteria, "Almost done here! If you want mustard or ketchup or such, you gotta get it yourself! Not gonna risk any ruined burgers!"

"I want to talk to your manager," Saiko called back, then laughed a bit before hiding her face in her arms. "Oh, this damned town has ruined me. I just investigated a taxidermy murder done by a damned serial killer, learned that the laws of physics and reality can be changed on a whim, and I had the wrong suspect all along."

"Saiko, don't beat yourself up too much about it," Hara said, rubbing her friend's back. "It was an exhausting ordeal, but we can grow stronger because of it. After all we've been through, we shan't give up just yet."

The forensic investigator glanced at her friend from the side of her slouched position. "I thought you were the shy one, and yet here you are, not letting all the shit we just got through deter you."

Hara smiled and bowed her head slightly. "That's because I like to see this as a journey, and we need to be strong the whole way. I'm not going to let anyone or anything deter me, because I want to see what is at the end here. Besides…"

She pointed towards the kitchen, and added, "I know my super stubborn honey doesn't want to leave no matter what either. He's stared down Monokuma robots, Despair-addled killers, secretive authorities, and fragile survivors from Killing Games. Nothing makes him blink."

"Yeah, you two are more stubborn than me when it's that time of the month and I'm heading to the ice cream shop," Saiko muttered. "But I said it once, and I'll say it again: you two are going to go a nice, relaxing, Goddamn-peaceful honeymoon when all this is over."

"I believe we can do that," Hara said with a sweet smile.

"And fuck each other's brains out every night until you make children as stubborn and cute as you two are."

Now Hara was bright red in the face, and hiding her face in her arms as Saiko managed to burst out laughing. Isaac leaned out of the kitchen and politely requested Saiko stop embarrassing her, thank you very much.

* * *

 **Day 04, 4:42 PM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Takeo Onishi's Room**

Odelios walked into Takeo's room, the front door being wide open. Pyrrha was sitting on the bed, looking at a piece of paper. Shuuya and Shinobu were there too, waiting expectantly. The clown glanced around the room, and noticed something odd.

"Where is everything of Takeo's?" he asked. "Didn't he have belongings?"

"All gone when we got here," Shuuya replied with a sigh. "Looks like the bears made sure everything except this last note of his was confiscated for God knows what reason."

"It's like he's gone entirely," Shinobu muttered, staring down at her feet. "I feel so ashamed of everything, how I behaved at the trial."

"That wasn't your fault," the bounty hunter said to her. "It was a very difficult experience against numerous people fighting for control. Don't beat yourself up now."

He put his hand on her shoulder, and she managed a weak smile. Outside, Emanuel had burst out of his house, demanding what the hell had happened. Souma was out there, trying desperately to calm down the very angry detective. Odelios slammed the door to Takeo's place shut, and glanced back at Pyrrha.

"Not to rush you, Pyrrha, but we're all curious here," the clown said. "Or is it addressed to you?"

"No," she said, sighing and looking up. "I… I don't think you all realize this, but it wasn't like Takeo and I were growing sweet on each other. We just were getting to know the other, and there was a bit of a connection. It wasn't romantic…"

"Doesn't change the fact that you still liked him," Odelios remarked, smiling at her. "But come on, what's it say?"

"It's not much," she said, speaking over the yelling going on outside. "Takeo admits in this that he brought someone in, that his contact really was someone called the Entity of Chaos, and he was trying to find out who it was amongst us.

"He said he spent a great deal of time and effort fighting against Despair-ridden enemy forces, and he didn't want there to be another Tragedy. And…"

She let out a soft sigh, and she then laughed. "He says that he did like me, and you, Odelios. He says no one ever had fun with him, that he was always taken too seriously in his very dark and grim life. Thanks for the laughs."

Pyrrha handed the paper to Odelios, who started reading it. The clown sobbed a little, then he said, "Well then. I guess I'm gonna stay here and make sure that his death doesn't go to waste. Now I'm gonna go to the cafeteria, and make the best damn coffee you've all ever tasted! Come on, I only got this talent until the end of the day!"

The clown took off running, pumping his fists into the air. Pyrrha followed after him, chuckling as she wiped her eyes and joined in this moment of relief. Shuuya and Shinobu started to follow him, until Souma asked for help in getting Emanuel to calm down.

* * *

 **Day 04, 4:46 PM**

 **Ye Olde Time Shop**

Ishiku was working hard on the watches and clocks in the place, getting each one working again. He was moving rather fast, until he heard the front door open. Eisei walked in, casual as ever.

"You trying to make the most out of this talent?" he asked the magician. "I don't believe that you will get a prize if you fix every time piece in here."

"I just… wanted to see how true it was. I think I'm long past the point of denial, I'm a master at this!"

Ishiku laughed a little, then sighed and leaned against the counter. "I guess I should get something to eat, I've been starving since I woke up. This town is really messing with me."

Eisei shrugged, and said, "That's life, more or less. Good and bad things happen, but you work onwards with them. But since I have you here, can I ask you for a small favor?"

The magician stared down at the dentist, then slumped downwards, seated on the floor. "Yes. You can inspect my mouth like everyone else."

The lavender-topped man walked over to the open-mouthed magician, and then put his hand under Ishiku's mouth. Closing it up, he reached up and inspected his nose. "I'll do that next. I just want to make sure that this isn't broken or anything."

* * *

 **Day 04, 4:51 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Before 5 PM rolled around, there were a great deal of the graduates there, eating and drinking. They needed it, they had been rather famished throughout the trial; it was one of the reasons some of them had become so livid.

Emanuel sat along, munching on a bacon cheeseburger. He was bitter, sulking, and slogging down coffee as he nursed his powerful headache. He watched everyone else, studying them. No one was going to dare tell him, "Told you so."

Yitro and Angelique were in a deep conversation, with Kimiko, Shinobu, and Shuuya. They were trying to avoid the harsher realities of what just happened, and have a normal conversation.

Drake had been seated alone, until Pyrrha, Ken, and Crystal joined him. They showered him with compliments, congratulating him on his impressive efforts in the trial. The cartoonist was blushing so hard, it was rather adorable to anyone who saw the scene.

Futaba sat alone for a while, adjusting her glove from time to time. Eventually, Blake and Samson sat with her, and though the three didn't say much, their conversation was quite casual, and much needed after a stressful day.

Ignatia ate alone, not drawing any attention to herself. She didn't put up any kind of fuss or attitude towards those bringing out food. She seemed a little distracted, her thoughts her own that only she could know.

Souma spoke with Eisei and Ishiku after the two showed up to the cafeteria. The public speaker had a few questions about Ishiku's new talent, but after a while, the three realized that getting their mind off of all that happened would be best for now.

Hikari and Aka were making up for lost time by making out at one of the tables near the back. It was quite the sight, and a bit distracting for quite a few of the people there. The only one who dared to interrupt would be a giggling Anzu.

"We're here to get something to eat and drink," she joked as she approached the table and sat down. "Calm down a little bit, you're getting everyone's attention."

"What? You of all people saying public display of affection are a bit much?" Aka asked, licking her lips as she grinned impishly. "What's the matter, you wanna join us?"

Hikari punched Aka's arm, giggling though she was blushing. "You horrible tease! But I am curious, Anzu, are you doing okay? I meant to check up on you afterwards, but I got… well, you know."

Anzu sighed, trying to smile but seemingly distracted. "I keep trying to think about the vision I had. Something seems off about it still, like there was something told to me that I didn't get. I still wonder how mad I am, if I am falling for some kind of scheme or such."

"Honey, you're no more crazy than me, if you remember what I told you," Hikari said, as she sipped the coffee Odelios had prepared.

"What was that?" asked Aka.

"Oh, your suspicion?" Anzu recalled, tilting her head to the side. She munched on the cheeseburger she had, eating it rather casually with a bit of cheese stuck to her upper lip that she didn't bother wiping off.

"What suspicion?" the skier inquired. "You two doing something without me involved?"

"It was… silly," Hikari said, blushing a bit. "But maybe I should have said something, I just wasn't as brave as Anzu was, to admit that in front of everyone."

"What was it?" Aka cried, staring at the steampunk model.

"I… didn't find Jin attractive."

Hikari hid her face from them, and muttered, "I know about my past, my reputation… hell, I'm still a big ol' lesbian flirt who tried with every girl here. Well, every girl except Jin.

"Something about her felt off, in a rather subtle way, that made me not want anything to do with her; however, since I knew that would look and sound ridiculous. I didn't say anything, even when we started to find out it was her, because well… it still felt like the world's worst reason to suspect someone."

Aka stared at Hikari, then burst into giggles. "It's actually a really good thing you didn't, sexy. I mean, she might have tried to throw a dagger at you too!"

"Don't feel bad about it, Hikari. You did fine doing that trial. And if you're staying like I am, I am sure you can find out more about Penjar."

"You two want to stay here?" Hikari asked, bewildered.

"Sexy, I _live_ for danger, I love it, I am all about those thrills and chills," Aka bragged. "If I gotta explore this place while there is a serial killer, that just notches up the game for me."

"Like hell I'm leaving this place after the vision I had gave me the help we needed to survive a Killing Game trial," Anzu said. "Plus, maybe eventually I will get invited to a threesome."

Hikari giggled some more, despite her red face and nervous glances. The latter eventually was gone, as she took a deep breath and said, "Very well, I believe I'll stay here in Penjar too. Maybe I'll be able to be more contributing than just a sensual distraction to you ladies."

"You were more focused than I was," Aka remarked. "And hell, you didn't go around accusing the innocent like I did. You were actually all for Fiora's defense… wait, was that because you think she's hot too?"

"Well, I… wait."

Hikari glanced around the cafeteria, checking out everyone there. "Where is Fiora?"

* * *

 **Day 04, 5:00 PM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Yejoon Nahm's Room**

The artist washed his hands in the sink, getting the rest of the blood that his sister's remains plushie had stained them with. It was a familiar feel to him, so much so that the fact it was Jin's blood didn't faze him in the least.

"So much for the owl controlling all in its domain, dear sister," he said as he watched the rest of the blood go down the drain. "You couldn't even last the first round. Good riddance."

He walked towards his bed, taking off his mask and setting it on a table nearby. Lying down on the mattress, he stared up at the ceiling as he contemplated his next actions. His stomach grumbled, but he would have to put that off for a while.

Glancing to the side, he noticed that the taxidermy tiger was next to his bed. The last little reminder of his sister's meddling, and it made him roll his eyes. "I must get rid of that, but where on Earth do I put it?"

A sudden slamming of a door nearby his house was so sharp and loud, it made him blink in surprise. There was loud and furious slamming sounds, like someone punching or kicking walls. The shrieking and sobbing was so loud, Yejoon could recognize who it was.

"Stupid," Fiora was hollering to no one in particular. "Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! STUPID!"

He could hear her throw herself on the mattress of the bed, and pounded at it as she continued to sob. It started to die down, but he did catch her detail her frustrations just a little bit more…

"Stupid! Stupid… stupid… stupid me…"

Her pitiful sobbing quieted, maybe she passed out, maybe she managed to calm down. Yejoon took a deep breath, and twirled one of his throwing daggers in his hand. "I wonder if I can retrieve the one I left in the trial room tomorrow…"

* * *

 **Day 04, 9:00 PM**

 **Penjar**

The day carried on, with everyone recovering from the stressful, violent trial. While it was unknown what they were going to do, something became clear to all of them: no one wanted to leave Penjar.

Monokuma and the Monokubs didn't show up at all for the rest of the day, seemingly gone from the town after such a monumental event. Even when called out, none of them showed up. The factory that Jin had been dragged to and killed in wasn't anywhere in sight either.

Everything belonging to Takeo was gone. His body had vanished, all of his belongings except for his note that he had left in case of death were missing. Even the gore and guts in the taxidermy shop was gone, the blood on the street was gone, everything cleaned up as if it never happened.

The survivors tried some last minute inspecting, but eventually it felt like too much after such a long day. Though their determination was strong, they didn't know what else they could do this fateful day.

No one really knew what to make of Penjar now. Takeo's last words, the discovery of the killer, the possible traitor/spy, the Entity of Chaos, it was all so much to bear. A lot of them went to bed exhausted, confused, and frustrated.

One of them, however, went back to their house, appearing casual amid their fellow graduates. When the door was shut, they immediately ran over to their belongings, and started fishing through it. Eventually, they pulled out an old trinket.

It wasn't much of anything, almost appearing like a child's clay project shaped in a manner that could be interpreted in different ways. Though as the owner's hands inspected it, a grin spread across their face.

They knew how much it was worth. They knew how old it was, the craftsmanship behind it, nationality it came from, how much evil it symbolized. While the owner had known some of those things, the incredible amount of new information about this antique item was almost overwhelming.

"Yes… YES," the owner said, staring at the antique sigil with incredible delight. "It's true. It's all true! This power… and so much more… is here in Penjar."

Panting in delight, the person clutched the sigil close to their chest, and cackled. "Everything is going exactly to plan. Wait no, I should probably say that it is working out well for me. Oh yes…

"Let's wait and see how things continue on, but I believe I can be optimistic. These stupid, arrogant fools, they have no idea…

"They have no possible way of knowing just how much they're going to help the new age of chaos and despair wash over the world. Hehe, maybe I shouldn't insult them so much, since they're helping me out so very much."

* * *

" _I'm not much for speeches, but I do want to say that I rather enjoyed my time here in Hope's Peak Academy. The amount of ideas I gathered, the projects I embarked on, and just how much I was able to expand and enjoy my passions…_

" _It's liberating, almost like an owl being able to soar into the sky. While I took a break from some of my biggest passions while here in Hope's Peak, I believe when I leave, I will fully embrace them with all the more gusto and grace._

" _To my classmates, my teacher, and to all those who inspired me to become a greater artist, I thank you. Yes, even you, Yejoon; I foresee us creating magnificent art together for years to come now!_ "

-Jin Nahm's graduation speech

* * *

 **Chapter 1, The ABCs of Penjar, is over.**

…

 **26 Graduates remain in Penjar.**

…

 **TO BE CONTINUED.**


	11. Chapter 2-1: Does Penjar Bleed?

**Chapter 2-1**

 **A Mostly Negative Reception**

* * *

 _"_ _They say a mask can become your new face if you wear it long enough. There's a whole bunch of psychology and research that I cannot be bothered to look up, not just because it's highly complex, but I believe in a case by case review of every scenario. In my scenario, I believe I know all of the reasons and answers…_

 _"_ _The only problem is how much I'm willing to move on from the mask, that sheer determination that is required. I could have been considered a strong-willed person, but was that the mask or myself? I've known people who were strong or weak, wearing a mask or being themselves entirely, any combination you can imagine._

 _"_ _I've never believed in clichés, but part of me thinks that maybe, just maybe, the reason why some things are cliché are that way because they're true. They should be called staples._

 _"_ _Oh, I'm talking about love, by the way. What other reason could someone like me be so willing to move on from the mask, to be who I really am? And I never thought that I would doubt myself, but I want to know._

 _"_ _What do you think, my dear…? Do you think they are worth it? Am… am I worth it?"_

* * *

 **Day 04, 11:00 PM**

 **Penjar**

Due to the exhausting nature of the trial, there were a lot of people who went to bed early. Some of them grabbed knives from the kitchens, or anything else they could get their hands on; no one was taking any chances with an exposed serial killer in their midst.

Odelios and Ishiku were rather excited about their talents, and worked on coffee and clocks until they both felt so tired that they almost dropped where they worked. While they were probably the only ones who had something to be excited about, it was difficult for the others to remain energized when awake.

Pyrrha caught Ken staring at Yejoon's house before she went to bed. The romance writer approached the cavalryman, and gently coaxed him to go to sleep instead of doing what he obviously planned on doing. With a defeated sigh, the Novoselician did eventually go to sleep.

With her interaction, it seemed to be the point where everyone had gone to bed. The fact that no light shone from Takeo and Jin's houses was the final reminder either would be returning, ever again.

It was at this point in time that Fiora finally couldn't ignore her grumbling stomach. The movie maker left her house, glancing around to see if anyone was up. The mists were the only movement, and she briefly wondered if the noise muffling effect was still in place.

As she walked down the road, heading to the cafeteria, she was rather alert. She almost resembled a deer, with her wide eyes and nervous nature. Fiora didn't even have a weapon on herself, nothing to arm herself with.

As she made it to the plaza, and was closer to the shops, she could hear noises in the distance. Whatever noise cancellation had been going on, it was definitely gone now. The noises were really strange, like saws, heavy machinery, and jackhammers, all from very far off. And the occasional explosion, as if there was an intense mining expedition with precision blasting going on all at once (that was Fiora's best guess).

The movie maker let out a sigh as she saw the cafeteria up ahead. She eased up on her tension, and her heart stopped hammering.

"Hello, Fiora."

The highest of high-pitched shrieks reverberated throughout Penjar, as the movie maker leapt many feet into the air. Her body coiled around a branch from one of the trees near the cafeteria, whimpering and shivering.

Yejoon tilted his head to the side, staring up at her. "That was quite the impressive jump. You practically jumped up to the second floor of a building."

"Leave me alone," she shrieked, huddling her body up from the branch she was hanging from. "And don't hurt me! Please oh please don't hurt me!"

"Fiora, I don't hurt people. I kill them."

"Not helping!"

"Fiora, if I was going to kill you," he said as he crossed his arms, "you hanging from a tree branch would not impede me in the least. Let's not be silly here."

"Silly? SILLY?! What you confessed to be, how many people you killed… you think I'm being silly over the fact that I don't want to be near you?!"

"I thought we did have the makings of a friendship going on. I quite enjoyed our conversation last night, and I was the one who saved you during the trial."

"You probably just want to kill me too!"

Yejoon glanced to the side, and sighed. "That's actually not an impossibility, given my nature; I normally do plan how to kill those I get to know, in an effort to make them truly beautiful."

Fiora's shrill whimper came with her huddling up on the underside of the branch as much as she humanly could. "How… how is that supposed to coax me to come down?! You're a monster!"

"Fiora, you are a mess of a woman when you look down at it. You have talent, potential, and a rather energetic personality that is captivating; however you squander it by making subpar movies, and a lack of defensive traits. If you were truly the woman you could be, you would have stood up against Emanuel's accusations during the trial more firmly."

"Oh great, life lessons and lectures from someone who's killed more people than I could even name! I don't want a moral lecture from the immoral! Leave me alone!"

Yejoon sighed, and pulled his mask up on top of his head. "Very well, but how are you going to get down?"

Silence filled the air, as the most tiny of movement sounds came from Fiora way up above. The answer to the question was, "Just leave me alone!"

"If you fall right now, I will catch you."

"Oh right! I'm gonna trust a serial killer with my life!? A serial killer who is giving me life advice and has a plan to kill me!"

"I don't have a plan to kill you yet, my dear. If you stay up there for much longer, I fear the fall will bring you great harm. A fall from a tree is rather devastating, I assure you."

"Push someone out of a tree, did you?" she grumbled.

"No, fell out of one when I was a boy. Hairline fracture in my left arm, my sister mocked me the entire time I had it in a sling. Always concerned, my dear dead sister, heh.

"Anyway, please come down. I do want to get some food from the cafeteria, and I cannot do that with you hanging on for dear life outside. I'd rather someone not in agony to converse with."

Fiora whimpered more, then asked, "You… you promise you won't let me hit the ground?"

"I promise."

"And promise not to kill me?"

"…"

"How about you promise not to kill me in the immediate future from here on?"

"That I _can_ promise."

Fiora sighed, and then started to count to three. Yejoon extended his arms, and the movie maker let go of the branch. Plummeting to the ground, she didn't even have time to cry out, but she let out a small grunt when she landed in Yejoon's arms.

There was a brief moment as she stared into his eyes, and he smiled at her. Then she shrieked and struggled, flopping out of his arms and landing on the ground. Quickly getting back to her feet, dusting off and adjusting her hat, she stared at him while breathing hard.

Fiora was watching Yejoon like she expected him to pounce any moment. She couldn't think of where to put her hands up to defend herself, her neck, her stomach, over her heart? Wait, how could her bare hands stop any assault he would bring?

"Shall we eat?" he asked, gesturing towards the cafeteria. "I haven't eaten anything all day, and I don't think you have either. I can make us something, and we can have a nice chat."

She was shivering, as she asked, "Do… do I really have a choice?"

"Maybe not, I can be insistent. But I can carry a pleasant conversation without bringing up anything that would make you uncomfortable."

Fiora doubted that anything Yejoon could talk about would be comforting, but she resigned herself to her fate. The two walked into the cafeteria, and stayed in there until past midnight.

* * *

( **Day 04 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is dressed in a smart tie and suit. He has on an eye mask that has a Chinese dragon twisted around the eyeholes._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Masks are a rather interesting thing. I like to wear them, so no one can recognize me and I can become someone different! That's what I would say if I didn't have such an iconic look, voice, and shape."

* _Secret Agent Monokuma is standing next to a harbor, posed rather dramatically with a gun in his paw. Monokid, wearing a vest and a beret, is standing beside him with a confident pose._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "I think it's time we recognize people who cannot disguise themselves, as it is unfair for all of disguise-hampered. People don't realize how far their disguise-privilege can get them."

* _Secret Agent Monokuma and Bear-Face Monokid are diving into the water, both with panicked looks on their faces, as an incredible amount of bullets are being shot at them._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Yes, those are real terms! Would I use them if they weren't?!"

* * *

 **Day 05, 9:25 AM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Hikari Tetsuhime's House**

Stepping out of the shower as she made sure the towel around her head was firmly in place, the steampunk model finished her humming. She walked over to the mirror, and stared deep into it. A sad sigh elicited from her, as she added, "Not exactly looking the best there, darling; this place has already aged me. Oh dear, how do I make sure that I look my best, now that I have someone interested in me?"

She continued her morning ritual, making sure she looked her very best. Hikari touched up her lipstick and blush, hiked her breasts up as much as she physically could, and perfected her model-like stance and step.

It was when she started her eyeshade when the TV in the bedroom turned on, and the shout from it was so sudden that she drew a line from the corner of her eye.

* * *

( **Day 05 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The five Kubs are standing at the town hall. Monokid is still wearing his vest and beret._ *

 **All Five Kubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

 **Monophanie** \- "We know you all had a hard day yesterday, but you are all still alive and well this fine day!"

 **Monotaro** \- "We also have a big surprise for you all! Come to the plaza where Takeo's body used to be, the western edge of it, I believe."

 **Monophanie** \- "Monotaro! That's disrespectful!"

 **Monotaro** \- "What? But I called him by his name, not the Human Statue like we call him now!"

* _As they talk, Monokid sees something off-screen and goes wandering off._ *

 **Monosuke** \- "Guys, stop bickering! Youse got to realize that we're dealing with super sensitive humans who don't respond well to reminders of violence! They're like Monophanie, but dumber."

 **Monophanie** \- "Hey! I must take umbrage to that remark!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Why, are you stupid too, Monophanie?"

 **Monophanie** \- "No, I'm not! I'm-"

* _Monokid comes back, holding a plushie that looks a lot like the Owl-Jin one made yesterday; this one is dripping blood from its gore-soaked bottom too._ *

 **Monokid** \- "Hey guys! I got me another one of these collector's items! That's worth a lot of shit, right?"

 **Monophanie** \- "BRRLRLGGLGLGHHH!"

 **Monokid** \- "Not on the new threads that Dad got me, damn!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Vomit tends to reduce the price, Monophanie, shame on you."

 **Monodam** \- "JUST-COME-TO-THE-WEST-SIDE-OF-THE-PLAZA-BY-TEN-AM-THANK-YOU-BASTARDS."

 **All Five Kubs** \- "So long, bear well~!"

* * *

Hikari growled, and stared at herself in the mirror. There was a long curl of eyeshade that came from the corner of her eye. "Oh no! It… it… actually, that looks pretty nice. I wonder…"

* * *

 **Day 05, 10:00 AM**

 **Main Plaza**

 **Western Side facing the Housing Area**

The vast majority of the graduates were standing outside, staring expectantly at the five Monokubs. The Kubs insisted that they had to wait until everyone was there.

Kimiko yawned a great deal, smacking her lips before spitting in her hand and slicking her hair back under her hat. "I hate mornings," she grumbled. "I'd like them so much better if they were in the afternoon."

As she grumbled, she caught sight of Hikari, who had strut up to the group. The biker gal's jaw dropped when she saw the stylish make-up job the woman had done, as well as just how pristine and poised she was. Such a vision of beauty and grace, Kimiko was getting pink in the face.

The biker walked over there, trying to get herself composed, and she opened her mouth to speak to Hikari.

"Oh wow, _love_ the look, sexy!"

Aka was right by Hikari's side, claiming all of her attention. The purple-topped skier was positively gushing over the model, and the two were now so heavily engaged with each other, there was no getting in.

Kimiko sighed in regret, then noticed someone looking up at her. Eisei had noticed what had happened, and raised one of his lavender eyebrows.

"There there," the dentist offered, and extended up a hand with a lollipop. "There'll always be another chance, so have a sweetie until then."

The biker gang leader stared at the short man, then rolled her eyes, took the sweetie with a small thanks, and popped it into her mouth. She glanced back at Aka and Hikari, who were now touching each other as they spoke on how good the other looked in the morning. "Maybe I should be ignoring my libido for now."

"That would be the most healthy consideration, since we are in a dangerous Killing Game, an unknown town with no way to contact the outside, and a serial killer and/or a traitor slash spy in our midst."

"Your blunt method is rather comforting."

"Speaking of serial killers, there he is now."

Kimiko turned around and clenched her fists, as she saw Yejoon approaching the ground. Everyone there faced him as well, and the mask-wearing artist cocked his head. Before anyone could say anything, Fiora sprinted up behind him.

"Wait, everyone," she shouted, holding her hands up and standing between the group and the serial killer. "Let's not start the day off with attempted murders and assassinations and such."

"Fiora! You're defending him!?" Pyrrha declared.

"No, that goes for him too!" The movie maker glared over at Yejoon, who merely regarded her with a glance of his head. "But… I've had enough drama for a lifetime yesterday, I just want us to get along for one day! One single day! Is that alright? I think some of you owe me that."

She glared in particular at Emanuel, who had regarded Yejoon with a steely glare. The Bête Noir scoffed and muttered as he rubbed his head, "I don't owe you anything, you seemed most suspicious."

"What?! You-"

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

The five Monokubs shouted in unison so profoundly, it stopped the argument short. Yejoon walked over to the side so he could see the Kubs without being part of the group, while Fiora stood between him and the group. The Kubs immediately began their spiel.

"Howdy there, everyone," Monotaro declared. "I just wanted to say that we here at Penjar have taken some of the suggestions given to us, and we actually made it a bit fun for us!"

"We've decided to expand on our wonderful city," Monophanie said, "and we made it a bit of a competition."

"Youse see," Monosuke remarked, correcting his glasses as he tried to turn his nose up towards those much taller than him, "each of us were asked to design a new building that would be on the southern border of the plaza, across from the ones currently up."

"And we did it! We're gonna have a competition to see which one you fuckers like the most," Monokid shouted, breaking his guitar in record time, "and thus in two days, we're gonna have a party there!"

"…"

"Wait a minute," Shuuya said, stepping up, "are you saying you built buildings in the town overnight? That's not possible."

"Oh ye of little faith," Monotaro said with a giggle. "Father will show you all! Father?"

There was a metallic scrapping sound, and soon the sight of Monokuma pushing an industrial-sized fan that was set on a trolly. The despair bear huffed and puffed, and grumbled, " **D… damn kids. So cute, so unwilling to help their old man!** "

"Pops, youse got tons of years ahead of youse," Monosuke replied. "youse got plenty of time! Now, on with the competition! Youse!"

" **Are you stuck again on that word usage, son? Eh, no matter, allow me to make a great big reveal!** "

Monokuma hopped onto the trolly, then flipped a switch on the fan. It turned on, slowly, but surely, and then there was a rather high-pitched whir when the fan went into overdrive. The mist in front of the fan blew away as if a hurricane struck…

And as the fan blew the trolly, Monokuma, and the fan itself backwards, with a rather large crashing sound off in the distance, the mist blown away from the southern side of the plaza revealed something most incredible.

Large buildings, appearing to be brand-new amid the decrepit houses and buildings of Penjar, were standing proud across the street. While this wouldn't be the most startling thing to discover in the ghost town, it still was quite startling to the graduates.

"Wait a minute," Ken declared, "what sorcery is this? Those buildings weren't here when we arrived in this city!"

"Forget when we arrived," Blake remarked, "they weren't here yesterday!"

"I'm glad you noticed!" Monotaro said, posing in triumph. "You see, the Monokubs worked so darn hard in our little contest! So we each renovated one building each, or, in Monokid's case, the park."

"I did the best," Monokid felt to add to the conversation.

"So to explain a little bit more," Monophanie chirped, "we wanted to ensure that Penjar is a lovely place for you all. After yesterday's grizzly, sad, and horrid trial, we wanted to try hosting another party."

"The pool party was great, but we cannot just do it again," Monosuke remarked. "I mean, there's a certain point when fan service is too much service. Though I mean, if she wants to wear a bikini again, that's always great."

The orange Kub was gesturing towards Angelique, who crossed her arms over her ample chest and glanced to the side, huffing indignantly. Monosuke chuckled, then pointed at Hara, but before he could speak, Isaac stepped up.

"Okay, you perverted little midget koala freak," he spat at the orange Kub, "I doubt that you'll explain how those damn buildings suddenly showed up, but what's this about a party? You really think we want to play nice with you all, after all that you did to us, all that you plan to do to us?!"

Monosuke was sulking now, thus Monophanie stepped up. Nervously rubbing her paws together, she said, "We don't really want to be enemies. Daddy is testing you and we want to do right by him, but we want to be friends with you too."

"That's a little hard to believe," Eisei said, "when you were the ones who tore Jin apart during her punishment."

The pink bear sighed pitifully, and muttered, "We really have to do that, it's not like we can disobey Daddy when he's there. Maybe this time, before and after the Motive, you can all be friends."

"Motive? Friends?" Souma balked. "You try to tempt people to murder, you ally yourselves with Monokuma, you make buildings overnight, and then you say you want to be friends with us? What twisted, sick mentality do you have?"

"You might as well be honest," Crystal said, crossing her arms behind her head. Her serious tone made the Kubs shiver slightly when she stepped forward. "This is part of a game for you, and you want to tempt us by offering more answers to this town within the new areas. But such an offering comes with a price, does it not?"

The Monokubs shuffled nervously, unsure as to what to say. Before one of them could speak up, Monokuma came waddling back to the group. " **Listen, you blonde in blue,** " he hollered, marching towards her with an accusing paw extended, " **stop flustering my adorable cubs! It's their first Killing Game, and they're still trying to make it work! Nobody likes a critic!** "

"Only people," Ishiku remarked, "who have poor products say that."

" **Shaddup! Now listen here! Your goal today is to explore the new buildings, and decide which one is your favorite. You will be polled at 9 PM tonight on which is your favorite, and two days from now, there will be a party at your new favorite landmark!**

" **You might want to consider enjoying the party, if we even get there. Because tomorrow at 5 PM, I'll be announcing the new Motive!** "

"What? So soon?" Drake cried out.

" **Yes, that soon! There's not only way too many of you, but you're not making any progress on your own! And you're fighting my cubs at every step of the way! So if you're going to be difficult, then I'm going to put the pressure on!**

" **That's right, bitches, I'm gonna tighten the screws, tug on the ropes, turn up the heat, and kick this into overdrive! So if you're quite finished being the most difficult group, and that includes the one that had just as many serial killers as yours, I think that-** "

"You know what?" Kimiko shouted as she made her way over to Monokuma. "Fuck you, Teddy!"

She lifted her foot, and her boot smashed down on Monokuma's head. The bear squashed up, but didn't burst or break. Instead, like a giant spring, he popped back upwards. Kimiko was propelled through the air when he popped back up under her foot, and she somersaulted through the air a few times. With a painful crash on her chest and stomach, she strained out as she tried to understand what just happened.

" **Ha! You think I am going to be trodden on anymore?** " Monokuma cackled, waving his arms around in celebration. " **No siree! No more stomping, no more beating, no more ripping, and no more-** "

Angelique walked over, raising her own foot. Her heel stabbed into the top of Monokuma's head, penetrating deep into his round noggin. He froze, and twitched when she twisted her foot to accentuate the wound.

" **Urk! Mah… oh** ** _my BRAIN…_** **blargh** **…** ** _I can…_** **taste…** ** _colors_** ** _now…_** "

With one more twist of her foot, Angelique yanked her heel out of Monokuma's head. With a death gurgle, the despair bear fell backwards, with a strange liquid that smelt like honey leaking out of his cranium.

"WAAAAAAAAAH!" the four communicative Kubs screamed in horror. "NOT AGAIN!"

"…" Monodam reacted, then pointed up at the graduates. "IF-YOU-WOULD-LIKE-TO-GRAB-BREAKFAST-FIRST, YOU-ARE-WELCOME-TO, YOU-BASTARDS."

"Thank you," Drake muttered, staring in shock at Monokuma's corpse. He gingerly walked around it, and headed off to the cafeteria.

"This isn't over," Yitro snapped at the horrified Kubs, as he and the majority of the others walked by them and off to the cafeteria.

The only ones not heading off were Kimiko, who lay on the ground in a rather humiliated, sulking state, and Angelique who was watching over her.

"You going to get up now, belle fille?" the opera singer asked Kimiko, kneeling down next to her. "You cannot just pout down there."

"I can try," Kimiko muttered bitterly. "I was trying so hard to look cool, and I just humiliated myself in front of everyone… my gang would be ashamed of me."

"Honey, we're all in a bad position here. No one thinks bad of you, and if they do, to hell with them. Please, would you join me for breakfast?"

She extended her hand out, and this time Kimiko took it. Dirty from her fall but not bothering to dust herself out, the biker gang leader was quite the contrast to Angelique's regal, feminine, clean look.

"Why are you always so nice to me, anyway?" Kimiko muttered. "I'm a gruff butch bitch who is actively trying to get the attention of another girl."

"Doesn't mean we cannot be friends. Now come on, there's someone I want to introduce you too."

* * *

 **Day 05, 10:20 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Odelios sighed as he stirred the stick around in the coffee he had just brewed. Sipping it, he realized it was just an average mug of the brew. "Nope. Nothing special still."

"Monokuma did say that the talents would be gone at midnight if you didn't commit murder," Pyrrha said, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess that's a good thing, you didn't want anything that evil bear would give you."

"As much fun as I could imagine an evil barista could be, I just kind of liked the fact that I could do it, ya know? Oh well… Ishiku said it was about the same with him. The talent didn't really leave him entirely, we can still do what is normal, just not super special at it."

Placing the mug down nearby, he went to work making pancakes, waffles, and bagels. Pyrrha watched him work, silent at first as she did her own job, and then she spoke.

"Do… do you think that we could find some of Takeo's family after this?" she asked, her voice soft and emotional. "Do you think he had family?"

"Most everyone has family, Pyrrha. If he did, we can sure try," the clown said as he flipped a pancake. "Just don't go blaming yourself now."

"What… what makes you think I blame myself?"

"I can recognize someone who blames themselves after a death pretty well. Trust me when I say, you have nothing to feel guilty about. We'll do right by Takeo when we get out of here."

Not much more was said between the two, as they worked to make breakfast for all. Drake came in to help them, as did Isaac, and progress was made much more quickly.

As food was served, people branched off into their own groups to converse. Fiora and Yejoon were together, at a table far away from everyone else; the movie maker still appeared horrified, but she quietly talked with the masked serial killer.

Angelique had brought Yitro and Kimiko together, and was having them get to know each other. The biker gal was a touch distracted by Hikari and Aka becoming more friendly with each other at their own table, but eventually focused on those at her table.

Isaac, Hara, and Saiko spoke with each other, though Eisei joined them at one point. Everyone else was either seated alone, or rather quiet among their fellow graduates; no one wanted to admit how much the trial had frazzled them.

When Drake was done with the food, he found Ignatia seated alone. He walked over and sat at her table, smiling at her. "Hey there. I never really got to thank you for…"

She held up her hands, shaking her head. Grabbing her tray and drink, she hurried off, seating at another table. Drake watched her go, realizing how she wanted to be left alone. He sighed, and nibbled on his breakfast.

"Gonna give up that quickly?" Emanuel said as he sat down across from Drake. "You're never going to get anywhere if you just let her dismiss you like that."

The cartoonist stared at the Bête Noir, and turned away. "I don't know if you're the best person to ask about social skills," Drake muttered.

"Listen kid, I've been around the block more times than you or I could count. I know my way around people, I can read them quite well. Your mime crush, she's definitely seen a lot of shit in her life and that's why she's pushing you and everyone else away."

Emanuel sipped his coffee, and sighed. "But you're not going to get anywhere by being passive and nice like the shtick you've got going on. You think she's going to come alongside to you with you being gentle and a pushover? You know what I would do?"

"Slap her?" Drake said before he could help himself. He slapped his hand over his mouth, and stared in horror at Emanuel.

The Bête Noir raised an eyebrow. "Not gonna live that one down anytime soon, am I? Fine, fine. But what I'm saying is true. You want to get anywhere with a woman like that, you need to be more aggressive."

Drake stared at him, trying to comprehend the advice and everything else. "Um, why exactly are you trying to help me?"

"From what I heard, you more or less solved a lot of the mystery of the trial. Bags under the eyes, blood nails, cannot believe I missed that stuff. I just want to make sure that you keep on your toes for when the next trial happens."

"What? You… you really think there will be another murder? You shouldn't presume that kind of thing to happen."

"Kid, that thing will always happen. It always does. It's a Killing Game, and never once has it happened, be it the publicized or a fucking psycho's mini-game, death always happens.

"Just take care of yourself, kid," he mumbled as he bit into his bagel, "because this is far from over."

* * *

 **Day 05, 11:05 AM**

 **Main Plaza**

 **Southern Edge of the Plaza**

A lot of the students finished their breakfasts, and moved on out to the newly crafted area of Penjar. As far as they could tell, there were four new buildings, and were told that the fifth location was behind the renovated buildings. The Kubs informed them that each cub would be at the building they designed.

Crystal and Blake, two of those most keen to see these locations, were in front of a rather recognizable type of building. He turned towards her, and growled, "You'd best not say anything."

"Oh, the fact that our Ultimate Pyro is going to investigate a fire station with me? Why I wouldn't dream of being so scathing."

"From what I heard, it is you who gets all heated and needs to be hosed off."

Crystal fluttered her eyes and took a deep breath, then walked over to the station. Monosuke was staring up at her, holding a remote in his hand. "Hello there, tall, blonde, and beautiful! Youse want to see my art project?"

"Since when did you get so flirty?" Crystal asked, then shook her head and waved her hand. "You know what? Never mind, let's see your fire station."

"You got it, toots!"

Monosuke hit the button on the remote, and the large garage door rolled upwards. From the moment it started to crack open, a rather powerful combination of scents hit Crystal and Blake's noses. The former covered her nose and mouth, the latter sniffed as he peered into the building.

The fire station did not have a fire engine in it. There were instead a great deal of piles and collections of numerous items that were not safe in a fire station, or anywhere for that matter.

Stacks of dry newspapers and leaflets were set against the walls. Piles of oily and/or greasy rags were stacked up around the area. There were gasoline canisters, kerosene containers, alcoholic bottles, and a pile of match boxes and lighters next to an empty workbench.

There was a large fire hose located near the back, close to a back door. The fire hose had a large warning sign above it saying, "Not to be used under any circumstances." The back door's sign said, "Must be closed under all circumstances."

"Okay," Crystal said, muffled, "what… the HELL is going on here?"

"What do you mean, sweet cheeks?" Monosuke asked. "It's a fire station."

"You have so many flammables here," Blake stated, crossing his arms as he peered in there. "The fumes that come from this is enough to start one up with a spark. You even got fire starters in there."

"Got more too! Got a blowtorch or two in some of the drawers, magnifying glasses, a flamethrower…"

"A what?!"

Blake walked into the fire station, and saw what appeared to be a mixture of a backpack and dual canisters, with a long hose connected to it. Monosuke waddled into the fire station, chuckling as he saw the pyro studying it.

"Youse like that? I haven't fueled it up yet, don't really know if it's napalm or gasoline or such to put in it," the orange bear admitted, "but maybe when I get it up and running, we could burn down one of my siblings' buildings!"

"Let's settle down there, chief," Blake advised. "For now, I'm just gonna step outside for a little while."

As the pyro walked outside, Monosuke continued to organize things. Crystal stared down Blake, and said, "You cannot be serious."

"There's no way in hell we're going to actually get the flamethrower working," Blake assured her. "It takes a certain kind of chemical mix to ensure you don't blow yourself to hell, not to mention I don't entirely trust Monokuma's kids to make one that works perfectly fine."

"Oh good, you have that common sense to you," the military adviser remarked, rolling her eyes. "This place is so dangerous though, what on Earth was he thinking?"

Monosuke apparently heard this, and called out, "It's called a fire station, toots, not a water station! So I prepared it accordingly! Fire for days if you pace yourself!"

Crystal shook her head, and stared at Blake. "This is all incredibly dangerous. Any idea if we can remove these items safely?"

"Don't you think we can keep them as a back-up plan?" Blake asked, staring right back at her. "It might be something we could just consider."

"Just what are you proposing?"

"Consider this: we're not trapped here. We could spread this shit out, and set the whole damn town ablaze. Get everyone out, and the mastermind and all those behind them don't get anything they want.

"No deaths, no murders, no executions or bullshit, we just ash these freaks and never let them harm another soul again."

Crystal stared at him, seeing his excitement in this idea. She stared at the highly flammable fire station. "Nuke the site from orbit is not a valid option. Those who follow Despair, and especially those immersed in it, aren't going to be affected or harmed if one of their projects is destroyed.

"Besides, we came here for answers. That's why I assumed you came too, Blake."

"I can find satisfaction with burning the fucking town."

The military adviser crossed her arms, and said rather matter-of-factly and quiet, "Is that what your brother meant to you?"

Blake flinched as if hit with an electric shock, and glared fiercely at her. "You watch it, bitch."

"No, I think that you should. Do not set fire to this place, or any of the buildings; you said so yourself, you don't trust the Kubs to not mess up any weaponry they give us."

She started to walk off, and Blake stood there, clenching his fists. "How the hell," he shouted, "did you know about that anyway?"

"I told you, I kept tabs on the graduates who survived," she said, "and since you were a high-risk individual, I studied up on you. And I was just guessing, but I believe I confirmed my theory. Please try to behave yourself now, Mr. Shokyaku, we don't want what happened in Australia to happen here too."

Crystal walked off, leaving a flabbergasted and highly upset Blake behind her. The pyro glanced over at Monosuke, who was humming as he adjusted a collection of blowtorches in the workbench's compartments. With a bitter sigh, he walked in the opposite direction to collect his thoughts.

"What the _hell_ ," Ishiku shouted as he approached the building, "kind of fire station is this?!"

* * *

 **Day 05, 11:10 AM**

 **Plant Nursery**

"Don't touch that," Hara declared, hurrying over to Anzu. She gently pulled the pale girl away from the plant, adding, "It's poison oak!"

"What!" Anzu balked and almost leapt backwards. She glanced around the nursery, observing the plants. "I… I had no idea. I thought poison oak was green."

"The red version is something that's been recently discovered," Hara explained, scanning the place too. "It was actually theorized that botanists afflicted with Despair created it and tried to spread it around…"

"Their efforts are certainly on display here," Isaac remarked.

The three stared at the greenhouse's contents, which were more or less rows of poison oak and poison ivy, red and green versions of both. They were growing from their potted plants into the walkways, as if wanting to ensure that anyone walking through would have to touch them.

"What the absolute hell," Anzu snapped, staring down at Monotaro. The red Kub had been waiting for an opinion, and he was rather startled when the actress thrust her finger at her. "What is this shit?!"

"I, um, I don't know what you mean," Monotaro sputtered. "I picked plants that were highly popular for my new plant shop."

"You picked a bunch of rash-causing weeds! Poison oak, poison ivy," Anzu continued, gesturing towards the plants. "What the hell made you think this was a good idea?"

"Honey," Hara spoke up, "why are you so upset?"

"I… I just thought that there could be something nice here. Everything in this town is so dead and ugly, I really was hoping to see flowers. I guess I got my hopes up."

"Never forget how sadistic and cruel the bears get," Isaac remarked. "Monotaro, you really think we'd vote for this awful place?"

"There's more plants in the rows at the back," the red bear protested. "I didn't just make rows of poison oak and ivy."

"What's back there then?" Anzu asked, clasping her hands together. Her mood picked up at the possibility, even her hair seemed to brighten up at this.

"Cacti."

Anzu very quickly wilted like a flower soaked in gasoline.

"Tons of cacti, some of the tallest I could gather too," Monotaro proudly said. "I promised Monodam I would get him some fermented cacti juice for the party! It'll be great."

"Doesn't that stuff cause massive hallucinations?" Isaac muttered. "I think you might want to reconsider that."

"Why? I don't drink, or at least I don't remember drinking, but that may be a side-effect from drinking so much… anyway! It's like, I wanna see how you all look!"

The three people in the greenhouse exchanged looks, and Anzu spoke for them. "This has got to be the worst building of them all."

"Hey no wait," Monotaro pleaded. "There's roses and beautiful flowers at the end of the aisles! I put them there because I felt if someone wanted to give a pretty flower to someone they liked, they would want to work for it!"

The three of them tried to peer down the very long aisles. Monotaro's plant nursery's front door was at the far right side, and there were no other doors into the building. The other side of the building was so far away, the sight of colorful flowers was highly distant.

"Are there red roses?" Anzu asked.

"Yes ma'am!"

The actress giggled, and said, "Oh… well… I'm such a fan of red roses. If anyone were to do that for me, I might just have them in my room tonight."

Isaac stared at her, glanced down the long aisle that had so much poison oak and ivy sticking out throughout the entire way, and then looked at Hara. His fiancé giggled and shook her head.

"You don't need to go that far for me, honey," she said with a grin. "As someone who's come into contact with all three of those plants at some point, I can tell you now, sex will be the very last thing on your mind for a while."

"I'm a little high maintenance and selfish enough to make that request," Anzu admitted, coyly coiling one of her blue bangs around her finger. "But at the same time, I feel a bit shameless making that advert."

"I don't think you're selfish like that," Hara said, patting Anzu's shoulder. "What's say we get out of here and see what's at the other buildings?"

The three left, engaged in a cute conversation, leaving behind a rather dejected and upset Monotaro. He perked up when he heard the front door bell ring, and the next graduate came in.

"What the _hell_ ," Ishiku shouted as he stared at all the very itchy plants, "kind of plant nursery is this?!"

* * *

 **Day 05, 11:20 AM**

 **Movie Theater**

 **Projection Room**

"Wait a minute," Pyrrha said, staring at the projector connected to the DVD player, "is this it?"

"Um, there's a little more to it than that," Monophanie said, rubbing her paws together. "I mean, I have a wide selection of movies in that cabinet."

She pointed to a tall metal cabinet, which had three shelves. The romance writer stared at it, then down at the pink bear. "It's one movie screen with a bunch of DVDs to watch here? That's your idea of a movie theater?"

Monophanie hung her head in shame, and said, "Well, I mean, it is called a _movie_ theater."

"You really thought that through literally, did you?" Eisei commented, looking through the window down at the screening room. The seats weren't even the usual movie theater style, they were collapse or lawn chairs. There were great big paintings of Monokuma posing next to the movie screen, as if to accentuate it was a presentation of his.

"I… I wanted it to be nice for you all, and for Daddy, but I've never actually been to a movie theater before. I had to gather all these movies in the cabinet for my building…"

Eisei sat down on the table that the projector was on, glancing out the window. He resembled a child trying to spy on a movie. "Maybe you should have gone with a play theater instead? Did you know that in olden times, the ones who were meant to play the villain had to be escorted out of the theater's back stage because…"

As Eisei carried on with Monophanie listening, Shuuya walked into the projection room. He saw Pyrrha rifling through the movies in the cabinet, and approached her. "So the popcorn machine, soda machine, and everything else down there don't work. Looks like she didn't want to spring for any luxuries in this theater."

"Shame that, I was kind of hoping to distract myself from everything with a nice movie," she remarked, staring at one of the DVD covers. It wasn't a real cover, just a white paper with some writing on it.

"A rom-com for you, correct?"

"I'm not only about the romantic movies, good sir," she said with a smirk. Then she showed him the DVD cover, which read, " _The Complete Second Season of Monokuma Theater._ "

"Oh joy to the world," Shuuya remarked, "even more of that bear. Is that all she put in there?"

Pyrrha continued to look through the DVD covers, until she came to a stop. She stared at one, then showed it to Shuuya with a worried look.

" _Hikari Tetsushime's Performances_ "

Shuuya took the DVD from her, staring at it before opening it up; it did have a disc in it. "Monophanie," he shouted, startling the pink bear and stopping the dentist's monologue, "what is this?"

Monophanie stared at him, at the DVD, and back up at him. "A lot of you were celebrities, so I managed to get some of your live shows or such on film. Or at least, Daddy provided."

Shuuya growled, then stared at Pyrrha. "I'd hate to admit it, but Jin's statement about being lured here seems rather true. How else could they procure DVDs like this?"

Pyrrha nervously swallowed, then continued looking through the DVDs. They found ones for Ishiku's magic performances, the Nahm siblings' art performances, speeches from Futaba or Souma, lectures from Shinobu, a demonstration collection of Blake's, operas and plays Angelique was in, Odelios at the circus, and more.

Pyrrha looked through an entire shelf, and closed it before going to the next one. "You know, Fiora and Anzu are part of the movie business, how come there isn't anything of theirs here?"

"You want B-movies and porn?" Shuuya remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Some would say they are one and the same."

"I fail to understand that comparison," Eisei remarked, dangling his legs off of the table's side, right next to Monophanie doing the same thing. "What do underwhelming cinema projects have to do with fornication films?"

Shuuya chuckled, then he saw Pyrrha was going through the movies more slowly. She seemed rather upset, especially when she started reading the titles.

" _Despair Fires in the USA, Volume 1_ "

" _The Geisha House Killing Game_ "

" _Airplane Murder Game I-VI_ "

Shuuya reached down to put his hand over hers, stopping her progress. He turned towards Monophanie again, making her jump with how stern his glare was. "And what are these?"

Monophanie rubbed her paws together, and muttered, "Daddy managed to collect a lot of the events that were recorded on film during the Tragedy. I don't like violence, but he wanted to store these here…"

Shuuya scoffed in frustration, until he saw one that Pyrrha was looking at it. When he read the title, " _The Parking Garage Killing Game_ ," his eyes widened. He yanked it out of her hands, staring at the text on the front, then read the notes that detailed the movie more. It said when it was, which country it was in, how many victims, and who the perpetrator was…

The bounty hunter opened the DVD case and raised his fist to smash the disc.

" **STOP!** "

Monokuma was suddenly right in front of Shuuya's face, standing on the table where the bounty hunter had placed the case. " **No destruction of my DVDs is allowed! If you break one, you buy it… by strict punishment!** "

"You cannot be serious," Shuuya growled, eyes narrowed in a hateful glare at the bear.

" **Dead serious! Well, maybe not death will be the punishment, but I will consider the complete removal of a limb if you break a DVD. Now kindly put it back in the shelf, or play it. It's a really nice one, gets to the death real quick!** "

Shuuya continued to glare at Monokuma, then he handed the DVD towards Pyrrha. "Please don't let anyone watch these," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It's just snuff films."

Pyrrha nervously put it back in the shelf, and closed it. She, Monophanie, and Eisei watched as Shuuya wordlessly left the building. Monokuma followed him out, taunting all the way about wanting to see the movie.

"Seems there's a story there," Eisei remarked, "but I don't know if we should pry."

"Maybe another time," Pyrrha muttered.

"Is that going to effect my score?" Monophanie whimpered.

"Why the _hell_ ," Ishiku shouted from the lobby, "are you trying to shove Monokuma into the popcorn kettle, Shuuya?! What if we wanna make popcorn?"

* * *

 **Day 05, 11:30 AM**

 **Monokuma Park**

Souma crossed his arms as he scanned the area. The park, located behind the new buildings, was incredibly wide. It was not a pleasant sight, and that was not due to the gloomy overcast weather.

Monokid's park, dedicated to his father, had no grass whatsoever. It was a rocky surface, the cobblestone the same color as obsidian. The size of the park was like several soccer fields, all of this stone that wasn't exactly comfortable to walk on.

Decorating the park were "artwork" pieces that appeared to be twisted pieces of jagged metal. Souma swore he saw rust on these art pieces, especially around the sharp, jutting parts.

The public speaker stared at one piece that appeared to be a large fork that had been in the garbage disposal for an extended period. He then glanced down at Monokid, who was waiting expectantly for compliments.

"This is horrid," Souma said as bluntly as he could.

"What?! Aw screw you, what would YOU know about art, ya fancy lad?!"

"What would you?" Souma countered, glaring down at the blue bear. "You're a vulgar musician, miniature despair cub that has made a park with no grass and jagged metal sculptures?"

"Grass is whack!" Monokid hollered, smashing his guitar against the sculpture and breaking his instrument in two. "Why would you want to be smoking that stuff here anyway?! We do honey here, hardcore honey! And the sculptures are just too sophisticated for you to get, buster!"

"This looks like a large fork that was stuck in a garbage disposal," Souma countered, pointing at the disturbing art piece. "What sophistication is that supposed to represent?"

Monokid's lengthy tongue hung from his maw, before he sucked it back in and replied with, "Ding ding ding, da-ding ding ding ding ding…"

"What on Earth are you even saying right now?!"

Samson walked up to Souma, and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, pal, you're in a shouting match with this little dumbass; you're not going to win that anytime soon."

The public speaker sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry. I think I let this place get the best of me."

"Yeah, I know how that can be," Samson remarked. He glanced to the side, and noticed the largest piece of art that was at the right edge of the park.

It was a rather large, two-story sized wooden sculpture of Monokuma. He had his paws upwards, his mouth wide open to be frozen in a sinister laugh. In front of him was a large fire pit, as if he was demanding a sacrifice. There was nothing in the fire pit currently, so it could also be seen as the giant Monokuma carving furious that nothing was being offered.

"I had to do a lot of business with art over the years," Samson said, shaking his head. "I admit, I didn't get most of it. But I don't think anyone sane would want that."

"Only Despair fanatics," Souma agreed. "I swear, I cannot tell if he is taunting us with how terrible this all is, or mocking us that he or whatever powers here built it overnight."

"You really think that there is something supernatural going on here?"

"After yesterday, with the murder and trial, I'm not to eliminate that possibility. There's more to this town than they're letting on, and this one at the least is jeering at us that he can make this crap instead of the real deal I'm sure he could do."

Souma glanced down at Monokid, who was waving the broken pieces of his guitar around, continuing his song. Souma and Samson decided to walk down to the other side of the park, if only to get away from the obnoxious noises the blue bear was making.

Futaba was standing at the other side, staring at the two-story wooden carving of Monokuma that was at this end. It was leaning down, paws reaching out as if wanting an offering given to him now. There was an empty fire pit in front of him too.

The anthropologist was staring at it so much, she almost didn't notice the two men approach. When Souma cleared his throat, she turned around, and smiled at them. "Gentlemen," she said, letting her eyes linger on them for a little bit longer than normal, before glancing back at the Monokuma carving.

"Miss Imajuku," Souma responded. "Anything you could tell us about this, um, no I won't call it art, this abomination?"

"You know how a good eye could tell the difference between a cheaply made trinket, and a real artifact of the past?" she said. "I mean, you wouldn't have to be an Ultimate Antique Expert or something, but you can tell these things."

"I'm sure you have an eye for these things," Souma remarked with a smile. "So which is it?"

"That's what is weirding me out right now. It's both."

She stared at the large Monokuma carving, and knocked on it. "It shows all the signs of something made yesterday, and something that's been here for as long as everything else old and decrepit in this town. I don't understand it, and I hate that."

"Maybe we should ignore this for now," Samson said, "do something to get our minds off of this madness. I feel like they're trying to overwhelm us."

Futaba sighed, then turned back to the two men, and a smirk spread across her face. "That sounds like the kind of line a man uses before he offers to buy a woman a drink. Are you offering? Are you both offering, maybe?"

She chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I honestly wouldn't mind at this point, maybe you two could truly distract me by competing to see who can buy me the best drink."

Samson and Souma exchanged glances, wondering if this was really happening. With a chuckle, Souma said, "I assume you mean some coffee from the café?"

"No, I mean the only good place here. Come on, boys, impress a girl, will ya?"

Futaba gestured for them to follow, the obvious delight in telling them what to do apparent in everything she did. Like helpless lemmings, they followed after her, heading towards the one building that they hadn't seen yet.

Meanwhile, further back down in the park, Monokid was still doing his interpretive dance and song over his artwork in front of the latest guest.

"What the _hell_ ," Ishiku strained out as he stared at the dancing Kub, "is… this? What is any of this?"

* * *

 **Day 05, 11:35 AM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

 **Back Door/Storage Room**

Futaba opened the back door to the place, which was rather near the corner of Monokuma's Park. The storage room was full of all kinds of supplies, neatly organized and clearly labeled. Walking out of this supply area, she opened up the door and presented the two men with the inside of the building.

The tavern was incredibly large, a two story building with highly detailed, well-polished construction involved. To their left from the back door was the kitchen, visual to the public including the grill and spit roast. To their right was one a collection of so much one would expect in a place like this, all built perfectly.

There was a large bar with many bottles on the shelves, an incredible collection that gleamed as much as the perfectly polished counter. Emanuel was there, admiring a shot of pristine whiskey that the bartender Monodam had poured him.

Next to the bar was a stage, the red curtains pulled open to showcase band instruments at the ready. There was a microphone stand at the front of the stage, ready for live entertainment.

The dance floor in front of the stage was polished, smooth, and ready for a jam or a hootenanny. There was a fireplace at the opposite end, protective bars in front of it for if people wanted a roaring fire but a bit of security. Brick steps around the fireplace allowed people to seat themselves near the fire.

At the other end of the building was a rather interesting design. There were tables and chairs like a restaurant on the first floor, the polished wooden design of the furniture sturdy and smooth. A staircase led up to the second floor, which was two rooms with open balconies for people to see what was going on up there.

The left room had a thick curtain that if the person wanted, could pull it closed for privacy. There was a round table with a pole on it, deep and cushy seats for someone who wanted to watch a private show. There were also chairs near the curtains, in case the people who had this VIP room wanted to watch the live entertainment on stage instead.

The right room, the one that the stairs led up to directly, was modeled almost to look like the inside of a barn. There were hay bales stacked up to look like a large sofa, and a large coffee table in front of it. Numerous western iconic items were up on the wall, including a pitchfork, a bull skull, a coil of rope, and a lucky horseshoe.

Ken was seated up on the hay loft VIP room, seeing how comfortable it really was. He saw the trio entering the tavern, and waved down at them. In the most absolute interesting version of a western accent that probably came solely from watching westerns in Novoselic, he called down, "Well gawl-howdee thar, pilgrims!"

When the trio glanced up at the cavalryman, they noticed almost right next to them was a mechanical bull ride. Yitro was riding the bucking bull-bot, and was doing a pretty good job at it. Angelique and Kimiko were watching outside of the ring, cheering him on.

"Y'all see that thar pardnur ridin' tha' thar bull?" Ken shouted, laughing and slapping his knee.

Yitro had been given a stetson, and was now waving it around in one hand and holding on for the other. Kimiko was rather impressed by this, and she clapped excitedly.

"Is it as impressive as a motorcycle rider?" Angelique whispered to the biker gang leader. "He's so darn handsome when he shows off his strength like this." Kimiko glanced at the opera singer, biting her lower lip and nodding.

Among the trio, Samson broke off to cheer on Yitro, while Futaba headed over to the bar. Glancing over at Emanuel and muttering, "Hey there, handsome, try not to overdo it this time." She then seated herself on a barstool, and said, "Hey there, barkeep, allow me to escape this cruel reality for a while and give me a shot."

Souma just took all of this in stride, and decided to head on over to the bar. As he seated himself too, Shinobu walked into the tavern, appearing exasperated.

"Okay then," the historian said, before scanning the inside of the place, "what horrid joke are you pulling with this one, you darn… bears… wh-what?"

"Ahoy, partnur," Ken shouted, waving down at Shinobu, "what's a purdy young lady like you doin' inna dive bar like this? Haha!"

Shinobu heard this, saw the grand majesty of the place, and stood there in shock. There were so many, many questions she had, so she started with one of them. "How drunk is Ken to be speaking like that?" she asked those at the tavern.

"One beer," Emanuel remarked, watching Monodam fill up his shot glass again. "He's just really, really enjoying the atmosphere. Big dork's honor is taking a backseat since he's in here."

Shinobu shook her head, trying to comprehend all of the wonderful things that were in this rather glamorous western tavern: kitchen and grill, mechanical bull, fully stocked bar, band stage, dance floor, fireplace, restaurant area, VIP western lounge, VIP private dancer lounge…

"You did all of this," she asked, walking over to Monodam and staring at the green Kub, " _all_ of this, in one single night?!"

As Monodam finished pouring Emanuel's drink, and started on Futaba, he glanced up at Shinobu. "YES."

"But… but how? Why? How is something like this even possible?"

"YOU-ALL-NEEDED-A-PLACE-WHERE-YOU-COULD-GET-ALONG-AND-BECOME-FRIENDS. I-USED-MY-IMAGINATION-TO-CREATE-A-PLACE-MANY-OF-YOU-WOULD-HAVE-INTEREST-IN."

"How on Earth did you make such a wonderful place, when all of your siblings or whatever they are did so terrible?"

"WHAT-DO-YOU-MEAN?"

"Monosuke made a fire station full of flammables, Monotaro had irritable weeds for his plant nursery, Monophanie had a one movie screen with a bizarre DVD collection…

"And your brother or whatever he is out there," she said, rubbing her forehead as she tried to remove the rest of the Monokid-caused headache, "doesn't even have grass in his park."

"GRASS-IS-WHACK," Monodam replied. "WE-PREFER-ACTIVITIES-HERE-THAT-PEOPLE-CAN-ENJOY-AND-BOND-OVER."

Shinobu blinked at Monodam, and then asked, rather flatly, "And the stripper pole upstairs?"

"FROM-WHAT-I-GATHERED, MANY-OF-YOU-LIKE-SEXUALLY-PLEASING-ENCOUNTERS. POLES-ARE-UNISEX-TOOLS-FOR-ENTERTAINMENT-BY-THE-WAY."

"Right on, you weird-talking robot bear," Futaba declared, toasting her barkeep. "Speaking of BI the way…"

She reached out and wrapped an arm around Shinobu's waist. "You wanna try and compete against these handsome men for a shot at shots with me?"

"I'm straight," Shinobu protested. "And what's up with you? In all the time I've seen you here, you've been dead serious!"

"Oh yeah, a serial killer amid supernatural mysteries like how a freaking building like this comes up overnight… I'm going to enjoy myself for the time being. Maybe I should get laid, maybe I should enjoy myself before I get GUTTED and FILLETED!"

"PLEASE-CALM-DOWN," Monodam requested. "THIS-TAVERN-BAR-N-GRILL-IS-NOT-A-PLACE-FOR-EVISCERATION."

"Wishful thinking, it's a Killing Game, and I'm too stubborn to leave. Might as well get laid. So, Shinobu, wanna see what I look like when the glasses come off? And the clothes too?"

"Still straight."

"Ahhh, you're no fun. I'mma gonna have fun before I die!"

She knocked back another shot, and leaned on the counter. Sighing happily at the kick, Futaba stared at Monodam, and shook her head. "I don't get you, green bear."

"DO-YOU-REQUEST-A-REFILL?"

"Yesh I do, one for me and one for my future bedmate!"

"Futaba, how many time do I have to say I'm straight, and I'm also not a drinker. If you could let go of my hip, and maybe someone else will…"

As the historian debated at length with the anthropologist (something that was a very normal occurrence in civilization, just rarely ever about shots and hip-holding), Ishiku came stumbling into the tavern. He was rather amazed by the place, though he was having trouble admiring it, as Monokid was clinging to his ankle.

"Pleaaaaaaaaase don't fawn over Monodam's building," the blue Kub begged. "I want a magician to do a magic show in my park so fucking bad!"

"Why the _hell_ ," Ishiku shouted as he tried to shake the pleading blue cub, "couldn't I have come to this building first?!"

* * *

 **Day 05, 12:30 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

After an hour, almost every one of the graduates were filling up Monodam's tavern, enjoying everything it had to offer. It was quite the gathering, and spent all of the afternoon there too.

Shinobu had joined Ken in the hay loft lounge, with the cavalryman enjoying his _second_ beer for this wild evening. He was telling Shinobu all about Novoselic, and the historian was listening quite intensively. She had a faint blush on her face the entire time.

Kimiko was trying so hard to be as good as a bull rider as Yitro, but had drunk quite a bit and was being thrown around quite a bit. Yitro and Angelique kept having to pull her up, the latter obviously letting her friend pick up the giggling, tipsy biker leader.

Futaba and Emanuel were leaning on the counter, sloshed and having a great time. Souma, who had a club soda, was conversing with Samson, Shuuya, and Crystal. They had a lot of tales to tell, and Monodam was good at ensuring they never saw the bottom of a glass.

The other four Kubs, defeated, were now working in the kitchen with a very happy and loud Odelios; the clown had developed a British accent and was yelling at the Kubs to do better. Monokuma tried to butt in to take control, so Odelios opened one of the ovens and shoved the despair bear in.

In the restaurant area, a lot of the graduates were seated and conversing. The Kubs and Odelios served BBQ ribs, very western foods, as well as salads. It was quite the fulfilling meal, and it did distract them as they got to know each other more.

Hara and Isaac were speaking with Eisei and Drake, having started with the town but then talking about their lives, especially times at Hope's Peak Academy. Eisei made a point of inspecting all three of their mouths before offering them lollipops as dessert.

Blake and Ishiku, having gorged on ribs and had a beer or few, were having a grand time. With a mixture of Australian slang and Spanish phrases, the two were making all kinds of weird nicknames for each other. They almost sounded like they had reverted to their teenaged years.

Fiora, Saiko, and Ignatia were seated at a table together, though the women didn't speak much at all. Fiora was unusually quiet, Ignatia was herself, and Saiko was perfectly fine with no conversation. The forensic investigator started to play games on her phone, until she noticed just how much BBQ sauce was on Ignatia's face; it stood out so much that she started giggling, and Fiora couldn't help but join in.

Upstairs in the VIP area, Anzu was treating some of the girls to a rather special show. The adult actress was swinging, grinding, and dancing on the pole, a sensual smile on her face the whole time. Hikari and Aka were pressed up close to each other as they very much enjoyed the show.

Pyrrha had been in the room before it started, and had stayed with a blush on her face that almost matched her red hair. Anzu could see that, and decided to swish and sway her way to the romance writer. Placing her hands on the girl's thighs, she pulled herself up and stared into the writer's eyes.

"I didn't know that you liked girls too," she purred.

Pyrrha swallowed, tried so hard to maintain eye contact, and attempted to formulate a sweet reply to that. "… I… I've forgotten how words work."

Anzu giggled, then slid herself across the legs of the three ladies. "Let it be known here and now, ladies, and to anyone else interested: all this and more if any of you find a safe way to get a rose from that garden. Sorry, but that's gonna be my aphrodisiac from here on~"

The hours passed, and soon had to go to bed sooner rather than later. Souma and Crystal ensured Futaba get to her place, as the anthropologist had overdone it with the drinking. Emanuel also needed help, so Samson volunteered to help the sloshed Bête Noir back to his place.

Those drinking had to get some sleep too, with half of the graduates needing their bed by 9. Anzu was one of them, as she claimed that she could go all night with her friends, but a couple glasses of wine and she was out like a light.

Eventually the last of the graduates decided to head off to sleep. Isaac and Hara met up with Saiko, and the three walked back to the dorms together. Drake matched up with Ignatia, and offered to walk her back to her place; the mime was at first against it, but then shrugged and walked alongside him.

The Monokubs all stood outside the front door of the western tavern, waving so long and bear well to the graduates. Oh, and every single graduate told them that Monodam had won the contest, no question.

"I want a recount!" Monokid hollered, breaking his guitar into even more pieces. "We didn't get every single graduate to vote, so maybe if there is a recount, I could win."

"We have twenty-five votes for Monodam," Monotaro mumbled, hanging his head in shame. "I don't think any recount will solve that."

"At least everyone seems happy," Monophanie cooed, clapping her paws. "It's like the pool party, Penjar is happy and getting along so well!"

"Hmmmph," Monosuke grunted, fanning himself with money, "the clown stuck Pops in one of the ovens, shouldn't we disqualify his vote?"

"CALM-DOWN," Monodam said, "IT-IS-NOT-THE-FIRST-TIME-FATHER-HAS-BEEN-BARBECUED."

"I still want that damn recount, you vote-stealing hack," Monokid yelled. "Otherwise we'll never known the twenty-sixth vote."

Yejoon walked by the Kubs, and said, "My vote's for Monodam's place too."

Monokid's yelling and shouting echoed throughout Penjar that night. The other Kubs were much more quiet, but as everyone was in the housing area, they couldn't hear.

Fiora was one of the last ones to make it to her place. She was so ready to collapse, when she heard a small laugh nearby. Yejoon was about to enter his house, when he had stopped to look over at the movie maker.

"The motive will be announced tomorrow," he said, staring at her through the eyeholes of his mask. "Do you think you'll be ready?"

With a shiver, the movie maker shook her head. "I don't think I'll be ready for anything that bear will throw at us… and I don't know how I could if you're going to follow me around during the day."

"I'm afraid you'll just have to live with it for now, my dear Fiora. Because the way Monokuma and his hidden allies are playing this game, compared to the others, I believe the stakes are higher than you realize."

Fiora crossed her arms, her face contorting as it was very obvious she wanted to blurt something out. Yejoon chuckled again, and said, "And that's why I will be keeping you close to the chest, in case you were wondering. I believe that you are the best way for me to get what I want. Don't worry, I have no intention of harming you."

"How comforting," Fiora mumbled, and, controlling her shivers, she moved into her house and shut the door rather loudly.

Yejoon stepped into his house, getting ready for bed. The artist pulled some DVD cases from his pockets, and placed them on the table. The DVD player that was originally at the movie theater was now plugged into his room's TV.

The artist searched through the collection of movies he had taken from the theater as well. The titles were all rather grim, the ones involving death, despair, and murder. He pulled one out of the case, and put it into the player.

"Let's just see how our host," he said as he lay in bed, the movie warming up, "likes to paints a tapestry of death."

* * *

( **Day 05 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is now dressed in a white tunic, and is standing on the side of a boat. He is posing most proudly, as the wind carries the ship into port._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "People like to say things like, "If everyone jumped off of a bridge, would you do it?" I used to say in response, "If everyone ate vegetables because they were healthy, would you do it?" But then…"

* _The confident Monokuma sees the port is now within range, and he leaps from his boat to the dock._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Maybe it is best to just go with whatever the majority of people say is best. Because otherwise, we would have to agree with whatever the minority say, and they'll be saying things like, "Trees should not be allowed in neighborhood areas!" It's absurd!"

* _Monokuma flaps his arms frantically as he has missed the dock, and is plummeting into the water. Oops!_ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Some try to say that those who go against the norm make history, but I say those that make history also make the norm! Like me, upupupupupu!"

* * *

…

 **26 Graduates remain in Penjar.**


	12. Chapter 2-2: Does Penjar Bleed?

**Chapter 2-2**

 **Red Light, Cross Words**

* * *

 **Day 06, 9:25 AM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Samson Miller's House**

The Ultimate Trader was done showering, shaving, and getting dressed for the day. He was now taking time to clean his gun, because he wasn't about to take any chances.

"Cannot believe there's a damn serial killer here," he muttered to himself, "and I cannot shoot him. That's despair right there, but oh well."

As he finished up the cleaning, the TV came to life. There was, like every other morning here in Penjar, a moment when the trader considered putting a bullet in that television. He was getting really tired of their voices…

* * *

( **Day 06 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The five Kubs are standing at the town hall. While Monodam is his normal, stoic self, the other four all appear to be in various forms of pouting._ *

 **All Five Kubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

 **Monokid** \- "You fuckers wanna get up and get shit done, don't you? Fuck you, I'm getting some honey!"

* _He pulls out a jar of honey as big as him from off-screen; the jar looks suspiciously like the same kind of jar a willy-nilly silly old bear would have._ *

 **Monophanie** \- "Monokid! That's no way to speak to our guests! We just have to accept that Monodam's place won the contest, and the party will be held there tomorrow."

 **Monosuke** \- "Tuh! You're lucky there's a dance pole in that stupid building of yours, Monodam, or I'd be holding you so Monokid can hit you!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- * _slogging down honey_ * "Glug glug glug… I shudda wun dat contesht… shtupid fox artisht's deciding vote!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Will you boys get over it? Sheesh, he's your brother!"

 **Monotaro** \- "That's right! … Wait, we are siblings, right? I mean, I thought that was our case, if Father is all our father… do we have different mothers?"

 **Monosuke** \- "I don't resemble you guys at all! Maybe we're stepchildren! That way, we can beat Monodam without feeling guilty about it!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Wait, how's that work exactly?"

 **Monophanie** \- * _sighs_ * "Everyone, please enjoy yourselves, because at 5 PM, we will be gathering at the Main Plaza in front of Town Hall, and Daddy will be giving you your next motive!"

 **Monokid** \- "Buuuuurp… uuuuurgh… sho… that'sh all we got… now fuck off…"

 **All Five Kubs** \- "So long, bear well~!"

* * *

Samson took a deep breath, and contemplated shooting the television again. He couldn't remember them saying that it was against the rules, but he had a bad feeling they'd try to twist things. Maybe he'd just have to find Monokuma and continue the killing game that was killing the despair bear.

"That's the only killing game I can get into," he said with a laugh.

* * *

 **Day 06, 9:40 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Everyone was gathered in the cafeteria this morning, trying to start a pattern of normalcy in this crazy town. Odelios and Pyrrha were cooking again, but this time Isaac was helping them. The reporter felt guilty that the two were having to do all the work, especially since Takeo wasn't around anymore to help them.

Hara and Saiko were seated with Souma and Eisei, and the four of them were recalling tales from Hope's Peak Academy. It was a rather nice and heartfelt time for them, which they needed when they spotted Yejoon entering the cafeteria.

The fox-themed artist took a tray of food, nodding at the horrified Pyrrha, and walked off towards a certain table. Fiora was chewing her food, and she almost choked on it when he approached and sat down at her table.

"No… not again," she sputtered, staring pleadingly at him. "Why are you following me everywhere I go?"

"I didn't follow you when all of you went to the new tavern we got last night. Come now, I'm curious about you."

Fiora started making a disgusted noise, but thought better of it and slumped at the table. "But I don't understand what you want from me! Is this what you do with all your victims?"

"No, I rarely ever develop a personal relationship with my victims. At least, not one on one like it is with you right now. I'm afraid those pesky stereotypes about serial killers are rather true: we do follow a pattern with our victims."

The movie maker strained, as she raised her head to stare him down. He had moved his mask up so that he could enjoy his breakfast, which at least he could because she was now lacking an appetite. "So what do you want then?"

"I'm not entirely sure, my dear Fiora, but I assure you, I'm not planning out your death right now."

"How comforting," she grumbled. "But when the motive is announced today, that could all change."

"Quite possibly. Now, yesterday, you talked a lot about your movies, but I'm curious about you."

"My movies are my life."

"There's not just one thing in particular that defines a person."

Yejoon stabbed a cherry with his fork, and then held it in front of her face. He twirled it around, humming teasingly as he waited for her to accept it. She stared him down and didn't react, but he persisted, and her stubbornness wasn't as strong as her desire to not make the serial killer angry. She ate the cherry from his fork, and chewed slowly.

"What else do you want to know?"

"About you, my dear."

Fiora shrugged, and said, "I'm an only child, my parents are gone from this world, and I love movies; I dyed my hair like this with that perma-dye that works a lifetime because I loved black and white movies! People kept saying I was a Monokuma fanatic after the Killing Games, but he's white and black, it's not the same-"

"Wait, I'm sorry, my dear, I was rather curious about your family," he interrupted. "I suppose I didn't have the best of one, since, well, I got the knack for killing with my parents, and had to handle my sister all the damn time."

Fiora's groan of disgust and fear was not missed by the artist. He merely chuckled and continued eating his pancakes. "What were they like?"

"Oh… they were very nice, a little strict, but passionate about their pastimes. Dad didn't think I should go into the movies, he kept saying that it wasn't a place for a girl like me, even if I wasn't an actress. Mom was okay with it, especially because I would film when we traveled…"

She sighed, as she reminisced. "We traveled a lot, they loved seeing other countries. I think that's supposed to be stereotypical of Canadians, but they didn't care. I loved it, and I saw so many amazing places with them. They died doing what they loved."

Fiora adjusted her fedora, and muttered, "They, um, they died on one of our vacations. It's just one of those things, it cannot be helped. I got into Hope's Peak Academy shortly after that, so I still had drive to continue after they were gone."

As Fiora continued to speak with Yejoon listening, other people were engaged in conversations as well. Angelique was smiling proudly at Yitro, while glancing at Kimiko who was busy getting her food.

"You two are getting along fabulously, darling," she said, giggling happily as she adjusted her glasses. "I'm so happy, I didn't think I could hook you up so quickly."

"I don't think it's going that far, Angel," he replied, "but I do appreciate it."

"She really does seem to like you, let's keep at it! I promised I'd do right by you, and I'm gonna! Once I'm sure you have a girlfriend, we can work on mine."

The former swordsman chewed his food slowly, then glanced around at everyone in the cafeteria. "Okay, who do you like?"

"Darling, we're still working on you-"

"Listen, I really am grateful, but I don't have the drive that I used to. You should have seen me after we graduated from Hope's Peak, I was pursuing women like crazy. There was that white-haired gal who was also a swordswoman, she was amazing…"

"Peko Pekoyama?" Angelique asked, tilting her head to the side. "You fancied her?"

"No, it was a different white-haired… ugh, never mind," he replied, shaking his head. "Come on, let's focus on you, which girl do you like here?"

The opera singer scanned the place, and sighed. "There's not a lot of choice. Hikari and Aka are all over each other, Hara's taken, Crystal and Shinobu and Saiko are straight, Ignatia's distant, Fiora's not really my type, Futaba's not social… Anzu is very sweet and sexy, but I don't know if I could court an adult actress."

"That leaves Pyrrha and Kimiko."

"I'm trying to pair you up with Kimiko, you stubborn man!"

Angelique let out a melodic sigh, and stared down her friend. "I'm not letting you just give you, Yitro."

"Stubborn as always."

Nearby the two friends who carried on talking about possible love lives, Drake was busy sketching everyone. He hummed a little as he had a good time drawing Samson saluting Crystal, the two chibi versions of the military personnel looking quite adorable.

As he carried on, one of those two people sat down at his table. He was rather surprised to see Crystal staring at him, as she casually ate her breakfast. "Can… can I help you?" he asked.

"Maybe. I didn't want to ask you a bunch of questions as you ate, but you seem to be more engrossed in your art right now," she explained.

"I… I like to draw in the morning after I've eaten. I feel more creative when revitalized. It's pretty good advice that I was given."

The military adviser raised one of her eyebrows. She didn't question for a few minutes, but when she did, it was a casual inquiry with a hint of authority. "There's something I'm rather curious about, and that's about your age."

"I'm eighteen?"

"I knew that, so how exactly did you graduate from Hope's Peak? Were you part of the artisan program?"

"Oh yes, I was," he said, smiling a little. "When I turned fifteen, I was sent an invitation from Hope's Peak to take part in their one year artisan program. My online series was a big hit with some of their staff, and they wanted to teach me despite the usual requirements."

"I see. So you joined when fifteen, and graduated at sixteen. Destiny was quite kind to you, one more year and you would have been there when the Tragedy began; you might not have made it, so many of the other students perished."

Drake stared at Crystal, trying to gauge what her emotions were when she spoke. It was hard to guess, she spoke with a combination of formal and casual that made her seem rather serious, but not overbearing. The cartoonist sighed, as he looked into her eyes.

"I guess I was, but I still lost people because of the Tragedy. That's why I'm here."

"You're very brave for your age, Drake," she said with a pleasant smile. As she sipped her drink, she added, "At eighteen, you traveled back to this country to hunt down what the cause of Despair was… such a venture. I'm highly curious as to what drove you to do this."

"Um, is… is it that important?"

"Honey, you're a very sweet young man, but you're shy, non-confrontational, and an artist with your talent. Though you showed a great deal of intellect and skill during the trial, you come off as the least likely person to go on an expedition like this."

She stared at him, and he felt like he was being interrogated. Crystal's gaze wasn't harsh or unfriendly, but he still felt the pressure. He sighed and closed his sketchpad, saying, "It's not really a secret. I did say I lost friends because of the Tragedy, and when I heard of a place where I could get answers, I wanted to find out why people I cared about died."

"Was it because of family, or friends?"

"My parents are alive and well, thank goodness. It was friends, especially those who I made at Hope's Peak. You see…"

Before he could say more, Monodam popped up alongside Drake. The green bear nudged the cartoonist, and said, "YOU-SHOULD-GET-OUT-OF-HERE."

"Monodam? What's wrong?" he asked.

"MY-SIBLINGS-ARE-GOING-TO-SHOW-UP-SOON. THEY-ARE-GOING-TO-MAKE-EVERYONE-HERE-TAKE-PART-IN-A-SEARCH. IT-IS-A-POINTLESS-EVENT-THAT-DOES-NOT-HELP-YOU-ALL-GET-ALONG."

Drake glanced at Crystal, who raised an eyebrow at this. The cartoonist turned back to Monodam, and said, "Thanks, but, um, why are you telling us this?"

"IT-IS-MOSTLY-YOU-I-WANTED-TO-WARN, BUT-GO-AHEAD. JUST-DON'T-LET-THEM-FIND-YOU-HERE, I-DO-NOT-LIKE-AGGRAVATING-TASKS-BETWEEN-FRIENDS."

With that, the green Kub scurried off. Drake quickly finished his meal, and he along with Crystal left the cafeteria. It was quite the odd occurrence, but some time later, there would be a good reason for this.

The other four Kubs burst into the cafeteria, catching most of the graduates by surprise. While some of them, like Drake and Crystal, had left, the majority were still there.

"Alright, you bucking fastards," a very drunk Monokud hollered, pounding his guitar on one of the tables. "Give it back!"

"Monokid," Monophanie pleaded, "you should at least tell them what it is before you demand it."

"NO! I will play the dod gamn pronouns game, and no one can stop me! Now give it back, you futher mockers!"

"He's still drunk, isn't he?" Monosuke said, shaking his head. "We really need to have an intervention about this."

"What are we looking for?" Monotaro asked, pacing back and forth. "I'm already lost! Why are we playing the pronouns game!"

The graduates tried to ignore this, until Monokid's pounding of his guitar on the table broke both it and the table. "GIVE BACK THE DVD PLAYER, YOU DIT-EATING SHICKS!"

"What are you talking about?" Samson asked, rolling his eyes.

"Monophanie's DVD player is gone from the movie theater," Monosuke explained, "as well as a large collection of her DVDs. Now we know they aren't destroyed, as all of you still have your limbs. But we want them back."

"It's an embarrassment, a disgrace," Monokid hollered. "There's going to be full to hecking pay if I don't get it back and put in my building!"

"Hey!" Monophanie protested. "It's MY building!"

"PoTAYto, poTAHto! Give it back!"

Samson rubbed his forehead as he spoke for everyone there. "We don't really care, could you please stop yelling? No one is going to help you."

Almost everyone agreed, either silently or vocally, though there was one digression. Futaba was rather startled because Shuuya had gotten up almost immediately and left the cafeteria. It reminded her a little bit of Takeo, and she was trying to figure this out as Monokid continued caterwauling.

"If you don't give it back," the blue bear blared, "I'm gonna put an EVIL curse on you!"

"Oh so spooky," Samson said, rolling his eyes at the bear. "Listen, buddy, I've been in contact, I've dealt with hostile negotiations, and survived the Tragedy. I'm not intimidated by a drunk, stupid bear cub who cannot even swear properly."

"Okay, hickdead, I'm cursing you!"

"What could you possibly do, you-"

Monokid pulled a remote with a single button out from seemingly nowhere, and pressed that solitary button.

You know that alarm sound that is so high-pitched and nerve-grating that it sets your hair on end, and your teeth on the edge? It makes you feel like your brain is rattling in your skull, and for some reason, you have to suppress an unexpected bowel movement?

That played from every speaker in Penjar, at top volume. It rattled all of the stained windows, shook the furniture, and even the buildings seemingly quivered. Needless to say, for all those living in Penjar, it was the worst sound effect ever. No matter how strong or tough they were, every single person wanted that sound to stop with the kind of desperation that could result in someone's death, including their own.

And that was just five seconds of that noise.

When it stopped, the ringing continued in their ears for a while. That's why they missed some of Monokid's speech.

"… ringtone and make it free but impossible to uninstall! Haw haw haw haaaaw! Anyway! If everyone in this cafeteria doesn't search for the DVD player, you all are going to hear more of that! And no matter what building in Penjar you're in, it'll play there!"

"But what about Daddy's announcement at 5 PM?" Monophanie asked.

"Alright then, you have until 5 PM! If the DVD player is not found then, I'll… I guess I'll have to give up, Dad gets cranky if we're loud in the evening, he's old and such."

" **What's that, sonny?!** "

Monokuma popped up behind the Kubs, startling them. Monokid took off, holding the remote over his head and shouting, "Get to looking, you boony spards!" The father bear waddled after him, a rather unusual chase going on.

* * *

 **Day 06, 10:01 AM**

 **Fire Station**

"I cannot believe we're actually doing this," Blake grumbled as he looked through the compartments and shelves inside the building. The more he looked, the more he found fire starting instruments, or things that would burn nicely.

"Eh, maybe we'll find something when we're looking," Futaba said, peering in desk drawers and finding more of the same stuff. "Besides, you kind of made a beeline to this place, I don't think you're complaining."

"Look, let me set the record, silver top," the pyro said, glaring over at her. "This is all sloppy stuff, it's not a paradise for me. I perfected an advanced kind of fire, a type of Greek Fire, that is my masterpiece. My life has been about that kind of chemical potential and power, not oily rags and a match."

Futaba blinked at the outburst, then shrugged. "Okay, I'll believe you. Just that I know how pyros are, and thus pardon me if I'm a little bit bitchy. I am supposed to observe, not criticize."

Blake couldn't help but chuckle, and he said, "You seemed rather involved when you got real drunk last night."

The anthropologist blushed, and hid her face from him. "This town sucks, and I got a little carried away. Sue me."

"How's your head, by the way? Pounding, I would guess, with how sloshed you got. Shame you didn't get laid as well, makes one wonder how difficult it's gotta be if you cannot get any even when that forward."

Futaba fluttered her eyes, and remarked, "You know, if you're not going to even try to be polite, I don't wish to waste my time here. Screw you, Aussie Embers."

She stormed out of the door that was said to not be opened, and slammed it behind her. Blake merely chuckled, and repeated, "Aussie Embers. Heh, not too bad as a nickname."

* * *

 **Day 06, 10:50 AM**

 **Plant Nursery**

"I very much doubt someone took the thing," Ken remarked, observing the unfriendly plants, "and decided the best course of action would be to place it here in this dastardly plant depot."

"Part of me thinks the Kubs would do that, just to make us waste our time," Shinobu said. She sighed and leaned against the register that was lacking a register, so it was just a counter that Monotaro had added to the place.

"I believe in this ghost town, to find a thing such as this DVD player would be like trying to find a needle in a hay loft."

"It's 'haystack,' Ken," she corrected him, giggling. "By the way, how's your head?"

"I didn't drink that much, m'lady," he said, smiling slightly at her. "But you know what? Maybe if I were to don my armor, I could brave to the other side of this building, and see if the DVD player is over yonder."

"Oh, you could get a rose while over there too," the historian suggested. She giggled a little, and said, "That sounds like something a knight in shining armor would do, brave treacherous terrain to retrieve a flower for his lady love!"

The cavalryman blinked, and stared at her. "That sounds like quite the fairy tale, Shinobu. But if I may ask, why would one do all that for a plant? Shouldn't it be for something more worthy, like a Golden Makango?"

Shinobu sighed, realizing this wasn't going to be going the way she wanted it to go. She was still rather curious about this Makango creature that he had mentioned, and realized that Novoselic culture was something she wanted to know more about.

"About romance and Novoselic, what's it like?"

"It's a bit complicated, but I think that is so we can test the strength of our love for each other. Though the country is… was," he sighed heavily before continuing, "it was rather very rich, so courting and marriage proposals seemed a bit extravagant to most.

"I didn't come from money, so I would have to find a more daring manner to propose to a lady, if I had found one. I don't really understand rich manners of proposal and courting, especially not what I have been told is a "lobster dinner" for someone I am interested in."

Shinobu sighed, staring at the flowers that were so very far away. "Money does like to complicate marriage, that's for sure. I don't really get rich life either, guess that's more for Souma and Eisei."

The cavalryman glanced at her. "What about them is rich?"

"Oh, you didn't know? They both come from very, very rich families, but I think they don't like to talk about it. Not with everything that happened…"

* * *

 **Day 06, 11:05 AM**

 **Movie Theater**

 **Lobby**

"So you're suggesting that we stand here," Eisei said, rocking on his small feet, "pretend to look busy until 5 PM, and then go to the main plaza? That's what you mean by 'killing time'?"

"How is it you still don't get commonplace phrases, my friend?" Souma said with a laugh. He was half-heartedly searching the concession stand in the lobby, definitely not looking for a DVD player. "But seriously, we needn't play into their desires any more than necessary."

"But why waste time?" the dentist inquired, searching the concession stand a bit more thoroughly. "I mean, don't we wish to discover more of the town?"

"I have a sinking feeling that Monokuma and his offspring will not allow us to discover what we want unless the nature of a Killing Game continues," Souma said, shaking his head. "They've already proven to be so resourceful that they can create buildings overnight."

"History and logic both do say that the answers will only come later on, after numerous deaths and tragedies," Eisei remarked, shuffling through the candy bar shelves. "I've never been one to assume that things will proceed differently just because I wish for them to; however, in this case, I very much would like to not see people die for progress."

The two were silent for a short while, and then Souma couldn't help but chuckle. "You're just looking to see if they stocked candy here, aren't you?"

"It's a movie theater concession stand. I wouldn't even care if they were overpriced, they _should_ be here. I would complain to the manager about this if there was one."

Souma burst out laughing, and pat Eisei's shoulder. "Never change, Eisei."

"I don't have any intention of digressing from my current physical or mental ideology at the present moment, Souma."

* * *

 **Day 06, 12:23 PM**

 **Ye Olde Clockwork Shop**

Odelios sat in a chair, watching Ishiku fiddle with a clock. The magician was rather determined to see if he could make it work again, despite the fact that his talent had disappeared two days ago. Odelios had a bowling pin, and was practicing his one-handed juggling.

"What time is it?" the clown asked the magician.

"I don't know, I haven't got the clock working," the magician replied to the clown.

"But if you get it working again, you have to set it to the correct time."

"I can set it to whatever I want, time is relative."

"You mad fool, you cannot just bend time and space to your will with a cuckoo clock!"

"I'll leave space alone, time is all mine."

"Good God, sir, do you realize what will happen if you casually make time your plaything?"

"I plan to condense time until college lectures are the length of a minute, and ice freezes in the cube tray without having to wait forever."

"Is there anyone who can stop you and your diabolical plans?"

"Maybe a doctor, but I don't know who."

"Or maybe a flock of bronze dragons who are going to ensure that you get your time-bending powers nerfed to hell and back!"

"That sounds terrifying and realistic, I will need to bring my dragon spray to ensure they don't get near me."

"You'll have to order that online, you cannot get dragon spray in stores."

"That's another thing I'll do, make shipping and handling take no time at all, so they cannot charge for it."

"Ooo, I like that."

"Thank you, I will have more ideas in the future. Or maybe I have had them already? Mwah ha ha."

"Say, Ishiku, can I ask you something?"

"I don't plan on stitching your lips shut."

"Shouldn't we be looking for the DVD player?"

"We're looking."

"We are?"

"Our eyes are in use right now, thus we are looking."

"But not for the player?"

"We're looking, that's all we have to say."

"Genius! You shall be the Ultimate Lawyer with that mentality."

"I'll legally rule time! By the way, what's that behind your ear?"

"If it's my rubber chicken again, I swear, Rubarrow is going to have words with you."

"Nope, it's a chocolate coin! But what words do a rubber chicken have when they're cross with someone?"

"I'm afraid they cannot be repeated, lest the mental scarring will leave you unable to tie your shoelaces."

"Terrifying."

"Quite."

The two were distracted for a moment when they saw someone walking down the road. It was Ignatia, carrying the decapitated head of Monokuma. Monokid was following after her, screaming a bunch of garbled curses.

"Even more terrifying," Ishiku commented.

"Quite terrifying," agreed Odelios.

"Say, have you killed Monokuma yet?"

"Yes, you?"

"Nope. You know what we should do?"

"Solve the mysteries of Penjar and get everyone out of here alive?"

"That can come second, we need to kill Monokuma in ways no one else would."

"How about being noogie'd to death?"

"How about being boogied to death?"

"How about being loogie'd to death?"

"Yejoon's got nothing on us at this rate."

* * *

 **Day 06, 12:56 PM**

 **Ye Olde Café**

"Honestly, Saiko, I know this is a bit pointless, but you can be so damn lazy!"

The forensic investigator slowly rolled her eyes towards the reporter, then spun her fidget spinner again. "I am being productive by my own means, Isaac. I'm keeping myself entertained."

The reporter huffed as he muttered, "At the very least, we should try to do something about finding this DVD player."

"Oh, honestly, why should we? The Kubs probably dropped it or ate it or whatever. It's not important to us."

"Saiko," Hara called from the kitchen, "it may be a little important! After all, we don't know what's on those DVDs. We maybe should have watched them."

"What, you think there's some hidden gem amid all of that junk? Not only would a lot of it be pointless, but I'm sure it's horrid crap that Despair fanatics would love. We'd have to watch hours of that shit…"

She stopped, when she spotted someone outside. It was Yejoon and Fiora, walking side by side. The movie maker still looked nervous as all hell, but was talking to the artist. Saiko watched them go by, and she almost froze; her fidget spinner spun to a halt, almost as if to trigger her next statement.

"She's still hanging around with that murderer?" she hissed, clenching her free hand into a tight fist. "That little bitch."

Hara walked out from the kitchen of the café, and sat down with her friend. "She probably doesn't want to hang out with him, but she's scared."

"She's hanging around with a Despair-loving lunatic who believes death is beautiful."

"But probably not by choice."

"There's always choice," Saiko said with a grumble, and spun the fidget spinner again. "If that bastard had approached me, I would tell him to fuck off, consequences be damned. No one will ever make tolerate a monster like that."

Hara and Isaac exchanged glances. Saiko stared at her spinner, her expression implying the subject was over. Usually when she was like that, it was.

The explorer sighed and leaned back, saying, "Maybe we should be looking?"

"I'm looking, just at my spinner."

Isaac called out from the kitchen, "Hey, there's still some cheesecake here, looks like the Kubs restock it. You want some of that?"

A complete transformation of expression was made on Saiko's face, and she swallowed hungrily. "Um, yeah, I'll definitely watch that."

* * *

 **Day 06, 1:26 PM**

 **Housing Area**

Pyrrha hummed to herself as she walked towards her house, quite content with how her search was going. She had looked in three different places, and that constituted looking in her book. At least, it was enough she would do for the rude little cubs.

She was about to open the door to her room, when to her surprise, it was opening already. Leaping back, she was rather shocked to see Emanuel and Shuuya step out of it! And that shock quickly morphed into outrage.

"What… what are… what are you two men doing in _my_ room?!" she shouted, stomping her foot.

Shuuya appeared rather embarrassed by this, but Emanuel just shrugged. "Looking to see who stole the DVD player," the Bête Noir explained. "The stupid Kubs want it back, and thus we're searching for it."

"In my room?" she spat, crossing her arms and staring down the man.

"If you had stolen it, we would have been justified. We're just busy going through the rooms one at a time, it's not like it's anything personal. Stop whining."

"Oh yes, why should I be upset," Pyrrha snapped, "about two men coming out of my private quarters, having gone through everything of mine?"

Shuuya started to mumble an apology, while Emanuel merely snickered. "It's not like you have a fascinating underwear drawer. You clearly live vicariously through your characters in the sex-driven romps you call literature."

Pyrrha stared him down, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. Then her eyes narrowed, and she growled, "I _hate_ you," and she turned around and stormed off. "Why don't you get the hell out of this town, since you're no good at your own damn job!?"

After she was gone, Shuuya glared at Emanuel. "Was that necessary? No, wait, allow me to say it more clearly. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I hate useless people," the detective said with a scoff. "She is one of those who continuously gets in the way with emotional outbursts, hampering any progress needed here. We don't need people like her, or the movie maker, or other useless people."

"Right, because you're clearly not emotional about any of this," Shuuya muttered, then heard a door open. Samson stepped out of the house, and shook his head.

"Nothing in there as well," he remarked. "Are you guys sure we want to continue doing this?"

"Positive. Any excuse to go through everyone's stuff and see who might be hiding things," Emanuel remarked. "I honestly couldn't care less about the DVD player, but I'm sure that someone is hiding something within these rooms. Come on, next two houses, boys!"

As the three started to search the buildings, Pyrrha watched them, listening in to the conversation. She was rather infuriated, and decidedly determined to stop them from doing this; however, she might need some allies for that.

Pyrrha then remembered why she came over to the housing area: she had promised to give one of her novels to Hikari, who was most interested in reading one. The model had asked if she could leave the book in her place, while they were busy searching for the DVD player.

Practically sprinting over to Hikari's house, she hurried in, mentally thinking about what note to leave the model. Pyrrha was trying to think of where they should meet, what she should say…

And thus she was rather thrown off of her mental preparation when she saw Aka and Hikari on the latter's bed, in a rather passionate embrace. The two ladies froze when they saw Pyrrha had barged right in.

The redheaded writer was turning brighter red than her head, and she began to stammer a great deal. Words were failing the wordsmith, and she was trying so hard not to stare. Aka's hands were at the back of Hikari's bra, a silver bridge connected the couple's lips, Aka was in her underwear…

"Can we help you, luv~?" Hikari asked teasingly, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"Or did you just want to watch?" Aka asked, giggling a great deal now. "Wow, that dance Anzu gave us yesterday really got to you, did it?"

"Um, I… I… was… I was… wait," Pyrrha struggled to make words work for her again. "I thought you two would be part of the search!"

"I'm searching for her bra clasp right now," Aka said.

"I'm searching inside of her mouth for her elusive tongue," Hikari explained.

"I'm… I'm so embarrassed right now!"

Pyrrha turned around, whimpering as she covered her face. "A few of the guys are going into everyone's rooms, and they're going through our stuff! They said it's for finding the DVD player, but it's really to see who's hiding what!"

"I was already trying to discover something this one is hiding," Aka remarked, snapping Hikari's bra. "But yeah, thanks for the heads-up."

"If you could just tell them to leave us be, sweetheart," Hikari requested, "we'd really appreciate that."

"It's Emanuel leading the party," Pyrrha grumbled, glancing back at them. "That jerk won't listen to any request."

Aka and Hikari both sighed, and corrected themselves. As they sat up, Pyrrha couldn't help but let out an aroused squeak as she saw what both women looked like in their underwear. Aka had the tomboy, athletic build that was so trim and fit, and Hikari defined Japanese supermodel.

"Oh God," Pyrrha whimpered, looking away again. "It's… it's so very wonderful you two grew so close in this terrible place. I wish I could be that lucky."

"You want a girlfriend, Red?" Aka asked, grinning mischievously at her.

"Or boyfriend, I'm okay with… wait, this isn't the time to discuss this, we need to stop those guys!"

"Oh, I was just thinking the two of us would move to the shower," Hikari said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "and I was curious if you would join us."

"Two Japanese girls for the American hottie," Aka detailed, drumming her fingers together in contemplation. "That'll surely make a good novel for your next-"

There was a thumping sound, and both gals were suddenly aware of Pyrrha overheating and falling to the floor. The writer was covering her face and whimpering, completely defeated by the raw sex appeal being thrown at her.

"… Book. Damn, she can make it up but she cannot take it, can she?"

"Aka, be a dear and get dressed. We've been a bit too mean to her. Let's help her out now, and get some actual business settled."

Hikari reached for her top and started to put it on, saying, "I'll be more in the mood after we put that jerk in his place."

* * *

 **Day 06, 1:36 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

Kimiko hummed to herself as she looked through the drinks that were set up behind the bar. She was rather interested in what else Monodam had supplied, and was wondering if she could expand on her alcohol palate.

As she did so, Angelique and Yitro were exploring the hay loft. It was a rather silly place to look, but the two of them had settled on the idea this was just a ridiculous scavenger hunt, rather than an actual stolen item.

The opera singer hummed to herself as well, glancing underneath the coffee table. "Not here either, Yitro. Successful investigation complete."

"We should tell Shuuya his title is now yours, with your searching skills," Yitro replied, as he sat down on the hay seats. The singer chuckled, but then noticed there was little humor in his voice or expression.

"Sweetheart, the brooding thing really gets old after a while. Want to tell me what's on your mind?"

She sat down next to him, and he shrugged. "I just haven't really got the enthusiasm for this, or much of anything of late. Maybe coming here was a bad idea."

"Yes, it probably was, for all of us. But what is up with this funk?"

Yitro rubbed his forehead, and then spoke, more quietly now. "During the trial, I was next to Jin. I should have been able to stop her from attacking people, but I was next to powerless against her. And I cannot help but feel that's quite disgraceful."

"A little asian girl intimidated you, is that how you see it?" she asked. "Darling, she was a homicidal monster who had unexplained skill with numerous hidden weapons. You're not less of a man because you weren't able to take that on bare-handed."

Yitro scoffed, and glanced to the side. "If I want to be strong enough to hunt down my brother's real killer, I should probably consider what I need to do."

"Maybe you should start carrying your sword again?"

"I don't know about that."

"I'm sure that a certain biker girl," Angelique said, grinning as she leaned in and gestured downstairs towards said biker girl, "would be most impressed with what you can do. Women like that love strong men."

"I honestly thought she would be someone you'd like."

"Oh, maybe, but I'm looking after my friend's needs right now, not mine."

The opera singer cleared her throat, and then proceeded to sing a couple lines, " _On ne s'ennuie jamais, une seule seconde / Tout va bien dans le meilleur des mondes~_ "

Yitro stared at her, before a smirk spread across his face. He was about to speak, but the door to the other VIP lounge opened first. Anzu stood there with her leg popped up on the door frame, staring seductively at them.

"Did I hear someone speak French?" she purred, her crimson eyes practically smoldering. "Angelique, get over here now, you're my test run for the new lap dance."

The opera singer blinked, turning red like her dress for a moment, then she grinned. "But I don't have a rose, darling."

"That's for sex, but you continue to speak like that, I might make an exception. C'mere, I'mma gonna grind you so good."

As a giggling Angelique walked into the more sensual VIP lounge, a sharp whistle from downstairs alerted Yitro's attention. He moved over to the railing, and saw Kimiko waving up at them.

"Are we doing sexy dance practice? Hot damn, it's been so long since I drove to a strip club, I gotta get some music fur this!"

"Is there a speaker or jukebox down there?" Yitro asked, so damn tempted to peek into the other VIP lounge but maintaining a gentleman's promise of not to spy.

"No, guess I'll just have to sing it! Haha, let's do this, eh!"

As Kimiko hurried on over to the stage, Anzu called out from the VIP lounge with the curtains pulled up for privacy, "Kimiko, I like you and all, but I really want a sexy mood right now!"

"What's that, you don't think I can sing? You're on!"

"I have an opera singer here in the room with me, if I wanted singing…"

Kimiko was on the stage and adjusting the microphone stand. Yitro laughed and watched, saying, "This oughta be good."

"Ahem ahem," Kimiko said, holding onto the microphone stand, "testing, testing! Haha, it works! Now then…"

The biker gang leader pulled the microphone off of the stand, and held it close to her mouth. " _I doo'nt knoo' what you've bin thinking a'boot me… but,_ " she sang.

Yitro watched, raising an eyebrow as he heard Kimiko's attempts at music. Anzu was groaning in frustration from the VIP secret lounge, and Angelique was giggling. "Make her stop," the actress begged, which just made Angel laugh more.

" _I… I doo'nt know… I don't knoo' what…_ "

The hesitation and stammering was a little unnatural, but Yitro assumed she was trying that first bar again. He rolled his eyes, wondering if the biker leader could actually hit the note she was going for.

" _I don't know what happened to you, but you can put a stop to this. There has to be some good left in you, so please let us go._ "

Kimiko was saying the words, not singing. She was sounding more and more desperate.

" _You knew Kirumi before all of this, right? What would she say if… she saw… you like this?_ "

There was a heavy thud, and the slight feedback from amplified noise. Kimiko had fallen down, on her back, with the microphone gripped tightly in her hand. She appeared unconscious.

Yitro sprinted down the stairs, as Anzu threw the curtain open to see what had happened. Angelique saw the biker gal too, gasped, and ran down there with the actress following close behind. The former swordsman was by Kimiko's side, trying to figure out what happened.

After checking for a pulse, the two women made it to the stage. "She's unconscious, but I don't know what's wrong," he explained. "She just passed out!"

Anzu covered her mouth with her hand, and she appeared rather distraught. "No… no, is it… is it like what happened with me?"

Kimiko twitched, and then started breathing hard. It was the kind of intense breathing that someone scared for their life would do. Sweat was beading on her forehead, and she was close to hyperventilating.

"Oh no! Oh that's definitely not what was happening to you," Angelique declared. She reached down and grabbed Kimiko's free hand, as the biker leader started to thrash. "Kimiko! Kimiko, wake up!"

Yitro moved over to the microphone and tried to pry it from her hand; her digits were like pure stone, no force he could apply would move them. "Damn it! She won't let go!"

Kimiko's breathing was more erratic, terrifying the three. Anzu was shivering in worry, and she declared, "Wh-what's going on? This isn't the same thing, what's happening?!"

"Let's," Yitro said, trying to hold Kimiko down as she was moving as erratically as her breathing, "let's try to get her to her room, at least! Someone may be able to-"

The speaker system whined to life, and then the most **_ear-piercing gut-wrenching disorienting alarm noise blared inside the building! It was so overwhelmingly horrendous and sensory depriving, that those inside were unable to focus on anything else other than covering their ears and huddling down._**

 ** _Anzu, Yitro, and Angelique couldn't even think straight with how hard it reverberated and shook them. They struggled to block out the sound, to try and protect themselves, if they could from the overpowering NOISE._**

 ** _"_** ** _ALRIGHT YOU DUMB STUPID BASTARDS_** ** _, " Monokid's voice hollered over the noise, adding to the pain and disorientation. "_** ** _NO MORE MR. NICE KUB! IF YOU DON'T START SERIOUSLY LOOKING FOR THE DVD PLAYER, I AM NOT TURNING THIS OFF!_** ** _"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Monokid, how can they look for it if you're doing this?!_** ** _" Monophanie tried to reason, her high-pitched voice able to be heard over the chaos. "_** ** _Can you please turn it off?_** ** _"_**

 ** _"_** ** _THERE ARE NO BRAKES ON THIS PAIN TRAIN! YOU FUCKERS GET THE DVD PLAYER, OR I'MMA GONNA MAKE YOUR EARS BLEED! THIS IS REVENGE FOR NOT PICKING MY PARK, BY THE WAY!_** ** _"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Petty revenge won't get my DVD player back!_** ** _"_**

 ** _"_** ** _IT'S MY PLAYER NOW, HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR! HAR! NOW GET ME A JAR OF HONEY, BITCH!_** ** _"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Wha… but… ow, hey, don't hit me, you brute!_** ** _"_**

 ** _"_** ** _YOU DESERVE IT, YOU SHRILL HARPY, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BE HEARD OVER THIS NOISE BY SPEAKING NORMALLY!_** ** _"_**

 ** _As the sound of a microphone whacking someone's metal noggin and shrill shrieks of pain from a particular pink bear seemed to blend in with the noise, Kimiko started thrashing even more aggressively. Angelique moved her arms in a desperate attempt to cover Kimiko's ears, sacrificing her own cover as the noise made her head rattle._**

 ** _She held Kimiko close, and she could hear the biker gang leader struggling to breathe. When she got in close, she could hear words were being said, but what they were… she couldn't make out…_**

* * *

 **? ? ? ?**

 **? ? ?**

 _Kimiko opened her eyes, and realized she was staring up at the ceiling. Though it wasn't the western tavern at all, and when she sat up, the sight of her surroundings both confused and terrified her._

 _She was in one of Hope's Peak Academy's hallways. There was no way a graduate like her wouldn't recognize the familiar scenery, the grand size of the place, the sophisticated architecture that made her long for a biker bar._

 _Though the copious amount of blood all over the walls and floor was something she didn't want to see in the least._

 _Kimiko stood up, the sight of the crimson life fluid splattered all over was unnerving her quite quickly. "Holy fucking shit," she thought she had said, but someone else's voice said it. Glancing around, she couldn't see another person nearby, just more blood-stained walls._

 _Taking an intrepid step forward, she glanced around a corner to see if there was anything to be spotted. It was more blood-stained walls. Kimiko wasn't sure how this could be possible. There shouldn't be so much blood, did someone just drench the place in it? Why did Hope's Peak Academy look like a slaughterhouse right now?_

 _She started to hurry down the hallway, and then she saw the one thing she hated more than blood: a body. Hurrying over, she knelt down next to the dead person. It was a young man in a trench coat, pale and scarred, with animal fur all over his person. A large stab wound was in the middle of his chest, his heart had been shanked._

 _There was another body nearby, in the midst of a charred area that look like it had been flash flamed; this victim wasn't recognizable, just a charred husk. A third corpse lay outside of the charred matter, a tan-skinned gal in a white bikini with deep stab wounds penetrating her body._

 _Kimiko had to resist the urge to scream, cry, or run like hell. Fortunately, she was tough enough to keep her cool. There was a reason she was here, she knew it; wasn't this what Anzu had been through before? A vision?_

 _Before she could inspect more, there was a noise down the right side of the hallway. It was someone shouting, and they sounded terrified, desperate. Kimiko started to head down the hallway, when she heard the gut-wrenching sound of someone being stabbed. The terrible noise of someone gasping and struggling to stay alive followed, and Kimiko froze._

 _"_ _Cheri," someone whispered from a nearby room. "Cheri, quick, get in here!"_

 _Kimiko turned, and saw a rather short looking man beckoning from one of the rooms. He was dressed like a cook, an apron and tiny toque and rather fancy clothing underneath it. She thought she had seen him someplace before, but with the horrible sounds of someone being murdered down the hallway, she decided to trust the man who wasn't actively dangerous._

 _Sprinting into the room that turned out to be a cafeteria, the stout cook hurried on over to one of the counters. The two could hear loud footsteps coming down the hallway, towards their room. They echoed unnaturally, like something amplified each one to announce that death was coming._

 _The cook dove behind one of the counters, and he grabbed Kimiko's wrist. The biker gang leader was quite the strong woman, but for some reason, she was as light as air and nowhere near as strong as she was. Thus the little man was able to yank her behind the counter without any effort, and pushed her down swiftly._

 _The footfalls stopped, right at the door of the cafeteria. Kimiko's heart was hammering so hard, it seriously felt like the Grim Reaper was scanning the area. The fact that the lights in the room took on a grisly shade of red was like pure evil was covering the room._

 _Behind the counter, the cook held her in place as the crimson lights of death spread to almost every part of the room. The counter provided a shadow, and the red light didn't touch them. Kimiko wasn't able to breathe, too terrified that any noise whatsoever would give away their position._

 _After what felt like hours, the crimson light retracted. It left the room entirely, and then the echoing footsteps of death carried on down the hallway._

 _Kimiko reminded herself to breathe, and then she realized that the cook was still holding her back against the counter. More specifically, he had his hand on her breast, as he glanced around the counter's corner. The biker gang leader pursed her lips, and then tapped his wrist._

 _The cook glanced back at her, saw her glaring at him and pointing at his "protective" hand, and he gulped nervously. Letting go, he said, "Oh… sorry, cheri. Sometimes, my hands, they misbehave. But you are alive, thank goodness."_

 _"_ _Yeah, that was not exactly a fun occasion," she muttered. "I've had my scraps with death, but that was fucking close."_

 _"_ _Oh my, since when did you use such crude language, Sayaka?"_

 _…_ _What? Kimiko blinked in surprise, and then glanced down at herself. She was wearing a schoolgirl outfit, and the legs coming from her skirt were not her strong, athletic legs; they were dancer legs that were long and sexy. And Kimiko could see that her hair was lengthy and stylish, and blue, where it hung from her head._

 _Kimiko winced, as she tried to think of what the hell was going on. She then remembered that Anzu said something like this, that she was in a girl's body when she was having the vision._

 _"_ _Wait, Sayaka?" she blurted out. "The pop star?!"_

 _"…_ _Yes, that is who you are."_

 _Kimiko then decided to find out officially, and pulled her shirt collar out to look down at herself. What she saw…_

 _"_ _Damn, she was stacked!" Kimiko said, then glanced upwards. "Whoa, I really do have a one-track mind, eh."_

 _The cook rubbed his chin as he stared at her in absolute puzzlement. "Cheri, what on Earth is up with you? Or should I say…_

 _"_ _Belle fille?"_

 _Kimiko's one-track mind was quickly derailed, and she was snapped back to what was important. She stared at the short man, as her breathing hitched. "Wh-what did you call me?"_

 _"_ _Belle fille, it means 'beautiful girl' in French."_

 _"_ _Yes, I know that! I'm part Canadian! Or… oh my God… wait, I mean…"_

 _"_ _You're Kimiko Hashiriya, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader. Or at least, you were during your time at Hope's Peak, because I had one of those as one of my juniors, hehe. So, my belle fille, I suppose you have some questions?"_

 _Kimiko grabbed the short man's labels, and began shaking him. "How the hell do you know this-"_

 _Despite being turned into a blur as he was yanked back and forth, the cook lashed out a hand and covered her mouth. "Belle fille, stop shouting! She could still hear you!"_

 _The biker gang leader froze up, remembering the daunting passerby of death. She glanced over the counter, but there was no sight of whoever that person was. Kimiko tried to calm herself down, as she let go of the cook._

 _"_ _Okay… let's… let's take it from the top," she said, speaking far more quietly now. "Who are you?"_

 _The cook smiled at her again, and tipped his head, the pompadour bouncing as he did so. "My name is Teruteru Hanamura, and I was the Ultimate Cook. Though I prefer Chef, but I don't think I should digress. If you would like, I can try to explain…"_

 _Something clicked in Kimiko's head. She had seen so much of the Hope's Peak Killing Game when it was broadcasted, she had heard who had died, who had killed who. Some of those deaths affected her more than others, but one of them clicked right now._

 _"_ _Teruteru… you killed Himiko, that sweet little mage girl! You!"_

 _Kimiko lunged at Teruteru, and grabbed at his lapels again. She couldn't grab his neck, he was too stumpy for that. Still, Sayaka's body didn't have her regular strength, and she was anywhere near as strong as her normal self. Thus, the cook grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands off._

 _Teruteru stared up at her, and tears sprung in his eyes. He shivered, and said, "Y… yes, I did. And it is something I cannot undo, or fix. But if you'll hear me out, I can try to explain what is going on."_

 _"_ _Why should I?" Kimiko hissed, recoiling from him as she shot daggers from her eyes. "You killed a sweet, innocent girl! You tried to weasel your way 'oot of it… you… you… wait…_

 _"_ _You're… you're dead. How the fuck are you aware of this? How… HOW?!"_

 _"_ _Dear belle fille, if you will allow me to try and explain, as we don't have much time."_

 _Teruteru dusted himself off, took a deep breath, and waited for her to calm down. "Listen, the supernatural world is connected to Penjar, in more ways than you can possibly imagine. There is a plane, or maybe just some kind of place, that is between life and death._

 _"_ _It's very difficult to explain, because, well, I don't have all the answers. The area between life and death is incredibly complex and mysterious, and not even us who are in it can explain. You see…_

 _"_ _There have been ghosts, the occult, spirit channelers, and super powers, so much more than you all know. And not even those who are brought back one way or another have the answers of where they were, what is there after life. Not even me."_

 _Teruteru shook his head, and scratched the back of his neck. "All I know is that I am here to try and solve a problem, a crisis going on that the forces of evil are trying to control."_

 _"_ _Could you be any moo'r vague?!" Kimiko growled._

 _"_ _My belle fille, I was not given most of the answers, I was dropped into this existence between life and death with everything I knew in life, and one clear goal: stop the Despair from corrupting the… stuck…"_

 _"_ _What? What was that?" Kimiko asked. "What do you mean?"_

 _"_ _The forces of despair and chaos worked together. They manifested in Penjar, and yet they were defeated time and time again," Teruteru babbled, losing his balance and swaying as if drunk. "I… I need to…"_

 _"_ _Teruteru! Focus!"_

 _Kimiko pulled her now dainty hand back, and smacked the cook. Teruteru flinched, then shook his head; blood leaked out of his nose. "Hehe, contact from a beautiful girl. I had forgotten it."_

 _"_ _Stop rambling a'boot perverted things, and tell me what I need to know, you pervert!"_

 _She grabbed his lapels once more and shook, but this time he barely acknowledged her. He smiled at her, as if so happy to see her. "Kimiko, I did something horrible, and this is how I am supposed to redeem myself… if I even can. I want to, so very bad, I'd do anything to bring that girl back…_

 _"_ _I was just so desperate to see my mother again. She was sick, strong but standing firm, and my siblings wouldn't do a damn thing to help her. She was the bravest, strongest person I knew, and she was dying. I thought for sure if I got out of there, I could save her, get her some place safe…_

 _"_ _She didn't even make it out alive. My poor mother…"_

 _Teruteru openly sobbed. Tears ran down his face, and he grabbed at his hair. "Just another… death for despair, a notch in their murder belt. She would feed the needy, she devoted her life to her children, she… she deserved so much better, and no one ever gave her kindness back. I just… I just wanted to save her. And… I wasn't thinking straight. No…"_

 _As the tears rolled down his face, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "No, I cannot make excuses anymore. Himiko… is dead, because of me. Nekomaru is also dead because of me. Himiko… Kimiko… maybe that's why I can talk to you? Heh, would be such a silly reason, but please, let me explain, while I still have time."_

 _Teruteru took a deep breath, and tried to start again. "Penjar is very dangerous, and you need to find out the answers to that place, as Despair and Chaos are going to rear up again. What they are doing, it is affecting this place, where even though I don't know the rules, I know it is where living and dead can communicate, like you and I are now._

 _"_ _Something happened at Hope's Peak Academy, something dark and horrid that was brought here. Something happened there that was tampering with the world between life and death, something supernatural. And when it came here, it enslaved something here."_

 _"_ _Teruteru, I'm soo'ry, but can you please be moo'r specific?" Kimiko asked. "I want to help, I really do, but I need moo'r than that."_

 _"_ _I'm still trying to find out what is going on too, my belle fille. You see, the Despair, it repeats a Killing Game here in Hope's Peak Academy. Repeating over and over, and the results are always different, but… always sinister. I don't know why or how, but in the end, the results are tragic and terrible."_

 _"_ _What, like a bad end to a Killing Game every time?"_

 _"_ _Yes, exactly. Thus it is impossible for me to find out where to begin, or where to end it. I am no detective, but I am doing my best. Though I have seen my friends die so many times, I have seen them possessed by Despair and murder each other, I remember dying so many times. It is not painful but…"_

 _He started to tear up again, and covered his face. "Every time I see her… especially when she dies… oh Lord, it kills me all over again."_

 _"_ _Please, keep it together," she pleaded, reaching out and putting her hands on his shoulders. "If… if Himiko is here, maybe that's the ticket?"_

 _"_ _I dunno if it is or not, my belle fille. And even if it is, I don't know how to end it. Maybe the answer can only be found on your side. Maybe…"_

 _Furious shouting could be heard coming from far down the hallway. There was a female voice shrieking in outrage, and then heavy footsteps of someone charging. Teruteru flinched, and whimpered, "Akane, no."_

 _Sounds of fists hitting someone echoed, but there were no sounds of pain. Then she heard that female voice struggling, straining, hollering in rage…_

 _And then the most stomach-turning sound of what was a combination of wet tearing fabric and a splatter of messy items hitting the floor traveled to the cafeteria. It sounded so unnatural, so awful, Kimiko couldn't put it to words or feelings. She just felt sick._

 _Teruteru shivered, and then he gripped Kimiko's now slender shoulders. "I have to go. Someone needs to stop this rampage. I have told you all I know now, but just remember one more thing:_

 _"_ _Monokuma wants the Despair to not only be found, but renewed. It needs to be stopped, or the consequences on all levels would be beyond scarring, beyond destructive. It would be… never-ending chaos and suffering."_

 _The sound of a rather disturbing thudding echoed throughout the hallway. Teruteru winced, and whispered, "I'm so sorry, my dear sweet Sayaka… no, Kimiko. Just please, do not go down the dark path I did."_

 _And then, faster than she thought a short and squat man like him could move, he sprinted out from behind the counter. When she stood up, he was already out the door._

 _There was vicious hollering in his voice, but in an accent that was so thick and furious, she couldn't understand him. The only thing she could discern from him was him shouting, "KATY PERRY!" like a battlecry._

 _Kimiko couldn't move, she felt frozen in place. The hallway had gone deathly silent, no screaming or fighting or any other awful noises. She took several deep breaths, and muttered to herself, "Get out there, you bitch, if he's brave enough… so are you!"_

 _She sprinted out of the cafeteria, her heart hammering more and more. Sayaka's body was swift enough, even if it lacked her strength. When she made it to the hallway, still coated in blood, she saw there was that horrid red light coming from around a far corner._

 _Kimiko started to run, until she saw there was yet another body. And this one… it made her gag, hard._

 _The biker gang leader could vaguely recognize the dead person as Akane Owari, the Ultimate Gymnast who had survived the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game. Here, she hadn't survived. She had been bisected, her hips and legs tossed to the side, her top part laying almost in the middle of the hallway. It was so bloody, so gory, the look of utter shock on Akane's face… Kimiko could barely comprehend it._

 _Kimiko ran away from this ghastly sight. She made it to the corner, and saw the next victim of the murderer. Teruteru lay on the floor, right around the corner, on his chest. Blood was still seeping from his chest, and coming from his back, with all the puncture wounds that had gone through his body. She checked his pulse, he wasn't alive; hadn't he only been gone for a few seconds?_

 _The biker gang leader moved onwards, determined to find out who was there, who or what was causing this. On her left and right were lockers, with names on the top of them. Blood splattered so many of them, only a few were clean._

 _"_ _Chihiro Fujisaki"_

 _"_ _Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu"_

 _"_ _Mahiru Koizumi"_

 _"_ _Mikan Tsumuki"_

 _"_ _Celestia Ludenburg"_

 _"_ _Ibuki Mioda"_

 _"_ _Miu Iruma"_

 _"_ _Kirumi Tojo"_

 _"_ _Mondo Owada"_

 _"_ _Sayaka Maizono"_

 _"_ _Hiyoko Saionji"_

 _Gritting her teeth, Kimiko rounded another corner, chasing after that red light. Down the hallway were more bodies, and she took a deep breath. Whoever or whatever was doing this, was really making a mess. She wasn't daunted, and moved down the hallway with great determination._

 _The biker gang leader hadn't planned on staring at the bodies, but something about their clothing caught their eye. Kimiko's walking slowed, then she stopped._

 _She fell to her knees. Her hands were on the floor, and tears ran from her eyes. She was shivering, shaking, and gasped in anguish. "N-no… no no no no… no…"_

 _The leather jackets the three bodies were wearing, their hair, the faces of those she could see, right down to their tattoos and piercings and other markings… the dog tags each were wearing…_

 _"_ _NO! NOT THIS! NOT THEM! WHY?!"_

 _Kimiko openly sobbed, hanging her head as she punched the ground. She couldn't stop it, it was too emotionally punishing to her. Hiccuping, gasping, she struggled and failed to pull herself together._

 _"_ _Sorry this wasn't what you wanted, Sayaka."_

 _The voice was spiteful and sadistic, no matter how calm it came off as. Kimiko felt her body lock up in terror, but she couldn't move at first._

 _"_ _But you knew the punishment if you failed to kill, if you didn't commit a murder. You didn't have the guts to do it, so I did. Now they're dead because of your indecisiveness._

 _"_ _They are DEAD, because of YOU."_

 _Kimiko managed to look up. Standing on the other side of the three bodies in the hallway was a girl, a redheaded girl who was holding onto a long sword in one hand, and something else in the other. Her clothing, her skin, her sword, they were all coated in blood._

 _"_ _Why didn't you just accept the despair, and come over the side that you belong on?" the redheaded girl asked. "You were responsible for death before it all began, why not carry on that path? Now those you cared about are dead because of you."_

 _"_ _Sh-shut up," Kimiko managed to whimper. "You… you evil…"_

 _"_ _I do what I have to to survive! I did everything I could before this feeling overtook me, and showed me the correct path! I tried to help her out…"_

 _The redhead lifted the other object in her hand, and Kimiko finally realized what it was: a bloody, severed head. The amount of blood coating the face was horrific, it soaking into the blond ponytail the wicked girl was holding onto._

 _"_ _I tried to help her, I tried to guide her on a better path, and you know what happened? She betrayed me, she betrayed us all, and laughed about it all the way. She smiled when she blew your brains out, and giggled over it._

 _"_ _Oh, I meant when she blew Sayaka's brains out. But now I realize, you are not her. This was meant to be for her, don't you know?"_

 _Kimiko flinched, the world felt like it was rocked with an earthquake suddenly. When her senses recovered, she forced herself to look down at the bodies. Instead of those in leather and metal, there were three dead girls in pop idol outfits laying dead on the floor._

 _"_ _It doesn't matter," the redhead spat, tossing the severed head of Hiyoko Saionji away. "Despair showed me the way now. I just need to win. I need to kill you, all of you…"_

 _"_ _SO JUST DIE!"_

 _Gripping the sword in both hands, the redheaded woman sprinted at her. She lifted up the blade, and Kimiko couldn't bring herself to move. Time seemed to slow down, as she tried to will her body to move, to escape certain death._

 _There was a blur next to her, and suddenly the redhead was sent hurdling backwards. Hitting the floor and skidding backwards, blood spurted from her nose and upper lip. Kimiko blinked, and then glanced up at her savior._

 _It was a man in a black overcoat, and a pompadour hair style that stuck out proudly at the front of his head. He was clenching his fist, blood on his knuckles. The strong and stern looking man stared at the fallen attacker, then glanced at Kimiko._

 _"_ _Kimiko, is that you?" he asked._

 _Kimiko blinked, mind-boggled. She knew this man by reputation alone, but they had never been introduced, despite their akin titles. "M-Mondo Owada?"_

 _"_ _No, it's Anzu," he replied. "I found myself in this body when I got here again. I'm a guy now, apparently."_

 _"…_ _I'm so fucking lost."_

 _"_ _Honey, join the club. I'm here again, and I don't know how or why…"_

 _A pathetic whimper came from down the hallway. The redhead was sitting up, blood leaking from her busted nose and upper lip. Anzu in Mondo's body stomped their foot, so hard that the tiles under his boot cracked._

 _"_ _Mahiru," Mondo's voice boomed like a raging warrior, while also having the feminine inflections that Anzu had, "stand down! Please, don't make me hurt you again!"_

 _"_ _Seh… suh… seh… uuuugh."_

 _Mahiru blubbered, and her hand reached up to touch the blood coming from her. She shivered, and dropped the sword. "Seh! Oh God… lest… we… forget…"_

 _She slowly got up to her feet, while Kimiko did at the same time. There was a clatter as Mahiru dropped the sword, and stared at them. "Please… don't let… don't let it win. Despair… so much despair…"_

 _"_ _What is she talking a'boot?" Kimiko asked._

 _"_ _I don't know exactly. Please, Mahiru! What is going on?"_

 _"_ _It never stops… I just… want it to stop… I know it's been done, but I thought maybe this time…"_

 _Kimiko pointed at her, and shouted, "She killed so many people! She's gone on a homicidal rampage!"_

 _Mahiru wobbled on her legs, and tears ran down her eyes. Her head moved unnaturally, almost as if it was disconnected from her neck. "You threw off the motion. You stopped it… why… why are you doing this? Why can't… why can't I…"_

 _She fell to her knees, and then reached down for the sword. With speed and strength beyond anything the two watching could imagine, she turned the sword around, and plunged it through her chest._

 _"_ _NO, MAHIRU!"_

 _Anzu sprinted over, and grabbed the girl's shoulders. She shook her, as she kept the photographer up on her knees. The sword's tip clinked against the floor behind Mahiru._

 _"_ _Wh-why? Why are you doing this?" Anzu begged. "Tell us what's going on!"_

 _Mahiru stared into Anzu's eyes, and then grabbed her shoulders. As she leaned in, Kimiko got closer, and could hear what was being said._

 _"_ _You're still all in grave danger, the betrayal is as thick as the mist will become tonight. I can feel the scheming, that despair, it is so deep that I can feel it now as Despair is within me. Recognize the true evil, don't let it trick you._

 _"_ _Please… take care of yourselves. I'm, I'm so sorry."_

 _Mahiru stared up at Kimiko, as tears spilt from her eyes. Then the light, the life, in those eyes left them too, and she fell backwards. She didn't get back up, and the evil crimson light in the hallway faded away._

 _Kimiko shivered, and glanced back at the bodies in the hallway. They were still there, just the pop idol girls that she couldn't recognize, but she figured had to be important to the girl she was currently in the body of._

 _Then she saw some people coming up the hallway, all of them appearing terrified. They didn't say anything, just tried to make sense of what happened._

 _The blonde maid moved towards the severed head of Hiyoko, and collapsed to her knees, sobbing pitifully. The nurse of the bunch was checking the bodies, shaking uncontrollably despite trying to find signs of life. Another blonde in a pink outfit was clenching a cutie-pie in a green dress, the two holding onto each other for support._

 _The short boy in a black suit was staring at Anzu, or rather Mondo. Anzu was standing up, and moving towards Kimiko. "We… we have to find a way out of here, Kimi. Let's just try…"_

 _Anzu's hand took Kimiko's, and there was a powerful surge that seemed to come from their bodies. It was an overpowering feeling, like their bodies released a sonic boom. They closed their eyes, and got that sensation of falling despite standing…_

 _"_ _Wa-" the short blond boy hollered, "t… om- k!"_

 _The cries from the survivors of the ghastly Killing Game of this unexplainable realm were gone as intense reverberation filled the senses of the two women. They held onto each other's hand…_

* * *

And when they both woke up at the same time, they could feel the other's hand on each other's, with a solid object in their palms. Both were awake and alert with an instant, and were staring into each other's eyes.

Kimiko was still clenching the microphone, while Anzu gripped the head of it. It had been a desperate attempt to pry it from the biker gal's hand.

Anzu let go and sat up, but Kimiko couldn't sat up. She was being held tightly by something warm, comforting, trying to protect her. She struggled to speak, muttering, "Urgh… le… leggo… I gotta… get up."

"Kimiko!"

Angelique pulled herself up off of the biker gal, but continued to hold her hand. The opera singer was crying, holding that hand as she spoke, "Oh my God, thank goodness. You're awake, you're okay! Anzu!"

"Yeah, I'm okay too," the actress muttered, shaking her head. "God damn, I never wanted to go through that again, but it looks like touching these stupid cursed things triggers with me."

"What… what happened?" Yitro stammered, staring between the three. "Did… I can barely hear you!"

All of their ears were pounding, trying to adjust now that the horrendous alarm noise had stopped. The speaker was still going on, but instead, there was the sound of something metallic clanging against someone's metal head.

"Tell ME to go to the kitchen?!" Monophanie hollered, as Monokid cried out in pain. "You can make yourself dinner from now on, you blue dumb meanie! Taste my frying pan of feminine justice!"

The humans inside the tavern tried to ignore this, as they were all trying to collect themselves. It was then that Kimiko held up the microphone, as she felt it going softer in her hand.

All four of them watched as the microphone crumbled, and dissolved into dust. The pieces floated away into nothingness, and they were left with confusion and frustration.

"Again," Anzu mumbled. "This isn't making any sense. What is happening in this stupid town?"

"I… I just," Kimiko stammered, and she felt herself still breathing heavily. Sweat was running down her forehead, and it was all over her body, making her clothing stick to her skin. Tears were in her eyes, dried on her face. Every part of her felt awful, except for her right hand. The hand that Angelique was still holding, it was the only thing that felt secure right now.

"This is so fucking bad fur my image," she managed to mumble out, and then, shivering and shaking, she turned towards Angelique and held onto her shoulders. Slumping against the opera singer, she mumbled into Angelique's collar bone, "Don't… doo'nt tell anyone I was like this. I'm an alpha bitch, not a sniveling bitch."

"My belle fille," Angelique whispered, petting the back of Kimiko's head. "What happened? Talk to us, please."

Before any more words could be exchanged, there was a soft beep from the overhead speaker. Monophanie cleared her throat, and she said, "Attention, visitors of Penjar. The search for the DVD player is over, as it is now 4:55 PM. Please come to the Main Plaza, and Daddy will discuss the details on his latest Motive!"

"What?!" Anzu declared. "How long were we unconscious?!"

"Ugh, I think I fainted too," Yitro muttered. "That noise… I couldn't withstand it. Angel, are you okay?"

The opera singer stared at her friend, glanced down at Kimiko, and said, "Are you all okay to go? I have a bad feeling about disobeying them, and I doubt they take excuses, but-"

"Listen, no matter what shit I go through, nothing," Kimiko growled as she stood up, "absolutely nothing is going to stop me from getting to bottom of this. I'm not gonna let that damn bear punish me."

"Sweetheart, please," Angelique hurried over, keeping her upright, "you just got out of something like a coma, you were having a seizure!"

"And I can stand, and walk."

"But… but what did you see?"

"It'll have to wait for after the motive announcement. Come on, let's go, I don't want any of you in trouble, so move on out."

* * *

 **Day 06, 5:01 PM**

 **Main Plaza**

Monokuma was standing on the wrecked fountain, tapping his foot and growling impatiently. The four people who had been in the western tavern ran to the area, seeing all of the other graduates gathered up and waiting for the announcement. The Monokubs were standing in a line in front of their father, with Monokid sporting a whole lot of bandages on his head.

" **Why are you so damn late?!** " Monokuma snapped angrily at the four who had just arrived.

Yitro glanced at his watch. "It's 5:01. We're only one minute late."

" **Late is late! I will go corporate manager on you all and lecture you to the point where you will want to form a damn union! But I can let my theater segments go into that.** "

"Joy to the world," Isaac grumbled. "Besides, your dumb kids played that horrid noise, it knocked out a lot of people!"

"Yes, only those outside were lucky to miss the full effect of that," Crystal remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I hope you all are okay?"

There was a lot of grumbles and exasperated replies, though it seemed everyone was okay for the most part. Monokuma shook his head, mumbling under his breath about his 'sweet, stupid, stupid children.' After this quick check-up, the despair bear started up again.

" **If my Kubs' treatment to your ears didn't leave you deaf, then you can listen up! Your second motive this time around is going to be… Secrets!** "

Everyone locked up. Secrets were something that they knew were used so often in the official Killing Games, and the dreadful fact that somehow, someway, those in charge had always managed to find out every secret for every participant ever.

"The serial killer with over two hundred murders under his belt," Aka said with a defiant scoff, "confessed to what he was. There is no way anyone can top that. Anyway, you don't scare me, I have absolutely no secrets."

" **Oh trust me when I say, there are still things people would be interested in killing to keep secret! But actually, this isn't a motive about your secrets. It's a motive about ours!** "

Monokuma cackled, while the Kubs appeared rather nervous about this.

"Daddy, are you sure we should divulge about Penjar?" Monophanie asked. "I mean, we just got the town together, we were really hoping to not spill the beans about it so soon!"

"I kind of wanted to have it be more of a competition," Monotaro admitted. "Do we have to do it with all the murder and killing and panties?"

"I'm all for the fucking killing," Monokid mumbled. "I got… my noggin feels like pudding right now."

Monosuke knocked on Monokid's head, and said with a laugh, "Youse ain't got much up there to damage anyway, Monokid! Hehe! … Wait, someone brought up panties, what was that again-"

" **ANYWAY!** " Monokuma hollered. " **The Secrets Motive is not about revealing your secrets, as fun as that would be. It's much more about revealing the ones we have, if you want to start being more of a team player.** "

Yitro crossed his arms as he stared down Monokuma, suspicion and intrigue on his face. "Care to explain?"

"Yes, and maybe," Fiora said, "you could finally tell us about Mr. Beardsley?"

" **MR. BEARDSLEY!? I've HAD it with that name!** "

"But it means something," the movie maker insisted. "In the fire station's filing cabinets, there was this paper that-"

The ground shook. The Guardian of Penjar, that towering building-robot had taken a very heavy footstep towards the group. The mini-gun that was one of its hands spooled for a second, then stopped.

" **You were saying, B-Movie Maker?** " Monokuma asked, tilting his head as his grin intensified.

"B-b-b-b-b-b-"

"Fiora," Yejoon said softly, glancing over at her, "it might be best to drop the subject."

"B-b-b-b-b-B-Movie Maker!? Now the bear's calling me that?!"

" **Now, this is a far more complex motive, so buckle up,** " Monokuma declared, clapping his paws together, " **because this is going to be a fun ride! Now, you all came to Penjar to get some answers, to learn about Despair, to get the knowledge that you crave for various reasons.**

" **I am prepared to answer one question you may have. Isn't that nice of me?** "

The devious chuckling from the despair bear caused the tension to build with every sadistic chortle. There was a pregnant pause, until Futaba spoke up. "Well, then? What's this question, and what's the answer?"

" **Oh no no no, I'm not answering a question now. The motive is called Secrets, because you are allowed to ask myself, or one of my Kubs, one question about Penjar. You will be answered truthfully, entirely, and maybe even with a little extra info if we're feeling generous!** "

"Youse got it good with this one," Monosuke said proudly. "We've been so excited to talk about this, we all are more than willing to chat non-stop about the things we know!"

"…" publicized Monodam.

Monokuma started laughing again, and then Fiora spoke up. "Well then, could you tell me about Mr. Bea-"

Yejoon slapped a hand on her mouth. She struggled and fought, until Monokuma spoke up again. " **You wanna finish that question officially, B-Movie Maker? Because if you do, you agree to the stipulations that come with agreeing to this motive.** "

Saiko groaned and rolled her eyes. "Should have known that this wouldn't be as simple as that."

" **Let me make something very clear: if you ask a question and get an answer, you must commit a murder. You have until midnight of the day you ask the question on, in which you MUST kill someone in Penjar. If you fail to kill someone by midnight, or if you try to flee Penjar, you will be executed. Brutally. Bloodily. Viciously.** "

Souma let out a thoughtful grunt. "So your motive is that you will only give information to someone who plays your killing game. Your continued reliance on the fact that we won't leave Penjar willingly is cruel and manipulative."

" **And effective! But there is more to it than that. You see, I want that murder, but I don't want it to be as simple as just that. So allow me to get into the details, the fine print!**

" **First off, everyone is allowed to ask a question, even if someone else already has. The rule applies to every single person, a murder has to be committed if a question is asked. However…**

" **That goes to the second part, which is that only one murder is necessary. If a person who asked a question commits a murder, it validates everyone who asked a question. So if you want to plan something like ask a ton of questions and get one of you to murder another, that could work out. Free life hack advice there, children!** "

"Ooo, I love me some life hacks," Monosuke declared, adjusting his glasses and then fanning himself with money. "Maybe we'll get twenty-six questions before we get a murder! Who youse all gonna sacrifice?"

"There would be more than one sacrifice," Crystal pointed out, "since you'll be executing the murderer."

" **Don't forget that the executions aren't assured death! But that does remind me, suicide is not a valid death; you cannot kill yourself in order to validate those who asked a question**."

Monokuma paced around the ring of the busted fountain, and hummed to himself. " **So many little rules, I sure hope I don't forget any. Let me dive into some of the smaller ones, though they are equally important:**

" **A person may not kill more than one person themselves. Killing me doesn't count, killing my Kubs results in instant death. The usual rules to a Killing Game applies here, you've seen enough of them to know those rules, I'm sure you do.**

" **Oh! And that leads me to one of the most important bonuses of them all. If you ask a question, therefore agreeing to a murder, you are allowed ONE rule change to the Killing Game rules.** "

"Wait, what?!" Blake barked. "You're saying that a killer could change the rules to this Killing Game? How the hell does that work?"

" **There are limitations, I assure you. You cannot ask for there to not be an execution if you are caught, nor can you ask for myself or my Kubs to interfere with the crime, for example. But you can ask for a change, a change that'll be kept secret until the trial, and must be guessed specifically.**

" **It's a fun little twist that I want to give a test run!** "

"Can you give an example of a rule change that is acceptable?" Yejoon asked.

"Well," Monotaro mused, "what you want may not be possible, so to plan a murder around a request may not be the best of strategies. But a request to be allowed to kill more than one person may or may not be accepted."

"Don't tell him that!" Hikari hollered, staring wide-eyed between the cubs and Yejoon. "He's a serial killer! He wants that!"

Monotaro scratched his head, and drool leaked from his mouth. "Huh? Did I break the rules just now?"

Monokuma grumbled angrily, something about having it hard to find good help these days. " **Look, let's just go over all of the most important rules one more time: ask a question, kill a person as a result. Only one who asked a question can kill for all those that did ask one. You are allowed to ask for a rule change of sorts, though some changes will not be allowed.** "

Anzu scoffed, twirling one of her blue bangs in her fingers. "Yes, yes, you think you're so damn clever. But you know what? You're a prince of lies and deceit, a sadist who gets off on the suffering of others. Why would anyone trust you to make good on your words?"

"Not to mention," Eisei said, flicking one of his pigtails behind his shoulder, "there's a lot of cases of those immersed in despair getting the most thrills out of betraying someone who wants to be part of their ideology."

"I refuse to believe," Samson condemned the bear, "that you'd be entirely honest with any answer you give. You just love twisting words."

" **Upupupupu, you'd all be surprised** ," Monokuma giggled, " **who would still go the distance for answers!** "

"Are we done here?" Kimiko stressed, rubbing the back of her head. "I don't think anyone woo'd be stupid enough to trust you after the previous trial."

" **Oh? What exactly do you mean, my motorcycle provider?** "

Kimiko rolled her eyes, but carried on. "You may have the power to give people talent, but you did that to encourage a murder, and then you butchered the person who did exactly what you wanted. And it was someone who would have gladly followed line and step with your sadism.

"Everyone here knows a'boot your utter glee in harming people. And when you'll even take the willingness of someone who wants despair and turn it into your personal pleasure, why would anyone here do it? So you can get stuffed, teddy."

" **'** **A'boot'? Oh my little Canadian biker, you may be sure of yourself, but if you just want to loiter in my city like if it is was a rest stop, how are you going to ever find the answers? The answers that brought you across an ocean, back to the land of Hope's Peak Academy…**

" **That's no way to get justice for Ume, EH?** "

Kimiko froze for a second, then she began to shake. Her hands clenched up, as she growled out, "Wh-what did you just say?"

" **Or was it Lizette you were more concerned about avenger? Or Summer? Why don't you make your pick, EH, on which one of them meant most to you before you-** "

There was a primal scream of outrage, and Kimiko was upon Monokuma before anyone could react. The biker was pummeling the bear, shrieking in hysterical anger with her explicits coming out garbled with how unbridled her fury was. The despair bear's face was smashed into his head, then his head was bashed into fabric remains.

Kimiko didn't stop there, she grabbed at Monokuma's body and tore him apart, ripping him into smaller and smaller pieces. When she finally couldn't satisfaction in tearing the pieces any tinier, she stood up, heaving and gasping.

"… Father?" Monotaro whimpered.

"Goodness gracious me," Monosuke mumbled.

"Haw haw haw, that was bitching," Monokid cackled. "So which one of those people he mentioned was actually the most important to you, bitch?"

Kimiko whirled around towards Monokid, the burning hatred in her eyes reignited. The blue Kub smirked up at her, and she dove for him, hand outstretched for his face.

"NO!"

The biker gang leader was tackled, knocked off of her feet and sent skidding across the ground. She struggled to get free, but Yitro was holding her too tightly.

"Okay, that's our cue to leave," Emanuel said aloud, rubbing his forehead. "Let's just get some dinner or something, just make sure no one goes alone out there."

"Especially him," Samson spat out, pointing at Yejoon. "Fiora, don't let him out of your sight!"

"WHAT?!" Fiora shrieked in horror. "Why me?!"

"You heard the man, my dear Fiora," Yejoon said, taking her hand in his. He tugged her along as he walked away, saying, "I am having a hankering for the dish you refer to as 'nachos,' let us make some together."

"I hate you all," Fiora wailed as she was pulled behind the serial killer artist.

A lot of the graduates broke off to get away from the hostile situation, though some of them were still concerned with Kimiko's outburst. Yitro was still clutching her, preventing her struggling with his incredible strength.

"You cannot kill the Kubs," he repeated to her, as her vexed growling and struggling started to die down. "You cannot hurt the Kubs. Do you understand?"

"Nnnngh! I understand! Damn it!"

"Not until I'm sure you truly understand! Because you sure don't sound it!"

Anzu and Angelique were the closest, trying to get Kimiko to calm down however they could. Hikari, Aka, and Drake watched from a further distance, unsure what to do. Hara, close to tears from how terrible this was, was being comforted by Isaac.

"Does this mean," Hara asked her fiancé, "that Monokuma truly knows about us all?"

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least, but there's other things concerning me about this new motive," he said to her. "We should definitely be on our guard tonight."

"Yeah, especially since everyone's least favorite teddy," Aka remarked, "said that killing more than one person could possibly be allowed."

"Actually," Monotaro spoke up, "that was me."

"Oh shut up, you tiny wannabe. Come on, Hikari," Aka said, wrapping an arm around the steampunk model, "let's get out of here."

Hikari cast one more concerned look towards Kimiko, before being led away from the plaza. The biker gang leader was collecting her breath, no longer seeing red but frazzled and exhausted.

Yitro let go of her, and she quickly got to her feet. Hurrying off towards the housing area without a word, Kimiko was unseeable in the mists before any of them could call out to her. Angelique started to go after her, but Anzu stopped her.

"She is going to need a little space," Anzu said, placing a hand on Angelique's shoulder. "You cannot rush into it, Angel, no matter how much you or any of us want to."

"But… but… the poor darling! Monokuma is trying to antagonize her, he must know what just happened to her!"

"Wait, you think that's the case, Angel?" Yitro asked, standing up and dusting himself off. "Monokuma knows that Kimiko saw a vision too, and now he's trying to throw her off?"

Anzu pressed her knuckles against her mouth in thought, and muttered, "But he didn't try anything when I had a vision."

"Maybe that was because you hid it from us before the trial," Yitro remarked, "or some other reason I cannot think of right now. But we are in the dark, in more ways than one."

"Though I did have another vision when I touched the microphone too…"

"What?!" Angelique balked, clasping her hands over her heart. "But… darling, what happened?"

"When that horrid noise was going off, I tried to pry the microphone from Kimiko's hand. And when I was gripping the head of it, I suddenly blacked out, and then I woke up in Hope's Peak again."

"I touched the microphone, nothing happened with me," Yitro said. He sighed and shook his head, as he muttered, "This place is just becoming more and more enigmatic, which just plays into Monokuma's desires and motive. Still, let's try to ignore that for now, what did you see, Anzu?"

Anzu tugged on one of her blue bangs, and started to speak. "Hope's Peak was a bloodbath, it was everyone from the three classes that took part in the HPA Killing Game with so few survivors. I saw Mahiru again, but this time, she was violently murdering people. I couldn't really understand most of what she was saying…

"But I do know she warned me again. And I'm starting to think that these visions are heavily connected to this town, to Monokuma, and maybe even us. She knew there would be a murder before it happened, and she knew who would do it, and when."

"How is that even possible?" Angelique inquired, wringing her hands. "I mean, Jin was a homicidal maniac, but…"

She stopped, then crossed her arms as she pondered that. "Wait, did she discuss the crime with someone? With Monokuma?"

"I had the vision before the motive was even announced," Anzu replied. "What if Jin's murderous intentions were just that strong? Or what if… what if this place I keep seeing visions of is beyond our comprehension?"

Yitro rubbed his forehead, then said, "I feel like I have been challenged to a sword fight, and the enemy is bringing every weapon except for a sword: scythes, sickles, meat cleavers, cannons, a lamppost, machine guns…"

Anzu sighed, and added, "This town is a nightmare, in every form."

* * *

 **Day 06, 8:52 PM**

 **Penjar (in General)**

Everyone kept close to others during this strained situation. The idea that someone could bend the rules trumped the idea that no one would willingly work with a mastermind of betrayal. Surviving the Tragedy had taught them all that depravity knew no bonds.

The Kubs bothered the graduates as much as possible, some more than others. Monokid and Monosuke were the worst, asking everyone if they wanted to ask a question officially; they had to ensure that any question was "official," because they weren't allowed to take any question as part of the motive.

Monotaro was almost as bad as them at first, but then he started having trouble remembering who he asked what. Soon he was asking people questions about what he was doing, and then horrified that he would have to kill someone by midnight.

Monodam and Monophanie weren't pressuring anyone, but the tension at Penjar was as thick as the mists. That was something that everyone started to notice, when they ventured outside.

The mists in the street were so thick, and up to the chest, it was almost impossible to see through it. It wasn't that dense in the plaza and around the buildings, but still noticeably worse.

"The mists are working against us again," Isaac said to Hara and Saiko.

"I really hate how much that is true," Saiko grumbled. "Mists that can thicken or be sound-proof on a whim? Plus, I can get lost in this shit."

"Perhaps we should get someone to hold your hand?" Hara said with a small smile and giggle.

"Check your height privilege, missy. You have no idea how tough it is down here."

There was a couple lavender pigtails bouncing up and down at the top of the mist clouds, footfalls the only other giveaway someone was there. A dainty hand reached up and waved good-bye.

"Good night, Eisei," Saiko called out.

"How'd you know it was me?" he inquired.

Passing by them all was Angelique, who said good night to all of them politely; except for Isaac, since she knew he was French too, so she said, "Bonne nuit Monsieur!"

The opera singer headed towards the Housing area, which had the mist thick in the street but still thin around the houses. Finding Kimiko's house, she tentatively knocked the door, wondering if she was doing the right thing.

"Who is it?" Kimiko's voice, slightly raspy, called out.

"It's Angelique, belle fille. Could I please come in?"

"It's not locked."

Opening up the door and stepping in, she saw that Kimiko was standing in front of her bed, sorting some clothing out. The biker gal was wearing a bathrobe, and when she turned to Angelique, the opera singer was suddenly quite aware that Kimiko only had panties on.

"Oh, mon Dieu! You should have told me you weren't decent, Kimiko!"

"You didn't ask," Kimiko said with a slight shrug. Her robe was covering her breasts, but it wasn't leaving much of anything else to the imagination. "I doo'nt even wear one of these normally, you actually woo'd catch me in less."

As much as a wonderful image that brought to Angelique's head, she cleared her throat as she tried not to stare at how toned, fit, and still rather pretty the biker gal looked to her right now. "Kimiko, are you okay with talking about what happened?"

The biker sighed, and turned her back to Angelique. "Not really, Angel, I'm still shaken by it all. I just found out the world of supernatural is real, and… I lost it. I'm supposed to be the head bitch in charge, it's my damn title, but I was an emotional wreck who cried more than a teenaged girl who just broke up with her first boyfriend."

"Sweetheart, this place, the evil behind it, they know how to get to people. No one is less tough because they were brought to tears, or losing their temper; however, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about you."

Kimiko shook her head, still unable to look her in the eye. "Look, Angel, I appreciate it, but the shit I just saw… I don't know what to do next, and that disturbs me.

"I'm not going to assume your life story, nor do I think that you haven't had any kind of leadership role in your life, eh; however, I'm a leader, I made my biker gang when I was a teenager, and I carried them all for years. I've had to resolve hundreds of issues with my mind, my fists, or both for years.

"To not know what I'm supposed to next is fucking killing me. How could you possibly help me? Just tell me to go tell everyone I saw a fucking impossible vision of Hope's Peak, that a dead girl tried to kill me, a dead guy told me that the supernatural exists? I cannot even believe it myself, and after what I saw, I just… I just doo'nt care."

She heaved out another sigh, and bent down on the side of her bed. There was silence in the room for a minute, then Angelique spoke.

"Do you remember when we were talking by the pool, belle fille? When I started calling you that?"

The biker gal nodded, and the opera singer reached up to hold her locket. "In my locket is the picture of my first love, Monica Dorian. She was a rich, sweet girl who hired me after she watched me at a concert. I was kind of like her personal singer for events and such.

"We fell in love, it was so strange and new to me, I didn't think it was possible. I felt amazing, I felt like the world was a completely different place.

"Then, her illness took her from me. That damn terminal disease, she knew she was going to die within two years, and we only had five months together. But she wanted to live, she wanted to experience the wonderful things life could provide, and I was one of them."

She sniffled, but carried on as she clenched the locket. "I know what it is like lose someone who is close to your heart. That no matter how hard you pray or beg or work, you cannot bring them back. Monica is my reminder to never stop moving forward, no matter how bad it looks, because that's how she lived when she was here."

Angelique rubbed her eyes, then managed a smile. "Those dog tags you are wearing right now, I thought it was the same as that. May I ask… who they belonged to?"

Kimiko was silent, as she reached up to tap her dog tags. "These? They're mine, eh."

Angelique felt like a train crashing into a wall. As she stood there, unable to say or do anything, Kimiko reached over to the desk next to her bed, where she picked up a small chain with three dog tags on it. "These, however, aren't mine."

She wrapped the chain around her fingers, and squeezed it in her palm. The dog tags rested on her knuckles. Taking a deep breath, she spoke as she found her calm.

"Ume Hashiriya, my little sister," she said as she rubbed one of the tags, "who I promised I would always take care of. She joined the Road Royals when I got back from Hope's Peak. I was so a'geenst it at first, but she was the most stubborn thing in the world. My little sister…

"Some mad gunman shot her through the head a few months into the Tragedy. When we caught up to him, he was just laughing and saying how he wanted to blow a biker's brains 'oot when driving. I had to be pulled away, I woo'd have beaten him to death.

"Summer Leshawn, my second-in-command. There was no one in the world who I trusted more, the only woman who could outdrink me. She took care of things when I was at Hope's Peak, even started an aquatic branch with motorboats; I don't even know how that worked, but she did it.

"Some bitch shanked her to death in a bathroom, went right for the throat. Walked back 'oot with Summer's blood all over her, acted like it was no big deal. Second month of the Tragedy, I didn't even get to learn that Despair-obsessed freak's real name, she got beaten to death in the holding cell.

"Lizette Carmela, my girlfriend of two years. I have had boyfriends and girlfriends, then there was her. She was such a country girl, I met her by accident and felt like there was no way a hot, smart, quick-witted girl like that would be interested in me. She joined the gang, and I was so enamored with every damn thing about her.

"It was near the end of the Tragedy when some guy in a truck hit her from behind, ran her over, and then backed up over her. I didn't get to say good-bye, just like with my sister, like with my right hand woman. I just got to watch them die."

Kimiko rubbed her own eyes, and took several deep breaths. "I saw them, in my vision. They were all there, laying dead on the floor in pools of their own blood. Broken, mutilated, posed like how they were right when they died… and somehow, that Monokuma bastard knew that.

"It's not a coincidence, that I was saw all of them like that, and then he brought them up in front of me. Is that a warning, is that his way of saying not to say anything that I saw? I don't know what to do, Angel, because even though he cannot kill them a'geen… it sure felt like it right then and there."

The two were silent for a little while, then Angelique stepped towards her. She pulled Kimiko into a tight, comforting hug, and held her there. They didn't say much, just holding onto each other.

"I'll stay here tonight with you," Angelique whispered.

"I'd… I'd like that."

Silence, more holding each other tenderly.

"But, there is one thing that you should be aware of, Angel."

"What's that, belle fille?"

"I sleep naked."

Angelique's eyes went quite wide, and her hands held onto the biker gal a little tighter. "R-really now?"

"I wear leather and jeans and shit like that all day, I want it to be soft and comfortable when I get to rest."

"I… I see."

"You okay with that?"

"… I'm soft and comfortable, belle fille."

There was a light giggle from Kimiko, as she snuggled up to Angelique. "I can feel that, eh~"

* * *

( **Day 06 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is wearing a fur loincloth, has a white 'n black beard around his muzzle, a large club in his paw, and is standing in front of a cave._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "I've always been told that time is relative, that what is considered an hour could be the longest point of time for some, but the shortest ever for others. You have no idea how much my Kubs use this as an argument for when they're late for family meetings."

* _Monokuma walks into his cave, which has a lot of cave drawings that appear to be primitive versions of the graduates. There are X's through the ones that appear to be Takeo, Jin, and Fiora._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "But really, you owe it to those who you work for to be on time, at all times, and you shouldn't complain when you have to stay extra. Even if you don't get paid for the early and late times, you have an obligation to not only your work place, but the universe in general. Time is relative, work for free! After all…"

* _Using the sulfur water spring in the cave as a washing basin, Monokuma washes off a razor as he proceeds to shave off his bear beard._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Where you work will have much more of an impact on everyone else, so your sacrifice should be something to be proud of! But not celebrated, because it is expected. Have I mentioned that I like suffering? Upupupupupu~

"Anyway, that's it for today. I expect you all to be on time for my next presentation, but don't be crabby if I'm not ready. Time is relative and all that, good night and such!"

* * *

…

 **26 Graduates remain in Penjar.**


	13. Chapter 2-3: Does Penjar Bleed?

**Chapter 2-3**

 **Just Be Positive**

* * *

 **Day 07, 9:00 AM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Shinobu Takahashi's House**

The alarm that Shinobu had set since she had arrived in Penjar went off, jarring the historian awake. Knowing the locks would stop working in a half-hour, she took to preparing for the day. A shower always felt necessary, needing to wake up body and mind.

She was scrubbing herself down as she started to lose track of time. The motive hadn't been fulfilled, right? There had been no body announcement to wake her up, would there even be one if someone asked a question and didn't kill anyone? She sighed heavily, letting the warm water massage her tattooed back.

The motive was definitely a trap, a lure for someone to commit the murder that the despair bear and whoever was behind this wanted. Yet she couldn't deny how curious she was, which made her laugh at something a friend had said.

"You're a woman and a historian," she repeated it, "you define curiosity. And now I'm a tourist and a participant in a supernatural mystery. I need to make sure that this burning curiosity doesn't get me killed."

As she tried to collect her thoughts, the sound of the TV turning on in the main room alerted her. She had overshot the time she normally spent in the shower, and felt a small bit of panic. It was coupled with annoyance as she heard the Monokubs talking.

* * *

( **Day 07 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The five Kubs are standing at the town hall, and all dressed up. The four boys are dressed like 1940s reporters, with tan hats and trench coats, pencil and paper, and PRESS hats. Monophanie has on an old-fashioned dress with a sunhat, and the same reporter supplies._ *

 **All Five Kubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

 **Monokid** \- "Don't fucking skip this one, buckos! We've got something important to announce this time, see?!"

 **Monotaro** \- "Wait, are we really admitting that we normally don't? Then why are we-"

 **Monosuke** \- "We'd like to announce that no one has died due to the motive yet. It is ongoing, and we're hoping that you all will participate in this once in a lifetime event!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Oh heavens, the fact that it really will be once in a lifetime for some of you is horrid!"

 **Monodam** \- "…" * _is taking notes for some reason_ *

 **Monokid** \- "You fuckers all came here for the answers, so come at us! We wanna answer questions, that's why we're dressed up like this!"

 **Monophanie** \- "If you have an official question, just say so, please."

 **Monotaro** \- "Wait… why did we dress up as reporters to answer questions? Don't reporters ask the questions?"

 **All Five Kubs** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "Damn it! I knew we forgot of something when we did this!"

 **Monotaro** \- "We could still ask questions."

 **Monosuke** \- "Yeah, like, is it true your spouse wants a divorce as soon as their eyesight recovers? Is it true that nine out of ten dentists wish you'd go to the tenth one and never bother them? How long have you managed to survive without a brain, is that a new world record?"

 **Monophanie** \- "So, um, please come to Daddy or us if you have a question. We'll be around all day."

 **All Five Kubs** \- "So long, bear well~!"

* * *

Shinobu shook her head, as she turned off the shower and dried herself off. It was going to be a tedious day, that was for sure. Just how much were her fellow graduates going to work together to avoid bloodshed? Could they?

"The Killing Game is where history comes to repeat itself, every time," she grumbled in frustration. "Why hasn't there been one where people can just behave? Then again, we have a serial killer… hard to imagine everyone behaving perfectly now."

* * *

 **Day 07, 9:45 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

The group of graduates seemed normal for the most part when they met up at the cafeteria. Odelios, Pyrrha, and Isaac were working on the food as usual. Though it seemed a great deal of the graduates weren't keen on discussion with those they weren't familiar with.

Crystal and Samson were having a rather private discussion. They were seated a short distance from everyone else, almost appearing to be a military clique. The blonde adviser was speaking with a more hushed tone than anyone had seen.

"Can I count on your discretion, sir?" she was asking him.

"Yes, ma'am, though I do have some questions."

"Feel free to inquire."

"How am I going to keep the Monokubs' attention? Eventually, they'll catch on."

"That's true, but that's why I believe killing Monokuma would be most beneficial. The Kubs seem to overreact when he dies, and thus the repeated shock may be good enough to keep them occupied."

Samson chuckled, then added, "I never thought I would have to get into a bargaining situation which involved 'killing' someone repeatedly."

"I believe if you employ your bargaining talents, you can truly keep them all occupied. Just remember to be subtle."

As if on cue, due to the word that described them least, the five Monokubs jumped up on an empty table.

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

"I demand a sandwich!" Monokid shouted. "Or at least, some questions!"

"Calm down, we cannot push it," Monosuke said. "No matter how much we want to."

"Attention, tourists of Penjar," Monotaro declared, pumping his fists up in the air, "we want to let you all know, that the party we talked about two days ago will be today, just as planned."

"5 PM, at the Western Tavern Bar 'n Grill, like you all voted," Monophanie said, clapping her hands happily. "So please join us, as we celebrate our town improving… AWK!"

She was picked up off of the table by Samson, who tucked her under his arm and headed towards the door. "Hahaha, I am kidnapping your princess," he announced. "Try and stop me if you can, heroes!"

"Haaaaaaaaaalp," Monophanie wailed, waving her arms and kicking her feet. "This brute, this brute, this vicious vicious vicious brute! I am being bear-napped! Save me!"

Crystal watched with the most unimpressed expression, as Samson carried Monophanie out of the building. Monokid was laughing loudly, and saying, "What's that fucker doing? We ain't heroes! Haha, buh-bye, sis!"

"COME-BACK-HERE," Monodam demanded, "YOU-VILE-CAD. THAT-IS-NOT-HOW-YOU-GET-ALONG."

The green Kub sprinted out after them, waving his extendable arms around like a madman. The other three Kubs hurried after him, and thus their bear-napped sister.

"Well, that just happened," Emanuel muttered, pouring a little booze into his coffee. He stared at Drake, who had been watching the whole occurrence. "Still think that there's not going to be another murder, kid?"

"Huh? Well, I mean, I will remain positive," he admitted, sheepishly staring down at his sketchpad. "But I think it would be best if no one goes out alone."

"Sorry, but I don't listen to anyone's advice but my own. Though if you follow it, you might live through today. Maybe you can ask your mime crush to finally spend some time with you?"

He glanced around the cafeteria, spotting Ignatia eating alone. The Bête Noir raised an eyebrow, and asked, "So what do you see in her anyway? She doesn't talk, she avoids you, and seems to be an aggressive punk."

Drake sighed, and stared over at the mime. Ignatia was definitely deep in thought, chewing her food meticulously. The cartoonist watched her, and sighed. "Look, it's a little hard to explain, but… when you start to draw someone, you take notice of their actions, their movements and reactions. It's like you get to know them a little, and what you don't know, you want to know more about."

Emanuel rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Just don't leave yourself exposed, kid. You'll get yourself killed, especially if you put your neck out there in the hopes that things will just get better."

With that, the sullen detective stood up and started to walk out of the cafeteria. Drake stared in shock for a moment, then called out, "Wait, are you just going to wander out there alone?"

"I know how to take care of myself, kid. You do the same, I'm just not your babysitter."

Nearby this table, Fiora was seated alone. Her eyes were whipping about, trying to find a certain someone amid the cast of the Penjar graduates. She was so focused on looking about, she didn't notice someone else sat next to her.

"Boy, don't you look like a deer in the headlights, B-Movie Maker," Aka said, smirking at Fiora.

Yelping in surprise, Fiora turned and gawked at the skier. "What… but… huh?"

"Hey, no need to be all fidgety with me, girl. I ain't gonna bite ya; that's what I got Hikari for."

Fiora blinked a whole bunch, then spoke again. "Okay, what… just what, eh?"

"Allow me to explain myself a bit: Hikari is sleeping in, she wants a little bit of that. So Ken is watching over the housing area, making sure no one is going to sneak in. Without my sexy new squeeze, I'mma gonna bother someone else for once."

Fiora tapped her fingers together, staring at the purple-topped tomboy. "So, um, what do you want with me? Wanna know if I'm available or into women too? I mean, I have to say, with my experience with-"

"Sorry, not into you that way, Fi-baby," Aka said, waving her hand as she dismissed the notion. Fiora pouted a great deal as the skier continued, "But I'm definitely a little worried about you. You're hanging around our resident serial killer a little too much."

"You think I want to?!" Fiora balked. "I… I cannot get away from him! He's not my friend! SHUT UP, BAKA!"

Slamming her head on the table, the movie director curled her arms around her face to hide her sobbing from the skier. Aka stared down at her, and said, "You're a very high-strung chick, aren't you?"

"I hate everything a'boot this place…"

"Maybe you should take up skiing with me after all this is over. You look like someone who could do with a good adrenaline rush that isn't about murderers or killers."

"I fear the snowy mountains ever since I made _Siberian Tigers in a Ski Lodge_."

Aka glanced to the side, sipped from her orange juice, and muttered, "That's… that's a real movie?"

"YES! I made it! Awwaaaugh…"

As Fiora continued to bawl, Aka reached over and massaged her back. Though this conversation wasn't going the way she thought it was going to go, there was something else to watch. Across the cafeteria was the unlikely trio of Angelique, Yitro, and Kimiko. The conversation appeared interesting, especially with how close the two girls were getting.

"So this is how you get me a girlfriend?" Yitro teased Angelique. "Sleeping with her first?"

"Nothing happened," the red-faced opera singer blurted out, correcting her glasses as a way to hide her blush. She then sighed, and said, much more quietly, "Okay… something happened."

"A little bit," Kimiko said, grinning impishly.

Yitro raised an eyebrow. "Angelique, please stop hiding now, it's okay. If you fell for her, then I'm not going to be upset."

The blond singer stared at him, a weak smile spread across her face. "I'm… I'm sorry, I do tend to get carried away when in the passion of the moment. I kind of blabbered on about my past, about my fellow students at Hope's Peak, my career…"

"I had to kiss her a bunch to give her a break," Kimiko said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Yitro burst out laughing, as Angelique hid her face again. "That's how other girls she liked had to get her to stop too. You haven't changed, Angel, but I love it. It's so good to know you found happiness again."

Angelique ran a hand through her hair, saying, "I'll admit, I really do… like Kimiko. But I feel so guilty, since I was trying to pair you two up."

"Well," Kimiko said, still grinning, "threesome?"

"Nope," Yitro replied, "Angelique is not into guys, and I'm certain she doesn't want to see me naked."

Angelique was now hiding all the more, and Kimiko had to pry at her hands to get her to come out from her hiding place. When the two gals looked into each other's eyes, holding each other's hands, there was a romantic pause.

And then the two started kissing, rather passionately. With the biker wrapping her strong arms around the lithe singer and pulling her in, Yitro silently excused himself and gave the girls a little intimate make-out time.

Pyrrha saw this from afar, and let out a happy swoon. She sat down at a table and started to eat, hopelessly watching the rather passionate new couple snogging. She giggled when she noticed Kimiko was visibly trying not to be too handsy… until Angelique started squeezing her in intimate places.

"Wait, it's okay to watch them?" Ishiku asked, leaning in to whisper to Pyrrha.

"Yes," the romance writer said blissfully. Then she shook her head, and exclaimed, "I mean no! You shouldn't be watching!"

"But you're watching!"

"But… I'm a girl! You're a boy, it's… it's not right if you do it?"

"Okay, you told me yourself that you're bisexual, so it should apply to you too."

"But… but… I want an excuse to watch!"

"So do I! Let's just do it together, and feel perverted and happy for them together."

Pyrrha was turning as red as her hair, but pushed that aside because, well, she really wanted to watch the happy couple. Ishiku watched too, grinning shamelessly.

"You know, if we're going to shamelessly watch Kimiko and Angel, along with Hikari and Aka, we are going to do something about that single status of yours, Pyrrha."

"Ish… Ishiku, what are you suggesting?"

"That today, to get your mind off of the motive and the troubles we are all having, you and Odelios need to go on a date!"

From the kitchen, where he was cleaning things up, the clown let out a sensual growl. How he heard what Ishiku said from that far, Pyrrha had no idea. She also had no idea how the magician thought that was going to be a good idea.

* * *

 **Day 07, 11:01 AM**

 **Penjar Streets**

Isaac was typing on his phone, making a bunch of additional remarks with the notes he had taken with the Notes app. Working hard on making sure he detailed everything (and liberally using _italics_ and **bold** and underlined whenever he could), he still managed to carry on a conversation with the two he was with.

"So do we have any idea where we are going to investigate today?" he asked Hara and Saiko.

"I'm going to say something," Saiko remarked, "but don't think that means I am giving up: what else is there to investigate?"

"I have to agree with her, honey," Hara said, sighing in defeat, "because we've gone through every building, and looked through all we could. I don't think the Kubs or Monokuma or anyone else behind this just left a clue behind."

"Unless you count those ridiculous items that are giving people visions," the forensic investigator remarked. "Wait, has Kimiko told you two what she saw yet?"

"No. She was… busy with Angelique when we saw her in the cafeteria," Hara admitted, blushing slightly as she blushed. Saiko stared at her, raising one of her dark eyebrows at her close friend.

"You do realize this is a very dangerous place, with a real danger over our heads right now. I know you're a very shy person, Hara, but are you really not going to ask the important question because the two women are making out?"

Hara bit her lip, wrung her hands, and turned her blushing face to the side. "Yes," she whimpered quite softly.

"Well, I'm not shy! I'm gonna go find out what she saw!"

As Saiko stormed off towards the cafeteria, Hara sighed heavily and stared at her fiancé. "You… you think I'm too soft, honey? She is right, we need to know these things right away, since it's very awful right now."

"Hara, if there is one thing I've learned, you cannot force your characteristics to change drastically. And really, do you want to be the person who can go up to people making out and tell them to stop for something more important?"  
Hara laughed, and rocked on her feet. "Part of me thinks… um… well… that… uh…"

Isaac smirked, and walked on up to her. His hands found her hips as he pulled her in, and whispered, "You wanna do the same thing, right now?"

"In public?" Hara said, her voice high-pitched with worry and arousal. She leaned back, but her hands were on his shoulders.

"Yes, why not?"

With another shy giggle, she leaned in and started kissing him. The two were making out until a red-faced Saiko returned back to them, loudly clearing her throat. "Ahem! AHEM! HEY! You two horn dogs! Stop that!"

She eventually moved towards them, and forcibly pulled them apart. Isaac tried to ask casual as he asked, "Well then Saiko, did you get the information you wanted?"

"No," she bitterly remarked. "I… I couldn't do it. They were making out so passionately, I couldn't even work up the nerve to tell them to stop! Damn it…"

"But you stopped Isaac and me," Hara protested.

"That's different! I know you two!"

The three stood there, the feelings of embarrassment and arousal and so on really making them feel helpless. It was like this for a while, until someone approached them.

"If I may," Shuuya said, smiling politely as he walked over to them, "I'd like to help you three today."

"Huh?" Saiko honked, then she cleared her throat and put on a more professional tone. "Listen, we don't even know where to start, Shuuya. Do you have an idea?"

"If you would like a suggestion, I think that we should do a sweep of the new buildings. See if we can find anything new?"

The bounty hunter started to walk towards the fire station, calling out to the three, "I'll meet you at the tavern, that seems like a nice place to be during this time. If you could check the theater and greenhouse for me?"

The mist was so thick, they couldn't even see each other when he was half a block away from them. The three of them, even with how tall Isaac was, were also lost in the mist before he reached the fire station. This rather perturbed him, but he didn't show it; fear was not a good thing to showcase at a time like this.

And when the bounty hunter heard movement in the fire station, he felt rather vindicated in his decision to do a sweep. Marching into the building, he saw Blake searching through the shelves of the place.

"You of all people," Shuuya said, startling the pyro, "should not be left alone here."

"Hey, bite me, mate," Blake shouted at him. "I'm trying to prevent a disaster, not start one."

"You really think I'm going to take your word for it? Crystal has informed me of your record, and here you are, in a pyromaniac's paradise, during a motive that we could learn whatever we want."

The pyrotechnician let out a long growl, but managed to suck in his anger. Pulling one of the shelves out of a desk, he held its empty state to the bounty hunter. "Want to know what was in this, trench coat?"

"Enlighten me."

"Laser-triggered starters. You can set them up so that when the laser is tripped, it can send a signal to fire starting devices. Even a basic fucker could figure out how to program them so that a laser trigger sends the signal to the spark."

"What exactly is the point of those devices?"

"Normally they're used for testing explosives and such in safe areas, but you're talking about the Monokubs and Monokuma here. You _know_ they put these in this building to be used as weapons!"

Shuuya raised an eyebrow, and said, "Is anything else missing?"

"Look, I just found out about these being missing, I don't exactly have a list-"

"Could these fire starters set a building on fire?"

Blake scratched his head, and muttered, "Um, not really. The spark that comes from them is meant to activate something flammable or explosive, not a building. I mean, it would hard to catch a building on fire with one of these, but fire is hard to control when started anywhere."

Shuuya took a deep breath, and he stared down Blake as he crossed his arms. "You only now just told us about this?"

"Dude, this fucking building is full of a million flammable things, and a fucking flamethrower! You really think I was going to, what, inventory this shit?"

"Then I'm telling you what we're going to do. We're going to lock this place up, and then search everyone's rooms. And you're going to help me."

"Lock it? Monosuke didn't exactly leave us the keys for the place, Shuuya."

"Then nail the doors shut?"

"I don't exactly have planks of wood and a hammer that'll work against the stone walls-"

"Damn it, stop trying to make this difficult, Blake!"

"Stop asking me to do the impossible, Shuuya!"

The two stared each other down, glaring heatedly at the other. Without meaning to, they were flexing their muscles, one of them hardened and developed from prison and working out, one from an active and dangerous career that required such fitness.

"Look, trench coat, we ain't gonna solve anything just standing here arguing," Blake pointed out. "Let's both look through the rooms of everyone, see if they squirreled them away."

"We never even found the DVD player, what makes you think we're going to find tools made for arson?"

"What, you wanna just give up? Come on, man, your whole damn career is about finding those that don't want to be found. Let's do this."

"Very well. I didn't think about asking for a partner like you, but I suppose there are odder partnerships…"

"Heh, gonna treat this like a buddy cop movie now?"

"Ugh. No."

Shuuya briskly walked towards to the housing area, with Blake right behind him. When they made it there, they saw Ken standing outside of a house that wasn't his. The cavalryman appeared rather distracted and deep in thought, not noticing the two until they were right next to him.

"Pardon me, I was lost in translation," Ken apologized. He seemed to recognize that he had misspoke, but didn't bother to correct himself this time. "I… forgive me, gentlemen, but did you need something?"

"Dude, what are you doing outside Hikari's house?" Blake asked, observing the pixel picture of the steampunk model on the building.

"Don't tell me have a thing for her too now?"

"Miss Tetsuhime prefers the feminine company of the lady gender with womanly parts," the Novoselician said, nervous but still showing a kind of determination that Shuuya could recognize. "I am just… on guard duty while she sleeps in."

"Sleeps in?" Shuuya glanced at his watch. "It's a half-hour to noon. I don't think she should be sleeping in that much."

Ken glanced at her door, around the area aimlessly, then shrugged. "Well, if you want to wake her, be my guest."

Shuuya shrugged, and then walked into Hikari's house. He expected a scream or a sudden gasp, he definitely expected to find the woman still in bed. What he didn't expect was very empty the place was.

"Whoa, is she not here?" Blake asked as he made his way in. "Ooo, maybe she's in the shower! Haha, no regrets!"

He bolted towards her bathroom, then stomped out with a scowl a moment later. "She's not in there either."

"You're very observant, you pervert. Now if she's not in her house, where could she be?"

"Shouldn't we be looking for those fire starters? I mean, if she isn't where Ken said she was… wait."

Blake stopped talking, and hurried back outside. The cavalryman was nowhere to be seen, as the thick mists ran down the streets and obscured so much from sight.

"Holy shit, bro," the pyro swore, turning back to Shuuya, "what's going on?"

"I don't know… but I really don't like it. Blake, help me with some of the buildings here. I fear this is more serious than I thought."

* * *

 **Day 07, 12:02 PM**

 **Penjar Streets**

Souma glanced at his watch, noting the time. "I really must thank Mr. Shyre for fixing up this watch for me. Every time I am curious about the time, I have him to thank; I am afraid I never got used to telling the time by my cell phone."

"You're an anthropologist case in yourself," Futaba said, chuckling dryly. "Seriously, everything I've heard about you, you've had quite the interesting life, especially right now."

"I cannot tell if that is a compliment, but I don't mind being studied. It'd be interesting what you can diagnose."

Futaba shrugged, flipping her silver hair behind her shoulders. "I'm off-duty from being an anthropologist right now. I'm more interested in you as company and protection."

"I am your bodyguard now? I do know some martial arts, as a member of the Future Foundation shouldn't be helpless in combat; however, I cannot help but feel there are better people for this. Unless you mean…"

Futaba sighed heavily, then turned to face him. "Yes, I am interested in what the motive could bring. If I could find out something, anything, about Despair, I could prevent another Tragedy. The greatest potential is in this motive.

"However, the price is too high, especially since… well…"

"You don't want to kill anyone? Or die for the cause?"

"I'm more concerned that Monokuma will not be entirely truthful with me. I don't wish to die for a half-truth."

She pushed her glasses up, as she stared at Souma. "You will be my conscience right now, and prevent me from going to the Kubs or Monokuma."

Souma crossed his arms as he glanced around, as if scouting the area. He could barely see through the mists, wondering how anyone could find the short bears through it. "I doubt you could keep track of anyone out here. Wait…"

He was staring in one direction, near the cafeteria. There was the faint outline of black hair upon a white jacket, which stuck out from the mist; it had to be Ignatia. She appeared to be staring down next to her, and for a brief moment, he swore he saw lavender pigtails bobbing in the mist.

The public speaker was about to call out to them, when he was suddenly grabbed by the arm. Yanked into Ye Olde Café, he was rather surprised as Futaba shushed him frantically.

"I think I saw that psycho killer coming up the road," she hissed. "Quick, hide!"

"Miss Imajuku, I doubt that'll help-"

"Look, you want to know something, Souma? As an anthropologist, I know a thing or two about serial killers, especially after the Tragedy! And the last thing is we want to give that murderer an excuse to act on his sick desires!"

"Was he alone?"

"I don't care, I just saw him with that freaking mask. Keep quiet!"

Souma and Futaba huddled up in that café, keeping close to each other. When he tried to speak, she shushed him. It was a tense and awkward situation, and he couldn't find a way to dissuade her from hiding like this.

And as they sat in the café, the graduates were moving around Penjar, some in duos, some in trios, some all alone. No one could keep track of the others, the mists were building up more as time passed. When 1 PM rolled around, those shrouding mists were almost enough to cover up even the tallest of the rather tall collection of graduates.

The shortest of them all stepped into the movie theater, finishing his lollipop and tossing the stick into the can. Eisei walked in and observed the concession stand, once again wishing there were sweet treats there. With a dramatic sigh, he turned towards Ignatia.

"I am starting to have trouble seeing anything out there," he said casually, rocking on his feet, "and I doubt you'd carry me so that I could have some sort of optimal sight."

Ignatia shrugged, as she sucked on the lollipop that the dentist had given her. The two shared an awkward silence, with one not speaking and one not feeling like speaking until something important came to mind.

It would be about an hour later that something would change very drastically for them.

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:03 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

"Okay, do we know where anyone is?" Saiko asked aloud, throwing her hands up in disgust. "We've been waiting here for far too long, and all we have are us three, and those three!"

She gestured towards Samson and Anzu, who both waved casually back at her. Yitro was also there, shamelessly immersed in a perverted romance novel. Isaac and Hara couldn't do anything but shrug.

"The mists are way too thick out there," Isaac admitted, "and I don't want to risk Hara's life by wandering around out there!"

"At least we know where we all are," Hara said, trying to smile peacefully. "Or I mean, the people here, we know they're here. Because… we're here."

Anzu giggled from afar, and said, "You're so cute, Hara. But hey, if you want, I can go look for the others, if you want. They tend to listen to me, especially when I lean forward."

Saiko rolled her eyes, and rubbed her forehead. "You really going to go flaunting your tits around to get people to listen to, you know, not murdering each other?"

"I'll be fine, baby doll. Don't you worry about lil' ol' me."

And as she said that, she walked behind Saiko, and slapped the forensic investigator on her posterior. Saiko yelped and whirled on Anzu, but the girl was already at the front door.

"Oh, I found someone," the adult actress called out as she walked out, and this other person walked inside.

"Well done," Yitro called out to her, "we're all so proud of your conquests. A+ ranking, for sure, honors all 'round."

"I apparently have been found," Crystal said with a chuckle, as she moved into the tavern. Glancing around, she noted who was there, and said, "Were we supposed to meet up here?"

"No, ma'am," Samson called out, tipping back in his chair as he rested his boots on the table, trying to look like a cowboy in this tavern. "I think some people just decided to gather up here."

"That might be best," Crystal said, "because it seems everyone was just wandering around out there. I think I saw several people alone out there in the hour I was scouting the streets."

"And you were alone out there too?" Hara asked, worriedly placing her hands over her mouth.

"I can handle myself. I think a lot of people have decided on that strategy, some people alone, some people in duos. Though I didn't see anyone for almost an hour, so I decided to check this place out for who was around."

"We all just got here too, kind of recently," Isaac admitted. "Saiko, Hara, and I, as well as Samson there, and Odelios."

"Odelios?" Crystal repeated.

"OYE! GUV'NAH!" The clown shouted from the kitchen, startling everyone as he pointed at them, his kitchen toque bouncing around on his clown hat. "What the bloody 'ell are you bastids doin' standin' aroun' doin' nawthing when Ah've got me a bloody dinner date tonight?!"

"Is he British or Scottish now?" Hara asked.

"Is he crazy or insane," Saiko grumbled.

"Is he making steak or chicken?" inquired Yitro.

"Is _he_ dating someone," Samson said most dubiously, "like, for real?"

"I'm gonna date Pyrrha," Odelios sang proudly, preparing more food. "Ishiku set me up on a date with Pyrrha~ I'm gonna show her a good time~ Woo~!"

Isaac watched as the clown worked on the food, and he couldn't help but laugh. Turning to Hara, he said, "Believe it or not, that was a bit like how I was when I prepared my first dinner date with you."

"You were talking in a Scottish-British accent as you wore multiple hats and singing happily in front of a bunch of people?"

"Like I said, love, I was excited."

Hara giggled a bunch and hugged her funny soon-to-be-hubby, as the two watched Odelios make a show out of the meal preparation. Saiko headed over to the bar, wanting to distract herself even if there weren't drinks being served at the moment. Crystal sat with Blake, trying to conserve quietly despite a loud, singing clown being rather distracting.

"Anything I should know about?" she asked the trader.

"I'm pretty sure Shuuya and Blake are searching through the houses. Oh, and Yejoon's wandering the streets alone; that psycho doesn't have Fiora by his side, for some reason."

"Any idea where she is?"

"No, and I'm hoping that isn't because she's been gutted by him."

"Don't talk like that," Crystal snapped, frowning at him. "I hate the fact that we cannot do anything about him."

"Sorry. I also saw Aka, Emanuel, and Ignatia alone at some point. The mist is getting really thick out there, I'm starting to think it's tied to the motive."

"First sound-proof and now thick as clouds, I daresay it's starting to become a reality."

Crystal was silent for a while, as she watched Samson take a shot of whiskey. The trader pardoned drinking at a time like this, but the stress was starting to get rather tedious. "Besides," he said, "no one's going to try anything with us all here together."

"I'm more concerned for those outside."

"If they wanted to be safe, they could have all grouped up to ensure that there would be no problems. But they didn't, and we cannot help everyone; especially when some of those aren't able to be helped."

Crystal watched in silence, and then turned towards the others. Isaac was giving Odelios some tips, and the two were now doing a rather interesting impression of Julia Child together. Hara was laughing like crazy over it, and even Saiko was giggling. Yitro continued to read his novel with a smirk on his face, but if that was over the instant bedroom activities of the heated characters within the novel or the shenanigans of the graduates in the same building as him, she didn't know.

The military adviser felt rather restless with her surroundings after a short while. She got up, excusing herself, and started to head out the back. Before she made it through the storage room, she heard Saiko call out to her, "You sure you want to head out there right now, Crystal?"

"I'll only be a minute. I want a breath of fresh air. I'll see you soon."

As she walked through the storeroom, it felt a lot more spacious than she last remembered. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it definitely felt different. This was on her mind until she opened the back door, and mist practically poured into the building.

"Ugh, laying it on thick, are we, Monokuma?" she grumbled, stepping outside.

The mist was actually not as tall near the park, but it was thick all the way up to her hips. Sighing as she tried to shake the awful feelings, she scanned the area. The park was close enough that she could smell the rocky floor that Monokid had picked for his park's substitute for wack grass. The rocky floor had that unpleasant, raw smell of broken stone.

It was rather unappealing, distracting Crystal from why the heck she decided to step out here. Maybe she just felt uncomfortable, sitting around, waiting for something to happen. The Tragedy had long since taught her that waiting usually led to bad results…

While her thoughts and senses were being pulled every which way, something stood out that finally grabbed her attention. The eastern end of the park was nearby the tavern, with the towering, wooden statue of Monokuma a stone's throw away. There was the fire pit, designed like a sacrificial site for the despair bear "god," that had been empty ever since Monokid had created the park.

It wasn't empty anymore. There was a rather large stack, a pile even, of logs and newspaper. It appeared to be the start of a bonfire, with enough kindling in the pit to be the size of a car.

Crystal did not like the look at it. She walked towards it, frowning with determination. Then she heard a beeping noise from down at her feet, and she saw a small device projecting a laser was shining on her leg.

Then there was a clicking sound, like a lighter, and flames erupted from the ground, shining brightly from the shroud that Penjar was known for. Though the moment the fire sprouted up, the mists parted, as if there was a natural repelling effect between mists and fire.

The flames then started to race across a path, weaving and sidewinding, as if to showcase they were there. As brilliantly obvious it was, there was only one destination: the now-full fire pit.

Crystal sprinted forward and stomped on the fire, but it refused to extinguish. Even a direct impact didn't snuff out the flames, it carried on the trail. With the mist parting where it went, she could see it now: a wet trail was leading the flames to its destination, whatever chemicals it was composed of masked by the wretched smell of the sinister park's rock floor.

The military advisor frantically tried to stomp the fire, smear the flammable trail, but nothing was working! The burning route was weaving closer and closer to the fire pit, and desperation led her to do something drastic.

Grabbing at her custom-made jacket, she pulled it off of her and threw it down in front of the fire trail. She stomped down on it, hoping to soak up or smear the flammable path, and punted her jacket aside. Heaving frantically, she kicked at the jacket she had prided above everything else material in this world, destroying it…

But she managed to extinguish the flames. Almost collapsing on her knees, she had her foot pressing down on her ruined jacket, as if moving it could reignite the fire. Gasping for air, which wasn't fulfilling with the combination of chemical smells, the unpleasant rock bed scent, and the thick mist in the area.

Staggering to her feet, she wiped her brow, and tried to process what just happened. Crystal realized that the next step had to be-

An ear-bursting explosion down south in the park knocked her off of her feet. She gripped her head, and tried to find the source of the fiery explosion. One of the statues had been ravaged by a burst of blaze, and it had dispersed the mist.

Crystal winced as she struggled to get up, and then she heard people running towards the area. Someone came through the back of the tavern, but then she heard that clicking sound again, and the rush of flames leaping up.

There were now two blaze trails, one racing down to the western end of the park, and one heading right for her. No, wait, it was heading straight for the fire pit!

And in the military adviser's head, there could be only one reason this was happening: someone was in that pile.

Crystal forced her body to move towards the fire pit, and started chucking off the logs and thick bundles of newspaper. There was a great deal of bulky items, like broken cardboard boxes, that she was throwing side to side. Someone was shouting to her, but there was no time to react. If her feelings were right then…

She saw an arm, someone's arm, underneath the wood and kindling. Crystal risked a glance at the inferno trail, which was speeding towards the fire pit. There was barely time to react, and she grabbed as much of the lumber as she could and chucked it off the person.

Hooking her hands under the person's arms, she kicked off the pile as the fire reached the pit. She soared through the air, and crash-landed painfully on the rough stone floor. It was agonizing, but when a towering inferno took the place of the wood and kindling pile, it was worth it.

The fire roared as it reached up high, blazing so fervently that the people there had to shield their eyes. The giant, wooden Monokuma statue was seared, and its eyes were gleaming with malevolent red from the fire's light. It felt and looked like a conflagration from hell.

Odelios stood over Crystal, staring down at the dazed military advisor and the person she had saved. "Crystal," he shouted, "What… what happened? What's going on?"

"G… get to the other side of the park! NOW!"

She pointed frantically towards the opposite end of the park, where the fire was still blazing towards the other fire pit. Odelios broke off into a sprint, moving so fast that he was kicking up the mist around him.

Odelios was moving faster than he ever had in his life. He caught up with Ignatia and Eisei, who had entered the park and were chasing off the burning trail that was aiming for the other fire pit.

They didn't reach it in time.

The flames touched the base of the bonfire pit, and the large pile of wood and kindling went up like a wildfire geyser. They had to shield their eyes, the fire too intense to look directly at. So hot, they felt like their hair and clothes were in danger of being singed even at their distance.

And the three of them heard someone shriek in unbridled agony from within the fire pit.

Once the initial blaze dimmed down, it still burned furious furiously. They stood there, thunderstruck, gasping in horror.

"Please," Odelios whimpered, "please tell me I was just hearing things."

"No," was all Eisei could say, hand over his hammering heart. "No… I heard it too."

Ignatia desperately looked around, trying to find something, anything. She motioned to the two, managing to mime out that they had to put out the fire. They too looked around, but were baffled on what they could use.

The backdoor to the fire station opened, as Fiora came barreling out. She stood there, staring at the burning fire pit, then stared at the three for some answers. "What… what happened?"

"We need to put this out now," Odelios hollered, running into the fire station. "Now now NOW!"

"The fire station is full of flammable items and things that spread the conflagration," Eisei called to him. "Don't go in there!"

"There's a fire hose," Fiora shouted as she ran into the station as well. "We have to try!"

Odelios pulled said fire hose out of the station, telling Fiora to turn the handle. Eisei was trembling, saying, "Are we sure that's going to hose water, and not a flammable liquid?"

"We… we gotta try, man," Odelios replied, staring at the dentist with tears rolling down his cheeks, smearing his face paint.

There was a sudden rush of liquid, and Odelios was almost knocked off of his feet. If it were luck or a planned purpose or a higher power, the fire hose spewed out water instead of something flammable. It was far stronger than the clown could handle, and he fell down as he tried to wrangle it.

With water spraying at high pressure everywhere, it prevented Ignatia, Fiora, and Eisei from assisting. However, more hands grabbed at the hose and helped to stabilize it.

"What the hell is going on!" Yitro shouted over the gushing water. "I heard an explosion!"

"The fire pit back there is burning too," Isaac hollered. "What's going on? Was this a trap? Did the damn cubs set this up?"

"Oh dear God," Hara whimpered repeatedly, staring at the drenched and charred collection of wood in the western fire pit. Saiko was standing next to her, holding onto her for support.

With Odelios, Isaac, Yitro, and finally Samson and Ignatia holding onto the hose, they managed to put out all of the flames. Fiora, soaked but undaunted, ran back into the fire station to turn off the water. The graduates dropped the powerful hose, and then Isaac spoke first amongst them all.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" the reporter declared. "There was a freaking inferno in the other fire pit, and Crystal was holding onto-"

"That's not important right now," Odelios cried, pointing frantically at the fire pit. "Some… someone… someone was in that."

The graduates froze in terror. Yitro raced over and started tearing off logs from the pile, ignoring any sense of preservation for himself.

"Wait wait wait," Fiora called to him. "We don't know if that's safe-"

"I don't care!" Yitro bellowed. "If she was in the other one, then… then…"

He threw the charred wood and smoldering kindling aside, until he saw an arm. A charred, fire-mangled, human arm, with a clenched fist. The utterly horrid smell would have deterred anyone from getting closer, but he moved in closer to examine.

The fist had a silver strand across it, seared into the burnt body. Whoever this had been, they had clutched it before they died. Yitro, shaking, moved to pry open the hand to see what it was.

The victim's last action had saved their most precious belonging from being completely destroyed. The locket dropped from the charred hand, and onto the seared remains in the fire pit.

Yitro picked it up, as tears spilled from his eyes. He screamed in anguish, louder than the body discovery announcement that was currently happening, as he hunched over the remains of his friend.

Angelique Angolmois, the Ultimate Opera Singer, was dead. She had been burned to death in a fire pit, in front of a now singed-black statue of Monokuma, with the burn marks highlighting his vicious grin.

* * *

…

 **25 Graduates remain in Penjar.**

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

…

 _The green-haired woman groaned from down on the floor. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw that she was inside. Everything was hazy at first, then it cleared up to be the hallways of Hope's Peak Academy._

 _"_ _H-hey there," a nervous, feminine voice nearby said._

 _Kimiko sat up, shaking her head, and glanced over at who was speaking. Mahiru was hunched over the biker gang leader, staring at her incredibly concerned._

 _Swearing aloud and scurrying to her feet, Kimiko started putting as much distance as she could away from the photographer. Mahiru held her hands, showcasing no harm or threat from herself. The two stared each other down, breathing hard, fear of the other in their eyes._

 _"_ _What's," Kimiko shouted, "what's going on? Why am I here? How are you alive?"_

 _"_ _What? I don't know what you're talking about," Mahiru cried out. "Who are you? I've never seen you before!"_

 _Studying herself out quickly, the biker gang leader noticed she was in her own body, in her own clothes, sans her leather jacket. She felt the back of her head, and muttered, "I… I was with Angelique, and then… I was here."_

 _Mahiru cocked her head to the side, then she covered her mouth with one of her hands. "You're one of the graduates of Hope's Peak, currently in Penjar."_

 _"_ _Y-yeah. Wait a damn minute, how do you know that? Matter of fact, you realized that last time when I was in Sayaka's body! Who the hell are you, Mahiru?!"_

 _The redhead sniffled, and glanced to the side, clenching her camera strap as she struggled to keep calm. She finally regained eye contact with the biker gang leader, and spoke._

 _"_ _I'm the eternally damned. I'm a monster's punching bag. I'm… I'm… Mahiru Koizumi, and whenever I gain this kind of clarity, it means I'm going to die soon."_

 _"_ _What?! What does all of that mean? And how the hell did I get here?!"_

 _Mahiru had both hands on her camera straps now, and she stared at the furious woman. Tears spilt from her eyes, and she whispered, "I'm so sorry."_

 _"_ _Sorry? Sorry for WHAT?! Who are you, what are you talking about? Speak clearly, damn it, I want to know what happened to me, and…"_

 _She froze up, and scanned the area, a fast and frantic search. "Angelique? Angelique! Where is she?!_

 _"_ _I'm so very sorry."_

 _Mahiru walked up to Kimiko, and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. The two were quiet for a moment, as both of them were shivering with overwhelming emotion._

 _"_ _What," Kimiko stammered, "what happened to her?"_

 _"_ _We haven't got much time," Mahiru said, squeezing Kimiko's shoulder for support. "If we try, we may find some of the answers. Just please, trust me to help you-"_

 _"_ _WHO is your friend, Mahiru?"_

 _The photographer locked up, her face contorting into the most apparent visual of fear ever. Her eyes turned as far as they could without her neck moving, her body unwilling to face the person whose voice that belonged to. Kimiko could look, and did so._

 _The pretty, busty girl with big pigtails and a tight-fighting school girl's uniform was a familiar sight to anyone who knew famous models. Her gleeful expression, mixed that subtle hint of overwhelming sadism, was fixated on the two. The grin on her face spread, before she asked, "Is this one of the visitors in my town?"_

 _Junko Enoshima stepped forward, and revealed the bloodstained baseball bat she was hiding behind her curvy body. "I don't want the visitors ruining my contingency plans for my contingency plans, that's not according to plan, nosiree! So how do you think we keep her from waking up again?"_

 _Mahiru pushed Kimiko to get her attention, and said one word with all the urgency and fear a person could possibly project:_

 _"_ _RUN!"_


	14. Chapter 2-4: Case 2 Investigations

**Chapter 2-4**

 **Ode to a Positive Soul**

* * *

" _I must apologize if I start to cry. It has been so amazing, my time here at Hope's Peak Academy, and the people I have befriended. Each of my classmates has a special place in my heart, and I cannot wait to see what all of them accomplish when we leave here._

" _I know it might be a bit cliché, but there was something I wanted to sing for you all. It may be a bit silly, but I feel like it would be the best way to convey the feelings in my heart. Ahem…_

" _Chaque jour va être exceptionnel_

 _We'll stick together even after we say farewell_

 _C'est notre monde et nous y vivons tous_

 _You'll forever be in my heart, and are my muse_

 _Merci beaucoup, Hope's Peak Academy~_ "

-Angelique Angolmois's graduation speech/song

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:25 PM**

 **Monokuma Park**

 **Western Side**

Twenty-three graduates were formed around the western side in the wretched park. Most of them were staring at the horrible sight of the charred corpse that had once been such a positive, kind-hearted person.

Yitro couldn't bear to look at her body anymore, he was leaning against the wall of the fire station. Ken and Drake were standing near him, fearful of how what he might do in his grief.

That fear was justified when the Kubs showed up.

"Whoa, damn, that's fucking extreme," Monokid bellowed. "Someone here must be a music critic, because she got roasted! Hardcore!"

"You could say," Monosuke remarked, "that her final performance was well-done!"

"Brrlblblblghghg!" Monophanie barfed.

"Are you two trying to compete with Father with insensitive comments?" Monotaro asked. "Because if you carry this on, we'll-WHOA!"

The red bear held his paws up in self-defense as Yitro moved towards them, ready to stomp the ever-loving shit out the bear cubs. Ken and Drake held him back, with Saiko standing between the offensive cubs and the furious former swordsman.

"You'll just get yourself killed!" Saiko snapped at him.

"I don't care," Yitro huffed furiously when he stopped struggling. "They don't get to talk about her like that!"

"I'm sorry, Yitro, but you're going to have to take it. Getting yourself killed isn't going to help yourself, or her, or anyone! Get a grip, they're trying to provoke you."

"We are?" Monotaro asked, scratching his head. "Um, we came here to announce that the investigation will start soon. Father is getting the trial room ready."

The graduates exchanged glances, the realization of the horrid situation dawning on them all. They didn't really know what to say or do, for the most part, the murder had happened so suddenly.

"Is it at all possible," Isaac spoke up, "that we can get a death report?"

"Nope," Monosuke declared. "None of us built a tech store, so you don't get a tablet!"

"Can we ask you all questions this time too?" Hara inquired.

"We'll only be able to answer specific questions," Monotaro replied. "Everything else, we'll have to say that we cannot answer it. You're welcome to try!"

"Wait, about the questions," Eisei spoke up, pulling a lollipop from his pocket, "the motive question come specifically to mind. Could you please inform us where we stand on that now?"

The Kubs exchanged glances, or at least the ones who weren't finishing vomiting did. Monodam spoke up, "IF-YOU-WOULD-LIKE, WE-CAN-START-THE-INVESTIGATION-NOW. ASK-QUESTIONS-AND-WE-WILL-ANSWER-WHAT-WE-CAN. WOULD-YOU-LIKE-TO-COMMENCE-THE-INVESTIGATION?"

Now the graduates paused, until Isaac scanned all of them. No one was raising an objection, then his eyes rested on the one person there who couldn't.

Kimiko was still unconscious, a bloody injury on her head that was the obvious reason for her state. Shuuya and Crystal had carried her over here, and Pyrrha was trying to take care of her. As the romance writer cradled the woman's head in her lap, to ensure it didn't lay on the cruel park's ground, Isaac felt a wave of dread.

"Before we begin anything, we need to know," he asked the Kubs, "what is going to be done about Kimiko, with her condition?"

"What do you mean?" Monotaro asked.

"Can she receive any medical attention? What if she dies, or doesn't wake up before the trial?"

"Haha, brings new meaning to dead woman walking," Monokid cackled, "with how our trials can go!"

"KIMIKO-HASHIRIYA-IS-A-TOURIST-OF-OUR-TOWN," Monodam stated. "SHE-WILL-BE-PART-OF-THE-TRIAL."

"But she's unconscious," Hara pleaded, "and she might die!"

"HER-STATUS-IS-BEYOND-OUR-HELP-BUT-IT-IS-TOO-COMPLICATED-TO-EXPLAIN. PLEASE-UNDERSTAND-THAT, LIKE-WITH-EVERYTHING-ELSE-IN-PENJAR, THERE-ARE-MORE-ASPECTS-AT-PLAY-HERE-THAN-YOU-REALIZE."

"Youse should really be more concerned with youse'selves right now," Monosuke remarked. "Because this trial may be your last if you don't do a proper investigation. Youse wanna know what'll happen if you fail, huh?"

* * *

 _"_ _Come back here, you couple tiny-tittied twerps," Junko Enoshima shouted, her maniacal voice echoing down the hallways. "You're just delaying the inevitable, and when I'm in play, things happen sooner rather than later! I just wanna cave in a bitch's head, is that so wrong?!"_

 _Kimiko and Mahiru were sprinting as fast as they possibly could, trying to get away from the murderous model. They didn't seem to get a good enough lead, and eventually, found their way to a large flight of stairs. When the two made it to the top, Kimiko turned around and clenched her fists._

 _"_ _What are you doing?" Mahiru shouted. "She'll kill you."_

 _"_ _If you think I'm gonna run from some supermodel bitch," Kimiko declared, watching Junko skip up the stairs towards her, "then think a'geen!"_

 _"_ _Haha, I'm the harbinger of death!" Junko proudly declared, coming up to Kimiko's level as she prepared a mighty swing. "You underestimate me-"_

 _A booted foot kicked square in Junko's chest, and there was a split second where the psychotic model was suspended in midair. Eyes bugging, staring down at the foot that had countered her, breasts bouncing in slow-motion as if everything she did had to have some kind of fan service moment._

 _Then she flew through the air, crashed headfirst on the stairway, bounced down as she slammed down with each horrible impact, and then collapsed at the bottom of the stairs. Her limbs were all bent in odd angles, and she was barely moving._

 _"_ _Ohhhhh," Junko whimpered, though far more annoyed sounding than in pain, "oh that fucking hurt. Shit, what happened to my OP powers? I call foul!"_

 _Kimiko stomped her foot down, and spat, "I doo'nt care where we are, or who you are, but you're still just a bitch. And I am a bitch breaker!"_

 _Mahiru raced over, grabbing Kimiko's arm and pulled her onwards. "Don't stop moving! We need to get somewhere safe!"_

 _"_ _What? Huh?! Where's safe here?! This is Hope's Peak Academy in hell!"_

 _"_ _Please, just listen to me! Jeez!"_

 _Mahiru led Kimiko for several minutes of frantic retreat, going up two stories until they found themselves in a bowling alley, of all places. The biker gang leader collapsed in a chair, huffing and puffing from all the heavy sprinting. Mahiru lay on several chairs like a bed, gasping for air._

 _The two had a minute to recover, and then Kimiko spoke up. "Okay, you want to tell me… what the hell is going on?"_

 _Mahiru stared at the biker gal, and said, "I… I don't know where to start."_

 _"_ _How did I get stuck in here a'geen, first of all?!"_

 _The photographer sat up, keeping eye contact with Kimiko. "As far as I know, there are items that are scattered around Penjar, things that were taken from Hope's Peak Academy before it was destroyed. Ever since you all arrived in Penjar, we've had visitors here."_

 _"_ _But where is here? And I wasn't touching an item this time, I was… I was with someone."_

 _"_ _I don't know, maybe something has happened to give you a chance to visit here again. And what here is, is… well, I'm not entirely certain, but I think this is some kind of afterlife."_

 _"_ _If I recall, I was told that this is definitely some place between life and death, and despair is involved. How does that involve you, Mahiru?"_

 _The redhead hung her head, sighing miserably. "I'm stuck here."_

 _"_ _What? How?"_

 _"_ _I'm not entirely sure. But it's been so long, maybe I'm just a fragment of Mahiru, maybe I'm a cruel mockery of her. I've been through so much… I… I…"_

 _The photographer burst into tears, Kimiko staring at her with the utmost confusion. She wanted to comfort this sobbing girl, but the last time she had seen her, she was on a violent murder streak._

 _"_ _Kimiko, I don't know what is real anymore, I cannot tell you in all honesty, but there are some moments of clarity. And when I get them, it's usually when I don't have much longer to live."_

 _"_ _But, how can I help?"_

 _The photographer shook her head more, and muttered, "I… I don't know how. God, I would do anything, ANYTHING, to get a better sense of lucidity! I just… I just know one thing._

 _"_ _I want to help you, Kimiko, because if you don't get out of this Killing Game alive, you will die in the living world."_

 _Kimiko shivered, and grumbled, "Shit, I just want to know what happened. Could you just tell me-"_

 _The main door to the bowling alley opened. Both girls froze, and stared at the person coming in. Kimiko felt her heart starting to race, and her body was locking up. Whatever was going on in this bizarre realm, it was making her quite fearful for her life…_

* * *

"Yes, we know we'll die if we don't guess the true culprit," Isaac snapped at the Kubs. "If you're not going to be clear about anything until we start the investigation, I guess we'd best do this now."

Monophanie wiped her mouth of that unusual style of vomit that still stained her maw. "Ptew! Um, if you're sure. We'll answer questions, even when you all split up to get answers."

"Just start off by explaining where we stand with the motive now," Eisei said, pointing his lollipop at the bears before placing it in his mouth. "I believe that is the most important thing right now."

"Very well then," Monotaro said, pumping his fist. "Let's do dis!"

 **INVESTIGATION START!**

Saiko moved over to the body, with Isaac and Futaba helping her clear the scene as best they could. Before anyone else could react, Souma stepped forward, gesturing for everyone to pay attention to him.

"Before we break off into groups, we should all be hear what the Kubs have to say," he suggested. "We want, as they say, all our ducks in a row."

"I'm with you, my friend," Eisei chimed in, walking over to the Kubs. The dentist was only slightly taller than these Kubs, he almost blended into the mix of absurdity. "So, may I start us off?"

"Fire away, Eisei," the public speaker said.

"Okay. Kubs, did someone ask you a question that would result in the murder?"

"Sure did," Monosuke said proudly, slapping his stomach. "We got _two_ people who asked a question!"

"Two?!" Shinobu cried out in horror. "Oh no, oh no no no!" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Eisei pulled the lollipop from his mouth, twirling it around as a thinking tic. "If I recall, the rules were that if someone who asked a question committed a murder, it covers everyone who made an inquiry based off the motive. At least that means we don't have to worry about that."

"What, about multiple murders?" Aka balked, pointing at Kimiko. "She could have died too!"

The dentist pushed his lollipop back into his mouth, and muttered, "Yes, that is a major concern. The rules are that if someone kills two people, they are to be immediately executed, but the murder set-up could have resulted in both of their deaths." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Was that the rule change that was part of the deal?" Drake asked, kneeling down in front of the Kubs. "That the Deviant Tourist can kill two people?"

"GUESSING-THE-RULE-CHANGE," Monodam said, facing the cartoonist, "CAN-ONLY-BE-DONE-DURING-THE-TRIAL."

"That might be what we'll start with then," Souma said with a slightly frustrated huff. "But we have to guess two rule changes for this trial." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Eisei shook his head, then asked, "I personally have a question: I couldn't see much at all with how thick the mist was getting, was that your doing?"

"It was more Father's doing," Monotaro admitted. "We cranked up the mist's output, it made for things to be way more atmospheric!"

"Not to mention short people like you," Monokid shouted, pointing at Eisei, "got no reason to live."

"You're shorter than me," Eisei commented.

"I AM NOT SHORT, YOU FUCK!"

"Don't waste time arguing with the little bastards," Emanuel snapped, rubbing his forehead. "We got enough problems here, especially since I'm going to have to admit, the mists were definitely far thicker and more obscuring." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Oh joy, you're willing to cooperate," Ishiku remarked, receiving a very sharp glare from the Bête Noir.

"Don't push it, puta. Anyway, Kubs! No one has left Penjar, correct?"

"No, all twenty-six of you are still here," Monophanie said, then she lowered her head and added, "I mean, all twenty-five of you now."

Emanuel scanned the area, and said, "There's twenty-three of us here, we're missing two people."

Fiora covered her mouth in shock. "Ye… Yejoon's not here."

"What?!" Yitro snapped. "That _bastard_ is not accounted for."

Crystal, who had remained quiet since she was still sore and fatigued, glanced towards Aka. The skier was avoiding all eye contact, as if trying to ensure no one could pry something out of her.

"Hikari isn't here either," the military adviser commented, causing Aka to flinch.

"Wait, what?" Ishiku declared, searching the area for the steampunk model. "Where could she be? Are we sure she's okay?"

"Come to think of it, has anyone seen either of them?" Blake remarked. "Hikari wasn't in her room, and neither of them were at breakfast."

"Two MIA, two possible victims, two possible culprits," Eisei listed off, shaking his head. "This is starting to become a terrible case of duos." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Shuuya rubbed his chin, and glanced at Ken. The cavalryman was dead silent, seemingly more interested in keeping Yitro from doing anything rash. The bounty hunter remembered what had happened earlier, when Ken said he was watching Hikari's house.

He also remembered Ken disappearing when they investigated her house. Shuuya felt it all very suspicious, but he wasn't going to say something right away. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Wait a minute," Aka said, very nervously glancing around at everyone. "Are… are we sure that body is Angelique? I mean, are we sure?"

"It is her," Yitro bitterly spat out. "Her locket was in her hand. Angelique would have done everything she could to protect that in her last moments."

"But… what if that's someone else, and they put Angelique's locket in their hand? We have two people missing, we don't even know if that person is one of us! This could be a horrible set-up by Monokuma!"

Aka frantically scanned the group, but they didn't seem to be buying this. Crystal spoke for them when she said, "These Killing Games have never involved a fake victim like that. Though it is a terribly tragic truth, the victim there has to be Angelique."

"Plus, she was with Kimiko all day before we lost track of them," Hara said, staring sadly at the unconscious woman. "If someone was going to attack Kimiko, Angelique would have been there too." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Pyrrha felt Kimiko shiver in her unconscious state, the park's rocky floor uncomfortably cold. She tried to help the woman be more comfortable, as Anzu knelt over her friend.

"This poor girl's been through so damn much," the actress lamented, putting her hand on Kimiko's shoulder.

* * *

 _Kimiko and Mahiru froze up when the door squeaked open. Small footsteps echoed in the spacious bowling alley, and then the petite figure walked over to them._

 _"_ _Oh, Chihiro," Mahiru said, hurrying over to the programmer. The feminine boy stared in concern at the redheaded photographer, then went wide-eyed when Mahiru hugged him tightly._

 _"_ _M-Mahiru? Are you okay?" Chihiro asked, as he returned the hug. The photographer was shivering, trying so hard to hold in sobs, and it resulted in her squeezing him tighter in the hug._

 _Kimiko stood up and walked over, seeing the redheaded girl who had last time gone on a murderous killing spree, that this petite sweet thing had seen the end of… and they were hugging. It made no sense, but Kimiko couldn't deny how close they looked right now._

 _Mahiru eventually let go of Chihiro, and cupped his face. "Chi, you need to go to the others. Junko has gone insane, murderous and mad. Find them, and stay safe. She'll kill you all if she can."_

 _Chihiro's eyes were so wide with terror, he was shaking hard and clutching Mahiru's arms. "N-no. I didn't think she… she would-"_

 _"_ _Chihiro! You need to be a man now, strong, like you've told me you want to be," Mahiru told him. She rested her forehead against his, and whispered in addition, "I believe in you. You are reliable, just please, please stay safe."_

 _"_ _But… but what about you? And who is she?"_

 _Chihiro pointed at Kimiko, who nervously waved at him. Mahiru waved her hand, saying, "I'm staying with her. We have to do something that is very important, you just have to trust me. Do you, Chihiro?"_

 _The programmer nodded, despite the tears in his eyes. Mahiru shuddered as she took a deep breath, then cupped his face and kissed him. It lasted a good few seconds, then she said, "Now go, my reliable man."_

 _The programming genius walked towards the door, glancing back once more at Mahiru and managing a smile for her, then he left. The photographer sighed, and wiped the tears from her eyes._

 _She turned to Kimiko, and said, "He should be fine. This game is almost over, we just have to handle Junko."_

 _"_ _How do you know that?" Kimiko declared, putting her hands on her hips. "If you love that boy, you should be going with him. You should be trying to survive for his sake too!"_

 _"_ _I'm going to die soon, Kimiko. Whenever I grow conscious of this place, I know what is going to happen. I know happened, I know everything that happened. EVERYTHING."_

 _Mahiru pulled her camera off of her neck, and hurled it down to the ground with a furious shout. The device broke into several pieces, and then Mahiru stomped on them._

 _"_ _Every! Single! Time!" she shouted. "If I'm possessed, if I'm scared to death, if I'm happy! E… especially when I'm happy! Damn it!"_

 _Mahiru stopped stomping on the camera, and leaned against the railing. She stared at Kimiko, who was all manners of shocked._

 _"_ _This place doesn't work on the same level as the real world, Kimiko. Time is irrelevant."_

 _"_ _How the hell did I get here? Can you at least tell me that?"_

 _"_ _My guess is that when you took that blow to your head, your concussion, or even your comatose state, was like your gateway here. The evil in that town, it wants to try and bring you all here, maybe it's seeking a way to join the real world?"_

 _Kimiko opened her mouth to speak, closed it to think, and then spoke again with much more calm. "If this is a Killing Game, then maybe if the evil wins it, it can escape?"_

 _"_ _That's not a bad theory, but I cannot confirm it. I've never seen the end of the Killing Game."_

 _"_ _I'm pretty sure I've seen this horror movie before, eh," Kimiko said with a half-hearted laugh. "If I die, I get stuck here; that woo'd be my best guess. Shit, I hate Killing Games! Does everyone who die in Penjar get stuck here?"_

 _"_ _No, I've only seen the living members as visitors. You, and that other girl…"_

 _Mahiru rubbed her forehead, and muttered, "I'm sorry, I wish to God I could be more clear to you. But my head, it's swimming so much. My thoughts… I feel like my brain has become a maze, and there is no map."_

 _"_ _Look, Mahiru, let's try to get something straight out of you, one way or another," Kimiko instructed. "Maybe we need to find a way to end the Killing Game in this world."_

 _"_ _I've tried everything!"_

 _Mahiru gripped her head, huffing in frustration. "I tried doing everything to maintain peace from the start, I've tried winning the Killing Game, I've fallen to Despair, I've locked myself away, I've done EVERYTHING!_

 _"_ _But… every time, at one point or another, I suddenly become aware of my failures. Sometimes I remember, repeating the same thing for the umpteenth time…"_

 _"_ _Okay, okay, I'm soo'ry," Kimiko hurried over to her, gripping her shoulders. "Please, please calm down."_

 _Mahiru had tears falling from her eyes, the saddest smile on her face. "You know how I kissed Chihiro just now? I've done that, so many times. I've fallen in love with him so many times, and not just him. I've grown close to different boys, and sometimes even a girl, and I… it's like I'm told that it wasn't meant to be._

 _"_ _The Killing Game delights in taking that away from me, right after it happens all over again. Can you imagine what that is like? To fall in love with someone, and then one day realize it's happened again and again, and with other people? And that's not even counting…"_

 _She locked up, eyes widening in terror. Mahiru stared at the door, and Kimiko saw the same thing she did: bright red, murderous light shining through the cracks of the doorway. That feeling of icy dread, it sent nerve-wracking shivers up Kimiko's spine._

 _"_ _Mahiru? Mahiru!" she shouted, shaking the redhead. "Please, before it's too late, try to tell me one thing: what's going on in Penjar? You seem to know what happens before it does, what do I have to do?"_

 _"_ _You mean if you wake up?" Mahiru asked. The words came out as chilling, though she looked sick with worry. "I told you last time: recognize the true evil, don't let it trick you."_

 _"_ _But what does that MEAN?!"_

 _"_ _It means when you face evil, don't let it win."_ ** _*TRUTH BULLET*_**

 ** _BAM!_**

 _The door swung open so violently, breaking it off of its hinges despite them being metal bolts. The two women jumped, and then faced the figure at the door._

 _Junko stood there, bathed in the sinister red light that had flooded the hallway behind her. She was standing on legs that appeared broken, with blood staining her clothing, her skin, her face. The model was using the bat like a cane…_

 _And it was dripping with much more of the crimson life fluid than before._

 _"_ _Oh my, you are quite the case study," Junko said, tapping a pair of glasses that were somehow suddenly on her face. "It is my hypothesis that you are a possible monkey wrench in the spanners._

 _"_ _You don't get to just come into my Killing Game," she growled, as she tore the glasses from her face and chucked them at the ground. Her eyes blazing with hateful energy as she stared at the two. "And then just invite yourself out! You don't get to do that, you don't get to just leave my field of despair!_

 _"_ _I'LL STUFF THIS BAT DOWN YOUR GODDAMN THROAT UNTIL YOU SHIT IT OUT BEFORE I LET YOU FUCKING INTERFERE WITH MY GAMES!"_

* * *

"Are we sure we cannot do anything for her?" asked Anzu, staring at the others pleadingly. "That head wound is so terrible."

"The only one here with serious medical training is the dentist," Samson pointed out. "I don't think he can treat blunt force trauma."

"That is indeed out of my expertise," Eisei admitted. "But I am knowledgeable on how to help a patient who might be suffering fatal symptoms. I'll stay by her side."

Souma pat Eisei's shoulder, silently thanking his friend. "As concerning as Miss Hashiriya's condition is for us all, I think we have learned all we can from the Kubs currently. It's time to spread out and get this investigation done properly.

"Saiko will investigate the body with Futaba and Isaac. Fiora, you are in charge of finding Yejoon. Dra-"

"WHAT!" Fiora hollered, gripping her fedora. "I'm just supposed to go 'oot there alone and find the serial killer for you all? Why the hell woo'd I do that?!"

Souma groaned, rubbing his forehead, as he spoke again. "How about Ken go with you? He would be perfect for defense, correct?"  
"I want to find that monster," Yitro said with a snarl. "He talked about burning people to death when he bragged about his murders."

"I'll go with them," Ken said, saluting Souma. "I won't let any harm come to them."

"I have to go off to find the creepy, murder-y man yet a'geen," Fiora grumbled as she stomped off with the two men alongside her. "Why can't I do something more important, or better yet, have me find the really hot girl instead?"

"Hey, I'm seeing that really hot girl," Aka shouted angrily at her, then she turned to Souma. "I have to find Hikari, I need to make sure she's okay."

Souma nodded, then turned to the others. "Ishiku, Odelios, why don't you two go with her? Best not have small searching parties."

"Go after the really hot girl, yessir," Ishiku declared.

Odelios saluted too, though the sight of his rubber chicken in his hand definitely did not give the same confidence. The two guys, along with Aka, left the scene to hunt for the missing steampunk model, and Souma turned towards the rest of the group.

"Now, as for-"

"Don't even think of telling me what to do, fancy suit," Emanuel snarled, pointing at the public speaker. "I'll do as I please, to solve this case."

Souma scoffed, and said, "So long as you stay off the sauce, that is fine by me."

"Fuck you."

As Emanuel walked over to the fire pit where Angelique's body lay, Blake stepped forward. "If it's alright with you, I want to check the fire station. There's a lot of things I still need to find out."

"I'll go with him," Shuuya volunteered.

"Me too," Samson said, cracking his knuckles as he added, "Whatever caused all this came from there, most likely."

When they walked off together, Crystal shook her head. "I don't recall large wood piles in the fire station; however, I think I remember where they were last time I saw them."

"If you feel up to investigating, take Shinobu and Drake with you. I don't want any loose ends, and I trust your judgement."

Crystal moved to straighten her jacket, then remembered she wasn't wearing it. It was a ruined mess at the other end of the park. Sighing regretfully, she glanced over at Drake and Shinobu, and motioned for them to follow her.

This left Souma with Ignatia and Hara, both women staring at him expectantly. The public speaker smiled, and said, "If you two would accompany me, we have this park to start looking through."

"I hope we can see something with all of this mist," Hara said. "It's still so thick."

"We're going to have to try, my dear," Souma said. "Just get your future husband to help us when he's done helping your friend. Time is of the essence."

Ignatia clicked her tongue, and headed off, doing her own thing as per usual. Souma shrugged this off, no sense in trying to stop the stubborn mute. He turned towards Hara, and said, "Would you please accompany me, Miss Pathik? There is a place of interest I would like a second opinion on."

"Of course. Let's get to the bottom of this, fast."

Hara glanced over at Isaac before she walked away. He was circling the fire pit, trying hard not to look at the charred corpse. It was impossible not to smell it, which made him gag slightly. He whispered in French before he approached his investigator friend.

"Please tell me that she didn't suffer long, Saiko," he said. "She was a good person."

"I'm fairly certain she didn't last long. If she did scream, she was awake, but not for long," Saiko replied with a sullen sigh. "It takes a lot of fire to do that, which makes me think the culprit wanted to ensure the victim died."

Futaba was squatting at the bottom of the fire pit. "There's so much char down here. I am pretty sure that someone soaked the bottom of this with kerosene or the like." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Yes, I've seen arson like this before," Isaac said, rubbing his right arm. "Whoever did this really wanted to make a statement with the amount used."

"Considering the target is dead," Emanuel, who stood nearby and spoke mostly to himself, "and how much they singed the Monokuma statue, they're definitely going for the horror aspect."

"First a victim who looks like he was turned to stone," Futaba grumbled, "now a victim who was incinerated. Maybe they're hoping that we'll think it was a demon or something."

"The shock of violent death is a tool too," Isaac remarked. "I think that that the shock value of this murder was meant to off-put us."

Emanuel scoffed. "Is that so? Shocking murders aren't exactly something we're all unused to by now. If they really wanted to do something effective, they should murder those who solve the murders, not the bystanders who don't contribute."

Saiko leveled a rather pissed glare at the Bête Noir. "I would ask you refrain from making comments like that, directed at Isaac and me. Or I might take one of these logs and bash you with it."

"Touchy, aren't we, puta?" Emanuel said, rolling his eyes. "I was referring to me, because I can ask the hard questions. Like, how did the killer bring so much wood over here in so little of time?"

Saiko started to pull through the wreckage, grumbling under her breath as she did so. "I'm already on that, you washed-up bastard. I shouldn't have to take lip from a drunk who is probably going to pass out at the trial again!"

Isaac walked over to stand between Saiko and Emanuel, the tension getting to be a bit much between them. Futaba snickered under her breath about how the two should just something and get over with it, then she noticed what Saiko was digging through.

"You know, come to think of it, this looks like a bunch of that flammable stuff from the fire station," Futaba remarked. "I'm seeing bits of newspaper and cloth, like those oily rags and such that were there.

"And… wait a minute, is this melted plastic?"

The anthropologist pulled out a warped, burnt piece of plastic from the bottom of the pile. Despite how badly the fire had ravaged it, she could still make out what it used to be. "I think this has to be a plastic container, like the kind of stuff lighter fluid is in."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," Saiko said. "The killer used a whole bunch of that, and then stacked some of the wood to make it look like a giant log pile. Destroying evidence or whatever, looks like Isaac's theory of shock value has a bit more truth to it." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"I can think of a few reasons why they'd do that," Isaac remarked. "But there is one thing I think we need to consider: how long would it take to do all of this?"

"Not like we can time a test run, reporter boy," Emanuel remarked, rolling his eyes.

Reporter Boy glared at him, then he turned to Futaba. "Can you time me? I'm going to test something."

"I gotcha," the anthropologist said. "I believe you're on the right track to do so. Maybe you should try helping out more, Bête Noir?"

"I think I will," Emanuel said with a scoff. He walked towards the fire station, as Isaac broke out into a sprint through the park. Saiko continued investigating the fire pit, as Emanuel entered the ironically named building.

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:45 PM**

 **Fire Station**

Emanuel walked into the building, careful not to trip on the fire hose, or slip on the water that was still there. He glanced around at the mess of a station, and noticed that several of the piles were significantly shorter. There were far less newspapers and oily rags, just as the others had deduced.

Blake was searching a bunch of the cabinets, and was growling in frustration. "Most of it is gone. Kerosene, lighter fluid, even those small canisters of gasoline are gone. Someone really cleaned the place out."

"They wanted to make sure their victim didn't survive," Shuuya remarked, shaking his head as he watched Blake. "The poor woman, but at least we know it wasn't you."

"Oh really now?" Blake said, a humorless smile on his face. "Why, because it wasn't 'professional' enough?"

"More or less."

The bounty hunter walked through the building, observing everything that was missing. He rubbed his chin, and remarked, "Here's what I'm concerned about most: there was a lot of heavy stuff, all that newspaper and oily rags. And the latter were just that, oil-slick rags. How did someone move all of this stuff without looking and smelling like a mess?"

"You wondering how long it would take this to set up?" Blake asked. "Because I'm telling you right now, if you knew where everything was, and moved fast, it's not going to take you all day."

Shuuya regarded him, then attempted to pick up a great deal of the newspapers. He strained slightly at the weight, and attempted to sprint towards the door. Emanuel was in his way at first, but the bounty hunter was quick enough on his feet to avoid him. He hurried out of the building, as the Bête Noir regarded him.

"Are you sure you should be saying that much, Blake?" Emanuel asked. "You're going to end up the prime suspect at this rate."

"I was with Shuuya for most of the day, at the housing area," Blake responded with a scowl. "While setting all of this up wouldn't take very long, I was with him since about 11 AM. Tell me when exactly I could have set this all up, and kidnapped those two women, when I had a professional bounty hunter with me." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

From the other side of the station, Samson cleared his throat to catch their attention. "If you two are done, I found something that I'd like a little bit of explanation, Blake."

The trader was standing in front of open drawers, and was holding an electronic remote. Blake and Emanuel came over, just as Shuuya came back in. The bounty hunter was about to speak, when Samson spoke first.

"I found this in the shelves up there. Blake, what exactly is this?" he asked.

"That's a master remote for the remote fire starters. You use that to program the spark machines and the laser trip wires. Using that, you can set up which laser trip wires set off which spark machine, or set them off manually."

Samson stared at the device, and said, "Wait a minute, what's this about the spark machines and laser trip wires?"

"Blake and I had a conversation about that earlier today," Shuuya said, walking to them. "When I found him in here, he said those items were missing. How many were there, Blake?"

"Three of each, but there was only one master remote. They were in those drawers, right there," the pyro said, pointing at a separate cabinet, a short distance from the one Samson had found the master remote. "When I discovered they were gone, I was… concerned. That's when Shuuya found me.

"The spark machines, you put them down and then set up the metal wires for where you want the spark to make contact with. It's used for fuses, or to be placed on the surface of where the machine was put; that could be what set off the lighter fluid trails." * **TRUTH BULLETS** *

"And the laser trip wires set them off?" Samson asked. "Holy shit, they could simply wave their hand in front of the laser to start a fire. Or remotely set them off."

"No, that's not possible," Emanuel remarked, tapping the cabinet they found it in. "If that remote was in the cabinet when you three showed up, then the killer must have programmed the laser trip wires and spark machines, and then left the remote here."

"The remote also lets you know when a laser trip wire is, well, tripped. Why just leave it here?" Blake remarked.

"That remote is almost the size of a brick," Shuuya added, raising an eyebrow. "If someone was carrying that around, we would have noticed." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Emanuel clicked his tongue, then he walked away from them, looking around the area. "Heh. Then I guess we just have to ask ourselves, who exactly was the last person to be in here?"

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:49 PM**

 **Streets of Penjar**

 **Near the Main Plaza**

"No no no no no!" Fiora screamed. She was on Yitro's back, wrapping her arms and legs around him, in an attempt to stop him. It really wasn't working, the movie maker forcibly piggy-backing on the former swordsman wasn't slowing him down much.

"You did it, did you?!" Yitro roared at Yejoon, who stood calmly a short distance from them, arms crossed and mask on. "You killed Angel! YOU DID IT!"

As Fiora struggled to pull back on Yitro, and Ken moved to get in-between the enraged man and the serial killer, the latter man was still rather calm.

"Angelique is the victim?" Yejoon said. "I wasn't even aware."

There was a wheezing gasp, as Monokid came running towards them, out of the mist. He tripped, fell on his face, then lifted a paw. "Yo! Yeou! Angelique Angolmois was the victim! You got a limited amount of time to investigate! Move your ass!"

As Monokid rested on the ground, the graduates were busy trying to subdue Yitro. Yejoon pulled his mask up, as he shook his head and sighed in regret. "Will you please control yourself? I have something to say."

Yitro, growling furiously, finally managed to calm down enough for Ken and Fiora (mostly the former) to prevent him from attacking Yejoon. The fox artist spoke ever-so-calmly.

"I did not kill Angelique. I wasn't a part of this murder, in any way. I," he said with a smug smile, "didn't even ask a question as the Motive would have allowed."

"Even if you didn't ask a question, you're a Goddamn serial killer," Yitro snapped. "Your word means nothing to me!"

"Nor me," Ken said, glaring daggers at Yejoon. "There is no reason to trust you, you dishonorable fiend. Where were you during all of today?"

Yejoon shrugged, then glanced to the side. "Keeping myself scarce, for reasons that should be obvious. Now, what is it you all want?"

Yitro huffed furiously, then muttered, "This was a waste of time. If I cannot beat the answer out of him, then we're done here. We found him, that's all I need."

He stormed off, with Ken right beside him. Fiora, falling off of his back, scrambled to get to her feet. She then realized that there was a hand extended to her.

"You seem several levels of flustered," Yejoon said, helping her up to her feet; she was startled at how strong he felt. "Can you tell me what has happened?"

Fiora stammered at first, but then told him everything she knew about the murder. Yejoon listened intensively, a serious expression on his face despite the movie maker's rather animated way of describing things.

"You were rather lucky that the fire hose didn't literally spew fire," he commented, "considering how Monosuke designed that fire station."

"How could a hose spew fire?!"

"Gasoline or kerosene then. It matters not, for what is important is to find out who did this. I don't have a likely suspect this time."

"You mean because your sister is dead?" Fiora asked, nervously poking her fingers together. "Thinking back on it, I think you knew she killed Takeo."

"Yes, that was my suspicion from the beginning. This murder, however, is completely different. And they'll be coming for you again."

"WHAT?!" Fiora squeaked, gripping her fedora. "But… but… after last trial-"

"That's not going to matter, Fiora, but I believe you can have the strength to defend yourself this time. I highly doubt anything I say is going to be taken seriously."

"Everything you say is taken very seriously…"

"Thank you, my dear; however, let me ask you something very important."

The artist smirked again, and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "Where were you today when I wasn't with you?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:35 PM (Taking place before and simultaneously during the previous two events.)**

 **Monokuma Park**

 **Center Area**

"Ignatia, dear, please be careful," Hara called out. "There's metal shards everywhere, they could cut right through your shoe!"

The mime nodded, gesturing a thanks as she proceeded by dragging her feet more rather than stepping. Sure enough, she was kicking pieces of metal that would have been bad to step in.

Souma was standing in front of the ruined statue located in the center of the park. The "art" had been ruined by the explosion, and he was holding a device he had found close to the wreckage.

"If I recall correctly," he said, as he examined the small, box-like object, "this is a fire starting device, a spark box if you will. I recall seeing them in the fire station, another tool for Monosuke's idea of literate humor."

"It blasted the statue, or whatever it was, to heck and back," Hara commented. "Did it light a trail leading up to the statue?"

"Causing an explosion, which anyone could make a small one from all the stuff in the fire station," Souma pointed out. "As much as I hated this artwork, it seems to have been a casualty in this as well." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Hara glanced out to Ignatia, who was sweeping her foot around to see if she could find something. "Ignatia, was the explosion what drew you and Eisei to the park? When we heard it in the tavern, we came out here."

Ignatia nodded, pointing towards a path. It was the central path leading to Monokuma Park, from the central road and in-between the Monokubs' buildings. The mime gestured to the Monophanie's theater, which had no backdoor leading to the park, and then gestured the route she and Eisei took.

"Okay, you two were in the theater and then you came out here to investigate the explosion," Souma interpreted. "Easy enough to understand." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Hara sighed, and glanced back towards the western fire pit. "It's still so hard to believe that someone would do something so cruel. I just have a difficult time processing that someone went to all this work, with the intent of murdering that poor woman."

"Two poor women, actually," Souma said. "We should investigate the other fire pit, see if there are any clues."

The three of them headed over to the eastern fire pit, which was still burning brightly. The flames roared like a bonfire, and the three of them exchanged glances.

"I forgot that we never put this one out," Souma admitted. "But does the firehose even go that far?"

"I don't think there's a good point in putting it out, the fire would have destroyed anything hidden in there by now," Hara pointed out. "Thank God that Crystal got Kimiko out of there in time."

Ignatia tapped one of the wooden logs that had been thrown from the pit in Crystal's efforts to pull Kimiko out. She continued to tap it, until Hara noticed, and thus a complex and confusion one-sided conversation took place.

While Hara tried to interpret Ignatia's words, Souma studied the area. He found Crystal's jacket nearby the pit. He sighed as he picked it up, trying to see if it could be salvaged, but it was definitely ruined.

"She said it was custom-made, what a terrible shame," he commented, before dropping it back to the ground. As he saw the burning light highlight the area, something dawned on him. He puzzled over it, and then muttered, "Wait… if I'm right…" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Souma?" Hara called out to him. "I think what Ignatia is telling me is that the fire pit is almost entirely, if not all, wooden logs."

Ignatia nodded a great deal, and gave Hara a congratulatory slap on the back. "Oof," Hara responded, rubbing the area. "Easy there, Ignatia."

"So the one here is mostly wood? I wonder why that is." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Maybe if we go into the tavern, we could find out?" Hara suggested.

The three entered the tavern, missing Emanuel walking over towards them. Having just missed them, the detective scoffed before glancing at one of the pathways. The Bête Noir studied the closest one, and muttered to himself, "Amateurs, doing it halfway."

He continued to search the edge of the park, inspecting the backdoors and pathway, until he came across something that he hadn't really expected to find. Several things, in fact.

"Hello hello," he said with a triumphant grin. "Call me a useless drunk, but you all are gonna eat shit when I bust this case wide open." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:49 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

 **Stockroom**

Souma, Hara, and Ignatia were surprised to find someone in the stockroom, or rather the two beings who were there. Drake was studying the inventory, with Monodam nearby him.

"Why is he with you?" Souma asked Drake, eyeing Monodam.

"HE-ASKED-ME-TO-ACCOMPANY-HIM," Monodam said, "AS-HE-INVESTIGATES. MY-SIBLINGS-ARE-HANDLING-THE-OTHERS."

"No, not why is Drake here, why is… you know what, never mind," the public speaker said, shaking his head. "Drake, have you got any information?"

"Well, it's not good, I'm sorry to say," the cartoonist responded. "There was an overabundance of wooden logs back here, for the fireplace."

"Oh right, the tavern has a really big fireplace," Hara remarked. "It was part of the decor, but I didn't think that it would need that much wood."

"This stockroom has a lot of stuff in it, and the wood was one of the biggest parts," Drake explained. "Monodam told me that he keeps it fully inventoried, and that the amount that was in the fire pit out there was in this stockroom."

"That fire pit? What about both of them?" Souma asked.

Drake stared at the bundles of firewood, and said, "There's still some here, but I don't know if there was enough for both. Either way, it answers the question of where it all came from…" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Oh dear, this is really bad," Hara remarked. "Everyone had access to this room, and it is connected right to the park! Anyone could have set this all up!"

"It's still utterly baffling," Souma said, as he nudged some of the firewood with his foot, "how someone managed to cart this much outside. Even if you leave the backdoor open, that is a considerable amount of heavy lifting."

"I don't even know how they managed to do it without getting wood pieces all over their arms and such," Drake said, scratching his head in confusion. He walked over to a shelf he had left his sketchpad on, and started to draw. "I mean, the amount of trips it would take…"

Ignatia walked over to him, silently observing his skill as he tried to make a picture over the events. As they worked on this angle, with Souma and Monodam observing, Hara made her way into the tavern.

Crystal was sitting at the bar, holding a glass in her hand. Shinobu sat down on the stool next to her, quietly talking to her.

"Listen, you saved someone's life," she was saying to Crystal. "You're a hero! I know what is happening now is horrible, but you still saved Kimiko from that fire pit. If you hadn't, she'd be dead too."

Crystal let out a long sigh, and knocked back her drink. Setting the glass on the counter, she muttered, "Story of my life, Shinobu. Save someone, lose another. Story of my effing life."

She leaned against the bar, rubbing her forehead. Groaning, strained, she noticed Hara approaching them. "Hello there. Any idea who did it yet?"

"Crystal, sweetheart, don't tell me you're getting drunk at a time like this!" Hara exclaimed, nervously staring at the woman.

"Just one shot, I'm not getting sloshed. We've had enough drunks at a trial… we've had enough trials."

Rolling her eyes, the military adviser glanced between the two. "I was just going to wait until we ran out of time, and then listen in during this trial to add my input. I just feel terrible, alright?"

Shinobu reached over and put her hands on Crystal's shoulders. "We know you're upset, but still, please, talk to us."

"At least tell us what happened," Hara pleaded.

"What happened? I went outside for some fresh air, then when I saw all the wood in the fire pit, and I started walking forward. I… I triggered some kind of laser trip wire, and then there was a blazing trail heading for the fire pit.

"I put it out with my jacket… damnation, that was one of the only material items I held close to my heart. Thought it was done there, but then the explosion happened in the middle of the park. Guess I missed something or what, I dunno, but then two fire trails started, and I got Kimiko out of the pile before it was set ablaze." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Hara nodded, then said, "Here, I'm going to go find that thing you were talking about. It might be very important."

As the explorer headed outside, leaving Shinobu to comfort Crystal, she had to move through the stockroom. As Drake and Souma were talking about how much effort all that lifting would take, the public speaker asked a direct question.

"Drake, where were you when the explosion went off?" he asked. "I apologize for the bluntness, but I feel like someone should start gathering alibis. Futaba and I were in the café." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Oh, I, um, was nearby," Drake muttered, blushing slightly and glancing away. "Not nearby you, I was around here. But I was alone, so I don't really have anyone who can back me up."

"I-CAN," Monodam spoke up.

"Thanks, Monodam, but from what I remember, the Kubs cannot be witnesses for us."

"NOT-ACCORDING-TO-THE-TRIAL, BUT-I-WILL-STILL-BACK-UP-A-FRIEND. THAT-IS-HOW-YOU-GET-ALONG, AFTER-ALL." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

* * *

 **Day 07, 2:00 PM**

 **Housing Area**

"HIKARI!" Aka called out. "Come on, babe, please come out here! HIKARI! This isn't how I wanted to be shouting your name, girl!"

"Must you be lewd," Odelios chided her, "in front of my child?!"

He was covering Rubarrow's ears, or rather squeezing his fist around the rubber chicken's head. Aka scowled at him, and shrugged.

"You really going to keep acting silly, after what's happened? I mean, come on, this is serious."

"Then stop calling out to Hikari like you're trying to make a mating call," Ishiku replied.

"HEY! I'm stressed, okay? This isn't the fun kind of action, like high-speed sports gives you! This is her safety I'm concerned about! And…"

Aka rubbed her face, groaning miserably. "Okay, I'm sorry, guys, I really am. Let's just… let's think about this. Is there any place she could be besides here?"

Ishiku glanced around at the houses, until he saw one in particular. "You know, maybe we don't know where she is, but there is one place we should look."

He pointed at the house that had been Angelique's. Odelios and Aka exchanged glances, and both sighed. "It might be worth checking out there," the clown said.

"Yeah, but only for a bit," Aka remarked. "Remember what Monokuma said last trial? He'll kill anyone who doesn't show up in time, and I'm getting more worried!"

The three walked over to Angelique's house, and opened the front door. There, sitting on the side of the bed, was Hikari. She was looking through a book, heavily engrossed in it.

"HIKARI!"

Aka screamed in joy, she was so relieved to see her. The steampunk model jumped and turned around, eyes wide in shock. The skier sprinted over to her and seized her in a tight hug, declaring, "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Well… you just scared the heck out of me," Hikari remarked. She was muffled for a moment when Aka kissed her good, and then looked her over. "I'm… I'm sorry I went missing."

"We're just glad you're okay, Hikari," Ishiku said, grinning happily.

"Rubarrow wants to know," Odelios barked, pointing at her, "why you are in Angelique's room!"

Hikari blinked in surprise, staring at the rubber chicken in Odelios' hand. "Rubarrow, I just… wanted to make sure that her stuff didn't disappear on us."

"Wait, sexy," Aka said, "how'd you know she was the one who died?"

Hikari pointed down near the floor, and nearby the bed was Monophanie. The pink Kub waved at them, though seemed rather sad currently.

"I was told to find Hikari, and inform her of what happened," Monophanie explained. "Daddy says we have to give every guest of Penjar a fair chance, so we're allowed to go out and let those who don't gather for the body discovery the basics."

"Like who the victim is," Hikari said, sighing sadly. She lifted the book, and the others could now tell it was a Hope's Peak Academy yearbook. "She had this within her belongings. She… left so many notes and messages. The poor girl… she…"

Hikari clutched the yearbook to her chest, as a couple tears leaked from her eyes. "I just didn't want anything of hers to be thrown away and never seen again!"

"Takeo's stuff got taken away," Ishiku said, frowning in concern. "I guess you thought the same thing would happen?"

"Yes. Angelique, I got to know her a little, and I knew of her work. I mean, how could I not, she was an amazing performer, and…"

"I'd really hate to be serious one here," Odelios interrupted. "And when I say I hate that, trust me, I HATE it. But Hikari, you were gone all day, and now we find you here. What gives?"

Hikari wiped her tears away, her eyeshadow smeared slightly now. "I… I cannot say."

"What?" Aka said, covering her mouth in shock. "Hikari, you cannot be serious! I was super worried about you, like the not fun kind of thrilling! Come on, please talk to me!"

"Aka, I wish I could tell you. But as it stands now, I truly cannot say anything." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

They were about to try and ask her more, but the city-wide intercom spat and whined to life…

* * *

 **Day 07, 1:58 PM (Two minutes before the previous event.)**

 **Monokuma Park**

 **Western Pit Area**

"Kimiko?" Anzu said, as the biker gang leader began to shake. "Oh no! No no no, is she having a seizure?"

"Eisei," Pyrrha called out, alerting the dentist's attention, "what do we do?"

Eisei dashed over, and examined Kimiko. The shaking wasn't too strong, but it was persistent. "I don't know exactly, but hold her close. If it gets worse, we'll need to ensure she doesn't bite her tongue."

Anzu gripped Kimiko's hand, holding it again. Pyrrha held onto her shoulders, and prayed to all powers above to give mercy to the lady. Eisei watched intensively, recalling all knowledge he had on what to do in these kind of circumstances…

* * *

 _Kimiko snarled at Junko, and shouted, "You miserable, evil piece of shit, you were never that hot to begin with!"_

 _"_ _My tits are way better than yours, rubber burning bitch!"_

 _Before the argument could continue, there was a flurry of movement from Junko. Her broken bones, the limbs visibly injured, didn't slow her down in the least. She moved like a monster from a horror movie, jerking and twitching but unnervingly fast._

 _The model slammed into Kimiko, knocking her against the railing and over it. It happened so fast, she couldn't even comprehend it until she landed hard in the seating area of the bowling alley._

 _With the impact to her head, she couldn't comprehend what was going on. She heard a shriek, someone yelling for someone else to stop. Was that Mahiru? Her vision was fuzzy, her head spinning in agony. She could feel blood running down her face._

 _…_

 _…_

 _"…_ _stop… I… let you!"_

 _"_ _Cam… unt… think… you can… ME?!"_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Sounds of impact, screams of pain. The noises were down at Kimiko's level, but going into the alleys. She could hear laughter, sadistic and cruel laughter._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Crashing sounds, bowling pins being knocked over._

 _…_

 _…_

 _There was a sudden boost of adrenaline, and Kimiko felt herself gaining strength immediately. It was like her body was telling her that if she didn't get now, she was dead._

 _And as she struggled to her feet, the imminent threat was bearing down on her. Junko was, somehow, walking across the bowling alleys towards her, bloody baseball bat in one hand, and a freshly blood-splattered bowling pin in the other hand._

 _"_ _No…"_

 _Kimiko stammered as she saw what was behind Junko. In one of the alleys, Mahiru's bloody body was laying among scattered bowling pins. The head trauma was visible even from this distance. Mahiru was dead._

 _"_ _You're next," Junko said, cackling as she walked on broken legs but no pain or hinderance coming from it. "You're next, and when I am done with you, I'm going to Penjar and busting up your friends!"_

 _With Junko close now, there was only the ball return between her and Kimiko. There were several bowling balls there, and the biker sprinted for them. Grabbing a bronze-colored one, she lifted it up as she leapt for Junko. The two women screamed at each other…_

 _…_ _as Kimiko brought the bowling ball down on Junko's head. It smashed her skull, spurting blood from the wound. The model dropped her weapons and collapsed to the ground, as Kimiko landed without coordination as well._

 _Managing to get back to her feet first, Kimiko held onto the bowling ball with a firm grip. Huffing furiously, she pulled herself towards the battered supermodel._

 _Junko was twitching, but her insane grin was back on her face. "You really… gonna kill me?" she said, laughing along with that horrible twitch going through her. "Thought you were against doing that… especially in a Killing Game."_

 _"_ _This isn't a Killing Game, this is just some twisted delusion created by a supernatural nightmare," Kimiko hollered. "You're just a figment in this, a possessed being who acts like a crazy psycho killer. If Mahiru was the same way and came back, that just means I gotta put you down to stop the killing."_

 _"_ _Ha! You… you think this is me twisted? This… this is me normal."_

 _Junko jerked side to side, blood spraying from her head wound, before she continued. "I'm the original gangster, the head bitch in charge. I caused ALL of it to happen. Hehe, but no one except for my friends know that. I did it all…_

 _"_ _And," she said, her face contorting into the most diabolical of grins Kimiko had ever seen, "when I say I am responsible for all of it, I mean ALL of it. I did it all for despair… hah… hahahaha…_

 _"_ _Even the situation you're in with Penjar, that was all MY doing! It's amazing how well a plan can come together! Oh, and Kimiko darling? Please, say hi to Angelique's charbroiled body for me._

 _"_ _She's dead. And if you really think about it… it's your fault."_

 _Rage like she had never felt before in her life blinded Kimiko. She raised the bowling ball, and brought it down. The sickening crack and splatter didn't upset her at all. Kimiko brought it down again, and again, and again and again and again._

 _It was only when she lost all of her strength that she stopped. Dropping the ball, it rolled away down one of the aisles, leaving a blood trail where it rolled. Kimiko fell to the floor, so exhausted that she couldn't see straight. As she stared up at the ceiling, she could hear more noises._

 _The bloody bowling ball rolling down the aisle, towards the pins slowly but surely, was a distant rumbling. There were people coming into the bowling alley, trying to find out what was going on._

 _Someone was running over to Mahiru's body. They were sobbing, bawling over her, a heart-breaking sound. People were moving over to her, and repulsed at the sight of Junko's caved-in head._

 _Kimiko couldn't make out who most of them were, but then she saw Teruteru move towards her. He reached down to her, and whispered as he clutched her shoulder, "I'm sorry, belle fille, but you need to go back now. Have faith in your friends."_

 _There was an intense rush of light in front of her, drawing her in…_

* * *

Kimiko woke up with a loud gasp, startling the three around her. The biker gang leader whipped her head around, gathering where she was, who was around her.

"That's not the normal method of awakening from a concussion," Eisei remarked.

"Kimiko, can you hear me?" Anzu asked, gripping her hand. "Thank heavens you are awake!"

"We were so worried about you," Pyrrha said. "It really is a miracle that-"

"Where's Angelique?"

Her question silenced the three of them. When they didn't answer, Kimiko began to stand. It was hard at first, and the three tried to get her to stop, but no amount of wooziness would keep her down now. She asked again, "Where is Angel?"

That was when she saw the fire pit a short distance away. Isaac, Futaba, and Saiko were finishing their investigation, when they saw Kimiko get up. The biker saw them, saw the pile of burnt wood and material… and the corpse within the middle.

"NO!"

Kimiko sprinted over, breaking away from the others. She came right up to the fire pit, and when she got close enough to the body, an intense feeling of nausea hit her. That charred corpse, it… it couldn't be…

" _I know it has not been long between us, my belle fille, but I do believe I trust you,_ " Angelique had whispered to her last night.

" _She's dead,_ " Junko's words rang in her skull.

" _Hold me closer, I like the feeling of your heartbeat against mine. It makes me feel alive, so much closer to you._ "

" _And if you really think about it… it's your fault._

"No no NO!" Kimiko screamed, falling to her knees and covering her head with her hands. "NO! It can't be! Why… WHY! ANGELIQUE!"

As she openly sobbed, the city-wide intercom spat and whined to life. There was a sadistic chuckle before a loud, fake clearing of the throat.

" **Ahem! Attention, all guests of Penjar! The investigation is OVER! Hehe, yes, I know, it wasn't much time, but I let you discover everything you needed to! Don't believe me?**

" **Well, too bad! Please report to the front of Town Hall, at the front steps, within the next ten minutes. Anyone not there may be subject to immediate execution! Thank you for visiting our-** "

" _Hey, Pops!_ " Monosuke's voice came, slightly distant from behind Monokuma's. " _Youse might need to give them five more minutes than that, they're pretty spread out._ "

" **Monosuke, what are you doing here?! You're supposed to be assisting them out there during the investigation!** "

" _Well, see here, Pops, Monophanie went to find the pretty girl, Monodam's with the dork, and Monokid went to find the artist fellow. I TRIED to help that detective guy that Monokid likes, but he told me to get lost!_ "

" **What about Monotaro?** "

" _I'm pretty sure he literally got lost_."

With some grumbling about being unable to "find reliable children nowadays," Monokuma's impatient ramblings eventually turned back to the microphone. " **Fine! You all have fifteen minutes to get to Town Hall! Thank you for-** "

" _Actually, youse might need five more minutes for Monotaro to find his way back._ "

" **Grrrr… so about twenty minutes then? Okay fine, whatever, AHEM! You all have TWENTY minutes to get to the Town Hall, and thank you for visiting our lovely city of Penjar~! Upupupupupu!**

" **And if you see my IDIOT cub lost out there… give him a kiss for me, I miss the cute little buggar! Upupupupu! See you soon!** "

The intercom went silent, and there was quiet throughout most of Penjar. The only one not so was Kimiko, who sobbed wretchedly in front of Angelique's body.

* * *

 **Day 07, 2:16 PM**

 **Town Hall**

 **Front Steps and Door**

The twenty-five graduates were all formed in front of Town Hall, waiting on the bears. Four of the five Kubs were standing on the front steps, Monotaro still missing.

Crystal and Samson were quietly conversing, away from the others. Hara, Isaac, and Saiko had formed their usual trio, and shared information. Yejoon stood next to Fiora, who was quiet and nervous as all hell.

Kimiko had managed to collect herself, but she was very sullen and not responsive to the others. She was keeping her distance from Yitro, shame crossing her face every time she caught sight of him. The biker gang leader barely recognized those who were trying to comfort her.

Emanuel stood in place, smug and confident looking, holding a bag that he refused to let anyone look in. Aka stood next to Hikari, glancing occasionally at the model, who had a visage of grim determination on her face. Shuuya and Blake quietly spoke to each other, sorting things out.

Eisei offered lollipops to those who normally accepted them, then placed one in his mouth. The lavender-topped dentist strolled up to the front steps, and asked, "Are we still waiting for Monotaro? Why don't any of you know where he could be?"

"It's not like we have a fucking tracking devise on the dude," Monokid roared.

"But you keep saying this is your town, how does he not know his own town by now?"

"Please," Monophanie pleaded, "he will be back here soon, I promise you! I mean, I hope he will be. Penjar can be such a dangerous place!"

Eisei raised an eyebrow at the pink bear. "Even for you?"

"We did just get two hellish infernos in our town, in the park. Goodness me, it's so terrible, you'd think a demon did it!"

"You mean to tell me that a Goddamn demon sprung up in my park and blazed the fucking place up?!" Monokid exclaimed, swinging his guitar over his head. "… HOT DAMN! That is so metal, I cannot find the proper words for it!

"Haw haw haw haw haw! FUCK YOU, Monodam, I beat your stupid fucking tavern in the end! No party tonight in your place, because the limelight was all my demon-spawning park! I'mma gonna call it Ifrit Park now!"

"…" Monodam responded, not regarding Monokid in the least.

"Ooo, Ifrit, I love it," Monosuke said. "That's another mythological monster we have had in Penjar! We're turning into quite the supernatural sight!"

"You cannot fool us," Odelios shouted. "Everyone knows that ifrits are a summon, not a wild monster!"

"Enough with that shit," Monokid shot back, "and that's final!"

" **Your fantasies are running wild again, my adorable little cubs!** "

The main doors swung open, revealing Monokuma there. He waddled up towards the front steps, and waved towards the graduates. " **Welcome, guests of Penjar! I've grown tired of waiting for my last idiot cub to come join us, so let's-** "

"I'm here! I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!"

Monotaro came sprinting up towards the building, hurried up the steps, and into the building. "We can start now, Father!"

" **Grrrrr… FINE! Fine fine fine, it is partially your show, you can ruin it if you want to. Throw the whole momentum out the window, why don'tcha? ANYWAY! Come on in, and head to the back of the room!** "

The other four Monokubs turned around and ran into the building. Like last time, they scattered and the distant sounds of doors slamming could be heard. Monokuma walked into the building, as the twenty-five graduates walked in.

The two-story inside still felt as soul-sucking as ever. The chill that hit everyone's spine, the crackle of ruined tiles and trash on the floor, the creak of the foundations that said everything about this awful town wasn't to be trusted.

The huge service elevator was there, with Monokuma at the button. He pressed it, and the doors opened. They all walked in, and he hit the button again. The door to the elevator slid shut, and with that mechanical rumbling and slight lurch, the elevator started to go down…

Down…

Down…

Down to however low the trial room was…

Down all the way to this hell…

The graduates were either staring forward with serious scowls, or glancing all around at each other. Some hoped that there could be a last minute hint to who did this, but all they saw was fear, concern, and determination.

At long last, the elevator stopped. The door scrolled open, and the shock from the first time they saw the trial room was just as much as this one.

The gigantic trial room, from the floor to the high-rise ceiling, were perfect painted shades of red, orange, and yellow. That searing crimson to burning orange to heated yellow, led up to a smoky black that reached the ceiling and the center of the trial room. It was hellish, like the floor and walls were made out of solidified fire.

In the partitions around the circular room were statues, masterful carvings of demon-like beings. These women had gigantic horns, fangs from their mouths, and hair that was as frenetic as wildfire; what appeared to be flames billowed from their waist down, perfect stone carvings of beings whose lower body was a fiery inferno.

They all had very large breasts too. These ifrit sculptures were as detailed as the gorgon statues had been, the same artist who could match an Ultimate's skill was evident. How they had been made, how they got here, it was so very confusing to the graduates.

Monokuma was seated on his oversized throne again. The five Monokubs were lined up and waiting, bouncing around as they waited for the graduates to get into place around the trial circle.

" **Welcome back to the Penjar Trial Room,** " Monokuma declared. " **The PTR is so happy to see you all here, so many familiar faces. Hope you like the new decorations, the ifrit statues took a while to make!** "

"Why are they female?" Monokid asked. "I thought ifrit were men! Manly butch men with strapping chests and bulging biceps! Why do they have tits?!"

"Mythological creatures are always left for interpretation," Monosuke said with a snide chuckle.

"DID YOU TURN MY HEAVY METAL BAND CONCEPT INTO A HENTAI FANTASY?! I'LL FUCKING END YOU!"

"…" acquiesced Monodam.

"Could you all please stop fighting?" Monophanie whimpered. "This is a serious trial!"

"I'm so glad I made it in time," Monotaro exclaimed.

Twenty-five people were now standing at their respective podiums. Angelique and Jin both had memorial framed pictures on stands, with a red X over their faces; Jin's also had many, many small X's at the bottom of hers.

" **I'd say this was really starting to heat up, but that might be a bit insensitive,** " Monokuma declared. " **Aw well, I'm burning with anticipation, so let the first trial of Penjar begin! Let's get ready to crackle!** "

Monokuma's cruel choice of words weren't entirely off the mark. Everyone was burning, feeling the heat over how dreadful this case was going to be.

It was as disturbing as Takeo's, but different in a completely different manner. A tragic trial, for a tragic death…

* _Jin glares forward, three fingers correcting the rim of her owl-themed eye mask._ *

* **Yejoon stares through the eye holes of his fox mask.** *

* **Crystal stares downwards, as if surveying a map or field.** *

* **Isaac is leveling a studying stare straight forward with a hand extended, as if wanting an answer.** *

* **Fiora is gripping the sides of her head, appearing flustered and wide-eyed.** *

* **Aka has a hand on her skiing goggles perched on her head, looking bravely forward.** *

This was the trial for Angelique Angelmois, the Ultimate Opera Singer. She was a flirt, an older sister-like figure, a sweet and caring person who had befriended many of them. It was something that most of them were having trouble comprehending.

* **Saiko has her hands on her hips, glaring downwards at someone or something.** *

* **Drake is nervously glancing to the side, while holding his sketchpad up and close to his chest.** *

* **Souma has an arm raised as he is apparently in the middle of delivering a speech.** *

* **Hara has her hands clasped together, staring anxiously forward.** *

* **Shuuya is glancing over his shoulder, with his arms crossed defiantly.** *

* **Eisei has a lollipop in his mouth and looks half-interested in whatever is going on.** *

Who would kill someone that nice? Who planned this sinister and malevolent murder? Was the motive that strong of a desire for someone to brutally kill her, but also put a second person's life at risk?

* **Blake is cracking his knuckles and growling in frustration.** *

* **Ignatia is glancing from the side, seemingly uninterested.** *

* **Hikari is taking a confident pose with a smile, hand on the brim of her hat and her chest stuck out with pride.** *

* **Shinobu is holding a finger up, trying to prove a point about something or other.** *

* **Odelios is holding up a rubber chicken and is pointing at it, as if to accuse it of the crime.** *

* **Yitro has his arms crossed and eyes closed, scarf pulled up slightly over his mouth.** *

There's so many questions to ask, and answers to find. But after the first trial, when things became so hostile that they almost accused the wrong person, can they trust each other to do this correctly?

* **Ishiku is grinning and is holding up one of his signature chocolate coins in-between two fingers.** *

* **Samson glares forward from underneath the brim of his hat.** *

* _Takeo pumps his fist into the air with gusto._ *

* **Emanuel gives a tired stare from the side as he is holding his favorite flask close to him.** *

* **Ken salutes and stands proud, staring up to the sky.** *

* _Angelique has her hands over her heart, silently praying._ *

Doubt and worry aren't going to solve this case. It is time to fight onwards, to discover Angelique's killer and bring her soul to justice…

* **Kimiko is pointing forward while shouting defiantly.** *

* **Pyrrha is making a heart with her hands, a sad but sweet smile on her face.** *

* **Futaba has a finger touching her glasses, narrowing her eyes.** *

* **Anzu stares forward defiantly, her frown and posture confident and ready.** *

And thus, it is time to begin the Town Trial of Penjar!

* * *

 **Truth Bullets for Case 2** :

…

 **The Question Motive** \- Monokuma's Motive was that if anyone asked a direct question about Penjar and/or Despair, they would receive an answer. Once they did, they would have to kill someone by midnight, or be executed. Anyone who asked a question committing a murder covers everyone who asked one as well.

The usual rules and standards of the Killing Game are still in place, but anyone who asked a question may ask for one slight rule change. Only the requester knows the rule change, and the innocent have to guess what it is in the trial.

 **Two Possible Victims?** \- Both Kimiko Hashiriya and Angelique Angelmois were placed in fire pits, and both could have been murdered; however, the rules of Penjar's Killing Game states that anyone committing more than one murder will be immediately executed.

 **Two Culprits?** \- The Monokubs have announced that two people asked a question for the motive. The possibility that there are two Deviant Tourists is real, but how and why can only be guessed at this point.

 **Two Rule Changes** \- If there are two people who took part in the motive, then there are two rule changes for this trial. Both are in effect.

 **Thick Mists of Penjar** \- Ever since this morning, the mists that flow through the town have become more enshrouding. It became so thick and high, it was almost impossible to see things on the ground, or people moving through the street.

 **Missing Graduates** \- Yejoon Nahm and Hikari Tetsuhime were missing since the beginning of the day. Neither of them showed up at the crime scene, and were found later after the murder. Futaba claims she saw Yejoon at one point.

 **Ken Kishi's Post** \- Ken Kishi said he would be watching Hikari's room when she chose to sleep in. However, when Blake and Shuuya entered her house, she was not there; Ken disappeared shortly afterwards. No one saw him until the murder.

 **Angelique Angolmois** \- The victim was spending her entire day with Kimiko, the two of them last seen together. Angelique wears a locket containing a picture of her first, late lover, which was found on the body. Her last action before her death was to grasp it to prevent its destruction.

 **Western Fire Pit** \- The western fire pit contained Angelique, and it is where she died. She and the pile were covered by firewood, but it mostly consisted of flammables such as oily rags and newspapers from the fire station. Liquid fire starter was heavily applied to the base of the pile, which was what caused it to burn so heatedly. The pit caught fire when a flame trail from the center of the park led to it.

 **Eastern Fire Pit** \- The eastern fire pit consisted mostly or entirely out of firewood. Kimiko was in this pit, covered by the wood. There was a singular trail of lighter fluid that almost reached the pit, but didn't; a fire trail starting from the center of the park did reach it, and set the heavily doused fire pit ablaze.

 **Central "Art" Explosion** \- At approximately 1:05 PM, an explosion went off at the center of Monokuma Park. This destroyed the "artwork" there, and alerted numerous people to the scene. Shortly after the explosion, fire trails in the center of the park led to both fire pits.

 **Spark Machines** \- A box-shaped device that, when it receives a signal, creates a spark normally used for fire starters. It can work on fuses or to catch something on the surface it is placed on ablaze.

There are three total. Two of them were found by investigating members: one near the tavern's backdoor, and one near the center "artwork" of the park. One is still unaccounted for.

 **Laser Trip Wires** \- A small box-shaped device that projects a laser straight from it. When something breaks the laser's path, it sends a signal out; this signal is used to make the spark machine trigger.

There are three total. One of them was found by investigating members, near the tavern's backdoor. The other two are still unaccounted for.

 **Master Remote** \- There is a master remote for the spark machines, which can be used to manually trigger them, as well as program which laser trip wires activate which spark machines. It also shows when a laser trip wire has been tripped. It was found inside of a cabinet inside the fire station. It is quite bulky, almost the size of a brick.

 **Blake's Alibi** \- Blake Shokyaku was with Shuuya Yukimura from 11 AM up until the murder. They were investigating the housing area for the missing spark machines and laser trip wires.

 **Eisei and Ignatia's Alibi** \- Eisei Amane and Ignatia Nazario were together for most of the day, culminating in hanging out inside the movie theater. When they heard the explosion, they came running up the central path to see what was going on, and saw a burning trail heading to the western fire pit.

 **Souma and Futaba's Alibi** \- Futaba thought she saw Yejoon, and thus pulled Souma into Ye Olde Café to hide. They hid in the café from noon, to the time of the explosion.

 **Fiora's Alibi?** \- Fiora was all over the place today, and she has only told Yejoon where she was. Since breakfast, the only time anyone else saw her was when she came out of the fire station right after the western fire pit burst into flames.

 **Drake's Alibi?** \- Drake isn't willing to share where exactly he was, just that he was around the new buildings' area. Only Monodam knows exactly where he was, but he cannot tell due to the rules of the Kubs not being used as witnesses.

 **Emanuel's Discovery** \- Emanuel found some things during his investigation of the park's edges, and has them stored in a bag. He refuses to show or share what they are, or where exactly he got them. Looks like he's going to be stubborn about this.

 **Crystal's Jacket** \- Crystal used her custom-made jacket to stop the fire trail that she seemingly triggered when stepping outside of the tavern's backdoor. It is ruined completely now, but it stopped that flame trail from reaching its destination, which Crystal believes to be the eastern fire pit.

 **Tavern's Firewood Supply** \- Monodam's tavern is heavily stacked with supplies, including an abundance of firewood. There was more than enough for one of the fire pits, and still some remaining. The firewood is plentiful, but heavy and leaves traces of wood on people carrying it. Anyone can enter the storeroom.

 **Kimiko's Vision** \- Kimiko has had two visions where she has seen the late Mahiru Koizumi. Both times, the Ultimate Photographer has warned her to not let evil trick them. Whatever the meaning behind this is, the supernatural world is undeniably tied to Penjar.

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL WILL COMMENCE SHORTLY!**


	15. Chapter 2-5: Case 2 Trial, Part 1

**Chapter 2-5**

 **Clotted Dialogue**

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!_**

* * *

Monokuma rubbed his paws together, and the spoke. " **Now then, everyone, allow me to briefly recap the town trial. We have a Deviant Tourist amid our guests! You all need to work together to find out who is the Deviant Tourist, and if you do…**

" **I will subject the Deviant Tourist to an execution, where they will be tested to see if they are truly worthy of being a citizen of Penjar! However! If you vote for the wrong person, everyone besides the Deviant Tourist dies! And they will get all the rewards for it!**

" **This trial has two rule changes, but make no mistake that the rules I just stated still stand! So work together, and find out whoever killed whoever! Now then!**

" **Let the second Town Trial commence! Upupupupu~** "

The twenty-five graduates stared at each other, trying to gauge who would talk first. Yitro was brimming with fury, his gaze going between Blake and Yejoon. Kimiko appeared so horribly depressed, she was leaning on her banister for support.

Crystal was the one who would speak up first. "I believe what we agreed to," she said as she ran a hand through her hair, "is to try and guess what the rule changes are. Is that alright with everyone?"

"That was the plan," Isaac spoke up.

"I'm with you, ma'am," Samson agreed.

"Monokuma," Crystal spoke, staring down the despair bear, "what are the conditions for guessing these rule changes?"

" **Well… I realize that I am not going to have you all guessing the rule changes willy-nilly. So the rules are as follows: everyone gets one guess at what the rule changes may be. If you guess the rule, or close enough to it to satisfy me, I'll let you know! Wrong answers just get discarded. Fair enough?** "

"Oh great," Fiora mumbled, "we have twenty-five guesses? Well, twenty-four since the killer isn't going to be sharing anytime soon."

"Shut up," Emanuel barked at her. "We're going to conduct a serious investigation, and your useless commentary will not be welcomed!"

"Zero to sixty in no time flat," Saiko grumbled. "You chill out, and be helpful to us rather than a hindrance. Now, there is an obvious guess we need to make, but who wants to do the honors?"

There was silence among the graduates, everyone glancing around to see who would sacrifice their question for the others. The tense waiting game was interrupted by Hara, who said, "If no one else minds, I would like to ask."

"You got this, honey," Isaac said with an encouraging smile.

"Monokuma, is one of the rule changes," Hara asked, "that the culprit can kill more than one person without being executed?"

"…" Monokuma paused for dramatic effect.

…

…

…

…

…

" **Nope!** "

"WHAT!" many of the graduates balked in unison.

"Good Lord, are you saying," Souma declared, "that our culprit left it up entirely to chance that both victims wouldn't die? That's madness!"

"Okay, they're crazy," Aka said. "Whoever they are, they're fucking crazy!"

She was glancing occasionally at Hikari, who, though startled by this bit of news, was remaining rather calm and composed. The steampunk model took a deep breath, and spoke over the clamor of panicked people.

"Okay, everyone, please, let's get back on track," she said. "I believe we can solve this, it doesn't matter how demented our killer is. Shall we review the case?"

The graduates regarded her, then Isaac spoke again. "That sounds like a good idea. How about a quick review of what we know about the case?"

He stared at Crystal, who sighed miserably as she tossed her ponytail back. "I guess that means I should start us up…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"I went outside, through the **back door** of the tavern," Crystal explained, "for a breath of fresh air."

"Why the back door, may I ask?" Saiko inquired. "That leads to that stupid park."

"Hey!" Monokid barked.

"The mist was so thick in front of the tavern, I was hoping for it to be thinner in the back. But right as I went out back," she continued, "I accidentally triggered one of the **laser trip wires**."

"That must have been what set off the **spark machine** nearby it," Emanuel commented.

"Yes, the fire was going for the fire pit, but I stopped it. Then, very shortly after I did, the **explosion** went off in the middle of the park!

"That was when fire trails led to both fire pits. I pulled Kimiko out before the **eastern fire pit** was set ablaze, then I saw Odelios standing over me."

"She screamed at me to chase after the fire, and I saw **Ignatia and Eisei** along the way," the clown stated, tapping his rubber chicken's head on his podium. "We were too late to stop it."

"When that fire started roaring, I could hear it," Fiora said, "and I came out of the fire station to help. We got the **hose** and doused the fire pit."

"That seems to be the long and short of it," Isaac said, making notes in his pad.

"Wait," Souma said, tapping his chin, "maybe we can find the trick to how the killer assured **Angelique's** **death** over both of them?"

"Maybe Angelique was **already dead** ," Shinobu suggested, "when she was in that fire pit?"

"Maybe it was an **ifrit**!" Monokid butt in.

"Hey, you shut up," Ishiku shouted. "We're not falling for that again!"

"I hope to God we're not," Saiko grumbled.

" _Wait a minute_ ," Odelios shouted, " _what you said, that's wrong!_ "

 ** _HONK!_**

* * *

Everyone jumped at the loud horn that Odelios had procured. He squeezed the bottom part, making one more honk, before folding it up and putting it inside of his clothing. "Ahem. I have something important to say."

"I swear to fucking God," Emanuel snarled, gripping his podium with tight fingers, "if you joke around one more time in our life and death trial-"

"What I am going to say," Odelios shouted, "was that Eisei, Ignatia, and I can, quite sadly, confirm that Angelique was alive when that fire pit was set ablaze."

"Yes," Eisei said, lowering his head, "we heard her scream from within the fire pit. There was no mistaking it."

"Then I guess the possibility of her being murdered beforehand is wrong," Shinobu said, shaking her head. "I'm terribly sorry."

"You're trying to help us find out who killed her," Drake said to her. "That's nothing to apologize over."

"I know, it's just that," the historian said with a shiver, "it's still so hard to believe that someone put her in there to die so horribly-"

 ** _BAM!_**

Almost everyone, bear and human jumped in shock at the sudden impact. They turned to see Yitro had punched his podium, hard enough to leave a dent. The platinum-topped man heaved furiously, staring downwards at the floor.

Kimiko sobbed, covering her face and unable to look at anyone. Shinobu grew almost as sad, as she glanced between the two of them. "I'm… I'm SO sorry! I shouldn't have-"

"Look, we all know how horrid this murder is," Isaac spoke up, his words stern but calm. "We need to work together to find out how it worked out the way it did. We will find the answer."

"It shouldn't be how."

Yitro's voice carried around the trial room, despite being a low, growling tone. He looked up, his eyes blazing with anger. "It should be _who_ killed Angelique."

"Yitro, I know you're hurting, but this is a complicated murder," Shuuya said. "It's important to understand how it was done."

"That's a waste of time!" Yitro barked. "This murder scene was hard to set up with a limited amount of time, and thus we have the ability to check alibis and verify who was where! That'll get us to the killer much faster!"

The graduates stared at him, then at each other. It didn't seem like everyone agreed with this, and they didn't know what to say to how mad Yitro was.

"If we're going to go that route," Shuuya said, calm as ever as he scanned Yitro with his eyes, "it also entails how the murder was done. Like, for example, when could all of this had been set up?"

"Let's discuss that then," Yitro said, crossing his arms. "That'll give us a much better picture of who killed her."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Okay, the **explosion** took place at around 1 PM," Odelios said, scratching the back of his head with his chicken. "So it had to all be set up before then."

"Who was in **Monokuma Park** last?" Samson asked. "Can anyone verify when it was untouched?"

"It's called **Ifrit Park** now," Monokid shouted.

"Have you seen that hellhole of a park?" Ishiku said with a roll of his eyes. "Smelly, uncomfortable, **rocky ground** , ugly so-called art, Monokuma statues. Why would you want to be there?!"

"HEY!"

"He's right, we all avoided that place like the plague," Hikari remarked. "It was not a place we'd go casually strolling."

"Regardless, could we really miss someone walking around in there?" Blake asked. "It is connected to the **back of the new buildings**."

"Other than the tavern, we don't occupy those buildings most of the time," Hara said. "We gave up investigating them before the **motive** came around."

"That makes no sense! How could someone set all this up," Ken asked, "without us ever seeing them running around? I know the buildings **block the view** of the park for the most part, but still…"

"So do we have any idea when the culprit could have **started** their deadly set-up?" Eisei inquired.

" _Hey, Kenny,_ " Fiora shouted, smiling excitedly, " _I think you got a great idea there!_ "

* * *

"Ugh, do not call me Kenny," the cavalryman said, rolling his eyes. "I hate that, it makes me sound like a little kid."

"Soo'ry," Fiora said with a sheepish grin, "but you were right. The view was blocked, but not only just the buildings. The mists worked against us again."

"That's true, the mists were so very thick today," Anzu spoke up, "that you could barely see people throughout the city."

"People lost sight of me several times," Eisei commented.

"You probably came at them," Samson remarked with a smirk, "like a shark lunging out of the water, to grab their mouths and check their teeth."

"Sharks don't do that. I know this, because-"

"Let's circle back to the point, please!" Futaba declared, throwing her hands up. "I think we can all agree, the mists were very obscuring today, so however the culprit did this, they had the most perfect cover during the day to do it."

"Yes, and like I said," Ishiku added, "no one goes to that horrid park."

"I will kick," Monokid raged, "your scrawny ass, you… you… sideshow magician! No performances in Ifrit Park for you!"

"Good! Your park is bad, and you should feel bad!"

"Screw you!"

"Screw you back!"

"Stop that," Crystal snapped, glaring at Ishiku. "You're not helping us get anywhere."

"If we want to be on track," Yitro spoke up again, "is what we are saying is that we don't know when the culprit could have done this? Only when it was all done?"

Drake rubbed the back of his head as everyone contemplated this information. Soon, the cartoonist spoke up with confidence, "But we do know where they got the items from! The wood and fire starters, they all come from the stockroom in the tavern, and the fire station!"

"The stockroom's door inside the building has no window, and you can lock it from the inside," Shinobu said. "Someone could have closed the door inside of the tavern to prevent someone coming in, and carried the wood out."

"Did anyone check the door at any point," Yitro asked, "to see if it was locked?"

"It was closed, that's all we saw," Anzu said with a sigh. "It's not like we were searching all rooms at all times, we had no reason to!"

"What about the fire station?!" the former swordsman demanded. "That's wide open with the garage door!"

"Yeah, about that," Blake said, "when I went to check it out, the front door and garage door were shut. Someone obviously didn't want to be seen hauling that stuff outside-"

Yitro slammed his palm down on the podium, and thrust his finger at Blake. "Silence, you! Why should we take your words seriously, when you are one of the most likely people to have committed the murder?"

Blake scoffed and rolled his eyes in a grand show of sarcasm. "Now that's just type-casting."

"You are the Ultimate Pyro, and not to mention, it has become very clear about your past. Your history of arson, your mysterious jail time over it!"

"Don't you have jail time too," the pyro growled at the former swordsman, "for murder?"

"You, better than anyone here, would know how to set up these fire traps! A fire-based murder makes you look the most guilty, so you should be proving your innocence!"

"Oh really, tough guy?! Well, I got a fucking alibi!

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"When I saw the closed front door and garage at the fire station, I opened them up," Blake explained. "I was concerned someone would take the **fire starters** , and I was right."

"I found him there," Shuuya spoke up. "He told me about the missing spark machines and **laser trip wires**."

"So then bounty hunter dude there took me along to investigate all of the **houses** , to see if someone had hid them in their building."

"Oh my God, you went through our stuff **again**?!" Futaba shouted. "Don't you get tired of rummaging through things that aren't yours?"

"It is necessary," Shuuya said, correcting his clothing indifferently.

"What time was this?" Yitro demanded to know.

"I believe I found him at **11 AM** ," the bounty hunter said. "We were together until the body discovery was announced."

"Can you claim any witnesses during the early morning, Blake? Because you could have set this all up!"

"I was at breakfast too!"

"But can you prove that?!"

" _Enough bickering_ ," Saiko declared, " _I know the answer here!_ "

* * *

"Yitro, I know he looks suspicious, but he's telling the truth here," Saiko said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, listen to the short woman with big tits! She's telling the truth."

"I will snap off your… grr, anyway," the investigator shot one more glare at Blake before turning to Yitro. "At 11 AM, I went back to the cafeteria, and Kimiko and Angelique were there. Only a couple minutes later, Shuuya met with my group and then headed over to the fire station.

"Kimiko and Angelique had to have been kidnapped somewhere between then, and 1 PM. Shuuya and Blake were together, they couldn't have done it."

Yitro groaned and rubbed his forehead. "You're… sure of the time?"

"It's one of the things I am always checking. Comes with my career, but either way, I think that verifies the two of them."

The former swordsman shook his head, then he seized up as a thought crossed his mind. "Unless the two of them were working together."

"Oh come now," Shuuya said, frowning at Yitro. "Why would I do that?"

"Hey, I don't really know any of you except for Angelique, and she's dead now," Yitro snapped. "Plus, we already know that there are two people who asked a question, and thus there can be two different culprits!

"Isn't that how you could avoid the death penalty, since there is no rule change to that? One of you kills one person, the other murders the other?"

"Yitro, that may be logical, but you're simply accusing us out of convenience," Shuuya said, tone calm and firm. "Besides, that would eventually require-"

"The two of them were together in the housing area for the time they said they were," Ken stated, his voice loud and confirming. "You have my word with that too."

Everyone looked at the cavalryman, who was standing firmly in place with a stern expression on his place, as if called to attention. Shuuya blinked in surprise, while Blake gaped in amazement.

"You were in the housing area too?" Yitro asked.

"Yes, for most of that period of time. I had a guard station, so to speak. So even if I wasn't in view most of the time, I know the two were there for most of it. And I have no reason to have fiery pants."

"You… what?" Blake stammered. "That's not how the damn expression goes! But you-"

"Fine then," Yitro interrupted the pyro. "I'm not going to deny it if there is that amount of collaboration."

There was a brief silence amongst the graduates, before Crystal spoke up again, annoyance in her voice. "Is that what we are going to try and do now? Verify twenty-five alibis? There's no way to do this!

"Yitro, you need to realize this: we aren't going to find Angelique's killer by triple-verifying alibis. It's not possible, we were too spread out in the thick mists of this damned city. This is a pointless path for now, and we need to get to how the killer.

"Especially since you just said it's entirely possible two different people could have pulled this off."

The trial room was rather quiet once again, as this really sunk hard into everyone's mind. Two different people committing this crime, it opened up so many possibilities and made the grand picture far more complex.

"Wait a minute," Saiko muttered, then she turned towards the diabolical bear on the throne. "Hey, Monokuma! My guess for the rule changes! Can one Deviant Tourist commit a murder and get a second person off?"

" **Nope!** "

The forensic investigator snapped her fingers, and muttered, "Oh well, still worth it."

"Why on Earth would you ask a question like that," Emanuel asked, then he added, "puta?"

"Because since Kimiko survived, if this was a tag team effort, it means there might not be loyalty if the one responsible for trying to kill Kimiko doesn't get axed if we fail," she shot back at him, then smirked and added, "bitch!"

"Okay, enough vulgar insults," Yejoon spoke up, adjusting his mask so that he could be understood clearly, "that's not going to get us anywhere. It was a good question, but now we must all ask ourselves a more important one."

"Ugh, are we really listening to the serial killer over this?" Samson growled.

"I really don't want to do that," Pyrrha said, running her hands through her hair.

"Yeah, especially since you were missing all damn day," Yitro shouted. "I know I was accusatory towards Blake, but you! You should be our prime suspect!"

"Oh really now?" Yejoon turned towards him, his eyes staring through the holes in his mask. "Then allow me to ask you the question that you really should be asking yourselves…

"How did our culprit move a whole bunch of wooden logs and oily rags without leaving bits of wood and stains on their body?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Now we know this wasn't set up **yesterday** ," the artist continued to speak, "because we searched all over Penjar for the lost DVD player."

"Isn't it possible someone did it during the **night**?" Hara asked. "I mean, there are no rules against it."

"If they started after midnight," Shuuya pointed out, "they could set it all up **after** asking the question. Or **before** they asked it."

"But wouldn't they worry about someone discovering those fire pits all set up?" Drake asked.

"No one," Ishiku grumbled, "goes in that damn park."

Monokid growled as he shook his guitar over his head. "I **hate** you…"

"But there is the problem of being **locked out** of your house," Pyrrha said. "If you left the door open, anyone seeing it would know you were gone."

"They just set up the crime, and sleep somewhere **outside** ," Futaba suggested. "That's simple enough."

" _No, youse is wrong,_ " Monosuke hollered. " _That's so wrong!_ "

* * *

The graduates were all rather flummoxed by this. They stared at the orange Kub, who was now fanning himself with a stack of money.

"Is… is he allowed to do that?" Fiora asked.

"It is their town," Pyrrha said.

"What are you objecting to, bear?" Emanuel snapped. "If you are going to be interrupting the trial now, you're not playing fair."

"Ah, but I am playing fair," Monosuke said with a cackle. "Youse see, I think you all are unaware of a certain rule that we've been applying to our buildings ever since the theft of the DVD player."

"Wait, what? There's a new rule that you didn't tell us!?" Shinobu declared. "That's not fair!"

"It really wasn't, but since you were not informed of this officially, I'm telling you now. See, totally fair!"

"Then," the historian said with a defeated sigh, "please tell us the new rule."

"Nope, youse gotta guess! That's the nature of the game!"

"Okay, now _that_ is unfair! You little brat, just tell us!"

As the argument between Kub and humans continued, Isaac rubbed his finger against his forehead. " _So Monosuke said there is a new rule about the new buildings, but no one seems to know…_

" _Wait a minute, someone does seem to know. And if I have to guess, I think I know who knows, and what it is about since they seemed… sure about something else too_."

"Alright, stop the presses!" Isaac shouted, gaining everyone's attention. "I'm pretty sure I know what Monosuke is talking about…

"And what Yejoon knows too, what he is implying with his subtle manner."

"What is it, honey?" Hara asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Yejoon repeated, staring down Isaac. The reporter couldn't tell what expression the artist had on behind that mask, but it was still unnerving. "I'd love to know if someone can pick up what I am putting down."

"Okay, first off," Isaac said after taking a deep breath, "I am guessing that the new buildings have a closing time of sorts. Are they locked at night?"

"BINGO!" Monosuke shouted, jumping up and down. "After 10 PM, they are all locked until our morning announcement!"

"And the reason you know that, Yejoon," the reporter pointed defiantly at the serial killer, "is because you stole the DVD player."

"That doesn't surprise me," Shuuya remarked, staring down the artist as well. "But how does that make him know about the rule the rest of us don't?"

"My guess is he tried to return it for some reason or another, maybe he doesn't want the attention it is bringing him. And when he tried to enter the theater, it was locked up tight."

Yejoon clapped, slowly but loud. "Bravo. You are a true investigator, Isaac. Everything you said is true."

"But… but why'd you do that?" Fiora asked him. "Why would you steal it, why bother returning it?"

"My dear little flower, this is not the time nor place to discuss that. We are in the middle of a murder investigation, and now we all know that the fire station and the tavern were locked up tight throughout the night."

The movie maker shook her head in shock, and muttered, "Holy cow, if they were planning to set it up at night and had already asked the question, they knew they'd have to commit the murder before the day was over, or they were screwed."

"That is definitely a possibility, which may explain why the murder was set up during the day," Yejoon remarked. "They could only start at 9:30 AM, and yet they got the job done by 1 PM. Three and a half hours."

"About the amount of time it took to set up those piles, that had to be someone fit," Isaac remarked. "I tried sprinting from the western fire pit to the tavern, and that wasn't the shortest of distances. They had to do all that carrying firewood too."

"And I tried carrying arms full of newspapers out of the fire station to the fire pit," Shuuya added. "I am in great shape, but that wasn't easy, especially when hurrying."

"Not to mention this person carried logs and oily rags," Yejoon remarked. "That may narrow down the suspects a little."

"How so, you filthy murderer?" Yitro growled at him.

The artist extended his arms, showcasing the pristine white sleeves of his suit. "Pray tell, how exactly would I go about carrying dirty firewood and oiled rags in my white outfit?"

"You could have changed your suit," Ken shouted, "or worn something over it!"

"Oh? This coming from the person who was monitoring the housing area enough to know Shuuya and Blake were there, the one who stood guard for a slumbering beauty. Tell me, Ken, when did I show up at my house to change?"

The cavalryman growled, gripping the handle of his sword and his podium. After a few seconds, he muttered, "I never saw you there. But that doesn't prove you didn't leave your place, or take off your suit-"

"We have several people here who can recognize the fine fabric my clothing is made out of. If I had been doing something exhausting like hauling lumber and papers around, it would show on my clothing. But it does not."

The artist chuckled and added, "Plus, I do have a witness."

"Oh this ought to be good," Aka grumbled.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"It was shortly after Fiora finished her breakfast," Yejoon said, "that she and I saw each other after she left the **cafeteria**."

Fiora groaned, covering her face with her hands. "You're really going to bring that up?"  
"You climbed up a lamppost when you saw me, such impressive **jumping** **skills** you have, my dear little flower."

"Argh! Don't call me that!"

"But my clothing was all completely the **same** as it is now, right?"

"… Yes."

"Why are you defending him?!" Yitro shouted at Fiora. "He could be the **killer**!"

"But… but he's right! After I saw him, I was trying to hide from him all day, but he kept looking for me! I tried **Town Hall** , but the Kubs told me to leave…"

"Town Hall is not," Monotaro declared, "for **hide and seek**! Shame on you for even trying, it took us forever to drag you out, and you didn't even invite us!"

"Then I hid in the **fire station** for about an hour. I was there until the explosion went off…"

"And then you came out when you heard the murderous **fire pit**?" Odelios asked.

"Yes. I… I heard that scream too. It was so very awful."

" _GOTCHA_ ," Emanuel shouted, " _I gotcha this time, you stupid puta!_ "

* * *

Fiora flinched as Emanuel pointed at her, almost hitting her face with his accusing pointer finger. "Um, what?" she stammered.

Emanuel heaved out, so joyous that he practically shook with anticipation. "You may have been innocent last time, but now, this time, you showcased yourself. I know you did it."

"What? You're accusing me _again_?!" she shouted.

"I told you this would happen," Yejoon remarked.

Emanuel cracked his knuckles, and said, "You see, what is in the fire station is the master remote for the spark machines and the laser trip wires. On this device, you can see when a wire has been tripped, and which wire it is.

"It's so simple. You waited until one of the wires was tripped, and then you triggered the spark machines you had hidden in the park. First you blew up the trashy art in the middle of the park, then you set off the fire trails that killed Angelique!

"And the best part is, since you had that fire trail near the tavern, you knew someone could save Kimiko in time! I have to hand it to you, you set everything up rather nicely…

"But you thought I was going to overlook you since I was so _mean_ to you last trial," he said with the most sarcastic roll of his eyes.

"What," was all Fiora could say to counter him.

"The master remote was in the fire station," Shuuya said, "and we did find it in there when we were investigating."

"It does everything Emanuel said," Blake pointed out. "Still, did she really do it?"

"Who came out of the fire station right as the fire pit was set ablaze?" Emanuel shouted. "Who was the only one with access to the master remote? Fiora, that's who!"

"Now wait a minute here," Fiora shouted, balling her hands into fists. "That's just coincidence-"

Emanuel didn't wait a minute, glaring at her. "Let's review the facts then, you talentless puta!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Once someone stepped outside of the **tavern** , and would notice the fire pit full of firewood," Emanuel continued, "they would trigger the laser trip wire!"

"That set off the spark machine that was near it, though," Hara spoke up. "That was meant to set the **eastern fire pit** on fire, right?"

"The master remote signals when someone trips a laser wire too," Blake pointed out. "It can do both."

"No, this is ridiculous," Crystal spoke up. "I **stopped that fire** before it reached the pit. Kimiko should have been dead."

"Wait a minute, Crystal is right," Anzu spoke up. "And if Fiora set it all up and relied on the master remote to know if someone had triggered that trap, she would assume **Kimiko was dead**!"

"…" Kimiko stared at Crystal with an expressionless face.

"I think your manner of thinking is wrong here, Emanuel," Yitro said. "If Fiora did all of this alone, she wouldn't have tried to kill Angelique as well. She wouldn't risk **two murders**."

"But… but she could have known the eastern fire pit didn't go off!" Emanuel snapped.

"From inside the solid stone building of the fire station?" Eisei asked.

"She could have been outside, and saw no fire from the other side of the park! It was **visible** from the other side of the park… right?"

" _Stop everything now_ ," Souma announced, holding a hand up in the air, " _I believe I have discovered something!_ "

* * *

"Crystal, I'm sorry to say this," Souma remarked, "but I don't think your efforts in stopping that first fire trail saved Kimiko then and there."

"What? Why not?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Your glorious jacket, the one you sacrificed to put out the fire, was ruined, but it was not incinerated."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you."

"Think of this: if there was a flammable liquid trail from that trap to the fire pit, then it should have caught fire when the second trail, the one that made it to the pit, set the bonfire alight. That flammable trail should have led up to your jacket, and burnt it to a crisp.

"But it didn't, which meant that that trail never led to the fire pit in the first place."

As this dawned on everyone, Crystal was the most shocked. She reached up to her shoulders, where the large collar of her jacket would have been, and she slumped on her podium. "I… I really, really liked that jacket."

"You still saved Kimiko's life," Hikari said, smiling at the military adviser. "I know it feels like you ruined it for nothing, but you are still a hero."

Crystal huffed, and stared off to the side. "I guess…"

The trial room almost shook with the barking laugh that followed from Emanuel. "Haha, I knew it all along! This proves my theory true!"

"How, exactly?" Isaac inquired.

"If that first trap was a dummy, it was never meant to kill Kimiko! Therefore, the person who triggered the laser trip wire would get her out in time, and they could kill Angelique instead! Ha!"

He pointed victoriously at Fiora. "Once the dummy trap went off, you triggered the spark machine that led to the explosion! Then when people came running, you started up the fatal fire trails!"

"No no no!" Fiora shouted at him. "I didn't do any of that! I didn't even know the remote existed!"

"And I have all the more proof that you set it up to ensure that no one wouldn't go unnoticed!"

The Bête Noir lifted the bag he had carried into the trial room, and pulled out several items: two laser trip wire devices, and one spark machine.

"Wh-wh-what!" Drake stammered in fear. "What are you doing with those?"

"These were set up around the two pathways that lead up to the park! As you all know, the most direct ways to the park are two pathways, one that leads right up to the central part of the park, and one a bit more to the east. There was a laser trip wire in both of the pathways, and one spark machine near the edge of the central pathway. This spark machine…"

He drummed his fingers on it. "This one here is what killed Angelique. The burnt trail on the ground led right up to it. Nice set-up, Fiora, you could know when anyone entered the park, each of the four entrances covered. Laser trip wire at the two pathways, and one at the tavern, and you personally in the fire station…

"But now it's lain plain as day that you are the wicked hearted one of us!"

Fiora stammered, squeaked, and whimpered, "I… I hate sequels."

"She did all that?" Aka asked, staring at the movie maker. "Miss B-Movie Maker hauled all the heavy stuff?"

"Heh, she does all the moving for her crappy movies, so why not?" Emanuel gloated. "Plus, no sleeves on her, so no worry about stains."

"I refuse to acknowledge this sequel! It's not canon!" Fiora hollered. "It's not true to the source! It's not-"

"My dear little flower," Yejoon spoke up, "you mustn't be so flustered. You have a way to defend yourself."

"She does?" Emanuel snarled.

"I do?" Fiora asked.

"You have a witness," Yejoon remarked.

"I do?!"

There was a most cynical laugh from Futaba. "Do you really think we'll take your word for it, murderer? Even if you say you saw her all day, you can so very easily be her partner in crime for this."

"You already hang out with her all the time," Anzu remarked. "It's like you have a crush on her or something, the poor thing."

"Eww," Pyrrha remarked, wincing horribly. "That's horrible, don't suggest that! Romance with serial killers is… is… well it's not romance, to say the least!"

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Fiora shouted, waving her hands around. "Yejoon, what do you mean?"

"Forget it," Emanuel said with a scoff. "Anyone here could be your accomplice, so you cannot call on someone to be your witness!"

Fiora scanned the area, trying to see who Yejoon was talking about. She was starting to shiver, losing her cool gradually. Though when she took a deep breath, her eyes caught someone in particular.

"Someone who cannot be my accomplice," she whispered to herself, "would be believed though…"

She pointed her finger at…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… Monotaro, the red Kub of Penjar.

"He's my witness!" Fiora declared proudly.

"He's what?!" Crystal balked.

"I'm what?" Monotaro screamed.

"You're KIDDING!" Emanuel shouted.

" **You cannot call on my cubs as witnesses!** " Monokuma hollered.

After all of the yelling, Fiora merely chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not doing that. He already said what I needed."

"I did?" Monotaro asked, scratching his head. "When did I do that?"

"When we were debating Yejoon's alibi…"

* * *

 _"_ _After I saw him," Fiora was babbling, "I was trying to hide from him all day, but he kept looking for me! I tried Town Hall, but the Kubs told me to leave…"_

 _"_ _Town Hall is not," Monotaro declared, "for hide and seek! Shame on you for even trying, it took us forever to drag you out, and you didn't even invite us!"_

* * *

"There you go! Monotaro admits I was hiding in Town Hall, and they had to pull me out of there! Now, I was at breakfast until the end, and I was talking to a lot of people then," Fiora said, listing off everyone she conversed with…

"And since Monotaro just told all of us of his own free volition that I was in Town Hall in the middle of the day, there was no time for me to set all of that up!"

Emanuel stared at her, as he gripped the spark machine so hard that he was in danger of cracking it. "You gotta be shitting me. You think… you think that qualifies as an alibi?"

"Alright then, mister! When would I have had time to do all that hauling, which everyone says was a ton of work? Was it right at the last minute?"

"You could have had a partner doing that!"

"Was that me too?" Monotaro asked, scratching his head in the utmost confusion.

"Oh really?!" Fiora turned towards the graduates, and waved at them. "Hey everyone! If you were my partner in crime, speak up now! After all, if I'm guilty and you don't vote for me, you die too! Saiko's question proved that!"

No one spoke up.

"Your serial killer boyfriend could be your partner, and he's psycho enough to not care!" Emanuel raged at her.

"First of all, EWWW! Second of all, didn't he just prove he couldn't do that heavy lifting stuff with his white sleeves?"

"Emanuel," Pyrrha spoke up, over the arguing two, "let it go. She's clearly not guilty."

"But… but… NO!" the Bête Noir shouted, slamming the spark machine on the podium, breaking the device. "I refuse! She HAS to be the killer!"

"Good grief, what is your hate-on for that girl?" Futaba asked, shaking her head. "Anyway, we really need to move on, this is a dead end since Fiora is pretty much in the clear."

"Wait a minute, what about him?" Fiora shouted, pointing at the fuming detective. "Why the hell aren't we discussing him?!"

"Yeah, I'm suspicious of him too!" Odelios hollered. "I mean, he just brings a bunch of evidence into the trial room, and we're supposed to believe he found it where he said he did?"

"Not to mention you're so damn quick," Blake added, "to jump down Fiora's throat. It's so convenient that the devices were where you said they were!"

Emanuel started heaving in exasperation, wiping his brow. He tried to speak, and found he had trouble doing so.

"No, that's not true either," Pyrrha said, humbly holding up her hand. "I know we said alibis probably don't quality, but I think Shinobu and myself can back it up."

Shinobu sighed, shaking her head as she seemed rather defeated by this. "Yes, we both know that Emanuel cannot have done this. We both knew where he was all day."

"And where was that, may I inquire?" Isaac asked.

"The cafeteria, where he was sitting alone a few tables away from Shinobu and myself," Pyrrha admitted. "You see, I was talking to her for a long time, all the way up to the body discovery announcement. I wanted to discuss my date with her, and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Hikari declared, grinning as she looked over at the romance writer. "A date? You two? How cute~!"

"No, it wasn't with her," Pyrrha admitted. "It was… with Odelios."

"… That's less cute," the model remarked.

"I was getting everything ready for you, babe," Odelios called out, bawling in grief. "I even had buffalo wings ready for you before all the shit went down! I'm so sorry!"

Then he pulled from his clothing a bowl wrapped in tin foil, and procured buffalo wings from it. Munching on one, he muttered, "They're still good, want one?"

"I'm good, thanks," Pyrrha remarked, staring in confusion at the clown. "But… yeah, Ishiku suggested it, and I agreed because, well, I think it would be very hypocritical of me if I didn't believe in all types deserving a chance!

"I remember Shinobu saying she is straight, so I thought I would get advice from her."

"But I've been single all my life, and thus we kind of just theorizing," the historian reluctantly admitted, "of how a date should go. We spent all of the day there until… that awful announcement."

"And Emanuel was at a table in the cafeteria from us the entire time," Pyrrha said. "He was looking at his phone or eating, or just sitting there; however, he never left the building, like we didn't."

"Well shucks," Fiora muttered, "but I guess that means he is in the clear."

"Wait a minute!" Yitro declared, punching his fist into the air. "I know we said we would agree to discussing the how, but do you all realize how many alibis we have verified?"

Crystal brushed her bangs away from her face, and muttered, "I suppose you're going to tell us."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So we just went over **Emanuel, Pyrrha, and Shinobu** ," Yitro listed off. "And we also know **Fiora** and, as hard as it to believe, **Yejoon** couldn't have done this."

"I believe **Blake** and **I** ," Shuuya said, "are alibied, along with **Ken**."

" **Ignatia** and **myself** spent a great deal of the day together," Eisei spoke up. "Does that qualify?"

"There's no way it could have been **Crystal** ," Hara spoke up. "She's the one who saved **Kimiko**! And Kimiko, well…"

"Yes, I very much doubt she clubbed herself in the back of the head," Yitro remarked, "and then buried herself underneath the wood before passing out."

"We sure she couldn't fake it?" Aka asked. "I mean, I don't want to believe it, but this is a murder trial, and…"

"I've seen many injuries and concussions," Eisei commented. "Hers was **not faked** , and could have killed her; a blow to the head is not simply hitting a consciousness button."

"Very true," Yitro agreed.

"…" Kimiko said nothing, she merely stared at them as she processed this.

"Um, I was **alone** at the time," Drake mumbled, "so I don't have an alibi."

"That's not exactly helping, sweetheart," Anzu spoke up. "But seeing that I don't have one **either** , I guess I shouldn't have said anything? Heh…"

" _YOU'VE-GOT-THAT-WRONG,_ " Monodam's monotone voice blared across the trial room.

* * *

Monokid snarled, holding his guitar like a weapon. "So help me, I will crack his skull open! I'll crack his nuts! I'll crack his skull with his nuts! I'll-"

"Stop the violence!" Monophanie cried, putting herself between her violent brother and monotoned brother.

"Wait, is he allowed to do that too?" Fiora asked. "Why are the Kubs interfering with the trial now?"

"YOU-ARE-NOT-ALLOWED-TO-CALL-ON-THE-KUBS-AS-WITNESSES," Monodam explained, "BUT-IF-WE-CHOOSE-TO-GIVE-WITNESS, WE-CAN, YOU-BASTARDS."

" **Grrrrr,** " Monokuma snarled, " **I knew I shouldn't have let you adorable, stupid, ador-bearly stupid cubs make the rules!** "

Drake stared up at Monodam, and started to stammer, "Th-that's alright, Monodam, I don't want you to get in trouble."

"NO. I-WANT-YOU-ALL-TO-GET-ALONG. THEREFORE-I-WILL-TESTIFY…

"DRAKE-WAS-IN-THE-PLANT-NURSERY-FROM-NOON-TO-1-PM. BEFORE-THAT, HE-WAS-IN-VARIOUS-PLACES-ACROSS-THE-TOWN, INCLUDING-THE-ANTIQUE-SHOP. I-WAS-WITH-HIM-THE-ENTIRE-TIME."

The graduates went quiet, as Drake went quite red. Ishiku crossed his arms and asked slowly, "Whyyyyy were you at the plant nursery?"

"I was… I wanted to get to the back so I could get some of the pretty flowers back there."

More silence, more blushing. Anzu broke that silence with a slight blush of her own. "Um, honey-bunny? You weren't trying to get a rose, were you?"

"Not in particular, why?"

"Oh phew! Thank goodness, you're still a sweet little cinnamon bun."

"I just… do I have to say it?"

Ken laughed aloud, smiling at the young man. "You were getting some flowers for your lady fair, weren't you?"

Even more blushing commenced, and Drake hid his face behind his sketchpad. "This… this motive has been really horrible, and this town is so dreary," he whimpered from behind the art, "I… I just wanted to get someone in particular something nice! I didn't think it would be that big of a deal!

"After all, I was told that if I wanted to go for something, I should just do it! So I figured that I would take some time to try and get those nice flowers."

Drake glanced over at Emanuel as he said this, but the Bête Noir was fuming too much over his defeat to notice. As the other graduates let this sink in, some of them were glancing over at Ignatia. The mime was staring, perplexed, at the cartoonist, and her make-up preventing anyone from knowing if she was blushing or not.

"Well, didja?" Odelios asked. "Didja, that might be good to know for my eventual date!"

"Yes, I found this thick jacket and pair of pants in the antique shop, like something that cowboys would wear! Oh, and there was a hood on it to cover my head. You see, after breakfast, I went to my house to get clothes, but nothing else worked, so Monodam suggested the antique shop!

"It took a while, but it was about noon when I got to the plant nursery. The poison ivy and oak touched the clothes, but not me; I know that left that itchy oil on them, but I made sure not to touch it.

"And the flowers at the other end were SO pretty! I was going to use the wheelbarrow back there to bring the plants out, but then… the explosion happened."

"That's too bad," Anzu said, shaking her head. "What happened?"

"I took off the protective clothing and left it in the nursery to see what was going on. I didn't want to wear it, it still had the poisonous plants' oils on it. And red poison oak leaves the worst, visible stains ever, it would have been obvious where I was."

The actress curled her blue bang around her finger, as she contemplated this. "Sweetheart, you say you finished breakfast, then went to your house. Were you there long?"

"Kind of. I brought a lot of stuff with me, so I took a while until I eventually went to the antique shop."

"And you didn't think to ask Ken for his hoodie?"

"No, I didn't see him."

Anzu stopped curling her bang around her finger, and then repeated, "You didn't see Ken in the housing area."

"N-no. Should I have?"

"Considering he was supposedly monitoring that place, yes!"

Everyone turned towards the cavalryman, who merely crossed his arms and lowered his head. "We just didn't run into each other, that is all."

"But you never mentioned seeing Drake either," Saiko pointed out. "Listen, handsome, this is starting to come off as incredibly suspicious!"

"Yeah, especially since this guard shift allegedly started," Futaba declared, "when you said you were going to watch over Hikari when she was sleeping. But where has SHE been all day?"

Hikari, who had opened her lace umbrella and spun it around on her shoulder, bat her eyes as she stared at Futaba. "What's this about making it about me now?"

"You've been gone all day! How's a prissy diva like you just vanish for a day? You think we wouldn't notice! Where were you?"

The steampunk model sighed, then asked aloud, "Monokuma! Is one of the rule changes to allow someone to leave Penjar and come back?"

" **Nope!** "

"I was in town," Hikari said with a confident smile. "That's all you really need to know, I'm not suspicious."

"Like hell you're not now," Samson declared. "The way you're acting is really off!"

"And not to mention Ken seems to be your co-conspirator," Yejoon said, folding his arms over his chest. "How exactly does he go from monitoring your safety, to losing you altogether?"

"Come to think of it," Shuuya said, staring down Hikari, "you weren't in your room when Ken said he was watching over you! And then he was suddenly gone too."

"Hey wait a minute, everyone," Aka shouted, waving her hands in the air, "let's calm down for a minute! There's no way Hikari did this!"

"Really now? Because it's starting to look like," the bounty hunter declared, "like the two of them conspired together!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Oh please," Hikari said with a roll of her eyes, "have you noticed I have white sleeves too? I couldn't carry the **grubby stuff**."

"Ken could easily have been the muscle," Shuuya pointed out. "And you both are acting like you're **hiding something**."

"Just leave him out of this," the model snapped, glaring at Shuuya. "I snuck out when he wasn't looking, because I wanted to be alone, that is all."

"That cannot be all!" Futaba shouted. "You don't just do that during a Killing Game, during a **motive** too!"

"I have my own reasons, I don't need to explain everything to you," Hikari remarked. "Besides, Ken isn't stained with wood and oil and such, so shouldn't that mean he's **innocent** too?"

"If you don't start cooperating with us," Blake shouted, "we're going to vote for you, because you're suspicious as shit!"

"Oh, right, sure, drop the entire investigation and vote for me because I'm not cooperative, is that it? You cannot possibly be that stupid."

"Since when you are so standoffish?" Isaac asked, peering at the model.

"Darling, I am a woman of many virtues, but my tolerance for **baseless accusations** goes out the window real fast."

" _Ha, gotcha_ ," Samson declared, pointing at Hikari. " _Gotcha good, girl!_ "

* * *

"You know, I've been wondering how the culprit moved all that heavy stuff," the trader said with a confident smile, "but now I know how they did it, thanks to Drake."

"M-me?" the cartoonist stuttered. "But I just mentioned the flowers!"

"You know what you mentioned as well? A wheelbarrow, an honest-to-God wheelbarrow, located in the greenhouse! That's how someone could cart around a bunch of stuff!"

"Huh, that makes sense," Pyrrha said, tapping her chin as she contemplated this. "I mean, I could see how that would be a tremendous help."

"So you think that the culprit went into the plant nursery," Crystal stated as she made eye contact with Samson, "took the wheelbarrow, and used it to hasten the murderous piles in the fire pits?"

"It would also cut down on the amount of crap that they would get on them," he replied.

"But… but didn't I say that the wheelbarrow was in the back with the flowers, behind all that poison ivy and bad stuff?" Drake blurted out. "They'd have to walk through it to get to it!"

"And what is the man wearing?" Samson said as he pointed at Ken. "Hoodie and thick pants, that's all the protection that he needs from the poisonous plants!"

"And it's really dark colored too," Blake remarked, staring down Ken. "You wouldn't see slight stains or such on it."

Everyone exchanged glances, murmuring over their suspicions. Aka looked close to having a nervous breakdown, and shouted, "Stop it, stop it! There is no way on Heaven and Earth that Hikari is working with a man on this! Why would she? Didn't we prove that partnerships wouldn't work because the other would die?!"

Hikari stared down at the ground, to Aka, to Ken, and then at the floor again. The model appeared defeated, and was sweating nervously.

"H-Hikari? Babe?" Aka stammered, staring at her pleadingly. "Deny it! You gotta! You cannot be part of this murder plan!"

The steampunk model glanced to the side, unresponsive. As Aka called out to her, Ken raised his hand.

"Everyone, I have a confession to make," the cavalryman announced. "But please, do not cast shadow on me until I am done."

"Man, even when he's going to confess, he cannot get his terminology right," Blake grumbled.

Ken glanced at him, staring around at everyone with an apologetic smile on his face, then he spoke.

"Monokuma, you can tell them what my rule change was, I do not need to guess it."

" **Roger, but it still counts as your guess! Your rule change was as follows: harm may come to the Deviant Tourist when they are discovered at the end of the trial!** "

The silence that hit the trial room was harder than any other. Most of them were staring at Ken, who folded his arms and nodded in agreement with the bear. Hikari covered her face with one hand, unable to look the crowd in the eye for the first time in her life.

"What?!" Shinobu cried out in horror. "You… you asked Monokuma a question? You took part in the motive?"

"You killed Angelique for that?!" Yitro shouted, his rage growing so fervently that his eyes were brimming with fury.

"No! No I did not murder Angelique," Ken declared, holding his hands up in surrender. "I did not kill anyone. And neither did Hikari."

"What the hell is going on, Ken?!" Futaba yelled. "You asked Monokuma a damned question, what were you thinking?"  
"I was thinking that I could find the answer to how to stop Despair from ravaging my home!"

The cavalryman punched his podium, and hissed in air sharply. "You don't understand. So many have died, and they are still dying today! Novoselic is plagued with Despair, so twisted, so powerful, that its allies have given up on it! The blood, it keeps spilling! Women, children, elderly… everyone is being murdered in my home.

"And I fled from that! When the Tragedy hit the world, I gave up the fight and ran! I've been hidden here in Japan since the country fell. I… I disgraced myself, I am a shame to my country, my honor, everything about me is a wretched, pitiful excuse of a human being that you see."

He covered his face with one hand, leaning on the podium. "I came here to find answers, and when I was offered that, I took it! I wanted to know what could be done, but even that… the wretched bear tricked me! His answer was nothing but a riddle!"

" **I told you the truth, you just didn't believe me,** " Monokuma said with a snicker.

"Shut your maw, you foul, odious machine! I was a fool to think you would give me a straight answer! I… I always have been a fool."

He shook his head, and then met the stares of the other graduates. "I may not be worthy of being called your fellow graduate anymore, nor even an Ultimate, but I swear to you, I would not murder a good soul like Angelique over this."

They didn't speak at first, then Eisei spoke up for them. "What was your plan then? If you didn't kill Angelique, were you just going to die?"

"No. I was going to kill HIM!"

Ken thrust his finger at Yejoon, who looked as nonchalant as ever even with the reveal. The artist shrugged, and remarked, "You really thought you could take me, dishonored one?"

"I am capable of taking on a fiend like you," the cavalryman snapped, "and if I failed, that was what my rule change was for. If you killed me, the trial would be about my murder, and thus the others could defend themselves if you tried to attack them!"

"You mistake me for Jin. My sister did put up a tantrum during her last minutes, but that is not who I am. Still, I must commend you, that is a solid contingency plan."

"If I were to die, I would rid the world of your filth before I go! It is the least I could do, the least a dishonored one like me could do," Ken said, shaking his head. "But I failed. I couldn't find you when I abanonded my false post, and then… Angelique was murdered."

"So, you didn't do it then?" Aka said, smiling brightly. "That means Hikari and you are innocent! You wouldn't kill Angelique if your plan was to kill Yejoon!"

"Wait, that's it?" Saiko asked, dubiously raising an eyebrow. "We're just going to take his word for it?"

"Saiko, I believe him," Hara said, shaking her head as she stared over at Ken. "It makes so much sense."

"I know it does, but can we really trust their word on it?"

She glanced around the trial room, staring down the others. "What do you all think?"

Everyone was deep in thought, taking into consideration everything that had been handed to him. Yitro spoke first, as he glared at Ken, "Do we have any actual proof that neither of them did it?"

"I thought it was pretty clear," Aka huffed, glaring at the others. "Come on, this isn't impossible, it makes sense!"

"I don't know," Futaba said with a shake of her head. "I'm getting the distinct feel that there's more going on here."

"But how are we going to decide if we're divided on this?" Drake asked. "How can we…"

He was glancing at Ignatia, who was pointing her fingers in her ears. The cartoonist blinked, then took the hint as he put his sketchpad on the podium and covered his own ears.

" **WHEN YOU ARE SPLIT, SCRUM IT UP!** "

After the initial blast of noise, Monokuma lowered his megaphone and rubbed his paws together. " **This sounds like the perfect time to start up one of my favorite manners of debate! Mostly because I just love the music that I play during it! Yeah, feel the drop!** "

"It is very cool music," Fiora said with a smile.

"Take this seriously, little flower," Yejoon cautioned her. "For if we do not win the debate, this conversation may go down the wrong path."

"Or the right one," Crystal countered, narrowing her eyes at the serial killer. "For if we are right about Ken and Hikari, we would nail our murderer; if there is a conspiracy and you force us off the path, we may never learn the truth."

There was a small scoff, from someone who had been unusually quiet throughout the trial. Kimiko rubbed her nose, and muttered, "That's always the way it's gotta be, huh? Life or death, one way or another."

" **Enough chatter! Let's do dis!** "

Monokuma lifted a large key, labeled "Key to the City" on the side. A large lock raised up from the floor in front of his garish throne, and he inserted the key into it. With a twist, power could be heard charging up and machinery running throughout the trial room.

The platforms lit up at the base of their stands, and then hovered into the air. The graduates were ready this time, and all retained their balance. As the podiums lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened up, and moving into the hallway-like room.

This was their second Scrum Debate, and they knew how very important this was going to be. Plus, there were people confident or bitter about the last one, so they were going to be stronger…

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE!**

 **Team Ragnaros** ( _"Ken and Hikari are too suspicious!"_ )

 **Members** : Saiko, Yitro, Crystal, Samson, Pyrrha, Odelios, Futaba, Emanuel, Eisei, Blake, Souma, Shuuya, Ignatia.

…

 **Team Portgas D. Ace** ( _"Ken and Hikari aren't dangerous!"_ )

 **Members** : Hara, Ken, Hikari, Isaac, Fiora, Aka, Drake, Kimiko, Anzu, Ishiku, Shinobu, Yejoon.

* * *

The podiums rose up into the room, with everyone facing each other now on two sides. Monokuma and the Kubs were standing at the end of the room, watching the debate as it would now unfold.

"How do we know," Yitro started them off, "that Ken didn't **kill Angelique** over the motive?"

"Because instead of **killing Angelique** , he wanted to kill me," Yejoon countered. "One way or another, he was prepared to **die**."

"How sure are you that he is that prepared to **die**?" Crystal inquired. "Maybe he still wishes to live, and thus set up this **complex** crime."

"Ken would not go the long and **complicated** route," Shinobu protested, "because he has an honor code to fall, as a soldier from Novoselic. You have no idea how strong that is for people from his **country**."

"But his **country** and his lost honor," Futaba shouted, "are the reason he took part in the motive! How do we know that the **answer** he was given wasn't vital information?"

"I was there when he got his **answer** ," Hikari responded. "It was not straight-forward, it was a puzzle. You can trust **me** when I say it was not worth it."

"Trust **you, Hikari**?" Souma said dubiously. "You've been missing all day! You've been uncooperative. How do we know you aren't the **culprit**?"

"Hikari, the **culprit** who set this all up?" Aka balked, slamming her fist on the podium. "You think she was running around nonstop, doing heavy lifting with **messy items**!? That's beyond ridiculous!"

"It's not impossible to handle **messy items** properly," Samson pointed out. "Don't forget there is the **wheelbarrow** in the plant nursery, which she could have used!"

"But the **wheelbarrow** was behind aisles full of red poison oak and ivy," Drake said, showing a picture of the wicked-looking plants. "The oil from them leaves stains on all manners of clothing, and neither Ken nor Hikari have **stains**!"

"Having clothing without **stains** doesn't mean much," Odelios said, tapping the rubber chicken's head on his podium, "it just means they didn't use the wheelbarrow. Ken's more than fit to do this in the allotted **time**."

"But then that defeats Hikari being a possible suspect if we account **time** ," Ishiku said, tapping the bottom of his staff on the floor, "because that would mean heavy sprinting and **lifting** to set everything up."

"Whether Ken or Hikari did the **lifting** isn't important," Pyrrha said, "because if no one was in the housing area, they could have changed **clothes**. The thick mists are the perfect cover."

"Have you looked at Hikari's **clothes**? Or her in general?" Aka fired off. "She's a supermodel with pristine clothing, make-up, and hair, every day, all day, and right now! She can't be doing exhausting work and still look as **perfect** as she does now!"

"Let's argue that Hikari didn't do the back-breaking labor, which is actually **perfectly** reasonable," Shuuya commented, raising one of his eyes. "Ken was still missing most of the time, what is his **alibi**?"

"Have you forgotten my guess at the rule change?" Hara asked, nervously crossing her arms. "Even if Ken has no **alibi** , if Hikari knows he did it, she would be executed for his success! So why would she remain **quiet**?"

"As someone who has seen a lot of **quiet** witnesses," Saiko said, "I can tell you now that there are people who'd rather die than talk over some matters. We cannot just trust Hikari's word, nor Ken's. We want **proof**."

"If it is **proof** that you want, wasn't he seen at around 11 AM in the housing area?" Anzu said. "This three-and-a-half-hour window that the killer had means it was **next to impossible** to be hanging around other places."

"Really now? **Next to impossible** is the best you have?" Blake muttered. "Yes, we saw him around 11:30 AM, but he could have done it **before** then! It's not that hard, moving a bunch of stuff from place to place!"

"Ken was at breakfast this morning, so when would he had time **beforehand**?" Isaac said. "And since Fiora was in the fire station from noon up to the explosion, there wasn't time **after** either!"

"If we consider the time **after** 11:30 AM, that would just be time to kidnap the victims," Eisei pointed out. "Your argument is more based off of **emotions** rather than cold logic."

"I have told you all why I did what I did, and yes, it is an **emotional** argument," Ken replied, "but if you combine that with the lack of possibility for myself or Hikari to commit this crime, you'll see we **didn't do it**."

Emanuel growled in frustration, rubbing his forehead. "Saying you **didn't do it** is not good enough! It's never good enough! What, are you going to now claim your **rule change** is proof?"

"You know what, jerkface?" Fiora declared, pointing at him with a grin on her face. "Why woo'd he ask for a **rule change** that doesn't benefit him in the least if he were going to commit a **serious murder**?"

"You useless, talentless, stupid puta," the Bête Noir shouted, shaking his fist at the bemused movie maker, "he's using your emotions to cover a **serious murder**! Why are you so intent on following a sob story to your demise? This **conspiracy** proves they were in league, and did this crime!"

"Does it now?" Fiora commented, tipping her fedora downwards to partially cover her eyes, giving her a detective look. "Because you haven't proved how this **conspiracy** could have efficiently committed the murder at all, eh. So stop trying to prematurely end the trial, and let's discuss HOW the murder was done!"

Team Portgas D. Ace all psyched themselves up, and declared in unison, "THIS IS OUR REASON!"

" **What a blend of emotions, logic, and yelling!** " Monokuma roared in delight. " **Victory goes to Team Ace!** "

* * *

The platforms came back down into the trial room, where the members of the winning team were rather proud of themselves. The losing team members were all surprised or upset, but none more than Emanuel; this was mostly due to Fiora smirking so broadly at him.

"I'll hit you again," he snapped.

"That just makes you a terribly poor sport," she replied with a wink, then turned to the other graduates. "Alright people, we went off-track long enough, we need to discuss how exactly this murder could have been committed."

"Obviously someone started the fire," Eisei said, tapping his lollipop against his lips. "Are we assuming they used a lighter, or one of the spark machines?"

"If the remote wasn't used in the crime, because only Fiora had access to it," Shuuya reasoned as he retained his calm composure, "then we could assume that a spark machine was used. After all, no one was in the park except for Crystal when she set off one."

"Unless Crystal is the culprit," Emanuel grumbled.

"Stop randomly accusing people!" Fiora hollered, glaring daggers at him.

"Yes, please stop that, we're not going to get anywhere," Isaac remarked, "by just accusing people every which way you can."

"It's obvious that the fire was started by a laser trip wire," Yejoon remarked, "coupled with a spark machine."

"Yeah," Fiora said, "that is… that is most obvious… uhhh…"

The confident stride that Fiora had been carrying melted away before their eyes. She went from a strong and confident woman, to a wide-eyed and fearful young lady once more. Nervously, she started tapping her fingers together, and muttered, "I think the killer used a lighter, actually."

"What?" Crystal spoke up, staring down Fiora. "Where is this coming from?"

"I… I just think that the killer would be more direct, you know?"

"Everything about this set-up says that the fire was started by-"

" _I'm a million percent sure of it now_ ," Fiora shrieked, balling up her hands into fists as she shouted her words, " _so stop arguing with me!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

"Please," Fiora said, with tears brimming in her eyes as she stared down Crystal, "please trust me on this. I… I concluded the Scrum Debate, I know what I'm talking a'boot."

"What is going on with you? You had such confidence beforehand," Crystal, shocked but keeping her calm tone steady, said to her. "Why are you going off-track again?"

"I… I just think that the killer would be m'oor hands-on, that's all," Fiora said, eyes glancing side to side. "You really think that's impossible?"

The military adviser groaned as she rubbed her temples, then said, "Well, what have you got?"

The two women had a brief moment of silence to size each other up, then the argument began.

" _Well, um, uh… how did the killer know that the machines would work the way they were supposed to?_ " Fiora tried to argue. " _W'ood you risk everything on a device that you didn't know would do what you wanted, when you wanted it to?_ "

" _It's not like the killer could have time to do test runs. We're in a run-down town with a bunch of old stuff everywhere, those devices could have rusted into a state of not working good!_ "

" _You cannot be serious_ ," Crystal said, staring at her. " _It doesn't take long to just check to see if they work or not, just turn them on and see if they trigger. Besides, the fire station and its belongings are not like the rest of the town._

" _They were built and supplied only days ago, by however the Kubs managed to do such a thing. So all of the equipment was new, and thus perfectly safe to assume that it works._ "

Fiora gripped her fedora, and tried to counter. " _Who is to say someone didn't_ ** _hide in the mist_** _and light the fire? I mean, there are only four ways into the park, but they can easily escape through_ ** _one of the two paths_** _after starting the fire!_ "

" _Stop wasting our time_ ," the military adviser barked, pointing furiously at her.

* * *

"I was outside when the fatal fire trails were lit, I would have seen someone running to the path next to me," Crystal retorted. "And this was after the explosion, so people were coming out from the buildings and up the other pathway!"

Fiora swallowed, loud and nervous. She clenched the podium, and shuddered. "I… I just have a really, really bad feeling a'boot where this is going, eh?"

Staring at her with concern, Isaac tried to comprehend what she was thinking. Something came to mind, and he realized he was going to have to ask a question to the last person he wanted to talk to.

"Emanuel," the reporter said, "did you bring the master remote with you in that bag?"

"Huh? Yeah, I did, thought it would be worth it," the Bête Noir said. "Why, what the hell does that have to do with this? It couldn't have been used in the murder, so you people say."

"Maybe not for manually triggering, but let's see which of the laser trip wires were hooked up to the spark machines. You have them all there, so why not?"

Blake cleared his throat, and said, "If you would allow me, I believe I could sort that out fastest of all. I know how those machines work."

The pyro walked over to Emanuel, making sure he knew which machines were which. Sorting them all out at his podium, it took a couple minutes, but then he was prepared to talk.

"Okay, three lasers, three spark machines, let me try to describe this all as accurately as possible," Blake said, "and if you're not smart enough to keep up, don't ask me to repeat myself. Just let those who are smart enough to follow do so.

"Let me label the laser trip wires as followed: Laser 1 was the one in front of tavern's back door, Laser 2 was the one in the pathway to the park next to the tavern, and Laser 3 was in the other pathway, the central one next to the theater.

"Spark 1 is the spark machine that was near Laser 1, in front of the tavern's back door. Spark 2 was the one in the center of the park, the one near the explosion. Spark 3 was the one that started the two fatal fire trails, which we know because of the scorch marks that led to each pit.

"Laser 1 was programmed to trigger BOTH Spark 1 and Spark 2. Laser 2 was also programmed to trigger both Spark 1 and Spark 2. Though Laser 3 was set up to trigger Spark 3 alone."

Blake clicked his tongue, then set the master remote on his podium. "That's all I can tell from the programming left on this thing. Hope that's enough to get us out of this shitstorm."

Most of the graduates were quiet at this revelation, but Fiora was whimpering as she hid her face from them. Whatever had upset her so much was only something she knew at this point.

"It seems to me," Saiko said, drumming her fingers on her crossed arms, "that Laser 1 and Spark 1 were meant to be a diversion."

"I am curious about the set-up myself," Souma remarked. "So both Laser 1 and Laser 2 would have set off the decoy fire trail, and the explosion in the middle of the park?"

"Why would they do that?" Yitro asked. "Why draw so much attention to the decoys?"

Shuuya snapped his fingers, as his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "The explosion, that's why. It was to lure people to the park."

"Could you explain to us," Eisei asked, "in greater detail?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

"People would hear the **explosion** ," Shuuya said, "and then come running to the park to investigate!"

"Wait, so the killer wanted people to go to the **park**?" Drake asked. "Why would they want us there?"

"Wouldn't having people come to the park give them the chance of saving Kimiko and **Angelique**?" Anzu said, curling her blue bang around her finger again.

"Maybe," Shinobu said, her voice soft, "maybe that was the point? To save **Kimiko** , since the fake traps were on her side?"

"…" Kimiko tugged her cap down, hiding her eyes from everyone.

"Please," Fiora begged, her voice and body trembling, "please just consider that it could have been a lighter or something like that!"

"No, I already proved how that was impossible," Crystal declared.

"But… but what if the killer wanted people rushing to the park so they could light the fire **manually**?"

"The first people to come to the park saw the fatal fire trails start up, along with me," Crystal declared. "They couldn't have started it, for the fires started **before** they entered the park!"

"So was it a spark machine and laser trip wire combo that did it?" Shinobu asked. "That would have been the **third** one of them both, right?"

" _That's the answer,_ " Eisei declared, " _to our conundrum!_ "

* * *

"The explosion was a lure, as Shuuya said," Eisei explained to them all, "to get someone to activate Laser 3, and thus Spark 3. The central path to the park is the most common way to get into the park, so it would make perfect sense to put it… there…"

He trailed off, eyes widening in horror. The dentist took a small bag from his pocket, placed his half-finished lollipop in it, and tucked it away. Placing a hand over his cute face, he took a deep, long breath.

"Eisei, my friend," Souma called out to him, "what is wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing is incorrect about this hypothesis, it is… unfortunate."

"Wait, what is going on?" Samson asked. "What are you thinking, little man?"

"That the killer set this fatal combination of laser trip wire and spark machine for someone else to accidentally murder Angelique."

The trial room went dead silent, several people finding it much harder to breathe. Fiora sobbed and covered her face, while others tried to comprehend the situation.

"Wait a minute, no," Pyrrha shouted, balling her hands into fists and striking the podium. "The killer set up the murderous trap, so the killer is guilty! Not the person who triggered the trip wire!"

"Pyrrha," Ishiku said, his voice quiet and trembling with emotion, "that's not the case in Killing Games. In every broadcasted Killing Game, the rule is whoever killed the person, even indirectly with a trap, is considered the guilty party."

"Bull… bullshit," the romance writer cursed. "The killer set up the trap, they murdered the victim! The killer murdered Angelique! That's the truth!"

"That is the truth the world would see," Isaac said, gripping his beanie as he tried to keep calm, "but that's not how the Killing Games work."

"Despair loving fanatics," Emanuel grumbled, "they'll do anything to hurt others."

" **Upupupupupu!** " Monokuma cackled. " **And it works so well, every time!** "

Pyrrha openly sobbed, trying to wipe away the tears as she spoke. "No! No, this is unacceptable! We cannot vote for an innocent person instead of the guilty! We…

"Wait! Wait, we don't even know who did it, right? How can we possibly know who it was that tripped that laser wire?"

Someone knocked on their podium, loud enough to catch everyone's attention. This person was Ignatia, who was staring down at the floor in quiet contemplation. She raised her hand, much like an obedient school child.

"You know who it is?" Pyrrha asked. "Wh-who is it?"

The Ultimate Mime lowered her hand, and pointed to…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… herself.

"Ignatia?!" Drake cried out, dropping his sketchpad when he shook with horror.

The mime took a long, shuddering breath, then nodded. She mimicked running with her fingers, then snapped her fingers. The sharp sound reverberated around the trial room, as sudden and awful as the realization that dawned on all of them.

* * *

…

 **TRIAL INTERMISSION!**


	16. Chapter 2-6: Case 2 Trial, Part 2

**Chapter 2-6**

 **Hemoglobin Coffin**

* * *

* **Monokuma Family Trial Intermission** *

* _Monokuma and the five Monokubs are all standing at the front steps of Town Hall. Monokuma is standing on the top step, the Kubs two steps below him._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "This trial sure has taken an unexpected turn! But I think we can all agree on what is truly the most tragic part of this trial!"

 **Monotaro** \- "The horrible realization that the innocent can be executed for the crimes of others?"

 **Monophanie** \- "The tragedy of losing someone you like, without having a chance to say good-bye?"

 **Monokid** \- "The utter fucking sorrow of having to deal with the loss and pain of death without much experience?"

 **Monosuke** \- "The agony of having to cope with the fact that there are things beyond your reach due to a hierarchy of overwhelming power?"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokuma** \- "No! It's that I've had so little dialogue during these trials! I mean, when the trials are going on, I don't get to exposit my well-crafted plans like normal! Hell, I don't even get my theater presentations! Where's the time for your Daddy Bear, huh? WHERE IS THE LOVE?"

 **The Monokubs** \- "…"

 **Monophanie** \- "You'll always have a place in our hearts for expositing dialogue, Daddy!

 **Monokuma** \- "Just remember that, my little cubs! Never let someone else's tragedy get in the way of you being in the spotlight! You only got one life, so make it about you whenever you can! Now, let's get back to the trial!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!_**

* * *

"No," Drake whimpered. He was shaking, quivering as he stared at Ignatia. The mime was sweating now, the beads running down her made-up face. She was staring at him with pupils dilated in terror, but she was holding it in. Drake, however, was losing it. "No no NO! This cannot be!"

The other graduates were quiet, as all of this dawned on them. Emanuel spoke out first, his voice calm and emotionless. "If Ignatia tripped the laser wire, then by the rules of a Killing Game, she is the culprit. That's the way these despair-ridden bastards work."

"No, I cannot accept that," Drake shouted, gripping his head as he quivered in emotion. "There has to be another answer! Ignatia isn't guilty of anything!"

"We know she's not, but that's not how Monokuma ever sees it, kid," Emanuel muttered. "It's tough shit, but it's how it goes."

The cartoonish openly sobbed, covering his eyes as the tears ran down his face. Some of the others were near tears or shedding them, the intensity of the situation too much for them. Then Blake spoke, with a sigh of relief to start with.

"Well, at least it isn't anyone important."

This sentence spread across the trial room like a slap to the face. Everyone stared at Blake incredulously, to which he shrugged and shook his head. "What? Oh come on, she's a temperamental mute who hasn't contributed anything. She's a fucking _mime_ , it's not like we're killing someone of importance."

"What," Anzu stammered, then shook her fists at him, "what the _fuck_ is _wrong_ with you?!"

"You're all thinking about it! You're thinking that thank goodness it isn't someone you know, someone who is of importance to this group. What good is a mime? What good has she ever been, or will be?"

"That's no excuse," Saiko hollered. "She's still a person!"

"Oh, would it rather be one of your friends? Or someone who contributes? Face it, this is the best possible-"

"SHUT UP!" Drake yelled, pounding his fists on the podium. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, she's someone important! Just because she doesn't talk doesn't make her less of a person!"

Blake rolled his eyes at the cartoonist. "Yeah, I know you wanted in her pants, fetching flowers for her and shit. But guess what? There's nothing you can do. She's screwed, and we all get to live to see another day!"

Emanuel scoffed, placing his fingers on his forehead. "Okay, that's enough, Blake. There's no point in rubbing the shit in the wound any more."

"What? Hey, I thought you of all people would understand!"

"What I understand is when people do horrendous things for profit or sadism. I can get behind nailing a perp who did it for evil reasons, but someone dying for another's crimes? I'll _never_ get behind that."

Emanuel took his flask out of his pocket, and shook it. The absence of sound made him roll his eyes, and he muttered, "I really would liked a drink right now. Anyway, I think that-"

"Wait!" Pyrrha, rubbing the tears from her eyes, shouted desperately. "Wait wait wait, I think there's a flaw in this logic! It can't be this way!"

Emanuel shook his head, muttering, "Stop being emotional over this, and-"

"I have proof!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Listen, the rules of the **Secrets Motive** ," Pyrrha continued her case, gripping her podium tightly, "is that the ones who ask a question have to commit a murder to avoid execution."

"Yes, we know that," Emanuel said.

"But that's just it! It has to be someone who **asked a question** that commits a murder!"

"Wait a minute," Shuuya said, tapping his chin in thought. "That's true… that was the exact wording."

Pyrrha nodded a great deal, pointing at the bounty hunter. "See? See, that's the **rule**! Someone who asked a question would not set up for someone who didn't to take the fall!"

"Oh my gosh, that's right," Hikari declared. "They'd still be **executed** at midnight!"

"That was the wording for the rule," Pyrrha continued, "right, Monokuma?"

"Correctamundo! The exact wording was," Monokuma declared, "that you had to have committed a **murder** to prevent all those who asked a question from being executed!"

"Wait, what's stopping them," Souma asked, "from committing a murder after the **trial**?"

"Very few would plan for that level of recklessness," Yejoon remarked. "I am proof you would need to be quite talented in combat to **survive** your collective wrath."

"Wait a **minute** ," Monokuma shouted, waving his paws in the air, "what the **hell** is wrong with my **voice**? Why do I sound so **different** right now?!"

"So… so it's true?" Drake asked, clasping his hands together in jubilation. "Ignatia isn't considered **guilty** of the crime?"

" _I… I'm sorry,_ " Shinobu cried out, " _but that maybe wrong._ "

* * *

Everyone turned to look at the historian, who was also rubbing her eyes as she tried to clean herself up. "At least, we can find out for sure or not if you'll all allow me to check."

"Check what, exactly?" Crystal asked.

Shinobu took a long shuddering breath, and said. "The other rule change, that's what. Monokuma?"

" **Eee-yeeeeeeeesssss? Oh good, back on track.** "

"Is the other rule change," the historian took a deep breath and clenched her hands tightly, "that someone who didn't ask a question can commit the murder to prevent those who asked from being executed?"

"…" Monokuma paused again for dramatic effect.

…

…

…

…

…

…

" **Eee-yeeeeeeeesssss! That was the other rule change! Congratulations, you guessed them both!** "

The feeling of hearts sinking, the collective gasps and groans, was the most despairing feeling in the world for those in the trial room.

"No," Drake sobbed, covering his face again. "No no no!"

"I'm so sorry," Shinobu whimpered. "I… I had to be sure."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Yitro muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You just made sure that we weren't going to be tricked."

"D… damn it," Pyrrha cried out, slumping on her podium. "I was so sure… I… I cannot believe this is happening!"

Blake groaned, but everyone ignored him. The trial room was quiet, save for the tragic sobbing from several people. Ignatia was clenching her podium so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, to try and prevent herself from shaking.

"So, I'm sorry," Aka muttered, "I really am sorry, but is that it? Is there nothing else we can do?"

"No," Emanuel replied. "There's nothing else for us to do. We cannot fight the reality that she is guilty in the eyes of-"

" _No, I will not,_ " Drake shouted, " _accept this!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

"Emanuel," the cartoonist pleaded, leaning forward on his podium to stare down the startled detective, "you once told me that I should be bold about my actions, that I should be assertive! Well, this is how I'm going to do it!"

"Kid, arguing with me is pointless," Emanuel replied, rubbing his forehead. "You cannot change the reality of the situation. It sucks, but that's how it is."

"No, no I refuse to just accept it like that!"

Drake glanced over at Ignatia, and the two made eye contact. He reached over, and he put one of his hands on hers to hold it comfortingly. "I'm going to defend her, I'm not just going to let her die."

"Kid… no, Drake, you barely know her. She doesn't talk, she normally avoids you."

"Maybe, but I still get a feeling that I understand her…"

Emanuel stared down Drake when the cartoonist made eye contact with him again, and the two were quiet for a moment as they psyched themselves up for a logical argument amid the intense emotions of the trial room.

" _Listen, I know it's hard to understand,_ " Drake tried to explain, " _but I can understand Ignatia, maybe even just a little. There's something about her expressions, her actions, that makes me realize how there's a person with a good soul in there. I'm not giving up on her._ "

" _Kid, she's a performer, an actress if you will_ ," Emanuel countered, his tone cold. " _You cannot tell who the real person is when there is always a facade, an act to the reality they have made part of themselves. She wears make-up to cover her whole face, and dresses up for the part every day!_ "

" _I can still tell things about her, like how she's a streets smart girl. She's observant, but she tends to follow what truly interests her. While she's blunt and dismissive, she's not without manners. If you just looked, you could see those things too._ "

Emanuel shook his head, glancing to the side. He couldn't believe he was having this argument, but he also had a feeling he was losing it too. " _Okay, even if you're right, even if there is more to her than the act, that doesn't change the facts here, kid. She still tripped the laser wire that set off the fatal fire trails. That's the truth._ "

" _If… even if that is the truth, then you are a detective. You should be aiming for the full truth._ "

" _Drake, I have not been called a detective for a long time, I don't like being called that! And you know why? Because a detective discovers who the_ ** _culprit_** _is, and brings them to justice!_ "

" _That's what I want,_ " Drake pleaded, " _you to do!_ "

* * *

Emanuel took a step back, shocked by these words. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"We all know that the culprit is the one who set up this trap, the one who killed Angelique and had it so someone innocent would take the fall. We're here in the trial room, aren't we? So please…"

He looked over at Ignatia, who had been staring at him the whole time; she was shaking less, but there were more tears in her eyes. "Help me find out who the real guilty party is, while we're still here."

Emanuel stammered, then frowned and crossed his arms. He glanced from side to side, then up at the Monokubs. "Hey, Kubs, is it okay if we continue discussion?"

"Hahaha, you foolish fuck," Monokid roared with laughter. "Why on Earth would we want to do that? Do you really think we're okay with such a notion?"

"Sure," Monotaro said.

"Of course," Monophanie chirped.

"I'm good with that," Monosuke declared.

"YES," Monodam blurted out.

Monokid had been holding his guitar over his head, when he dropped it and it cracked in two over his skull. "OW! What the FUCK! Guys! … Well whatever, I think it has to remain unanimous, so-"

"Well then, Monokid," Emanuel held his flask up in the air, "wanna get me the good shit so we can enjoy the extra innings?"

"Oh! The drunken Bête Noir's second performance?! Hells yeah!"

Monokid grabbed the flask and sprinted off, disappearing from their sight quite suddenly. Emanuel blinked in surprise, and then muttered, "That actually worked out a lot better than I thought it would. Well then, we got you some time, kid, let's get cracking."

Drake sobbed as he smiled at the man. "Thank you… thank you so much!"

He leaned in towards Ignatia, whispering to her so softly that no one else could hear what he was saying. Most of the graduates were staring at Emanuel, who rubbed his nose and sniffed. When he noticed the stares, he grumbled, "The fuck you all looking at? You heard the kid, let's find out who the real culprit is!"

"O-okay!" Aka stammered. "But how do we go about doing that?"

Isaac hummed as he pondered it, and he said, "What if we go over everyone's alibi? From 11 AM to 1 PM, that would be most ideal."

"Sounds like a good place to start!" Pyrrha chirped, glancing over at Ignatia and Drake. "Let's do this!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Alright, so," Isaac started them off, " **Hara** , **Saiko** , and **myself** were together during the entire time. We were at the tavern for the most part during that time."

"I was in the **Town Hall** ," Fiora spoke up, "then the **fire station**!"

" **Pyrrha** , **Shinobu** , and **myself** were at the cafeteria," Emanuel remarked.

"I was searching the **streets** for Fiora," Yejoon remarked casually.

"I was with **Ignatia** for all of that time," Eisei said, glancing sympathetically at the mime, "most of it at the **movie theater**."

"Souma and I were in the **café** ," Futaba said.

"I was in the **tavern** for most of that time," Yitro commented, "reading a book…"

"I was there too, in the tavern's **kitchen** ," Odelios announced. "I was getting ready for my hot date! Oh, darn it, now I'm hungry again!"

"I was at the tavern for the most part too," Samson commented as he rubbed his arm, "as was **Crystal**?"

"No, I was mostly in the **clockwork shop** , because it's nice there," the military adviser admitted. "But eventually I came to the tavern."

"I was at the tavern until Crystal came by, that's when I left to see if I could round up the others," Anzu remarked. "I thought of visiting the **other buildings** , but I didn't have time…"

"Um, I was in the **plant nursery** ," Drake said, holding onto Ignatia's hand as he spoke, "and I have Monodam as my witness to that. So I was-"

" _Wait a minute_ ," Anzu suddenly shouted, " _we forgot about that important thing!_ "

* * *

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there," Fiora declared, holding her hands up. "What important thing did we forget?"

"The wheelbarrow in the plant nursery! Didn't we guess that the culprit used it to carry all of the heavy stuff?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with alibis?" Emanuel grumbled.

"Because," Anzu said, "it proves that the culprit was done with the traps before noon! If the wheelbarrow was returned before Drake made his trek through the nursery, that is. So we shouldn't be looking at alibis between noon and 1 PM, we should be looking at alibis before noon!"

Some of the graduates groaned, and the actress tilted her head in confusion. "What, what's wrong?"

"We're getting nowhere with the alibis," Crystal remarked, shaking her head. "This isn't going to work out."

"Maybe I never should have brought up the wheelbarrow," Samson remarked. "It's quite possibly a red herring."

Anzu stammered, as she tried to get some traction back. "W-w-wait! Please, listen! We have to think about within the time limitations, don't we?"

"But the problem with that," Ishiku remarked, "is that we don't know how long it took for those things to be set up! We didn't have the time to test it out."

"But we know about the restrictions, and we know about some limitations. Please, if you'll just hear me out, maybe I can sort these things out…"

Anzu clicked her fingers, then mimicked shuffling cards with her hands. After making a few motions, she began to speak with her eyes closed:

"The fire station, tavern, and other special buildings were not open until 9:30 AM. That is the soonest that the culprit could start, but there is also breakfast to consider. Everyone came to breakfast, but how long they were there varied.

"Now, the last time anyone saw Kimiko and Angel was at 11 AM, and that was at the cafeteria, I believe.

"The wheelbarrow was still in the plant nursery at noon, so the culprit had… wait, no…

"Shuuya and Blake discovered the fire station had been closed up, and opened it to discover the spark machines and laser trip wires were gone at 11 AM! If that's true, then I was wrong about the wheelbarrow, but let me continue…

"The traps went off at a little after 1 PM. That also was the time of the explosion, and the time of death for Angel.

"If we take all of this into consideration, at the very least, the culprit had to have some time around 10 AM, prepared everything by 11 AM, and then kidnapped Kimiko and Angel. Then it mattered not where they were, for they had set it up for someone else to take the fall.

"They couldn't have worked on it so brazenly when the fire station was opened and with the tavern being a popular place, so this had to be done while people were still busy with breakfast and such. That's the only feasible time frame that someone could have done this, and because it was so short of time, I cannot imagine them not using the wheelbarrow!"

Anzu opened her eyes, then hummed aloud as she curled one of her bangs with her fingers. "At least, that's how I see it. What do you all think?"

There was silence amid the graduates, most of whom were trying to figure out how the porn star had deduced all of that before they did. Shuuya was one of the few who didn't let the lady's profession daunt him, and thus he chimed in first.

"Let's consider the fact that the wheelbarrow was necessary," he commented. "After all, the mist was thick enough to hide someone running around with it. It wasn't like a truck or something…

"So let's discuss this out some more, shall we?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"If our true culprit had only an **hour** , give or take some minutes," Shuuya continued, "would there have to be a particular place they would start?"

"Okay, before we get into that," Crystal remarked, "how would they even know the **wheelbarrow** was there? They would have had to go to the back of the **plant nursery** at least once, right?"

"Why would anyone do that to begin with?" Samson asked dubiously.

"Hehehe~" Anzu chuckled, pursing her lips as she curled her bangs some more.

"I don't think the wheelbarrow is as big of a **mystery** as you make it out to be," Eisei commented. "I knew it existed before it became relevant."

"How's that, my friend?" Souma asked him.

"For the same reason no one could see me in the **mist** , because I'm vertically challenged."

"Wait, is our culprit short?" Aka asked, staring at Eisei.

"Hey, that's profiling!" Souma barked, pointing at her. "I won't stand for that!"

"I got nothing against short people! I swear! I just… like tall women! Is that a crime?"

"We are heavily digressing here," Emanuel growled in frustration.

"I got your liquor, buddy!" Monokid shouted, handing the flask to the Bête Noir. "Just keep in mind, when you finish it or pass out, **time's up** on the trial!"

"Oh, goody, a timed event," the detective muttered, taking the flask.

" _Wait a minute, eh_ ," Fiora shouted triumphantly, " _I think I got it!_ "

* * *

"Okay, I knoo' why the culprit had to use the wheelbarrow, why they had to do all of this as if under a certain amount of time! It wasn't because of a woo'ry of being caught, it was because of the party!"

Everyone stared at her, silence filling the trial room. Fiora blinked as she realized that they weren't exactly astonished by this revelation. "Um, d-don't you all get it?"

"Fiora," Hara tried to talk, but the movie maker quickly tried to follow up.

"No no no, see? The culprit wouldn't have a chance to commit a murder if they didn't get everything ready as soon as possible, because everyone woo'd be together at the party! So they had to commit the murder before the party, and-"

"We already KNOW," Emanuel shouted, pointing angrily at her, "that the murder was done before five! What's the point of finding out the reason why they had to rush it, puta?! We're trying to find out who the culprit is, not WHY they did it the way they did!"

Fiora flinched, suddenly feeling very small. With a quick glance towards the rest of the graduates, she realized that she had messed up the flow of the debate. "I… I'm soo'ry," she whimpered.

"Oh, just stay quiet for the rest of the trial, that would be best," Emanuel snarled as he opened his flask and took a swig. The powerful liquor made him gasp, and he strained to keep his balance. "Fuck, forgot how strong that was."

"I… I was joo'st trying to help. I didn't want it to be true, when I realized the set-up," Fiora sniffled. "I was worried that this would happen…"

"It's okay," Drake assured her. "You're trying your best, we get it. It actually makes sense that the culprit would have to hurry this plan, if they feared the party bringing everyone together and thus erasing their chance at committing a murder in private."

"Well, if the fact that the culprit asked their question way early in the morning and then found the new buildings locked up tight," Saiko remarked, "it does imply that they were hurrying like hell to get everything done in the morning."

"Are we _sure_ it's not Ken and Hikari?" Samson asked, eyeing both the cavalryman and steampunk model. "I mean, they are the ones missing throughout most of the day."

"I would never hurt them," Hikari said, standing firm rather than dismissive like before.

"You already know what I did," Ken remarked, crossing his arms. "And I asked Hikari to be my witness for my question, and to stay out of harm's way. That's why she made herself scarce, in case my attempt of slaying the fox monster failed."

Yejoon chuckled as he placed his fingers on his mask, and raised it up. "You should really stick to a positive outlook, Mr. Kishi; however, I'm afraid that you all have overlooked something rather important yet again."

Samson scoffed loudly, and said as he crossed his arms, rubbing his fingers against them, "I really don't want to have to listen to you, of all people."

"I asked beforehand, how did the culprit move so much dirty wood and oily rags without getting stained? If the answer is the wheelbarrow, then how did they make it through the overflowing red poison oak and ivy without getting stained as well?"

The graduates went silent in deep thought, before Fiora laughed and pointed at Yejoon. "Ha! Brilliant! Nice work, Yejoon baby! … Um… uh… for a mean stalker and a serial killer, I mean."

"Oh God," Samson groaned, rubbing his forehead, "it is true. You are falling for your stalker, aren't you?"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE, SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BAKA JERK-FACE LOSER-"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So our culprit had to move through the plant nursery to get the wheelbarrow," Hara said, speaking over the angry yelling. "How could they do that without getting the poisonous plants' **oils** on them?"

"… **LOSER** , STUPID, DUMB-FACE, **HOSER** …"

"When I made my way through it," Drake said, "I was wearing a **thick jacket** , pants, and a hood. The clothing still was stained with the **red poison oak** and **ivy's** oil."

"Is it possible to wear a **tarp** or something covering all over?" Ishiku asked.

"Couldn't they just go back to their **house** and change?" Futaba asked.

"… **NEGATIVE** CHARISMA SCORE, FAT-BUTTED, FLAT- **CHESTED** …"

"They could have worn something additional, and then **discarded** it somewhere else," Saiko remarked.

"What, like in the **fire pits**? Destroy the evidence?" Samson suggested.

"No, I'm sure we would have seen **burnt clothing** somewhere," the forensic investigator said. "Don't forget, that's my career, and I'm damn good at it."

"But we never had a chance to check the **eastern fire pit** ," the trader pointed out.

"I still think they could have gone back to their house to change, the **mists** covered everything," Futaba remarked.

"SEAL CLUBBER! CRAP **SPAMMER**! YOU PLAY **BASEBALL** LIKE A GIRL!"

"Oh will someone shut her up?" Samson growled.

"If someone had gone to change their clothing," Shuuya said, undaunted by the angry yelling, " **Blake and I** would have seen them. We were at the housing area and kept our eyes out at all times, the mist wasn't thick enough there to be kept hidden."

"YOU'RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO DOESN'T FLUSH PUBLIC **TOILETS**! YOU WEAR YOUR UNDERWEAR **INSIDE-OUT** THE NEXT DAY, AND CONSIDER IT **CLEAN** ENOUGH! YOU-"

"Fiora!" Yejoon declared, silencing the movie maker. "You've more than made your point, little flower."

"Are we sure they didn't just **crawl** through the plant nursery?" Yitro asked.

" _Okay, everyone,_ " Emanuel hissed, " _stop. Just… just stop, that's enough!_ "

* * *

"Wh-what?" Hara stammered. "But we're trying to figure out-"

"It's hopeless. There isn't a way to know officially how they did it, there's too many ways they could have destroyed the evidence!"

"But," Yitro blurted out, "but they were on a time limit, they couldn't just be running around willy-nilly. If they constructed their death trap in an hour, then they had to use something to-"

"No, Samson was right," Emanuel muttered, sipping from his flask. Wheezing slightly, he muttered, "The proof could have been in the eastern fire pit, and we never put that out. With that possibility up in the air, we cannot ever be sure."

"Aw damn it," Samson muttered, scratching his arm. "I didn't mean to put a damper on this!"

"The damper was there to start with, man," the Bête Noir muttered, swigging from his flask again. Coughing, he added, "It… ugh… it was a fool's hope from the start."

"No," Drake shouted. "No please! Please, just try! We're still making progress!"

"Kid, where else are we going to go? There's over ten people unaccounted for during 10 to 11 AM! Whatever they wore to cover up the poisonous' plants oils and the dirty lifting is long gone! Everyone here is dressed the same as they always are, no deviation!

"That's the problem when it comes to evil, kid. You don't always win, no matter how much you want to."

Drake sobbed, turning to Ignatia. The mime shook in fear, but she managed a brave smile for him. Pulling him into a hug, she held him tight, an obvious way of thanking him for trying.

"Sooooooo…" Monokid remarked, "is that it? You all concede?"

"We don't have ALL day," Monosuke said.

" **I cannot let my kids run the show as long as they want!** " Monokuma declared. " **There's only so much running around in circles that we can tolerate!** "

Everyone in the trial room was devastated, some trying hard to think of something, anything, to turn the case around. Isaac was probably straining the most, gripping his forehead as he leaned down on his podium. The reporter groaned loudly as he tried so hard to think.

"I should be able to do this," he shouted. "I… I've worked so many cases and mysteries… why? Why can't I solve this?"

"Isaac?"

He looked up, to see his fiancé smiling at him from across the trial room. Despite it all, she managed to smile, for him. "I know you can do this. You're the smartest, most dependable man I know. If anyone can find the answer here, it would be you.

"Just remember one thing, my love, the thing you always told me: sometimes the answer is just the most simple way of looking at it."

Isaac blinked, and he thought back to how many times overthinking a case led to such frustration. He glanced over at Drake, seeing the guy holding onto Ignatia tightly. The reporter took a deep breath, as he thought back to when the cartoonist solved the previous case.

" _It was rather simple, really. The killer had stayed up all night, so of course she would have bags under her eyes; or at the least, she would have tried to hide it._

" _Wait… wait a minute. Hiding it, the evidence was on them all the time! Jin couldn't hide what was evident on her body, is it the same thing here too?_

" _Our killer had to have covered up for the poisonous plants, for the dirty wood and oily rags. They needed to, and then they got rid of the evidence, right?_

 _"…_ _Wait NO. No no no, everyone came to breakfast, everyone was wearing the same thing they are now. They had to do something to hide it, and then they probably thought they could hide it… but how… what was so simple that I'm missing? What…_ "

Isaac tried to think of what could be simple, what could be the answer that he was missing. He didn't want to sound vain, but thinking simplistic wasn't easy for him. Being over analytical was a problem of his, he wished he could be more simple like some of the others at times…

…

…

…

WAIT.

* * *

 _"_ _You're the kind that doesn't flush public toilets," Fiora was hollering over the debate. "You wear your underwear_ _inside-out_ _the next day, and consider it clean enough! You-"_

 _"_ _Fiora!" Yejoon shouted. "You've more than made your point, little flower."_

* * *

Was it… really that simple? Did the answer just come to him from a random insult from an angry person's rant?

Isaac chuckled, as he snapped his fingers. "Of course it could be. Gosh, I should really listen to it from all angles. Hara, my love, I could kiss you!"

Hara blushed and smiled at him, and said, "Did you think of the answer?"

"Wait, what?" Emanuel said, turning to Isaac. "What's the news, mister reporter man? You got something the rest of us didn't think of?"

Drake and Ignatia turned towards Isaac too, and though they didn't become happy, they appeared far more calm and collected. Isaac looked at them, and then he stared into Ignatia's eyes.

It was then that he saw what Drake had been talking about. The eyes of the mime gal were brimming with hope, the kind of personality and depth that came from a real, life, honest-to-God human being. Having spoken to so many people in his life, Isaac could recognize a good person when he saw one.

This made his heart both rise and fall, the twisting feeling of knowing he had good news for them, but still had to accept their fate.

"I think I have an answer," he said, gaining everyone's attention. "I think that… Ignatia… I, um…"

He trailed off, as he stared into her eyes. The hope in her eyes, it was overwhelming and heart-breaking. He couldn't bear the fact that he could only tell her that they could catch the killer, but couldn't save her.

"But what if you could?"

The voice in his head came out of nowhere. He rubbed his temple, and tried to push that vague bit of optimism away. Isaac was a realistic person, he couldn't change the facts.

"What if you're looking at the facts the wrong way?"

He rubbed his temple more, trying to shake this odd voice invading his thoughts. This was unusual, even for all the crazy shit he had seen in his life.

"Isaac?" Hara called out to him. "Honey? What's wrong?"

"I, um, I'm okay. I just… I just think that…"

He then spoke, and at the same time, someone else did, saying the same words that just came to mind with him.

"I don't want evil to win."

"You don't want evil to win."

Everyone turned towards the other person who had spoken. It was shocking enough to hear them speak with how silent they had been, but when Kimiko had said the same phrase at the same time as Issac, both out of place, it mystified them.

"What is going on?!" Saiko asked, glancing between the biker gang leader and her close friend.

"What does this have to do with the case?" Crystal inquired.

"Are you losing it?" Samson said, staring at the reporter.

"Are you alright?" Hikari said to Kimiko, looking at her sympathetically.

"What mad-crazy shenanigans are goings on?!" Odelios demanded to know, then he stared down Rubarrow. "Is this your doing? You know I don't approve of your shenanigans after the cotton candy incident!"

Isaac was silent through all of this questioning, then he shook his head. He snapped his fingers once more, and closed his eyes, going deep, deep into thought…

* * *

I don't want evil to win. That means something here more than ever before. Is it possible that this is all but another trap by our culprit?

…

We all have resigned Ignatia to her fate, because we think that the rules of the Killing Game mean she is considered the guilty party.

…

But what if that is exactly what the killer wants us to think?

…

What if the killer set this whole thing up to make it look like someone else did it, but killed Angelique themselves?

…

But why? Why do that?

…

…

…

Because we're ready to sacrifice Ignatia for this. We have seen so many Killing Games where this happens, where someone innocent takes the fall for something they didn't do. It's almost fate for it to happen.

…

And then they win the trial. They get everything that Monokuma promises. Someone evil would most certainly have us all killed for that kind of power.

…

I'm NOT going to let that happen.

…

So how did they do it? How did they personally murder Angelique when the trap was set up for an innocent to trigger it?

…

Let's not overthink this, Isaac. The killer needed a direct method to start that fire. What's the only way that the killer could murder Angelique?

…

…

…

The master remote! That's the only way they could start the fatal fire trail, and kill Angelique!

…

Now what's the only way for them to know when to set off the fatal fire trails? Were they really going to leave it up to chance that someone was going to trigger the explosion?

…

No, I think they had to know that it was going to happen, they wanted total control over this. Everything about this murder implies that is a must, that every step is planned…

…

Did they know Crystal was stepping outside? No one goes in the park, but they had to have seen her. That's how they knew that the trap would be sprung.

…

The explosion wouldn't be to lure someone to trigger the third laser trip wire, it would be the cue to set off the fatal fire trails!

…

After all, they needed someone to get Kimiko out of the fire pit before she died, and thus they knew Crystal would be there.

…

They had to be someone in the tavern at the time the trap went off, because they would want to make sure that there wouldn't be a second victim. The first two laser trip wires were adjacent to the tavern. The people in the tavern...

…

That was…

…

Wait, but how did they hide the master remote, that thing is huge! So where were they keeping it? Where…

…

And also, the master remote was found in the fire station. So how could they…

…

…

…

Oh.

OH.

I… I'm going to have to take a leap of faith with this one.

Because I don't have any way to effectively prove all of this.

Our killer has manipulated us and hurt so many people.

…

I'm going to manipulate the hell out of them now!

* * *

Isaac shook his head, and snapped his fingers one more time. He chuckled, and said under his breath, "Game on."

"Isaac? What's wrong?" Hara asked him, clasping her hands together. "Or… what's right? I've seen that look in your eyes before!"

She smiled at him proudly. "Have you discovered who our culprit is?"

"I've discovered more than that. And I'm going to effectively prove to you all that our culprit, our killer, AND the guilty party are one and the same!

"Because our murderer is…"

He raised his hand, and then pointed…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… at Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader.

"You, Samson," he shouted, defiant and strong with his words. "You're guilty of everything in this case, including the direct murder of Angelique Angelmois!"

"… What," Samson responded, his expression quite unamused.

"What?!" Crystal hollered, staring at Isaac as if he had just suggested an actual ifrit had done it.

"Him?!" Yitro balked, staring at the solider.

"Yes, him," Isaac declared, "And I don't think he even set up the trap so that someone else killed Angelique! I think, no I _know_ he personally _murdered_ Angelique, and is hoping we all die when we vote for the wrong person!"

Samson's jaw drop, and his eye twitched. He quickly shook this facial contortion away, and then growled at the reporter. "Isaac, what the hell are you going on about?!"

"Where did all of this come from?" Saiko asked, staring wide-eyed in-between Isaac and Samson. "I've never seen you like this, Isaac!"

"What the almighty FUCK," Emanuel spat out, staring him down, "is wrong with you?"

"Allow me to prove my point then," the reporter said, smirking defiantly at the increasingly agitated trader.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"You see, the culprit had to have known Crystal was going outside at that moment," Isaac said, "because they needed to know when to trigger the **fatal fire trails**."

"There's way too many flaws in that," Samson shot back at him.

"I'm just getting started! Now, the **master remote** is big, but you know what you have? A **jacket** and a utility belt!"

"Lots of people have jackets in our group! Where the hell is all this coming from, anyway!?"

"What you did was wait until Crystal triggered the decoy trap, and after the **explosion** , you triggered the fatal fire trails. This was to let us think that someone running towards the park caused the fire to go off, not you."

"Wait wait wait!" Crystal implored. "How could he possibly know that someone would be coming up the **central path** to the park?"

"That's right, dumbass," Samson hollered. "No one could have known! It could only be the person setting off the **trip wire**!"

Isaac merely smirked at this. "The third laser trip wire wasn't originally programmed to set off the spark machine. You just programmed it **afterwards** to make it look like it did."

"You… what? Where is this COMING from?" the trader shouted, leaning on his podium and shaking his fist at Isaac. "Why the fuck are you accusing me of all this?"

"Because you used the master remote, that's why, and you were the only one in the **tavern** who could have hidden it on your person before using it to kill Angelique!"

"Fucking dumbass, the master remote was found in the fire station! It was there the **whole time**! I couldn't have used it!"

"Could you now?" Isaac asked, crossing his arms and continuing his smug smirk at the trader. "Is that entirely true?"

"I repeat," Emanuel shouted, "what the FUCK is wrong with you, reporter man?"

" _…_ _Wait a minute!_ " Shuuya declared, his eyes surveying both Samson and Isaac. " _Wait just one minute here._ "

* * *

"Yes, it is true that we found the master remote inside of the fire station," the bounty hunter remarked. "But I also remember that it was _you_ who found it there, Samson."

Samson's eye twitched, and he pulled his cap down to cover this irritation tic. "Yes, I found it. So what? That's nothing but complete coincidence!"

Shuuya narrowed his eyes, analyzing him. There was something deathly serious about the bounty hunter in all of his actions, and he spoke with the same kind of deliberate manner. "If what Isaac is propositioning is true, you are the only person who can be the direct killer. Fiora is not the guilty party or linked to them, so you are the only one who could have used the master remote."

"Through a tactic of planting evidence," Isaac said, also grimly calm as he stared down Samson, "you would have us all believe that you found it there, that it was there the whole time."

The trader snarled as he crossed his arms, glancing between the two men. "Okay, you've both officially jumped off the deep end when it comes to making accusations. I know you want to save Ignatia, but you just created a convenient story in which I'm the bad guy.

"It's just like how Emanuel tries to paint Fiora as the culprit, everything just seems to add up. But when you deal with the Ultimate Trader, you should learn to have something of worth when you come to the table."

"And that would be?" Isaac asked.

"You don't have any proof! All you have is the fact that I found the master remote, and that's not proof at all. That's putting a story to something that there is nothing to… oh, but you are the Ultimate Reporter, so I guess that's your strongest strength, building a story out of nothing."

Isaac frowned at Samson, the two glaring each other down. Shuuya went quiet, contemplating this. The others were so flabbergasted, they didn't know what to say exactly.

"Honey, if I may ask?" Hara spoke up. "Why would he, or whoever set up this murder, personally murder Angelique? The rule change gives the culprit a pass for making someone else do it."

"They'd get everything that Monokuma has offered since the start," Isaac responded.

"Everything Monokuma has offered," Shuuya remarked, nodding in agreement, "All the answers, all the possible power, it goes to the winner of the Killing Game. All he has to do is trade our lives for that."

"PROOF," Samson barked, his eyes blazing with fury. "You don't have any! You're making up the story more and more!"

"That's right," Crystal said, glaring at the reporter as well. "This is completely unsubstantiated, and what's more, you're accusing a soldier of murdering a citizen. I find that reprehensible."

"And you're not going to find proof," Emanuel said, words starting to slur after he had taken a couple more swigs of that strong drink, "because we hadn't found any beforehand. Nothing points to Samson."

"Does it now?" Isaac remarked. "Because I realized something after you stopped one of our debates, something about the plant nursery and the poisonous plants' oils.

"And that is that the killer had no choice but to wear what they always do, because any deviation from their normal attire would be instantly be spotted. So what did they do with their clothing, more specifically their jacket?

"Turn it inside-out."

Shuuya let out a surprised sound, and exclaimed, "I cannot believe I didn't think of that! That is the perfect way to hide all of the stains, both from the plants and the material that made up the fire pits!"

"So let me get this straight," Eisei spoke up, tapping his lollipop against his lips in thought, "you are claiming that the culprit turned their jacket inside-out when they did the dirty work, then turned it right-side in when all was said and done? Wouldn't that mean the poisonous plants' oils would get on their skin?"

"Precisely," Shuuya said, eyeing Samson's arms, covered by his jacket.

"Would that also mean," the dentist continued, "that you think the culprit made sure he was near the decoy trap going off? You think they had to be in the tavern?"

"Yes, and that was also to create the illusion of an alibi in some regards," the reporter explained. "There were eight people in the tavern before Crystal left for that breath of fresh air: myself, Hara, Saiko, Yitro, Crystal, Odelios, and Samson, and Anzu.

"Anzu stepped outside early, and plus, she couldn't carry that bulky remote on her person, there's no place to store it."

"True, I'm not sporting a Victoria's Secret Compartment," Anzu said with a shrug.

"Now Hara and Saiko were with me all day, it couldn't have them," Isaac continued. "Crystal ruined her jacket, but look at her arms. No grime, no rashes, she's clearly not the person who did this horrible deed. And also-"

"Wait a minute!" Emanuel shouted, pointing over at Odelios. "He has plenty of clothing on!"

The clown blinked in shock, then asked, "Wait, are you agreeing with Isaac now?"

"No, he's delusional if he thinks that the killer would stick their neck out like this, this is a case of setting someone innocent up to get killed for them. However, he may be right about how they hid the poisonous plants' stains on their clothing with the inside-out theory."

"Am I supposed to strip down?" Odelios asked, wide-eyed and confused. "Because… I mean… this would mark the third time I had to strip for someone in my life…"

"Oh, shut up, and let's see your arms! That's the key to finding out who the culprit is."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Monosuke shouted, flinging money everywhere as a method of gaining attention. "Are youse all planning on having people roll up their sleeves here and now? All of youse?"

"Nope, not allowed," Monotaro said defiantly.

"What?" Isaac cried out, staring in shock at the Kubs. "Why the hell not? That's how we can prove who our killer is!"

"We cannot have strip searches in our trial room!" Monophanie whimpered. "It's indecent, it's not polite!"

"Our lives are on the line," Shuuya pointed out. "Plus, we're all adults here, it's not a completely naked strip search, it's just to see people's arms."

"Nope! We utterly, totally refuse to allow you to show more skin than you already are," Monokid blasted. "It's just fucking wrong, asking to see more of people's bodies!"

"You," Shuuya lost his cool for a moment, and tried to collect himself. "Are you seriously saying that the masterminds of a Killing Game, where you are encouraging people to butcher each other and then create gruesome and twisted ways to execute them, you're saying you won't allow us to expose our arms because it's _indecent_?"

"Yes," the blue Kub simply answered.

Isaac crossed his arms as he took a deep breath. "Someone's enforcing new rules to prevent us from finding out the definitive truth."

"Guess what, little reporter?" Samson said, fixating a ruthless glare at Isaac. "You haven't proved a single thing. You just tried to make me look like the bad guy, to pretend to be the good guy for everyone. You're no better than Emanuel, saying it was Fiora over and over."

"Oh, screw you," Emanuel said with a drunken hiccup. "Either way, we have a job to do, no matter how much we hate to do it. Sorry, kid, but we have to vote for Ignatia."

The detective gripped his podium, glancing at the distraught Drake holding onto Ignatia's hand. "I don't want to do it, nor does anyone else, but the proof leads to her tripping the fatal laser wire. Those are the facts, and that's that."

Isaac glared at Samson, who cast his head down, appearing sad over what Emanuel had said. The reporter knew it was an act, and it made his blood boil in outrage.

" _No, this guy is guilty as sin_ ," Isaac thought, clenching his fists. " _I don't have the ability to prove now that he set it up, nor do I have definitive proof that he murdered Angelique! However… I know it is true, I believe it with every fiber of my body!_

" _I only have until Emanuel finishes his drink, then the trial is going to be declared over. What I have to do is convince half of the people here to vote for Samson, or we're all going to die!_

" _Twenty-five people, so I need thirteen people on my side; I am one, so I have to persuade twelve people! Do or die, Isaac, let's go!_ "

* * *

 **LEAP OF FAITH PERSUASION!**

 **ISAAC, BEGIN!**

* * *

Isaac sized everyone up, and then started at the first person to officially agree with him. He was going to need allies for this argument.

 **SHUUYA!**

"You know I'm right, you know what kind of a man Samson is, I can tell," Isaac implored the bounty hunter. "You can sense it too, the malice behind his methods!"

"Wow," Samson muttered, "talk about slander-"

"You don't need to convince me," Shuuya said, nodding his head. "I can see the truth now, so it's up to us."

Isaac nodded, smiling at the man. He had two votes for Samson now.

 **HARA!**

"Honey," he said, turning to his fiancé, "I know I am asking for a lot here, and it's not the nor-"

"I'll always be by your side, Isaac," she said with a reassuring smile. "If you feel this strongly about this, I'm going to back you up, all the way."

Isaac felt a swell of joy, and thought to himself how very lucky he was. Her belief in him gave him strength. Now, he just had to go to those who may not entirely believe him, but luckily he was good friends with someone here too.

SAIKO!

"You and I have been friends for a while, and I know that you know how eccentric I can be," he said, "but this is the full monty, as it were. Can I count on your support?"

The forensic investigator crossed her arms, rubbing her chin in thought. She stared at him, and then said, "Can you answer me this, Isaac: how come it couldn't have been someone hiding in the mist, using the master remote? We haven't taken into account everyone's alibis."

"He cannot," Samson fired off. "Heck, there are people here we haven't even heard a single word about their alibis, but you don't see me accusing them willy-nilly!"

"Samson claims to have found the remote inside of the fire station, which means he had his hands on it to begin with. Fiora was in the fire station, the killer couldn't have slipped in and put it away."

"Plus, when I was there," Shuuya chimed in, "Samson was searching that part of the station, while Emanuel, Blake, and myself were in other areas of the station."

"You were outside at one point!" The trader pounded his fist against his podium. "And I'm telling you all, that is pure coincidence!"

Saiko glanced at Samson, then scoffed. "I don't believe in such coincidences. I'm sure as hell going to trust Isaac over you. I'm on your side, my friend."

Isaac grinned, while Samson fumed. The trader then realized he had allies of his own, and called out to them.

 _CRYSTAL! EMANUEL!_

"He's going to get us all killed, leading them on with false hope," Samson declared. "He's deluded himself into thinking that this is the right answer, because he doesn't want to have to do the hard thing to do!"

"You don't have to worry, soldier," Crystal said, nodding in agreement. "I won't let him run us astray."

"Stupid reporter bashtard," Emanuel slurred, then gripped his forehead. "Damn hangover… anyway, I think I got this."

The Bête Noir turned towards Futaba, one of the few who could stand his personality. He smirked, as he tried to fight through his drunken haze.

FUTABA!

"Sure you realize the fool's errand this guy is on," he said. "You're a logical woman, and you aren't going to listen to this kind of bullshit, are you?"

"I can speak for myself, but I do have to agree," the anthropologist said, "I don't believe that the culprit would set up a rule change for themselves, and then endanger themselves by committing the murder alone. I'm against this theory entirely."

With Futaba standing there with rigid stubbornness, Isaac realized that he could not convince her at all. There was no sense in trying for a lost cause, he would have to persuade the others.

DRAKE! IGNATIA!

"I assure you, I'm not trying to give you any kind of false hope here," Isaac said confidently. "This is a terrible set-up to make you look like a necessary sacrifice, Ignatia, but it shan't happen. Not today!

"I ask you two to trust me, that you'll stand strong by this decision. Do not think that killing yourself is the only path, Ignatia."

As the mime placed her hand over her heart, Emanuel glared at Drake. "Don't get us all killed because you like a girl, kid. I told you before, it's unfair, but it's the way it has to be."

"But," Drake spoke up, "but what if it is true? What if Samson really did murder Angelique and set it up to make it look like Ignatia had to die for our sake?"

"The culprit didn't target her specifically, it was the unfortunate circumstances that led her to this fate! You stand by this false hope, you'll get us all killed!"

Drake shivered, then felt Ignatia squeeze his hand. The mime smiled at him, and gave a confident nod. The cartoonist sighed, and said, "I'm sorry, but I cannot give up on her. Nor will I become that person who'll kill someone just to spare themselves."

"You damned, naive fool," Emanuel shouted, "it's all of our lives you're flushing down the drain if you do this!"

SOUMA!

"You're a very reasonable man," Samson said. "Surely you can see how they're going without proof, without logic!"

Souma tapped his chin, before running a hand through his hair. "This is a very hard call to make, but you are right. Without proof, the claim means nothing."

BLAKE!

"We've had our differences," Crystal said, "but you can see how we are right, yes? You were accused of the crime simply because of circumstances, and you didn't like that, did you?"

"I sure as hell didn't, and I'm not all for just following people blindly. It's stupid as hell, and when I see the obvious, I go by that," the pyro shouted. "You can count on me to make the right call!"

Isaac clenched his teeth, realizing that he had six people on his side, and seven against him. He had to push this harder, or they were in trouble.

ODELIOS!

"Gah! What?!" the clown asked, rolling his arms around as if trying to avoid being knocked backwards.

"You had best vote for Ignatia, if you don't wish to die," Samson shouted. "You won't get to go on that date, you won't get to do anything again, ever!"

"You play the fool, but don't be the fool," Emanuel muttered. "Or are you just going to trust Isaac because he's nicer, or some shit like that?"

Odelios tilted his head to the side, glancing between the reporter and the trader. He eventually stopped at the former, and asked, "There's something I don't get. The way you described how the culprit hid the remote on their person, the way they wore their clothes inside-out for the poison oak, all of this sounds like it could have been me. Heck, I was in the tavern with you all, I was alone in the kitchen…

"So why do you think it was Samson, and not me?"

"Wait, are you actually asking him to prove your innocence?" Samson balked. "Now is not the time for that!"

"Want to know how I know?" Isaac said. "When the fire pit that burned Angelique to death caught fire, you took charge of holding the fire hose. If you were the culprit, you would have volunteered to turn on the water, and gone inside alone to hide the master remote, but you had Fiora turn on the water.

"Plus, you got knocked around and soaked by the hose. If you were holding onto the remote, it could have gotten ruined, or at the very least wet. No killer would risk damaging something so incriminating."

Odelios rubbed his nose, and then laughed. "Thanks, man. You have no idea how nice it is to be cleared. I'm on your side."

"Fucking FOOL," Emanuel shouted.

"Suck it, drunken git!"

PYRRHA!

"I know you were the most against sacrificing someone," Samson said to the romance writer, "but you are a logical woman. You know that this is wrong, that there is no reason in thinking I did all of this for that damn bear. Who would fucking trust Monokuma?"

Pyrrha wrung her hands, taking deep breaths as she nodded. Isaac spoke in as well, saying, "This isn't a case of dodging a terrible choice, it's the right choice. I know it's hard to take in, but realizing that true evil is still in the world. And it'll burn us."

"How dare you," Crystal growled at Isaac. "A solider, a fellow Hope's Peak graduate, and you label him as evil over a theory?"

"I…," Pyrrha stammered, catching their attention. "I just have to know, if the trap wasn't set up for someone going up the central pathway, why was the laser trip wire programmed to do so?"

"Because he programmed it afterwards, it doesn't take that long if you know how to do it," Shuuya explained. "He must have used the remote to know when someone triggered it, and then set off the spark machine."

"Oh please," Samson declared, "where would I have hidden a large remote like that?!"

"Behind your jacket, on or behind your utility belt, like I said earlier," Isaac pointed out. "You can easily keep it concealed."

"And I just pulled it out and used it with all of you around me at the tavern?!"

"You had your back to us, Samson," Saiko pointed out, "and it's not like we were watching your every movement. "There was no reason for us to do so."

"You didn't see him do it then?" Pyrrha asked, then shook her head. "I… I don't know yet, please, give me time to think…"

AKA!

"Look, I'm sorry, but this is way too much for me," the skier said, glancing around at everyone. "I don't want to hurt anyone here, I just wanted to make sure no one thought I did it, or that Hikari was part of it.

"I gotta go with the fact that there's no evidence saying Samson did it, and leave it at that. I'm just so tired of this arguing, and I want it to stop."

The skier crossed her arms and stared down at the floor, uninterested in continuing the debate. Isaac winced nervously, trying to think of who he should try to talk to. As he scanned the graduates, he saw someone he had actually wanted to talk to earlier.

KIMIKO!

"You said you don't want to see evil win, at the same time I did," the reporter said, alerting the biker's attention. The green-haired rebel stared at him, still very sullen and quiet. "I don't know how or why that happened, but I think you know."

"We know you're hurting, sweetheart," Hara said as she placed her hands over her heart. "We know this is very hard for you, but please, listen to what we have to say."

"You know something is very wrong here, you had that vision like Anzu did," Isaac said to her. "And you get the same sense I do, that Shuuya does, that something is off about this whole trial, the whole set-up."

"The only thing off is you," Samson roared. "You're using her grief as a tool!"

"If you don't want evil to win, the answer isn't sacrificing an innocent woman to Monokuma, it is finding out who truly did this! You know that's how we're going to solve this case!"

Kimiko gripped her podium, taking deep breaths as she tried to process all of this. As she did so, Samson quivered in fury. He slammed his fist down, shouting, "Damn it, stop manipulating people, you horrid charlatan!"

"You know, he's made a case, but what about you?" Anzu said, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Because other than you, the culprit claim hasn't stuck with anyone."

Samson's next declaration rang throughout the trial room.

" _I'll prove to you all now who the real culprit is!_ "

ISHIKU!

"Um, yes?" the magician asked, quirking his head to the side. "You want my input on the subject? Well-"

"NO! YOU are the culprit!"

Ishiku flinched as if he had been struck once again in this trial room. He started to mutter, panicked, "Okay, w-wasn't expecting that."

"We literally have heard everyone's alibi, their reasons, but the one person who we didn't hear a single thing about is you! Where have you been, what's your alibi, and how come this entire murder trap has been such a magician's trick?"

Ishiku opened his mouth, closed it, and said, "It's… it's not all that much like a magician's trick."

"The fake-outs, slight of hand, all of it screams something you would set up! And again, I demand to know, where were you?"

Ishiku squeaked nervously, and said, "Um, uh, the reason I haven't been saying much is because… I took a nap."

The graduates all stared at him. "You what?" Crystal said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"After breakfast, after I hooked up Odelios and Pyrrha up for a date, I started to get… really sleepy. So I went to my room to take a nap. It's that simple."

"It's that WRONG!" Samson hollered. "You don't an alibi, not even an excuse! The pyrotechnics, the stage handling, this entire murder was set up like a magician's trick. Who's more likely to be the culprit, the guy no one saw all day and who avoided detection during the trial, or me, the target of a deluded reporter?"

Ishiku whimpered, and said, "I don't like where this is going. Um, help?"

SHINOBU!

"I'm afraid he's right, Ishiku," the historian said, shaking her head sadly.

"Aww, Shinobu, say it ain't so-bu," Ishiku whimpered.

"I'm afraid that everything about this murder screams someone with stage performance skills, and you haven't got a proper alibi, you haven't anything. I'm far more likely to believe it is you at this point…"

"But… but we haven't got enough time, and I have no way to prove otherwise! Look, I'll roll up my sleeves, you'll see there's nothing under them-"

"NO UNDRESSING!" Monokid screamed.

Ishiku flinched again, and then muttered, "But how can I prove I didn't do it? I mean, Samson just accused me because the heat is on him!"

Shinobu sighed, and said, "I have no reason to believe that he, or you, or whoever did this, would set it up so that someone else could take the fall for them, but didn't do it that way. It makes no sense to me."

Ishiku swallowed the large lump in his throat, and he scanned the others. Those siding with Samson were staring him down, and it made him feel rather fearful. "I-Isaac! You gotta believe me, I had nothing to do with this! I just took a nap, I swear!"

Isaac crossed his arms, and then surveyed Samson. "Ishiku, is it possible you were drugged?"

"When will your baseless accusations," Samson shouted, shaking a fist at Isaac, "STOP!?"

"Well, I mean, I dunno. I was tired and fell asleep, but the body discovering announcement came on," Ishiku remarked. "I don't know what was up with that."

Blake scoffed loudly. "If you were sleeping in your room, how come we didn't see you?"

"Because we never inspected his room," Shuuya replied simply. "We didn't have time to do everyone's room when looking for the fire starters, and I remember the ones we did."

Isaac ground his teeth, as he thought about who he needed to talk to next. They were running out of people, and just a few more siding with Samson to vote for Ignatia would mean a majority vote.

ANZU!

"You've had the most interaction with the weird things happening in this town, and the most belief in it," Isaac said to the actress. "Tell me, did I ever call you crazy for it?"

"No, you did not," she replied as she curled her blue bang around her finger. The process slowed down, as she made eye contact with the reporter. "Are you asking me to have faith in the horrid things that have happened to me?"

"I'm asking you to have faith in the good, not the awful way out. But I need to know, what do you think of all that is going on, with Kimiko, with the supernatural?"

Emanuel growled loudly, catching Anzu's attention. "You're telling her to trust her delusions. Whatever the fuck is going in this town, you sure as fuck shouldn't trust it! Hic…"

Anzu rubbed her knuckles against her lips, staring down at her hand, before she glanced up at Isaac. "And what makes you think that the supernatural is leading us the right way with you, Isaac?"

"I don't think it is. I know _I_ am leading us the right way, you just have to take that gamble."

Anzu took a deep breath, and said, "What the hell. You've treated me so decently, I can trust in you."

"Stupid whore," Emanuel snarled.

"Yeah, that's gonna change my mind real fast, dick-head."

EISEI!

The dentist sighed heavily, as he glanced over at Souma. "This isn't an easy choice for me to make, my friend. I never believed in having this kind of power, to rule over others' lives."

"I know, Eisei, but I ask that you trust in the logic here, rather than the emotions. You feel guilty since Ignatia was with you at the time, but that wasn't your fault. None of this was."

"Fault, blame, responsibility, they've meant so much more since the Tragedy. Who is at fault, who's to blame? I don't know what to think on it much more, these days."

"Eisei, wait," Hara called out. "Before you cast in your vote, just consider that Isaac's theory hasn't been proven wrong yet!"

Samson pounded his podium again. "Having no proof is a good part of being disproven! How about the fact that no one ever saw me holding that remote, the remote as big as a brick!?"

"That is true," Eisei said, rather softly. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to side with my friend Souma on this one, I don't know what else to think. My apologies, I failed to figure out the mystery myself."

Isaac winced at these words. With Pyrrha and Kimiko unable to commit to a side yet, there were only five people left to talk to: Ken, Hikari, Fiora, Yejoon, and Yitro. He needed four of these people to side with him, or all would be lost.

FIORA!

"Um! I-I-I-I dunno," the movie maker stammered helplessly. "Samson wasn't a jerk, but neither has Ishiku! And I don't wanna execute Ignatia, I just-"

"Make up your damn mind!" Emanuel hollered, causing the girl to flinch. "Or better yet, just stay out of it if you cannot!"

"That's not helping," Fiora whimpered.

"Emanuel, calm down, you're frustrating her," Samson commented. "It's actually quite logical for her to side with me during this crazy accusation."

"Huh? Why?"

"You know what it's like, to be falsely accused. You shouldn't be thinking it's wrong to defend me just because Emanuel is too, you need to think for myself."

"But, there's no evidence to prove either you or Isaac are right!"

Samson growled in frustration too, but he didn't say anything as Fiora panicked. Isaac couldn't think of what to say, and switched gears fast.

YEJOON!

The artist had slid his mask down over his face a while back, and was peering at Isaac through the eyeholes. "You wish to know my opinion? I would have thought that you would be sickened to converse with the likes of me."

Isaac took a deep breath, then said, "You die too if we don't get this right. Doesn't that concern you at all?"

"Death does not frighten me. It is just another part of life, and more beautiful than you all realize. I daresay that this will not sway me."

"What about Fiora? Do you want her to die?"

Samson let out a disgusted groan. "Oh, that's sick. You're appealing to him by asking him to care about the girl he's grooming!"

"WHAT?!" Fiora shrieked. "Isaac, you jerk! You creep, why do you all think I like him?!"

"Fiora, please," Isaac pleaded.

"You should calm down now, my little flower," Yejoon said, waving at her. "I do have something to say, because I respect your boldness, Isaac; however, I must ask you, do you think a fiend can recognize another fiend? Are you inquiring that from me?"

Isaac crossed his arms, and huffed out his chest. "I'm not afraid to ask you questions like that."

"So very bold, I do respect that. Well then, I must say…"

Yejoon pointed at Samson with one of his slender fingers, the pose dramatic and prominent. "He is most certainly the fiend you make him out to be, Isaac. I have no doubt that he orchestrated the murder exactly how you theorized."

Samson's face contorted with a combination of emotions, then he huffed. "The serial killer doesn't like me, that's just fine. But since he wants us all dead, that comes as no surprise!"

"Isaac!"

The reporter was startled when he heard Ken call out his name. The cavalryman was frowning in disgust, as he asked, "You actually would take the word of this murderous fiend seriously? You consort with him?"

Isaac could see not only Ken, but Pyrrha and Fiora appeared rather upset by this. The reporter started to mentally panic, wondering if he had ruined this entirely.

HIKARI!

"Hold up there, darlings," the steampunk model said, twirling her umbrella on her shoulder. "Isaac may be right about this. You shouldn't discredit it simply because someone you don't like or trust happens to agree with him."

"This is more than just a disagreeable person," Crystal said vehemently. "This is a serial killer who we cannot trust in the least."

"Hmm, well, a lot of you didn't trust me earlier this trial, and I cannot blame you. I clammed up due to my pride, and I am ashamed of that, but it did let me take time to observe people."

The model turned towards Isaac, and asked, "You think that the culprit turned their jacket inside-out, and then turned it around, thus getting the poisonous oils on their skin?"

"Yes," the reporter said, "and thus they're bearing the pain."

"They're not bearing it very well," Hikari said with a scoff. "Samson has been scratching and rubbing his arms when he thinks no one is looking."

Samson flinched, and then declared, "No I haven't!"

"I've been watching everyone while I've been silent, wondering if they let those poisonous plants affect them. And yes, you have been. No one else I've been watching has been rubbing their arms as much as you."

The trader placed his hands on the podium, flexing his arms outward. "Listen here you, you've been far more suspicious than me from the start, and-"

"And I'm trusting Isaac on this," she defiantly replied.

The reporter tried to keep himself calm, as he listened to Samson furiously argue with Hikari. Isaac needed two more people at this rate, but so many people looked rather put off by what he had done with getting Yejoon's vote.

Still, there was someone who hadn't spoken much, someone whose opinion mattered most of all over this case.

YITRO!

The former swordsman glanced upwards, leveling a stare at Isaac. "I suppose you want me to listen to what you have to say?" he asked, his voice emotionally hollow.

"Are you up for talking about it? Or have you made up your mind?"

"I don't know anymore. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. All I know is that I haven't been able to do anything correctly this trial."

Hara cleared her throat, catching Yitro's attention. "Yitro, I know it might not be my place, but what do you think Angelique would want you to do?"

"Angel is dead, she cannot think about what to do, much less about her own murder. I… I failed her."

"Angelique," Anzu spoke up, "was an amazing person. She was our friend, she cared about us. We should honor her memory, and consider what she would do in this situation."

Samson, growling in the utmost frustration, slapped his hand on the podium. "Stop manipulating emotions, you group of immoral vultures!"

"This trial," Emanuel strained to say, fighting his slur and drunkenness, "is to find out who the guilty party is! Voting for someone to blame for it won't do her justice!"

"You cannot get revenge over a set-up like this," Crystal said. "I'm sorry, Yitro, but that's simply how it is."

The former swordsman drummed her fingers on his arms, glancing around at everyone, before resting on Isaac. He smirked slightly, and said, "You're French too, right? Angelique once said that as a native French woman, she could stand strong on her own; however, if she got a bunch of fellow Frenchmen together, she'd retreat."

Isaac, despite everything, chuckled. "Heh, yeah, I've heard a million of those jokes. Sounds like her, though."

"You know what also sounds like her? Standing up for what she believes in. Because the way I see it, the last thing she wants is for despair to win. That's the very last thing she'd want."

Adjusting his scarf and hair, he composed himself before he spoke. "The way I see it, Isaac's the only one who has a winning result either way. If Samson personally did it, we get the bastard. If he or someone else set it up and Ignatia tripped the laser wire, well, she'll tell our story after we all die."

"You," Emanuel stumbled as he thrust his finger at Yitro, "you fucking FOOL! You'd rather die than accept the truth?"

"No, I'd rather die than let despair win one more round. I won't let it force me to kill someone else to save my neck. I'm doing exactly what Angelique would do…

"I'm standing up to Despair, and telling it to go to hell. It's not swaying me anymore!"

Yitro mimicked sheathing a sword, and chuckled at himself. Crossing his arms, he added, "The rest of you can do what you want, forgive me for being a stubborn jerk."

PYRRHA!

"No, you know what? I think you're right."

The romance writer defiantly crossed her arms after wiping her eyes of the last tears. "I'm on the same boat as you. I would rather die than let Despair control my actions."

KEN!

"Well said, my friends!" Ken declared. "I know that I shamed myself, but I wish to take part in your endeavor!"

"You're… you're all crazy!" Samson hollered. "You're throwing your fucking lives away as a statement? You're lemmings! Fucking lemmings!"

FIORA!

"You know what?" the movie maker said as she adjusted her fedora. "That's just fine by me, I've had enough of Despair. If this is my last stand, so be it."

She glanced around at everyone, mentally noting where they stood. Her eyes rested on Kimiko, who stood there transfixed on the uprising going on. The biker gang leader let out a small laugh, and muttered something too quiet for anyone to hear.

"What was that?" Isaac asked, seeing Kimiko's mouth move but not hearing what was said.

KIMIKO!

"I said, I think I'd rather die too," the biker commented, "but I think… Samson is the one who should be getting ready for that."

"Wh-wh-what?" Samson stammered, gripping his sweating forehead. "What the fuck are you going on about?!"

"What I mean is, if we're wrong, and you did set up that trap that almost killed me, that killed Angel, then you should really fess up now," Kimiko pointed out. "Because if Ignatia really did trigger that death trap, you're going to die with all of us."

Samson shook, the amount of emotion in his eyes and body language was like something of a powder keg ready to blow. Crystal saw him quivering, and then doubt came to her eyes. "Samson? What… what is going on?"

Samson glared at her, and shouted, "They're going to get us all killed! I didn't do it! Ishiku did it! They're fucking crazy!"

"Too bad, Samson," Isaac declared, "because I think we see right through you!"

Everyone on Isaac's side thrust their fingers forward, pointing at Samson in unison, and proudly shouted, "THIS IS OUR ANSWER!"

Those on Samson's side all flinched, Emanuel hardest of all. The Bête Noir accidentally dropped his flask, and it clattered to the ground. The bottom was resting on a small ledge, and thus it all poured out at his feet.

"Drink's out," Monokid announced, "the trial is over!"

Emanuel's face contorted, and his fury grew when he heard Ishiku laugh. He whipped around and grabbed the magician's lapels. Aggressively shaking him back and forth, he shouted, "Do you realize what you idiots have done!?"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!"

"You've gotten us all killed! Fucking emotional PUTAS!"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!"

"I could kill you stupid fucks right now!"

"Whoa whoa hold off on that!"

Samson heaved out the heaviest of growls as he stared hatefully at the graduates who defied him, but most of all, Isaac. The reporter smirked, and the trader clenched his podium so tightly, the others could hear sounds of it breaking slightly.

"Ahem."

Drake held up his sketchpad, which was full of drawings that looked like an animation storyboard. "If I could just direct everyone's attention to here…

* * *

 ** _CLOSING ARGUMENT_**

* * *

Our killer wanted an answer to whatever question he had for Monokuma, and he was willing to sacrifice someone, no, all of us for it. Though there were time restrictions that they weren't aware of right away.

…

The Monokubs had locked up the new buildings until 9:30 AM, when everyone was getting up. They thought that they could still pull this off, and thus after a quick breakfast, they used the thick mists of Penjar to move to the other side of the city. There, they turned their jacket inside-out, and retrieved the wheelbarrow from the plant nursery.

…

This part required a lot of heavy footwork, but our culprit picked up logs from the tavern's supply room, and made a bonfire in the eastern fire pit. They used some more logs for the western fire pit, but mostly used the thick bundles of newspapers and oily rags.

They took the fire starters, the spark machines and the laser trip wires, and set them up around the edge of the park. Using the master remote, they programmed two of the laser trip wires to activate two of the spark machines. They kept the remote on them, using their jacket and utility belt to keep it hidden behind their back.

Our culprit was very fit and strong, which meant this work didn't take so long for them to do. This worked out to their advantage, which meant we would all be confused when the work was done, and how long it actually took.

…

Next our culprit attacked Kimiko and Angelique, who were sticking close to each other, bludgeoning them in the back of the head. Why they chose to put Angelique in the fatal trap, only they know, but they did just that. Kimiko was placed in the eastern fire pit, the one made to look like there were going to be two victims.

At 1 PM, the culprit was casually hanging out in the tavern, with several other graduates there too. They waited until someone went outside, which would activate the decoy booby trap they set up. Crystal, the one who set it off, used her jacket to stop the first fire trail.

The explosion went off shortly after, which lured people to the park to find out what was going on. Ignatia was one of those people, who came up the central path, which was where the third laser trip wire was.

However, this laser trip wire wasn't set up to start a fire trail, it was just a notice for the culprit to know when someone set it off. So upon seeing the light signal on the remote turn on, our culprit activated the third spark machine, setting off the fatal fire trails!

They also set the controls so that the third laser trip wire and the third spark machine were linked, making us think those were the original commands, some time during now and before they "found" it.

…

Crystal managed to pull Kimiko out of the fire pit she had been placed in, but sadly, we couldn't get to Angelique in time. Our culprit "helped" with the investigation, but what they were really doing was putting the master remote back where it was originally, and thus making it look like they had found it there.

…

Our culprit was really hoping that we would think that the set-up led to some random person being at fault, according to the rules of the Killing Game. But that's not who murdered Angelique Angelmois! The culprit, the true murderer is you…

 **Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader**!

* * *

Drake closed his sketchpad, and then stared down Samson. The young and sheepish cartoonist appeared far more confident than before. "You're a horrible person," he spat out, "but you aren't getting away with this."

"No he will not," Isaac added, staring down Samson's exasperated expression of fury.

* * *

" **Now hear this, now hear this,** " Monokuma declared. " **The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podium!**

" **You will see pictures of every graduate here in Penjar! Poke the one you believe to be the Deviant Tourist, and select the Confirm button!**

" **Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully wrong one? Let's find out!** "

* * *

Twenty-five fingers poked the touch screens on their podium, and the Confirm button was selected by all of them. Digital sounds echoed around the room, then the gigantic screen came down from the ceiling above Monokuma's throne.

The blackboard-like screen turned on, with the chalk drawings of their pixel art representations for each person. Those who were dead were still there, though red X's had been drawn through them now.

" **And the votes,** " Monokuma cheerfully announced, " **are in! Let's see what the results are, shall we everyone?** "

Tally marks drawn by an invisible chalk were made in front of one of the pixel drawings, like if someone was tapping a screen to add strokes to a blackboard app. They seemed to come a lot slower this time, maybe that was the mood of the place, or Monokuma's method of making it far more tense.

 **Samson Miller** \- 16 votes.

 **Ignatia Nazario** \- 9 votes.

" **And with that, let's see if you were correct!** " the despair bear host carried on.

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced by the digital roulette wheel. On each portion of the wheel was the pixel picture of the Penjar visitors, and the wheel was spinning with slot machine-styled sound effects.

The wheel spun around, highlighting the one at the top, until it started to slow down, and with the agonizingly gradual crawl, it finally rested upon Samson's portrait.

It felt like an eternity passed from between the final selection, and the next part. Were they wrong? Were they right? The slot machine didn't move, no lights flashed, and everyone started to feel their heartbeat hammer in their ears.

…

…

…

…

…

…

The machine lit up with tons of lights, confetti spraying out the top. The bright neon sign showcasing "WINNER!" turned on overhead, and millions of Monocoins spilled out from the slot.

* * *

The trial room was pumped full with rancorous Vegas-styled noise, from wherever the speakers were hidden in the room. When the screen turned off, and retracted back up into the ceiling, Monokuma bounced up and pumped his fist into the air.

" **Wahoo-hoohoohoooooooo! I didn't think you'd do it this time, but you did! Huzzah! You won! The Deviant Tourist in this murder is none other than Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader!** "

Samson, who had been rubbing his arms furiously during all of this, started to strain out words amid his heavy breathing. "How the fuck did you know? HOW the FUCK did you KNOW?!"

"S-Samson?"

Crystal had gone very pale, shaking with the emotional impact of it all. She was twisting a ring in one of her fingers, at such a fervent pace that it appeared as if she was going to unscrew her digit.

"You… you did it? You truly did it?"

"Fuck fuck FUCK! There's no way any of you could have known! How the fuck… d-damn it! DAMN!"

He pounded both fists on his podium several times, then took several deep, ragged breaths. Letting out a long, frustrated groan, he muttered, "Fine then."

Reaching to his side, he pulled his gun from the holster, and held it up. Pointing it around at the graduates, the frenzied look in his eyes showcased to them what state of mind he was in after losing this trial.

"We're just gonna have to do this the hard way, aren't we?!"

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL HAS CONCLUDED! STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL RESULTS!**


	17. Chapter 2-7: Case 2 Trial, Conclusion

**Chapter 2-7**

 **Playing the Claret**

* * *

It was as if the trial room flash froze, with everyone staring in horror at the armed and furious Samson. Even the Kubs were locked up, though Monokuma was curiously tilting his head as he watched.

" **Now careful there, champ** ," the despair bear called out, " **if you kill anyone else, you will be subject to immediate execution, and it will be BEARY brutal!** "

"I know where to shoot someone," Samson snarled, "in places where they won't die."

"But we don't have a medical team," Monotaro cried, "to save anyone who has been shot!"

"Oh, how terrible for everyone who isn't me."

The graduates watched him, locked in place from fear of being shot if they so much as twitched. The only ones who dared to move were Yejoon, who casually stroked his chin with a curled finger, and Kimiko and Yitro, both of them shaking in outrage.

"You killed my friend," Yitro said, a low growl, then he found his voice as he shouted, "You murdered Angel!"

"I have no idea," Samson snapped, "how you guys fucking found out the trick to the kill. Did one of the Kubs tell you? Were you fucking told?!"

" **Of course not,** " Monokuma chirped. " **I never tell anyone about the killer's plan-** "

 ** _BLAM!_**

Samson, with only a half-second glance, pointed his gun at Monokuma and scored a perfect headshot. Blood splattered behind Monokuma's head on his throne, and he slumped down dead as one would imagine.

"AUUUGH! FATHER!" Monotaro hollered.

"This is so horrible!" Monophanie whimpered. "We aren't ready for violent situations like this!"

"Yeah, kind of makes youse wonder why we're running a Killing Game," Monosuke muttered.

"Shut the fuck up, you little bastards," Samson said, already having prepared the next shot as he pointed it at the graduates. "Now, there's no way they could have known that I set that trap up the way I did! Did you tell them?"

"NO," Monodam said.

 ** _BLAM!_**

Another split second glance to aim, and Samson fired. The bullet ricochetted off of his metal head, and Monodam fell backwards. The bullet imbedded in the stand behind the green Kub.

"YES!" Monokid shouted victoriously. "Someone finally shot that fucking putz!"

Monophanie started openly bawling, Monosuke hid behind Monotaro, and Monotaro was sweating like crazy. Monokid was merely strumming on his guitar, loving the chaos.

"I know you cheated somehow," Samson roared, and he saw the one who had led the charge. Isaac had his hands up, and when they made eye contact, the reporter flinched.

"HOW DID YOU DO IT?"

With the gun pointed at his head, Isaac felt sweat running down in cascades. Breathing was hard, talking was harder, but he found the strength. "I just figured it out, that's all."

"Bullshit! There's no fucking way that you could have known the trick to that set-up! Everyone would have figured whoever tripped that laser wire was the guilty party! Now do I have to put a bullet in your arm before you say how you know?

"Oh wait, how about your fiancé?" Samson grinned wickedly as he pointed the gun at Hara.

Isaac heard himself scream in desperation, reaching out towards her despite the great distance. Hara flinched, shivering as the gun was aimed at her.

Crystal moved faster than even Samson could register, and was standing in front of Hara, shielding the explorer with her body. The military adviser held her arms out, showcasing she would take anything meant for Hara.

"What are you doing, _ma'am_?" Samson said with a sneer. "You willing to die for some stranger?"

"Who are you?" Crystal asked, staring down Samson. She balled her hands into fists, and shouted, "Who _are_ you?! Samson Miller is a soldier, a businessman, a Hope's Peak graduate! You've fought for your country, you've served for the public!

"How… no, why?! WHY would you do this?"

Samson laughed, then almost bent over cackling at her. "You really are blinded by that stupid honor code, aren't you? You trusted me that much?"

"You bet I did," she responded, as she blinked away the tears in her eyes. "You and I were working together to keep the other safe. I trusted you with my life, with… with their lives…"

"Then you're the fucking fool, not me," he responded. "Thanks for backing me up though, I appreciated it; however, you really dropped the fucking ball when convincing these dumb fuckers not to vote for me."

"You murdered Angel," Yitro repeated, his hatred becoming a burning fury around him. "For what? An answer to a question?! For the power?!"

"Of COURSE for the power, you dumbass! Why do you think I tried to win the trial altogether? Do you know how much profit there is in discovering the secrets to Despair?"

Hearing these words was like a hammer hitting the graduates on the head. Their ears rang, their minds buzzed, it was painful to hear this statement become a reality.

"You… you cannot be serious," Fiora blurted out. "You want to use Despair as a weapon?"

"It's the greatest weapon of destruction ever," Samson said, the frenzy growing into the most sadistic of grins. "You can use it on an enemy force, or even an entire country, and watch as they rip each other to shreds!

"Do you have any idea how much money a country would pay me to find out how to weaponize it? No, not just countries, I can sell it for millions, even billions, to interested buyers!"

"Despair killed more than a billion people globally," Fiora whimpered. "Maybe even two billion. You cannot possibly hope to contain something that destructive."

"I was going to, until you all fucked it up by voting for me."

Samson groaned as he rolled his eyes. "I set everything up so perfectly, I was even lucky enough to find those two dykes having a lovely, romantic stroll. Shame the one with the big tits saw my face, so I had to made she was the one to go."

Kimiko and Yitro both sprinted towards Samson, but were held back by Ishiku and Pyrrha respectively. The trader merely laughed at their anger. "Aww, mad I incinerated her before either of you had a chance to bang her, is that it? Sorry, but there's so much money involved in Despair, it's enough to buy a small country of big-tittied whores."

Crystal was wilting the more she heard him speak. She still stood between him and Hara, but the military adviser couldn't look more betrayed. "I… I cannot believe this," she whispered to herself. She then shouted at him, "You bastard! You served in the American army! Did that mean nothing to you? Are you that hollow?"

"Serving my country? Oh, it did mean something, my dear officer."

Samson shrugged as he kept his gun at the ready, so many people he clearly wanted to shoot, and so many he would have to shoot if they came at him.

"And what it meant was connections! You see, I have been making connections since before Hope's Peak Academy, during, and after. I learned that the army would be the perfect place to really find more, even more illicit than the ones I already had.

"They were so happy to have a Hope's Peak graduate serve with them, the army didn't know how much money I was making off of selling intel to our enemies. I'm pretty sure that for every time they applauded me for saving some squadron, I was getting another one ambushed or killed.

"The money was grand. And it only blossomed during the Tragedy."

"What? How could you possibly profit from the Tragedy?" Fiora asked, gripping her fedora. "Despair doesn't care about money!"

"Oh, but it does when you can offer them people to torture, places to attack, mobs to lead. You see, when you're in the army, you know where they are going to take defensive positions, so for a big pay day, you can inform the mob leaders of Despair on where to go."

"No…" Pyrrha whimpered. She had stopped Yitro's charge, and now was so horrified, he had to hold onto her. "No, you cannot be serious."

"You helped Despair?" Drake cried out. "You helped it ruin our country?"

Samson let out the coldest snicker. "Best money I ever made. Those infected with Despair don't think they'll be living tomorrow, so they literally empty their bank accounts for me. Such a good trade, don't you think?"

The three Americans among the graduates facing down this madman felt the coldest of shivers go down their spines. Memories of the Tragedy in their country came flooding back, and the trial room was suffocatingly small all of a sudden.

"You," Crystal spat out, "you aren't the Ultimate Trader, you're the Ultimate Traitor!"

"Aww, harsh words, ma'am; however, I guess I am deserving of your ire. After all," Samson paused his short speech, then his grin warped across his face, so bleak and dark, indescribably sadistic.

"I'm pretty sure I was the reason your sister didn't make it out of there."

Crystal flinched hard, almost as if he had shot her there and then. She was silent for a moment, and then let out the most emotional, hateful shriek as she blitzed towards the man. Shuuya managed to grab her as Samson leveled the gun, and the bounty hunter shielded her while also holding her tightly.

"He'll kill you," Shuuya tried to get through to her.

"He got my sister killed," Crystal screamed, struggling against Shuuya. "He killed her! _He killed her!_ "

Samson barked out a laugh, and added, "Oh, I'd be a little careful around that guy holding you back, ma'am. I'm having so much fun divulging it all, and seeing your reactions, let's see how you react to this!

"I worked with a lot of shady people, people who do some pretty awful things. And yet, there was one person that struck fear into those people's hearts. There was a Japanese man who was known to be the bane of all those involved in my line of business. He couldn't be bought, either."

"You say that as if we shouldn't be glad a bounty hunter did his job," Fiora remarked.

"Is it a bounty hunter's job to _murder_ his targets? Because Shuuya Yukimura is actually the Ultimate Assassin, and has killed more people I worked with than there are in this room. And I counted the stupid cubs."

"Hey!" Monokid hollered. "Just call Monodam stupid!"

"You're all fucking stupid, because I'm telling you now, Yejoon's not the only one you have to worry about," Samson remarked. "Shuuya's no bounty hunter, he's an assassin. You'll be lucky if he doesn't murder you all in your sleep."

Everyone felt overwhelmed by the amount of information being delivered. Shuuya didn't do anything to deny what Samson had said, but he was busy holding back Crystal's fervent attempts to get to the gunman. Only Fiora dared to speak.

"You just described him as someone who kills bad people," the movie maker pointed out. "If anything, I would think only you were afraid of him, since you just-"

She silenced when Samson pointed his gun at her. Fiora froze up, then shrieked and ducked.

 ** _BLAM!_**

The bullet embedded in the wall behind Fiora, who was hiding behind her podium as best she could. Samson snarled, and snapped, "Shut your fucking mouth for once, you-"

He then heard movement, and moved his hand with not a second to spare. The throwing knife that Yejoon had sent his way had almost disarmed him or taken his trigger finger. The trader pointed his gun next at the artist, and shouted, "Try that again and I will make sure you never lift your arms again!"

Yejoon relaxed his pose, and said calmly, "I hadn't expected a false soldier to have good enough reflexes."

Emanuel groaned amid the madness, and said, "Didja hafta mish her, man? Would have shaved us all a headache."

"Jerk," Fiora whimpered.

Samson rolled his eyes, then smirked in Fiora's direction. "Oh, by the way, little miss B-Movie Maker, you want to know who would be interested in Despair as a weapon? Your prime minister."

Fiora's jaw dropped, and she scrambled to stand up, despite the danger. "You… you lie! She'd never do that!"

"How do you think I got the tip about Penjar? Canada's _real_ interested in making America their permanent bitch."

"NO! You're a liar! That's not true!"

"You monster," Kimiko muttered.

"Blame the demand, not the supplier," Samson remarked. "That's what I always say. Now I've had quite enough of you all, and I'm going to be going now."

"Go?" Monotaro called out. "Where do you think you're going? You have a punishment to face!"

"Fuck that."

"You shot Monodam," Monophanie said. "You realize The Guardian of Penjar will mow you down the moment you set foot on the surface if you just exit the building."

Samson let out a loud huff, and exclaimed, "You always gotta make it difficult. Well, what if I have an innocent person as a body shield?"

"Sure," Monosuke said, "that's fine."

"Don't tell him that!" Monophanie and Fiora shrieked at the same time.

"I'm getting out of this fucking town that doesn't play by the rules, you aren't going to try an execution on me when someone ruined my perfect plan. So…"

Samson grinned as he pointed the gun at Kimiko. "Come here, you. I think you and I have unfinished business."

Ishiku tried to put himself between Kimiko and Samson, but the traitor shouted, "If any of you get in the way, you'll never walk the same again!"

Kimiko gently pushed away from Ishiku, and walked towards Samson. Her hateful glare was not unnoticed by the trader, and he said, "If you behave, you might survive your second encounter with me, biker bitch."

"I'm not going to die," Kimiko defiantly said as she stepped up to him, "to some Despair-craving bastard."

"Hardly! I am not affected by Despair, I am not a fan of it, I merely profit from it," he said, reaching forward to grab her neck. He held his gun up as he added, his voice echoing around the trial room, covering the sound of footsteps, "Who knows? Maybe you'll be worth something, though I think since everyone you know seems to die around you, maybe it'll just be as a target dummy…"

Ken had managed to sneak up behind Samson during his talking. Despite the cavalryman's size, he was exceptionally swift and quiet when he wanted to be, his strength had a nimbleness to it. So when he grabbed the handle of his sword, and unsheathed it when swinging upwards, Samson had no idea he was there until he felt the bite of the sword's blade.

There was the sound of steel unsheathing, then the spurting of blood. Samson's arm, from the elbow to the hand with the gun still clenched in it, hit the floor. The trader moved, his reflexes kicking in when they heard that steel sound, but he didn't realize what had happened until his own crimson life fluid shot from his arm.

Samson's eyes dilated, and he opened his mouth to scream. Kimiko's fist impacted his jaw, knocking a few teeth loose. He fell to the floor, and she swooped down towards him. She was striking him over and over, until someone stomping down on Samson's chest startled her.

Yitro was kicking Samson's ribs, stamping on his chest. The other graduates hurried over, pulling Yitro and Kimiko away, while Shuuya was the only one brave enough to get between Ken and the fallen traitor.

"Let me end him," Ken shouted, staring hatefully down at Samson. "Get out of my way!"

"If you guys kill him," Shuuya warned them, "Monokuma gets to execute you too! Don't let him win like that."

Ken gnashed his teeth, then made eye contact with the bounty hunter. "If you are an expert on death, like he said, then maybe we can get information out of him before he is taken?"

"I can agree to that."

Shuuya spun on his foot, and placed his other sole on Samson's chest. Where he had placed it must have been extremely sore, because the trader shrieked in pain. Shuuya leaned in, applying more pressure.

"Fucking bastards," Samson screamed. "You fucking… took… my HAND!"

"We have some questions for you, before you make your departure," Shuuya said, his voice ice cold while his eyes burned. "You'd best answer, or you might be in more pieces when Monokuma takes you."

"We're not ready," Monotaro called out. "We gotta get Father back to properly do the punishment!"

"Don't dismember him any more than youse already have," Monosuke suggested. "We don't have a medical team! Oh gosh, that's a lot of blood…"

"Brrrlrlblggghh!" barfed Monophanie.

"OW," Monodam remarked, still lying on his back.

Samson heaved and gasped in agony. He stared up at Ken and Shuuya, and managed to spit out a laugh. "You broke the rules, you attacked me! You two, no, all four of you, are gonna fucking die!"

"Have you forgotten my rule change?" Ken asked. Samson's eyes widened in terror, and the cavalryman returned a cold laugh of his own. "Ah, from that look, I guess you just remembered it."

"Samson, answers, now," Shuuya ordered. "What did you ask Monokuma?"

"Like fuck I'm telling you fuckers!"

The bounty hunter/assassin pushed harder down with his foot on Samson's chest, which resulted in an intense shriek of agony. A lot of the graduates covered their ears, it was the most terrible sound.

Crystal walked over to them, still shaking in wrath. "That's not going to work," she said, her tone deathly calm but still trembling slightly. "He has no reason to tell us the truth, he knows we cannot kill him."

Shuuya crossed his arms, drumming his fingers in thought. "Experience has taught me that pain and blood loss make one's lips loosen a little, though not directly."

Those in the area stared at him, shocked at how casually he said such an intense and drastic detail. Ken managed to shake off this shock first, and then glared down at Samson.

"You seemed to like shocking us so much, you fiend. What other connections are you hiding from us?"

Samson coughed hard, and let out a heaving gasp. He still managed to grin like a madman at them. "The Entity of Chaos is amongst you all. I don't know who they are, but I've worked with them so much in the past."

"The one that Takeo took orders from?" Crystal asked. "What do you mean they are amongst us?"

"One of you is the biggest traitor of all time, because when there is Despair, there is Chaos."

Samson's eyes started to warp, his pupils turning black. Then other black circles formed in his eyes, white circles too, randomly changing in size, warping between black and white, a frothing mishmash of madness.

" **Chaos** ," he repeated, savoring the word with as much sycophant dedication one could ever convey.

"Wh-what is this?!" Ken shouted. "What is going on with his eyes?"

"This is not Despair. The spirals of despair are the signature look for someone truly immersed in that sadism," Shuuya remarked. "This is Chaos, something similar, and just as awful."

"You've seen this?" Crystal asked.

Samson was laughing now, clutching his bleeding stump. As he rolled around, Shuuya continued, "It's something that came out around the same time as the Tragedy. It's an affliction that is like Despair, as drastic and awful as it, with one difference: Despair cares only for the pain and suffering of people, Chaos wants to destroy order and law."

"Certainly sounds like an apt description of him," Ken remarked. "Our Ultimate Trader seems to be only interested in destroying the foundations of everything around him."

Samson ceased laughing, and his eyes returned to normal. "Oh, you wanna know the best part? I was like this before the Tragedy, I was screwing over your damn authority and hierarchy before Hope's Peak became Ground Zero for despair! Before the western world fell to despair as well…

"And I'm damn proud of it. You have no idea how much the Entity of Chaos has helped me gain the power and potential to do what I want. And all it took was one TV show to turn everything… chaotic!"

Barking out more laughter, he said, "I look forward to watching you all kill each other, whether in this life or the next. Here's hoping you rot, like this city, like the whole fucking world. Have fun with the serial killer, the assassin, and whoever that Seed of Despair is.

"Oh, and Crystal? Thanks for trusting me again, by the way, it made everything so much easier. You couldn't have helped me more unless you were working for Monokuma, hehehe-"

She stomped on his face, the fury of wanting to silence overpowering her. Crystal was seized by Shuuya, pulling her away as she fervently tried to hurt the trader/traitor more. Samson spat out blood, and then glanced up at everyone.

Most of the graduates had stayed near their podiums, shocked and horrified by what was going on. Hara and Isaac were together, holding each other after their close brush with death. Kimiko was squatting down, catching her breath as she processed everything.

Ken was looming over Samson, his sword still dripping with blood after what he had done. Yitro was the only person to approach, and he glared down at the trader traitor. Samson opened his mouth to mock him, but Yitro spoke first.

"This," the former swordsman said coldly, "is for Angel."

He raised his foot, and stomped down on Samson's private parts as hard as he possibly could. As the agonizing scream echoed around the trial, Yitro shouted, "How's THAT for chaotic, you son of a BITCH!"

"Hey over there," Monotaro called out, "we're ready to begin."

"Yeah, Dad's loads better now," Monokid said.

This was all said as Monosuke held up Monokuma's "corpse" and moved him around as he imitated his father. "Err, yes, it is I, Monokuma! I have a wonderful punishment for youse, Angelique Angelmois, the Ultimate Opera Singer!"

"No, that's the victim," Monophanie cried out. "The punishment is for the culprit!"

"Oh, sorry! Ahem! Yes, Monokuma, me that is, youse know that already! So I am ready to punish Ignatia Nazario, the Ultimate Mime, for being the culprit in this-"

"That's not who the culprit is!"

"Well how do you expect me to keep up with all the details! It's hard to follow when there's so much going on…"

"HOW-CAN-YOU-MISS-THE-FINAL-PART-OF-THE-TRIAL?" Monodam pointed out, adjusting the bandage on his head. "HOW-DO-YOU-MISS-THAT?"

"Ehh, I kind of skim over it until the execution-"

A secret compartment under the throne opened up, and the throne with Monokuma's "dead" body and a startled Monosuke sank down underneath the stand. A few seconds later, a clean throne rose up, with Monosuke in Monokuma's paws.

" **Now then!** " The despair bear threw his hands up in the air, thus throwing his orange son off into the distance. The crash area in the distance was a puff of dust, money, and a pair of glasses.

" **Let's see if this potential ally can survive what I have in store! I've prepared a VERY special punishment for Samson Miller, the Ultimate Trader! Or was it Traitor?** "

A metal cable shot forth from the ceiling, dropping down as the mechanical clamp at the end opened up. It reached Samson's neck, and yanked him up. The Trader let out a strangled cry as he was pulled up and towards the ceiling.

" **I refuse to let someone die before I get a chance at them! Watch and learn, my adorable little cubs! Let's give it everything we've got…**

" **IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!** "

As he shouted this, Samson was pulled all the way up to the tall ceiling, and the trap door that the mechanical cable had pulled him up into slammed shut. The reverberation shook the whole room, leaving only the last drop of blood as evidence of what had happened to come plummeting down. It landed in the small pool of blood left behind by the traitor.

* * *

Monokuma pulled a rather primitive looking gavel from out of nowhere, as a screen with a rusty bell atop of it popped up in front of him. He leapt up and swung horizontally, clanging the bell with that old-school sound. The moment he struck the bell, the screen lit up.

An 8-bit ghost town showed up on the screen, with black bars at the top or bottom. Samson's pixel art version was standing in the center, as a pixel version of Monokuma came walking up.

 **SAMSON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

Samson was hoisted above Monokuma, and started walking off with the fretting pixel-art artist. The five Monokubs all followed behind him, celebratory animations from them.

 **TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

Inside of the trial room, five large screens came down from the ceiling, so that everyone from any point in the circle could see what was being broadcasted on the screens.

* * *

The large room that was commonly used as the Scrum Debate hall was barren, save for a large wooden table and a chair. Samson was seated in the chair, still clutching his bloody stump.

A rush of movement startled him, the gust of wind that came with it blowing his hat off. He blinked in surprise when he saw Monokuma standing on a cardboard box, holding a pointer, and gesturing towards a blackboard that had a message written on it in chalk:

 _Ultimate Trader_

 _Samson Miller's_

 _Execution: Commenced_

 **Give or Take, Arm and Leg**

Monokuma chuckled, then flipped the chalkboard around, displaying an electronic display nailed to the chalkboard's other side. Why he thought to do this baffled Samson, but the trader eventually accepted the nonsense of it.

The despair bear cleared his throat, and said, " **Okay, Samson, this one is going to be really easy for you! You just have to reject all of the things my Kubs are going to bring you, and in return, you get this!** "

He gestured up towards the ceiling, where a compartment opened and a glass case lowered. Inside of it was the most advanced, state-of-the-art mechanical arm that Samson had ever seen. Monokuma laughed more, and said, " **And there may more where that came from! Now, let's see what you have to sacrifice to get it!** "

Monophanie walked up to the other side of the table, and placed upon it a suitcase. It opened up, revealing stacks and stacks of American $100 bills inside. Samson's jaw dropped, he quivered in excitement.

He glanced upwards at Monokuma, and saw that the electronic display had on it in bold letters: **$100,000**.

Samson stared down at the suitcase of money, up at Monokuma, then took a deep breath. He closed the suitcase, and shoved it back to Monophanie. That had hurt, but he could endure it.

Monokid ran over, knocking his sister over as he placed another suitcase on the table. When Samson opened it, he felt the kind of elation that made him lose reason for a moment: gold bars.

The display said **$250,000**. Samson's hand reached out, quivering, but he managed to stop himself. He closed the suitcase, and pushed it away.

Monodam walked up next, holding a suitcase in one paw and clutching his bandaged head in the other. When he placed the suitcase on the table, Samson moved to open it with his one good hand.

The sharp, explosive sound of a gunshot rang out in the hall, and Samson screamed in pain. The bullet had struck his ear, tearing off a portion of it. He could only hear a disorienting ringing, and could see Monodam talking to Monotaro, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

Eventually, Monodam dragged off the booby-trapped suitcase, and Monotaro placed his own there. Samson slowly moved to open it, now fearful of what could happen next.

When he opened it, the shining diamonds made his heart leap in excitement. The display said **$1,000,000** and he could feel the money and power that could bring. He wanted it, he wanted it so bad, he could practically feel the desire oozing from him.

As blood ran down his face from his mangled ear, he slammed his fist down on the table, and then shut the suitcase. Monotaro shrugged and walked off, and then Monosuke appeared. The orange Kub chuckled as he placed his suitcase on the table with a heavy thud.

The weight intrigued Samson, and he reached for the latch. It was searing hot, and he felt the heat burn his fingertips. He screamed in pain as he reeled back, but then saw the electronic display…

 **$5,000,000**.

Samson had sweat dripping down his forehead. Whatever was in there was worth that much, but he would have to burn his hands to get it. He couldn't make up his mind, that amount of money…

Monophanie dropped another suitcase on the table, which popped open on its own. Inside was a book titled, How to Create the Perfect Ahoge (and Everyone Will Love You). The trader blinked in surprise, and saw the electronic display said: **$24.99**.

Monosuke placed his first suitcase on the table again, the diamonds glimmering in the light. The million dollar amount was on the display, until Monotaro placed an artistic sculpture of Monokuma on the table. This odd but flashy design was made of gold and diamonds, the rarest kinds.

 **$7,500,000**.

Samson heaved in exasperation, sweat and blood running from his face. He reached with a quivering hand towards the statue, until Monokid placed a vanilla envelope on the table. It was titled " _Top Secrets of America, Canada, and Japan_ "

 **$15,000,000**.

Monosuke threw an envelope with the words written on it, " _The Secret to Despair's Success._ "

 **$50,000,000**.

The cubs started bringing more and more suitcases, some of the old ones, some new ones. Monodam was struggling to get a ticking one onto the table, but it was full at this point. As the green bear tried, Samson let out a furious roar. He used his good arm and swept all of the items on the table aside, having them crash down to the floor. The trader stood there, heaving as if he had accomplished the most herculean feat of strength the world had ever seen.

Monokuma tapped his pointer in his free hand, and nodded, his grin becoming larger. He beckoned for Samson to step forward, and the trader began to do so.

That was when Monodam walked up to his father, and pointed at Samson, in particular at his sides. The despair bear stared at the trader, and then noticed the bulges in his pockets.

Samson had taken some of the money, diamonds, and information, and stuffed it in his pockets when the bears couldn't see him behind all of the suitcases they had piled up. The trader realized he had been found out, and he shrugged sheepishly.

Monokuma gave him a scolding claw-finger shake, and then snapped his claws. The mechanical arm's case started to go up into the ceiling, which made Samson scream in desperation as he sprinted towards it.

A trap door next to Monokuma opened up, and a gatling gun rose up, pointing at Samson. The trader didn't seem to realize it or care, he sprinted towards that retracting glass case. As he made his way for it, bullets fired one at a time at him.

Samson's leg was struck, he managed to keep running. His other ear was blasted off, he leapt for the glass case. As he was peppered in the shoulders and hips with bullets, he smashed his fist through the glass case and grabbed the mechanical arm. Landing on the floor, he clutched it as blood squirted from his one remaining hand, his bullet wounds, his missing extremities.

The trader sneered at Monokuma, and said, "Fuck your rules."

The bear shrugged sheepishly, and then snapped his claws again. Samson heard and felt mechanical devices operating right under him. He scrambled to get up, but there was too much damage to his body, too much blood missing at this point.

The floor opened up underneath him, and he fell, screaming in terror. He was still clutching his mechanical arm, holding it close to him as he was plummeted back into the trial room, all the way from the high-rise ceiling. Samson hollered as he fell, unable to stop it…

Samson impacted one of the ifrit statutes, more specifically the giant horns that came from them. He was penetrated through his back by both horns, one ripping through his insides and splashing blood and guts from the wound.

The other horn stabbed through his heart, ribbing it out through his ribcage, and displaying it on the tip in front of him. The last thing Samson would see was his own heart in front of him on display, on a stone spike protruding from his chest.

From in the Scrum Debate room, Monodam peered over the side to see what had happened to the trader. As he looked, Monokid snickered, and then pushed him. Immediately losing his balance, Monodam tumbled downwards too.

"NO," the green Kub cried out as he flailed desperately, seeing the statue and ground swiftly approaching…

There was a flash of black and white, as someone parkour-kicked and jumped up the large state. Monodam was a second away from obliterating against the state and Samson's corpse before that blur caught him in their arms. His savior landed on their feet, putting him down on the floor.

Monodam took a tedious step forward, then glanced up at his savior. "THANK-YOU," he said to Ignatia, then glanced behind her. She also looked, and saw how much blood was running down the ifrit statue, almost coating it like paint.

Samson's corpse had stained the ifrit statue crimson. It was there, in front of them all, as bloody money fell from his pockets and splattered on the floor.

* * *

Everyone else in the trial room was silent, aghast at how violent and horrific the execution had become. It had come all the way to the trial room, and they could smell the blood, the innards of the fallen traitor.

"Unholy fuck," Blake remarked, staring at the corpse atop of the statue. "Dumb bastard, all he had to do was say no."

"Seems he wasn't made that way," Yitro said, finishing his hateful stare at Samson's body before turning away. "It is done then."

" **WOOHOO!** " Monokuma shouted, as he was suddenly on his throne again. " **Or more like: Yaaaaa-haha-hooie! What an extreme bargain I drive! What an intense display of chaos and despair! But in the end, it was all well in good fun, and we all had a jolly good laugh!** "

"Monodam," Monophanie called out to her sibling as the green Kub climbed back onto the stage, to his place. "Are you okay? How did you survive?"

"Wow, I know we have to participate in the executions," Monotaro said, "but I didn't think you would go that far, bro!"

"Hehehe, we never got to your other surprises," Monosuke said, fanning himself with some bloody bills. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah," Monokid snarled, "real sorry."

The green and blue cubs stared each other down, as the latter strummed on his guitar. With a disgusted sigh, Monokid eventually said, "Welp, guess that's that, Dad! I mean, we tried for another ally, and we failed. Or at least, someone else failed. Or fell, yeah, you fucking felled."

"That actually means something else," Monosuke said, "when you say it like that-"

"I said what I meant," Monokid shouted at the top of his robo-lungs, "and I meant what I said! Now! We got a party to go to!"

"Oh yes, the Penjar party at the tavern," Monophanie said, clapping her paws together. "I forgot all about that! Do we still have time for that?"

She glanced over at the graduates, who were either ignoring her or shaking their heads. Eisei spoke, "I highly doubt anyone is in the mood for a party. We learned of some horrifying details just now, and we're not feeling in the mood for jubilation."

"But… but… we want you to be friends!" she said. "We want-"

"Friends? FRIENDS?!" Yitro shouted, pointing accusingly at the cubs and their father bear. "If everything announced at these trials is true, then we have this Entity of Chaos, a Seed of Despair, and who knows what else here! It already cost lives… Angel's life…"

Monophanie hung her head, as she glanced over at the others. "What should we do?"

"Bunch of ungrateful whiners!" Monokid's suggestion wasn't helpful.

Isaac, holding Hara's hand, walked towards the elevator, and turned towards the others. "Let's just get out of here, people. There's nothing else for us, and it's been a very harrowing trial. Come on."

The graduates all shuffled into the elevator, the hodgepodge of emotions they were all conveying making it one of the most tense rides of their lives. So many of them were scared, upset, forlorn, and confused.

Only a few people spoke, and that was close to when they were near the surface. Shinobu got Ignatia's attention, and said to her, "That was an amazing bit of athletics you showed, saving Monodam. But if I may ask, why'd you do that?"

Ignatia regarded her, and shrugged, before pointing at Drake. The cartoonist blushed a little, and said, "I think she did it because I get along with him?"

"Getting along with the bears isn't really something you should do," Shinobu said, shaking her head. "I am afraid if we grow to like them, that is Stockholm Syndrome and unsafe, to say the least.

"But I guess I shouldn't tell you what to do, since you two were in the right all along. I'm… so sorry about that, by the way."

Again, Ignatia shrugged, and leaned against the elevator wall until the end of the ride. They all silently left the elevator, and the Town Hall.

When they stepped out onto the plaza, they regarded everyone, trying to figure out what to do.

"What time is it?" Eisei asked aloud.

Souma glanced at his watch, and said, "It's some time after seven PM, my friend."

"It felt like we were down there so much longer," the dentist said, scanning the crowd of graduates. "I feel so tired and hungry and helpless, none of which I enjoy feeling."

"I might just go to sleep," Yitro remarked, "or leave this evil town altogether."

"It's still so hard to believe," Anzu said, rubbing the back of her head. "We have two possible traitors? Or was Samson lying?"

"He probably was," Saiko remarked. "I mean, Entity of Chaos? The prime minister of Canada wanting Despair as a weapon? It sounds like he just wanted to spite us."

"We never did find out the answer to his question," Ken grumbled, glancing off to the side. "It feels like that insane gunman robbed us of so much, including poor Angelique's life."

"Yeah, stupid gunman," Ishiku remarked. His eyes suddenly widened, and he said, "Wait, about that gun, did we just leave down there in his hand?"

Everyone glanced around, trying to see who knew the fate of the gun. It was then that Isaac noticed Kimiko walking away from the group.

"Kimiko," he called out, taking a few steps towards her, "where are you going?"

The biker gang leader stopped suddenly, and she lowered her head as she sighed heavily. "Don't worry," she answered, "it's not for any of you…"

She reached behind her jacket, where she had tucked the pistol into her waistline. Cocking the pistol, she put the barrel up to her head.

"It's only for me."

"NO!" several people screamed.

"Darling, please," Hikari shrieked, stepping closer to her, "I beg of you, don't do this."

"This wasn't your fault," Isaac declared. "None of it was!"

Kimiko turned towards them, her eyes red from all the crying she had done, but still immersed in sorrow. The gun didn't leave her temple. "None of you could understand… it really was all my fault. Everyone I care about, everyone around me just… dies."

She trembled, and continued, "My sister, my second-in-command, my girlfriend, and now Angelique. She was such a kind, caring person, I should have been able to protect her. I should have… I've been a fighter all my life, and yet…

"I should have been the one who died, not her. But everyone I care about dies."

The biker gal smiled weakly at the group of graduates, as she said, "Don't blame yourselves for this, I just reached my limit. I got Angel killed. What was it even for? Despair, Chaos, what do they even MEAN anymore? It's all the same thing, just cruelty."

Hikari took a few more steps towards Kimiko, holding her hands up. "Darling, please, please listen to me. You cannot blame yourself for this."

"Angel is DEAD because of me!"

"Angelique is dead because of that bastard who murdered her for a profit! That wasn't your fault!"

"It… it sure feels that way, Hikari. What would you know, anyway?" Kimiko asked, as she trembled and took a step back from the steampunk model. "She… she was right."

"What? What are you talking about? Please, darling, talk to me."

"She! She… J-Junko," the biker stammered. "The girl in my vision, when I was unconscious. She killed Mahiru, then told me Angel was dead. She told me it was my fault… and it was."

"I don't know who this Junko is, but Kimiko," Hikari moved closer still, "it _wasn't_ your fault!"

"You don't understand. You didn't look into that woman's eyes, you didn't see that feeling of despair mixed with sadistic glee. You can't understand!

"And… and neither can I. Please don't look. Good-bye."

 ** _BLAM!_**

…

…

…

…

…

…

The horrible ringing sound of the gunshot was hard on everyone's ears. It was deafening to those who were far too close to the gun, who felt woozy and disoriented.

Yitro had the kind of mental and physical strength to remain focused even through a gunshot close to his head. Thus he kept a firm grip on Kimiko's wrist, having yanked her hand away from her head in time for the bullet to blast over her head and off into the distance.

Once the disorienting effect had worn off on Kimiko, the biker gal realized she was still alive. Yitro had ripped the gun from her hand and thrown it as far as he could to the side. Crystal ran over to retrieve it.

"Wh… what?" Kimiko stammered, as she stared at Yitro. "Why? Why would you stop me?!"

"Do you really think," he said, "I would let Angel's girlfriend kill herself?"

"I… I don't want to live! I'm so tired of it all, I hate this fucking life! I want to die! I want… I want…"

She burst into uncontrollable sobbing as she pounded on Yitro's chest. Sinking to their knees, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as she let all of her frustrations and sorrow out.

No one left the plaza at that moment, no one wanted to be callous enough to leave after what had just happened. Emanuel, drunk and woozy, sat on the busted fountain as he tried to keep himself awake. Grumbling to himself how much he hated things, he almost missed Drake approaching him.

"Um, I wanted to thank you," the cartoonist said to him, as the Bête Noir stared up at him, "for trying to help Ignatia and myself out during the trial."

"Kid, I succeeded at shit, do not thank me. Just… just go and be with your mime crush."

Drake nodded, and started to move away, before he turned back to Emanuel. "You know, you could actually be an amazing detective if you didn't admit defeat so readily. Maybe you should remember that in the future, because I think you still have the potential. Just gotta drop the negativity."

The cartoonist walked off to find Ignatia, as Emanuel stewed on those words. He glanced over at Kimiko and Yitro, the former still sobbing. The Bête Noir sighed and muttered under his liquor-thick breath, "But then what's left of me, kid?"

After Kimiko managed to calm herself down, the graduates stood in the plaza, confused and emotional as well. They didn't know what to do next, until Monodam came walking up to the group.

"GOOD-EVENING," he said. "I-HAVE-MADE-MY-SIBLINGS-PREPARE-FOOD-AND-DRINK-AT-THE-TAVERN. IT-SHOULD-BE-READY-IN-AN-HOUR-BUT-YOU-ARE-WELCOME-TO-WAIT-IN-THE-TAVERN."

"I don't think any of us," Hikari snapped at the green Kub, "are interested in that tonight. After what you all put us through…"

Monodam stared down at the floor, and said, "I-JUST-THOUGHT-SINCE-YOU-HUMANS-REQUIRE-FOOD-AND-DRINK-TO-SURVIVE-AND-THRIVE, IT-WOULD-BE-SOMETHING-GOOD-FOR-YOU-ALL."

"You know what really would be good for all of us?" the model said with a snarl, rounding on the bear cub. "If you would stop the Killing Game, and let us know what is going on here. About all of the crazy shit that is happening here, because oh my gears, this is awful!

"Can you not comprehend that? Or are you just being nice to us because you want the next blow to be all that more painful and from out of nowhere?!"

Monodam stared up at her, then down at the floor. He surveyed the others, and cast his gaze down at the floor. After several seconds of tense silence, he finally spoke again.

"I-DO-NOT-FULLY-UNDERSTAND. YOU-LOST-SOMEONE-YOU-GOT-ALONG-WITH… WOULD-YOU-LIKE-TO-SEE-HER-AGAIN?"

This got everyone's attention, especially Yitro and Kimiko. The two stood up and approached, with the former swordsman wearing a grim scowl on his face.

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply. "You aren't going to claim you can bring her back, are you?"

"NO. I-MEANT-THAT-THERE-IS-A-MOVIE-OF-HER-PERFORMANCES-INSIDE-OF-THE-THEATER. IF-THE-PERSON-WHO-STOLE-THE-DVD-PLAYER-COULD-RETURN-IT, YOU-COULD-WATCH-IT-TOGETHER."

Yitro flinched, then glanced to the side. "That… that would be nice."

"THE-VIDEO-IS-AN-HOUR-LONG. IF-WE-COULD-WATCH-IT-TOGETHER, WE-COULD-HAVE-DINNER-AFTERWARDS."

"It appears I should fetch the player," Yejoon said with a chuckle, "post-haste. I would hate to be the center of negative attention if I refused."

He walked off, adding, "Anyone who wishes to watch the video should wait in the movie theater. I'll be there shortly."

As he left, the group of graduates split off into three groups. Some of them went to the movie theater, some went to the tavern, and others just went back to their houses.

* * *

 **Day 07, 7:46 PM**

 **Housing District**

Aka was far later arriving to the housing district than the others, having thought she would go to the tavern but then spotted Hikari walking towards this area. She followed after, and saw all the others who were calling it an evening too.

Blake had a bitter expression on his face, and was shaking his head as he muttered something quietly under his breath. The door to his house slammed, unnerving Aka. Emanuel had also stumbled to this area too, and made his way into his house; Aka might have helped him, if she wasn't so sick of how much of a drunk jerk he was being.

Eisei was calling it a night too, and he offered a lollipop before he took off. She tucked it into one of her pockets, and thanked him before he made his way into his house. Aka made a beeline towards Hikari's house…

Only to see her talking with Ken at her front doorstep. The two were quiet, so she couldn't hear them, but she saw Hikari hug him. They were close for a few seconds, then he moved away. Wishing her good-night, the cavalryman headed over to his place, and shut the door.

Hikari went into her house, and Aka followed afterwards. She wanted to knock, to be polite, but her concern was too high, and she wasn't a cautious gal. Barging right in, she caught Hikari taking off her hat and setting it to the side.

"What!" Hikari exclaimed when Aka came in abruptly, dropping her hat. "Wha… Aka! What are you doing?"

Aka opened her mouth to speak, but then realized she didn't know where to start. She nervously ran a hand through her hair, and muttered, "Um, I wanted to talk to you."

Hikari sighed, and picked up her hat. Setting it on a desk nearby, she said, "Now is not really the best time to get into my pants, darling."

"Oh come on, I'm not just about that!" Aka said, crossing her arms.

"Could you shut the door, please? And yes, Aka-dear, you are. I know your kind of woman, and… that's not what I need right now."

Aka shut the door, but stayed inside the place with her. "Hikari, what's going on with you? We were having a delightful time, I like you, you like me. Then you go all quiet and shuffle off with Ken, and you make that shady deal with him, or whatever that was!"

Hikari sat on the side of her bed, staring blankly forward. She didn't regard Aka as the skier carried on, "You could have gotten yourself killed at the trial when you went quiet! Now you may think of me as an adrenaline junkie lesbo, but I'm more than sex and thrills, damn it!

"Why did you do it? Why'd you work with Ken, and then go all quiet when people asked about it? Do you not care about your own life? Because that sure doesn't sound like you!"

Hikari glanced up at Aka, and said, "How do you know about me?"

Aka stared her down, then grabbed at her goggles on top of her head and dropped them on Hikari's floor. "I'm not leaving," she said defiantly, "until you explain yourself. Not with all the shit that's been going on, not after Kimiko tried to blow her brains out. Talk."

Hikari crossed her arms, her pretty face showcasing a level of upset that said more than one thing. Aka was firm to her word, as she stood there with her hands on her hips.

"I killed someone, Aka."

She spoke so suddenly, the skier didn't comprehend it at first. When Hikari saw the confusion on Aka's face, she repeated, "I've killed a girl. It was self-defense, but I still did it. I… I've killed someone."

"I… I don't understand," Aka admitted. "Many people had to do it during the Tragedy, Hikari, it really sucks, but-"

"This was long before the Tragedy, honey. It was when I was at Hope's Peak Academy. I…"

She took a deep breath, and spoke. "I was really good friends with my classmates, and one of them was Novoselician. His name was… is Sebastian Cornelez. He is the Ultimate Butler, and he managed to help me set up a performance in his country.

"A performance in Novoselic was like a dream come true for me. Novoselic is gorgeous, and the women are too. Oh my gosh, it was the most thrilling experience ever, I met with the royal family even, and… I met Ken there. Hehe, he was my bodyguard, despite the fact that Sebastian was too.

"I got to do my modeling and performance to so many fans there, and it was so great at first. Then I got my stalker. Her name was Mikoto, and I first met her when she was in my dressing room, in nothing but lingerie.

"She said she knew from the moment she saw me, she felt we were destined for each other. I found out later she had a stalking obsession with other people, but I somehow became her biggest target. Mikoto wanted to… have sex with me, right there and then, and she kept coming after me.

"In the two weeks I was in Novoselic, she was following me, trying to get in the same room as me. Ken and Sebastian kept her out for the most part, but it was unnerving. And then one day, she was in a room waiting for me…

"She hit Sebastian over the head, and came at me with a knife. Aka, she was shrieking how I was hers, and she would have me one way or another. We fought, I… I was trying to get the knife away from her. Ken came into the room right as I used a self-defense move that I had learned…

"I… I stabbed her. I stabbed her right in the heart, and she died with this _horrible_ look on her face. She was so sad and confused and… and… I did that, Aka. I did that."

Hikari took several shuddering breaths, then she looked up at the skier. "Ken was my witness to the self-defense claim, so there wasn't a national uproar about the Japanese woman who killed a Novoselic native. Ken was my savior, but it was such a horrible experience, I haven't spoken to him much.

"When we both arrived in Penjar, we pretended to not know each other. If the others learned what I had done, they would want me gone, I'm sure of that. I mean, I'm not Yejoon, but would you feel safe with a woman who shanked someone right in the heart?"

Aka moved over and sat down next to Hikari. She wrapped an arm around her, and said, "I do."

The model smiled slightly, and then sighed heavily. "When the motive came around, Ken asked me for my help. He didn't blackmail me or threaten me, he just wanted to make sure he had a witness, someone he could trust, for what he was about to do. So I did it, and…"

Hikari shook her head, and then strained out the next words, "I wanted to ask a question too."

Aka bit her bottom lip, and then asked, "I really don't want to upset you, but I am curious why you didn't. If you were sure Ken would kill Yejoon, you would be covered."

"Asking a question would be like sentencing Ken to death, like making him do it. I couldn't do that, I couldn't be brave enough to ask. But I wanted to, because… I… I…

"I told you about Sebastian, right? He's the only person in my class from Hope's Peak Academy who survived the Tragedy. He's such a good person, and he's… he's gone missing. No one knows where he is, and we're all starting to fear the worst.

"I need to know where my friend is! I should have asked Monokuma, but it's too late now! I was hiding from everyone, I was defiant because I was ashamed! I'm so damned ashamed of myself!"

Aka held Hikari in her arms, holding the shuddering steampunk model tightly. They were quiet for a few minutes, just allowing Hikari to release her pent-up misery.

After this emotional moment, Hikari finally pried her face away from Aka's chest. "I… I probably look like a mess right now, don't I? Tell me that, I deserve it."

Aka chuckled as she moved the stray bangs of ebony from her face, and rubbed at the streaks of eyeshadow. "Sorry, but I still see this super sexy woman before me."

Hikari let out a small laugh too, and said, "You… you really do want in my pants, don't you?"

"Listen, I'm not good at emotional stuff, I am that kind of thrill seeking bitch that goes down slopes at speeds that kill upon impact. I came to this town not for some honorable reason like you or most of the others.

"But I'm not the kind of bitch who dismisses someone's feelings like that. If you tell me to leave, I'll leave; I just wanted to make sure you were okay, because I really was worried about you.

"Can you at least promise not to scare me like that again? That's not the kind of heart-pumping adrenaline that I want-"

She was silenced went Hikari cupped her face and kissed her good. The model didn't let up either, the emotional, deep kissing was an incredible force and it overwhelmed Aka. The skier moaned heavily into her mouth up until it stopped, and then she was panting.

"Oh wow," was all Aka could say to that.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I say I don't want you, then I do… I'm… I'm an emotional wreck right now, you must think I'm crazy."

"I'm a lesbian too, remember? I'm all too familiar with having to deal with mood swings and emotional outbursts. Mostly because I can be a part of that… it's difficult, but it's worth it if you find someone like… well, like you."

Hikari giggled amid her heavy breaths, then she looked into Aka's eyes. "Make love to me."

Aka's heart skipped a couple beats, making her flinch in surprise. For a woman who did life-threatening sports as a pastime, this was the most sudden shock she had experienced in her life.

"You… you sure?"

"With all that happened today, with that horrid man, with losing poor Angelique, how awful I feel… I want something good to come out of all this. And I want to have sex, with you, with someone who put in the effort to get to know me, to listen to me…

"And… well… you've wanted me since we met. I find that so damn sexy, to have a woman who wants me like that."

Aka let out a laugh that was that perfect combination of nervous and giddy. "You're fucking gorgeous, how the hell is that possible?"

Hikari reached behind herself, and undid her corset. In the process, she said, "Aka, I take certain pride in my clothing, but I want them, and yours, on the floor in the next five minutes, or I'm going to shriek in frustration. Got it?"

Aka blinked, then reached for her top's hemline. "You're going to be shrieking soon enough for a whole new reason."

"Oh, darling, I very much plan to~"

* * *

 **Day 07, 8:51 PM**

 **Movie Theater**

 **Screen Room**

Angelique spun around slowly as she held a note perfectly. She then let out the strong, triumphant words in French, her voice powerful enough to cause some of those watching to hitch their breath. The camera changed to in front of her, and she continued the song as she gestured towards the heavens.

" _Tu vas m'entendre rugir~_ " she belted out, her incredibly strong and pitch-perfect voice ringing across the theater. She carried on with the song, sometimes the camera focusing on her, sometimes on the captivated audience or her equally impressed cast mates.

The graduates watching were all enthralled, even those not normally interested in opera. Kimiko sat next to Yitro, as the biker, who before Penjar had never even considered listening or watching something like this, was amazed.

"She has the most beautiful voice," she couldn't help but say.

"She most certainly does. It was," Yitro said, then he stumbled on his words, "Angel was far more impressive to hear in person, I only wish I had gotten to see her perform more."

Kimiko glanced over at him, and she could see the tears spilling from his eyes as he watched Angelique perform. "When I was jail, she worked so hard to be an inspiration with her music. I heard about the performances she did, where she even put her life at risk, but never stopped. I… I wish I had been able to get in contact with her sooner."

The former swordsman covered his eyes, and forced out a chuckle. "She wasn't a saint, she'd hate to hear me gushing about her as if she really were an angel. She… she just loved to flirt with other girls, and could be worse than any boy you've probably seen.

"And you should have seen her when it came to studying subjects she didn't like. Trying to get her to focus on math resulted in the most stubborn battles I've ever had in my life."

Yitro chuckled a great deal, as he rubbed his eyes. "I am so going to miss her, and I know, wherever she is, she'd want us to carry on."

He glanced at Kimiko, who gave a small nod. "I… I know."

The video concluded shortly after the song, with a standing ovation for Angelique. With that, the DVD finished and the lights in the screening room turned on. Kimiko and Yitro glanced around, hearing sniffling around the room.

Pyrrha was a sobbing mess, and she was crying on Shinobu's shoulder. The historian was patting her gently, feeling a touch awkward, but could handle this.

Isaac was holding Hara's hand, as the explorer was also crying. Saiko was sitting next to them, not crying but still visibly moved.

Anzu and Fiora were both also rubbing tears from their eyes, and whispering how wonderful the singing was. Shuuya sat in the back, a sad smile on his face.

"That was amazing," Anzu said, her eyeliner smeared but she was using a handkerchief to clean herself up. "Goodness me, she really was an angel in voice and spirit, wasn't she?"

Everyone was standing up now, and Saiko couldn't help but chuckle. "So many of the women here are crying. Why are you all being a bunch of girls now? Come on…"

The forensic investigator rubbed at her eyes, as if to make sure she wasn't crying, as Fiora stomped her foot. "Sh-shut up! I don't care a'boot enforcing stereotypes or anything like that! We lost a really nice person, and she sang so beautifully…

"I… I doo'nt mind admitting I'm crying over it! Let us be girls a'boot it and cry! It's okay if none of the guys cry over it too, just be yourself."

"Excellent advice, but I wouldn't say only the girls cried."

Fiora let out a piercing shriek at the voice behind her. She leapt up two aisles in one bound, crashing through the plastic chairs up in the back row. The movie maker stared in panic at Yejoon, who stared at her through his mask.

"Is that the reaction to expect every time I approach you?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" Yitro snapped, stepping up to the artist. "You shouldn't be here!"

Yejoon shook his head, and lifted his mask up. The wet trails from his eyes were still evident, and he lifted a hand to clean that up. "I know you all think that I am but a harbinger of death and carnage, but I do find beauty in other forms of art besides my own.

"Angelique Angelmois had the most amazing voice, and the passion in which she sung… even with the subpar capture of the DVD, I found her singing to be most incredible and moving. It was a kind of beauty…"

He placed a hand over his heart, and concluded, "A beauty that shouldn't have left the Earth so soon. It is a tragic loss to you, to those who knew her, and to all of us. That kind of passion is not good to lose."

Yitro took a deep breath, staring down the artist. "I cannot tell if you are being sincere or not, that is the problem."

"If you do not believe that, you should believe when I say that the Chaos that inspired Samson is something we should be concerned about as well."

"Wait a minute, what?" Fiora called out from the back row. "You know a'boot that too? Is it really that bad, eh?"

"He speaks the truth about that, Fiora," Shuuya said, turning to her.

There was another high-pitched shriek as Fiora leapt away from the back row, diving away from Shuuya. It was such an impressive leap, but she hadn't looked in the direction she had leapt, and thus almost crashed into someone.

That someone caught her, holding her bridal-style. Yejoon raised an eyebrow as he regarded the lady in his arms, who blushed rather deeply.

"Really now?" Shuuya called out. "Me too?"

"Y-you're an assassin!" Fiora declared. "You kill people too!"

The bounty hunter shrugged, and said, "Only those who deserve it. I don't believe in divulging my life story and career to you tonight, it's not appropriate."

"Really now?" Yejoon said. "I was made to explain myself, why not you?"

Shuuya shot a dark look at the artist, and commented, "I shan't justify myself to you, but I will tell all of you this. Chaos is as dangerous as Despair, as prevalent and destructive. Though they run in the same circles, Despair causes those afflicted to cause the maximum amount of sadism and agony.

"Chaos is about the destruction of law and order, for everything to be as unpredictable as can be."

"Then I have a question," Hara said, braving forward. "How are they so different?"

"The only two ways they are truly different are that Chaos is more aimed towards any kind of governing structure, and it doesn't aim for the same amount of bloodshed as Despair. Make no mistake, many die over both, but Chaos is solely about the anarchy."

Isaac let out a heavy sigh. "I don't suppose they would cancel each other out here?"

"No, they work hand-in-hand, or at least as well as murderous fanatics can work together. I'm still more concerned about Despair, especially if they claim to run this town."

Pyrrha nervously gazed at Shuuya, and said, "Um, is… is it okay to trust you? I mean, I know it's silly to ask, but…"

"Assassin," Fiora repeated. "Trained killer! Why are none of you concerned about this?!"

Shuuya regarded both women, then shrugged. "I'm sorry, but like I said, I don't wish to go into that tonight. Perhaps tomorrow, but I will say, you have nothing to fear from me unless you are a murderer, pedophile, or anything as bad.

"So I believe it goes without saying, but Yejoon," the bounty hunter/assassin said as he glared at the artist, his red eyes burning with animosity, "when the time comes, do not expect mercy from me. I'll be coming for you, and sooner if think for a minute you might harm someone."

Yejoon merely smirked. "I await with great anticipation."

Shuuya walked out of the theater with those words, and the others were left to ponder the words. Shinobu spoke up first, saying how she wanted to actually have a dialogue with people, so those interested in debating the day's events should meet up at the tavern. Dinner felt nice right about now.

Most of the group began to leave, though one of them was unable to walk. "Could," Fiora stammered, trying to avoid eye contact with Yejoon, "could you put me down now?"

"Oh? I think I rather like carrying you like this."

"Put me down, or I'm gonna bite you!"

Yejoon merely chuckled. "Promises, promises, my little flower."

"I'MMA GONNA BITE YOU ON THE NOSE! I'LL BITE YOUR LEGS OFF! I WILL BE KNOWN AS FIORA, THE BITE-MOVIE MAKER! I KNOW THAT MAKES NO SENSE, BUT-"

Yejoon placed her down on her feet, and calmly started to stride out of the building. "If you could do me a favor, Miss Bite-Movie Maker, but could you bring some food to my room? I am still not welcome amid the group…"

Fiora sighed, as she too started to leave the building. She stopped when she saw Yejoon in the projection room, taking the DVD player again.

"Sigh," she said (yes, she actually said sigh), "just how more people are going to turn out to be strange psychos? This feels like a bizarre video game come to life."

* * *

 **Day 07, 8:56 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

Inside of the tavern were the ones who hadn't felt comfortable watching the video, or just needed some time alone. It was definitely a miserable setting, mostly due to

Crystal was seated alone in the back, clearly distraught, staring at her cell phone. No one was near her, and she hadn't moved from her spot since she had seated herself.

Drake and Ignatia were seated at a table, and the two were rather subdued after all that happened. Thus they were quiet (one of them much more than the other), but they took part in a silent conversation of drawings and writings. The mime used her phone's notes app to communicate.

Futaba and Souma were at the bar, speaking quietly with each other. The former was having a bit of the harder stuff to drink, while the latter took to glasses of water. The anthropologist was becoming more dreary the more tipsy she became, while the public speaker had to do most of the talking.

Odelios and Ishiku were in the kitchen, doing the best thing they could do in this time of stress: yelling at the Monokubs to cook better. This might have been slowed down the process, but it was damn fun for the two guys.

Monokid was so bitter that everything he tried to caught on fire, even the water he was supposed to boil. Monosuke and Monotaro were busy chopping things, even things they didn't need to chop, like the water they were supposed to boil instead. Monophanie happily hummed as she worked, even as she boiled the water that had been burnt and chopped.

Monodam helped out a great deal too, as much as he possibly could. He even let the clown and magician use his head as a tenderizer and walnut cracker. It was like he was working overtime to make sure the food was prepared.

Everyone from the movie theater, sans Shuuya and Yejoon, arrived together. As the clown, magician, and the five cubs finalized the food and served it, everyone dug into it. It was hard to avoid their hunger pangs, so none of them did.

Actually, one did avoid them at first. Crystal was still alone, still putting off the attitude that she wanted to be left alone. She continued to stare at her phone, only interrupted when someone put a plate full of food on her table. The military adviser glanced upwards, only to see Souma smiling down at her.

"You really should eat something," he offered.

"I don't need babysitting," she replied, "but, thank you."

Souma sat down at her table opposite from her. He waited for her to eat for a bit, before he spoke. "You mustn't blame yourself for this."

"I'm going to, and that's that. That abhorrent man made me question everything, and I don't wish to discuss what he said tonight."

"If it rattled you that much, I won't press. There is, however something I wish to discuss with you."

Crystal sighed, putting her cutlery down as she stared at the public speaker across the table. "I know you are a straight-forward fellow, Mr. Koukai; however, I just bore witness to one of the greatest betrayals, and I was involved. Trusting anyone here is going to be very difficult."

"I understand, especially since you are primarily here for the sake of the Lions, not us."

The military adviser had felt there was no way she could be astonished any more today, but that managed to do it. She gaped at Souma, who chuckled at her look.

"As a member of the Future Foundation, and the one who is in charge of human resources and information, I would know about our Western equivalent. The Lions have done a remarkable job at restoring order to the States, Canada, and more; I had heard one of their members, a military adviser who graduated from Hope's Peak, was responsible for so much of that triumph."

Crystal leaned back in her chair, raising an eyebrow at Souma. "I am merely a part of the team we have. It was more damage control than military advice for the most part. The Lions were never meant to be secretive, though my mission here was meant to be. Guess it's just another secret revealed to all now."

"Are you here to try and find the way to utterly destroy Despair, much like the Future Foundation?"

"I came about a rumor on the origins of Despair, I hadn't thought that it would be this intense; however, I'm not one to back down from a challenge. What I aim for, what the Lions want, is for something like the Tragedy to ever happen again."

Souma nodded. "That was the thing I wanted to inquire about, as I am highly curious about the Lions. Is it true that the founding members were the survivors of the Western's first Killing Game?"

"I did say I wasn't interested in divulging information, Souma."

"I apologize. Just that as a member of the Future Foundation, I know what happened at Hope's Peak Academy. What happened on Wawanakwa Island, the broadcast that started the Tragedy on your side of the world…

"I wish to understand what happened. I, too, which for something like the Tragedy to never happen again."

Crystal sighed, then gave a cursory glance at the tavern. Everyone else was sitting, eating, talking amongst each other. For people who had been through so much, their lives endangered, and even accusing each other, there was a civility that couldn't be removed.

"I suppose," she said, "it wouldn't hurt to explain what happened with us. It began with the revival of a popular TV show… with a theme much like Hope's Peak Academy's talents and titles…"

* * *

 **Day 07, 10:25 PM**

 **Penjar (In General)**

Everyone in the tavern took some time to calm down after one of the worst, most stressful days of their lives. The food and drink were good, it gave them a sense of reality to have dinner and to call it a night.

The Monokubs were all exhausted after the dinner party. Monokuma came over to scold the graduates for using his kids when that was his job; the flurry of stomps that numerous people delivered to the bear as a stress relief left him quite the obliterated mess.

While there was still so much to discuss, the graduates eventually had to get some sleep. They all shuffled off to bed, with the hopes that tomorrow, they could finally discover some answers to this wretched town.

After the last door closed, a unique figure stood at the edge of the housing area. This being was Monodam, who was as stoic as ever. Without a word, he turned and started a long trek…

He went behind Town Hall, an area still worn-down and decrepit like everything else in Penjar. The mists moved around the buildings, despite the lack of wind, and curled around the corners; it had become noticeably thinner ever since the trial, and was now down to its normal level.

As Monodam walked through the area, he didn't seem to notice or bother to look at the buildings. This should have been worthy of attention to anyone, since everything about the buildings seemed to be warping, changing. The paint, the material that made up the buildings, right down to the foundations were seemingly shifting ever-so-slightly. Whatever was happening was slow-going, but effectively working.

Monodam was more interested in a concrete statue platform with no statue atop, and a plaque that was too faded and worn with time. He walked up to the plaque, and rubbed his paw on it.

"I-WANT-TO-UNDERSTAND," he said, rubbing the plaque harder. "WHAT-IS-THE-REASON-FOR-MYSELF-AND-MY-SIBLINGS? WHAT-IS-OUR-POINT?"

His efforts had barely any impact on the plaque, except for exposing one word, or rather, a name. Monodam stared at it, recognizing it as a human's name.

"Beardsley"

"WHAT-DOES-IT-MEAN-TO-BE-HUMAN?" the green Kub asked aloud. "IT-WOULD-MAKE-OUR-PURPOSE-HERE-SO-MUCH-MORE-EASIER-TO-UNDERSTAND. WE-COULD… GET… ALONG…"

" **You really wish to know**?"

The eerie voice behind Monodam made the Kub lock up. He turned around slowly, and he glanced upwards at the figure behind him.

" **Maybe it's time to try this at a new angle. Maybe… we should work on the human aspect of it all. Yes, let's do that! Starting with you all…** "

The figure reached out towards Monodam. He had a chance to blurt out, "OH-CRAP."

* * *

 **Day 07, 10:29 PM**

 **Housing Area**

 **?**

One of Penjar's visitors stood inside their house, reading the note they had found. Samson had left it, as requested, which actually came as a surprise to the one reading it. With the Ultimate Trader turned Traitor's last words and actions, it was actually a surprise that he would have done something for anyone else afterwards.

The note read as followed:

" _The answer was "If you combine true despair, the Seed of Despair, those who have come here, and the spirit of the one trapped here, you will accomplish your ultimate goal."_

 _Hehe, good luck with that, Entity of Chaos. Though with how I planned this murder, you won't be around for long, I'm sure. No hard feelings, right? Chaos, after all._ "

The Entity of Chaos grinned triumphantly. Being on the right track was so very, very satisfying to hear. The Entity burned the note, letting the ashes fall into the toilet.

"Everything is paying off so damn well. Thank you, Samson, for your efforts. You will be missed. I wonder where I can find a member as reliable and sinister as you…"

There was a chime from the television that brought a pause to the Entity of Chaos's words. It turned on, and the unfriendly face of Monokuma appeared on the screen.

* * *

( **Day 07 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater!** )

* _Monokuma is in a courtroom, appealing to Judge Monokuma, with an upset Monokuma dressed up as an old-fashioned father figure, with a sobbing Monokuma dressed up as an old-fashioned mother figure._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Did you know that Penjar used to be located in a rather heavily wooded area? So they slashed and burned that away! Stupid trees, God I hate 'em! What's a tree ever done for me anyway, why should I feel bad that they're gone?"

* _Monokuma then points to his parental figures in an accusing manner, which makes the bowler hat on the father-like Monokuma and the summer hat on the mother-like Monokuma fly upwards with how startled they are._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Trees look pretty in pictures and such, but really, you can grow more! And who cares about what kind they are, except for tree huggers? I'm not about to give a damn about the European or African-based larch, or the redwoods, or why people seem to think palm trees are pretty to look at!"

* _A tree smashes into the side of the courthouse, breaking through the roof, window, and wall. It startles everyone, including Monokuma, the Monokuma Parents, and Judge Monokuma, whose powdered wig pops upwards with how startled he is._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "I think you all can learn something very important from this lesson. Just remember, Penjar is more valuable than trees. You wouldn't want something like the Tragedy happening again, would you? Care more about your town than trees! Now go out there and kick a sapling for me!"

* * *

The Entity of Chaos stared blankly at the TV as it turned off, folding their arms as they tried to comprehend what they just watched.

"I can never quite tell if he's giving subtle messages," they said, "or if he's just being ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous."

A grin spread across their face as they added, "And I _love_ it. I believe it is time I find out more about Penjar, and maybe who this trapped soul is, though I think I know who it may be. If I'm lucky, I'll find out officially before the next murder."

* * *

" _As some of you may know, I'll be joining with the army when I return back home to the States. I've been asked about why I would do that after graduating from this fine academy. The truth is, I believe it is because of you all._

" _I've learned that talent, personality, and so many different walks of life result in many paths. It's almost chaotic, how you can be good at something but end up somewhere other than your standard career in that talent. Besides, I've never been one to sit at a desk or an auction._

" _I'd like to thank this grand academy, for all the connections I have made here. And also, to thank those who inspired me to reach out, and do my best with all my passion! I'm quite eager to see the changes I can help bring to the world._ "

-Samson Miller's graduation speech

* * *

 **Chapter 2, Does Penjar Bleed?, is now over.**

…

 **The Entity of Chaos is in Penjar.**

 **The Seed of Despair is in Penjar.**

 **There is a trapped soul within Penjar…**

…

 **24 Graduates remain in Penjar.**

…

 **TO BE CONTINUED.**


	18. Chapter 3-1: Penjar's Growth

**Chapter 3-1**

 **Rising Temperatures**

* * *

 _"_ _There are so many times I wondered how I survived it. Some say that's what is known as survivor guilt, but that's always been something I believed empathetic people had. I'm a selfish person at heart, and there were so many times I was just thinking how glad it wasn't myself, or someone I cared about when I grew to care._

 _"_ _Isn't that proof enough that I'm not a good person, that I had to learn to care for those that weren't me, that weren't those close to me? I didn't even care about myself at one point, and when I think back to then, I wonder why I managed to make it. So many who died wanted to live, and I didn't even want that at one point._

 _"_ _Maybe this is just nerves talking, though you know how I feel. You mustn't lie, I know that there is a part of you that is pent-up, a grand amount of emotions, especially over a certain someone, ai-je raison?_

 _"_ _I say this, because you and I relate in a lot of ways. The problem is, when I tore away my mask, I felt like I dove into the deep end and almost drowned; however, I had someone keeping me afloat. Actually, I had many now that I think about it, I truly was blessed._

 _"_ _You haven't really done the same yet, even though you have those who care. I want to help you with that. After all, it isn't right to ask you of all the favors without offering something in return._

 _"_ _Are you okay with that? I want to help you out, especially since I… may need to rely on you. Would that be okay, my dear detective?"_

* * *

 **Day 08, ? AM**

 **Anzu Amika's House**

The actress tried to get comfortable, but her mattress felt horridly rough. It was highly stifling, and she was having trouble breathing. She whimpered as she gripped her head and stomach, trying so hard to steady her nerves.

"What is going on?" she cried out, before she threw her blankets off of herself and sat up.

The room was filled with mist. It had creeped in through under the door, and was now waist-high inside the building. Anzu took a deep breath as she gasped, and felt light-headed; the oxygen in the room was severely lacking.

She started to get out of the bed, despite how heavy her body felt. The TV came on, with a loud spit of static first off. Then there was the digital face of Monokuma, leaning in so only his wretched face was on the screen. His maw opened, and the laughter that came from it…

It was a blaring, deep, demonic cackle that made the entire room shake. Anzu felt her skull rattle in her head with how forceful the sound was. The window of her place shattered from the vibrations.

Only it wasn't the laughter, it was the metallic clamp that Monokuma used to fish up the guilty party in a trial. Anzu felt it lock around her neck, and it yanked her with overwhelming pull. She didn't have time to cry out, she could barely register it happening except that she didn't know how her neck didn't break with how hard she was taken from her feet and out the window.

Her leg cut on the window's broken glass, and she hit the road outside. The rough road scraped her skin, her clothing, it was a feeling like fire against her. She struggled as the chained collar dragged her, yet it was useless; she still couldn't find her voice to cry out.

Despite the speed at which she was being dragged, the mist was flowing around her, as if following her to wherever they were going. As it moved, she could see through the thinner parts the other graduates. They had been collared, and were being towed against the ground too.

Anzu tried to scream out to them, see if anyone had broken free. Though she couldn't find her voice, the clamp around her neck too tightly clenched. She couldn't breathe, she could barely think straight…

It was then that she was pulled up a pile, the wooden logs that her body thudded against shredding her clothing more, her hair ripped in pieces from her head. She was slammed against a wooden pole, and chains wrapped around her torso and one of her arms.

Anzu's body felt so heavy, so ruined, she couldn't do anything but slump forward. She stared down at the log pile underneath her, and she saw light. It was a torch thrown at the base of the pile, and the fire from it spread quickly.

The actress found her strength and tried to pull at the chains around her with her free arm. She couldn't budge them an inch, no matter what she did.

The heat and smoke from the fire was reaching her. She felt so uncomfortably hot, and was finding it hard to breathe. Anzu let out a shriek, or at least tried to; it died in her throat, no matter how desperate she felt.

"You really should just die now! Save us all the trouble!"

The voice came from in front of her, in front of the burning pile that was at the top of. Despite the smoke, she could see that someone was standing down there, watching her suffer. No, there was a lot of people there, possibly sixteen? Even more than that, and she could vaguely recognize them…

They were the students from the three classes that had been in the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game. The ones she had seen in her vision were standing up at the front.

All of them were staring at her with the most hateful, venomous eyes that were glowing red with malice. They raised their fists and screamed at her, demanding her death come faster. Anzu struggled against the chains again, as tears rolled down her eyes.

"You're suffering a great deal, aren't you?"

The voice came from right next to Anzu, startling her with how close they were. When she whipped her head over, she saw a pale, pretty young lady standing casually on the burning log pile with her. The woman had large drill tails expertly fashioned, a gorgeous black dress that met her skin tone perfectly, an image of a beautiful gothic lolita that was undaunted by the imminent agony and death approaching them atop this hill of fire.

The gothic woman stared with contempt at Anzu, her eyes blazing with the same hateful intensity as the students down below. She grabbed Anzu's hand, and placed a revolver into her hand. Forcefully, she pushed the barrel up against Anzu's temple, with the actress's hand curling around it against her will.

"Why don't you just," the woman spat at her, " _end_ it all now? Do it. No more lies, no more emotions…

"No more chaos, no more _despair_. Do us both a favor, and end it all now."

The woman wrapped her hand around Anzu's hand, one of her fingers pressing against the one Anzu had against the trigger. Rather, it was a long finger guard that was fashioned like a wicked talon, digging into the girl's digit. It penetrated, breaking skin, tearing muscle, pushing against the bone.

"DO IT, YOU FRAUD!"

"… NO!"

Anzu pushed back with all her might, and she felt herself pitch forward. She fell down, the chains around her suddenly gone…

And she hit a carpeted floor. Sprawled out on the ground, her body shivering and shaking, she couldn't will herself to move or get up.

Her body was in agony, though the pain was quickly fading away. The actress gripped her head, controlling her body, before she braved to examine herself. The pain during that dream felt so real, so intense…

The fact that a nightmare made her feel pain was so very unnerving to her. Still, she couldn't find any injuries on herself, her skin was just fine, her hair was all there. Then she collected her breathing, and tried to mentally assure herself that it had been nothing more than the worst night terror she had ever experienced.

The TV turned on, and she shrieked before she could catch herself. The image was similar to the previous morning announcements, but only with the scenery.

* * *

( **Day 08 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _Monokuma is standing at the town hall. He glances from side to side, then shrugs._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Um, well, rise and shine, I guess!"

 **Monokuma** \- "I, uh, I have no idea where my kids are. Sorry to admit that, but that's what happens when you're an open papa bear. I don't want my children cutting loose when they go to college, and doing things like getting tattoos and piercings!"

 **Monokuma, Again** \- "But I get the feeling I'm not allowed to do what I normally like to do with my closing theater shows, so I guess I gotta keep this professional? Stupid, adorable little cubs, leaving me to adult… who's trusting me to adult! I don't know how to adult!"

 **Monokuma, Still** \- "Ahem! Anyway, you all go to the cafeteria and get yourselves something to eat, then wait there. My cubs will be around to help you out shortly, I assure you. As soon as I FIND the naughty little buggers! I swear, they are gonna get SUCH a pinch!

 **Monokuma, Again Still** \- "So go on, get yourselves prepared for the day, and hit up the cafeteria. You want to enjoy today of all todays in Penjar…"

 **Monokuma, Yet Again Still** \- "Assuming you slept well. Upupupu. AhahahahaHAHAHA!"

 **Monokuma, Reoccurring** \- "So long, bear well! Upupupupu! Now to find those dumb Kubs…"

* * *

 **Day 08, 9:31 AM**

 **Kimiko Hashiriya's House**

The biker gang leader was sitting up in her bed, drenched in sweat, clutching her sheets. She watched the announcement's finish, and slightly flinched when the TV turned off on its own. Letting out a huge sigh, she threw her sheets away, and grumbled.

"I fucking hate that bear."

"The feeling's mutual."

The second voice in the room didn't startle her, it was as if she knew they were there despite not being entirely aware of it. As she pulled herself out of bed, she turned around and saw the young man seated in the plush chair near the window.

"Did you honestly sleep there last night, Yitro?" Kimiko asked, as she adjusted her night wear. She hadn't gone to sleep naked like she normally did, just a t-shirt and her panties this time. She wasn't embarrassed about her apparel, just self-conscious at the moment.

"Yeah, I've slept under worse conditions," he said as he stood up and stretched. The rather loud popping sounds of his joints were almost as sharp as gunshots in the quiet room.

Kimiko placed a hand on her hip, and said, "You knoo', most girls woo'd find it creepy to have a boy watch over them in their sleep. They call that stalking, eh."

"I wasn't doing it to be romantic."

He hadn't meant to be so abrupt with that statement, but it came out anyway. Kimiko's slightly bemused look turned sullen, and she turned away from him.

"So I'm on suicide watch, am I?"

"You did try to kill yourself in front of all of us last night, Kimiko."

"I honestly don't know why I did. Look, Yitro," she said as she turned back around to him, "I really liked Angelique, and I know she liked me. It… it hurt so damn much, it still does; but, I don't think it was just that. Something else was in my head."

"Maybe it was Samson. He shook all of us."

"No, it was," she started to say, then shook her head. "I don't think you'd understand. This fucking town, I cannot explain it, I mean, I just had the worst nightmare ever to top it all off."

"Were you dragged out the window by that chain and clamp, and almost executed in the plaza?"

Kimiko froze, gaping at him in astonishment. Then she gripped her hair and whispered, "Oh _fuck_ , we had the same nightmare too?"

Yitro crossed his arms, and glanced out the window. The mists had settled some since yesterday, since that awful, awful day. He shook his head, and muttered, "Yet more questions this town is pushing on us. It's starting to irk me."

"That's all?" Kimiko declared, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's all you gotta say to more of this awful bullshit?"

"It's the only thing I can do to prevent myself from screaming and start breaking everything in sight," Yitro admitted, then sighed with a shake of his head. "I'm… I'm sorry, I don't really know what else to say."

Kimiko took a deep breath, as a lot of things to say came to mind. She opened her mouth, and found none of them could come out. Everything just felt like too much, except for what was on her mind most of all.

"I'm so soo'ry about Angelique," she said, staring down in shame. "It still doesn't feel real to me."

"Nor does it to me. Kimiko…"

He walked over to the biker gang leader, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You may hate me for it, but I'm not letting you out of my sight for a while. Too much happened yesterday, and I won't let someone she cared about get hurt again.

"Plus, despite her failing to hook us up because she got all enamored with you, I consider you a friend too. So I hope you'll tolerate me."

Kimiko let out a small laugh, and muttered, "Normally I'd be a'geenst that, because, you knoo', my reputation and such. I'm supposed to be the alpha bitch, but in the past twenty-four hours, I've done nothing but fail, cry, and mope. Oh, and try to blow my brains 'oot."

"Kimiko-"

"Yitro, I cannot explain what happened to me j'oost yet. I'm soo'ry, I really am, but if you give me some time, I'll try to explain better. I'm not giving up now…"

Kimiko gently pushed herself away from him, as she walked away and ran a hand through her hair. "I cannot give up now. Especially for her sake…"

* * *

 _Kimiko felt her heart fluttering with delight as she kissed Angelique. The biker gang leader felt impish enough to tighten their hug, just so she could feel more of the opera singer's full breasts up against hers. So warm, so soft, it was like heaven, just like kissing her._

 _"_ _Mmm, I needed this," Angelique purred sensually after pausing the kissing, resting her forehead against Kimiko's. "But I am actually curious about something, my belle fille."_

 _"And that w'ood be?"_

 _"_ _Am I going to have to wear leather and learn how to ride a motorcycle if we wish for this to be more than a fling?"_

 _Kimiko wiggled her eyebrows at Angelique, and whispered, "You woo'd look so damn hot in a leather jacket, eh."_

 _"_ _In all seriousness, I am curious," she said with the aforementioned serious tone in her voice now, "how much this relationship means to you. I trust you, but I don't know what it entails."_

 _Kimiko sighed softly, and reached down to take Angelique's hand in hers. Pulling apart from their embrace, she began to walk down the sidewalk with the opera singer. "Angel, I have to admit, I doo'nt fully knoo' either, but I know it's more than just a fling. I knoo' when I'm thinking with my heart rather than my… well, you knoo'."_

 _"_ _Last night was rather incredible, my belle fille. Despite my flirtatious nature, however, I don't just do what we did with every gal who shows interest in me."_

 _The two walked a bit more quietly, heading towards the southern part of Penjar where the established buildings were. Kimiko was trying to think of what to say, as she tried to form something she felt was more fitting for Angelique._

 _"_ _I'm not the really the most poetic or romantic bitch there is, Angel. I doo'nt read or watch sweet shit, hell I think the most romantic thing I did with my late girlfriend was that I told her that I'd gladly let her use my tits as a pillow any time."_

 _Angelique smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "You_ had _to have been more romantic than that."_

 _"_ _Okay, yeah, she was more special to me than that. But Angel, you're special, you're so sweet and beautiful, in more than joo'st the physical way. I… look."_

 _She stopped in front of the plant nursery, turning to face the opera singer. Her back was to the door of the building, and all of her focus was on Angelique. "I doo'nt knoo' how to make a relationship really work, especially since we're from such different walks of life. But I'm willing to try, eh. I'm so willing to try, because something a'boot you joo'st makes me feel so much better deep down."_

 _Angelique smiled sweetly, and leaned in to kiss her good. "My belle fille, I don't know what is going to happen either. I just know that life isn't worth it if you aren't willing to try, and since you are, it shows to me that I really can trust you."_

 _"_ _You… you really are, Angel."_

 _"_ _Plus there's that adorable fact that I know you want to use_ my _tits as a pillow, you naughty biker girl."_

 _Kimiko blushed bright red, and Angelique was all giggles. She covered her mouth with her free hand, and let out a long, happy sigh. "I'm sorry… I'm just so happy. It's been a while since I felt this joyful. Now, let's head on over to the tavern, and see what the others are up to; I'm not about to give up on finding the answers to this place, no matter how weird it's gotten._

 _"_ _Plus, I'm sure that Yitro's there, and I'm not going to have him sit around reading those awful romance novels he gets into. I am going to hook that boy up, and you're going to help me! You…"_

 _The door creaked open behind Kimiko. Angelique paused her speech, glancing over the biker's shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak to this person, then for a split second, Kimiko saw her eyes widen in horror._

 _There was an intensively sharp pain in the back of Kimiko's head. She didn't even feel herself hit the floor, she blacked out before she was down. The last thing she did hear was Angelique's horrified gasp._

* * *

"I joo'st… I doo'nt understand why things had to happen," Kimiko said, shaking her head. "She was so happy, she was gushing a'boot how she wanted to help you, help everyone, and then fate or whatever shit decided she had to die. It doesn't make any sense."

"No, it really doesn't," Yitro agreed. "I cannot answer that for you, mostly because I'm asking it myself. I don't believe in that kind of fate, however, and what I do believe in is that I'm going to press forward. And if you're going to too, I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to you."

"You really doo'nt need to watch over me all the time, Yitro. I promise you, I'm not going to try and kill myself a'geen."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot just take your word on that for now. Not after what happened, and especially since you cannot explain why exactly."

"I'm not going to let that bastard bear," she shouted, "or that bitch from my vision, or Samson, or ANYONE do that to me a'geen! Never! Never a'geen! I owe it to Angel, to all those I loved and lost, to… to myself.

"I'm not going to be a weak, little, pathetic, sobbing girl who cannot speak up for herself. I… I'll be strong, from here on!"

She stood with confidence, then smirked at him and cast a salute. "And I totally need a shower now, eh. You wanna watch me while I do that too?"

Kimiko was quite proud of making Yitro blush the way he did. "Is that really appropriate?" he asked, hiding his gaze.

"No, it's not. That's why I did it, eh."

The former swordsman let out a long laugh, and he said with fondness in his tone, "I can see why she liked you so darn much."

"I… I want to do right by her, I j'oost hope that you doo'nt think I'm forgetting her if I try to get back to my true self?"

"In all the time I knew Angelique, the last thing she'd want is for people to lose themselves because of her. She would be the first person to tell you to go back to being yourself."

"She'd probably try and push you into the shower with me."

Yitro chuckled, and scratched the back of his head. "Yes, she probably would," he admitted, managing to make eye contact with her for a brief moment as he smiled. Then he turned away, and said, "But… I'm not ready for that."

Kimiko took a deep breath, and said quietly, "I don't think I am either, joo'st yet."

"But go get yourself cleaned up now, or we'll be late for breakfast."

The biker gal nodded, then walked into the bathroom. Yitro sat down on the side of the bed, as he heard the water running and the shower door close. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought as his eyes flicked about as if trying to find something, or someone.

"Yeah, I was tempted there, Angelique, I hope you can forgive me," he whispered upwards. "I kind of want something, anything, to make this pain stop. Would you actually be upset with me right now?

"I just… I miss you already. I don't know what is going to happen next. Though I am not going to forget you, you'll be in my heart. And that's why, we're going to solve the mysteries together, just like you said."

* * *

 **Day 08, 10:01 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

The twenty-four graduates were all inside the cafeteria by 10 AM, though the gloom amongst them was a terribly thick atmosphere. It quickly became news that all of them, or at least anyone who was open to talk to the others, had suffered the same horrendous nightmare.

The nightmare was almost the same for everyone. They had woken up suffocating in their room full of mist, pulled out by the chain and clamp, and then dragged all the way to the plaza. The way they had almost died was different for everyone, but they all woke up with the same unnatural pains throughout their body.

The only one amongst them all that wasn't in a morose mood was Fiora. The movie maker had a big smile on her face, and was even assisting in the kitchen. She actually hummed to herself as she flipped pancakes.

"Hahaha, I've never done this before today," she cheered as she tried to flip one a little bit higher. It landed with a soft splat on the griddle, and she giggled. "Woohoo! I'm a natural! Alright, eh!"

"You know, I never thought I would say this," Odelios muttered, rubbing his eyes freely as he hadn't the time to apply his make-up, "but I am starting to see why people hate my usual morning cheer."

Fiora glanced at the clown, who stood in the middle of the kitchen with all his usual garb on, just a plain face (though slightly handsome, she thought, he was more attractive when not made-up). "I'm soo'ry, but can't I be in a good mood for once?"

"How are you not miserable? I'm just confused as all hell, like a very puzzled Hades! My perplexed purgatory, my discombobulated death realm, it's all stumped!"

"You're rather good at word play still."

"Horror and frustration inspire my creativity for some damn reason!"

Fiora giggled, and said, "Nightmares do that for me."

"What."

"You see, I kind of suffered nightmares a lot when I was younger, and my parents, God rest their souls, used to tell me to try and twist them into something better."

"Why."

"It helped me with my creative process. I got some of my best movie ideas from some of my worst nightmares! So when whatever that group nightmare we all had happened, I was joo'st thinking how it means we're on the right track!"

"How."

"Yeah, I mean, if Monokuma or whatever forces are gonna give us nightmares, it means they really want to scare us off! Well it ain't working on this girl, nosiree! Seeing a giant clapperboard try to bisect me joo'st makes me think that I gotta stay strong!"

"Clapperboard."

Fiora motioned with her hands to mimic a clapperboard to Odelios, since she thought he was confused on what it was, then went back to making pancakes. "Besides," she said, "doo'nt you have something to aim fur today, lover boy?"

"… Okay, as much as I'd like to repeat that last part, I'm wondering what you're talking about."

"Weren't you going to ask a certain nice redhead 'oot on a date?"

Odelios sighed and leaned against the fridge. "Look, I'm not the most serious of fellows, but even I have limitations to how much I'll joke around. Angelique's death, Samson's betrayal, and all the tragedy that happened afterwards, culminated that we all just had the same nightmare… I don't think I can go about asking her out on a date."

"Aw, why not?"

"Mostly that it was kind of done as a joke and stress relief, so I doubt she wants to take part after all the shit that happened yesterday."

"I've not seen you so serious in all the time you've bin here," Fiora commented, turning towards him after finishing the latest pancakes. She sighed, then brought her smile back. "How a'boot after all the crazy shenanigans that are bound to happen today, you try talking to her. Be someone to listen to her."

"You aren't going to give this up, are you?"

"Yejoon barely leaves me alone, I'm in a hellish city that's becoming more and more paranormal by the day, half of the people here seem to hate my guts, and we joo'st lost one of the nicest people here. Yes, you WILL try and be a beacon of goodness for someone here, ya… ya dang clown! No shooing you 'oot, you're here to stay!"

Odelios smirked, then ran a hand through his orange hair. "I really should do my make-up first. I should look pretty if I'm going to approach her."

"Naw, go natural, you dork. Trust me, it's nice to have a guy who doesn't want to hide their face talking to you for once. Speaking of which…"

Fiora peered into the cafeteria, seeing who was where, specifically her masked stalker. When she spotted him walking at the back of the cafeteria, he happened to glance over at the kitchen and noticed her. With a mere wave from the masked artist, the movie maker squeaked in horror and ducked back out of sight.

The graduates were seated for the most part, waiting for Fiora and Odelios to finish the food they volunteered for. Some of the usual groups had formed up, but there were a few twists in the usual crowd.

Hikari and Aka were together, but the steampunk model had insisted that Kimiko and Yitro join them. The skier appeared slightly uneasy with the two there, but she minded herself as they talked; she appeared to want more personal time with Hikari.

Ishiku and Pyrrha were seated together, with the former trying to talk up the latter. The magician had a great deal to talk about, but Pyrrha was rather fixated on the nightmares, as well more serious subjects. She was so determined to focus, she wasn't able to consider making breakfast for everyone again this morning.

Emanuel and Futaba were seated together, talking softly. Blake and Ken were engrossed in conversation, the other not really preferring the other's company, but needing someone to discuss what had happened.

Isaac, Hara, Saiko, Eisei, and Anzu had all gathered up at the same table, in heavy debate on everything that had happened. Anzu and Isaac had been the most rattled by the nightmares, and couldn't get over what they had seen. Eventually, Souma joined them, and did a good job at calming the two down.

Drake and Ignatia were seated together, with the mime using her cell phone's Notes app to communicate with him more effectively. Crystal sat opposite from them, sipping from a drink she had made as she idly observed the two.

Shuuya was seated alone, until Shinobu walked over to his table and sat down next to him. He silently regarded her at first, then sipped at his drink before saying, "I would think you wouldn't want to sit near me after all that happened yesterday."

"I'm not scared," she said, though he noticed the slightest of shivers in her movements. "It's like we were saying yesterday, if the people you kill are like Samson and other evil people, then you're not going to harm us."

He shrugged, and said, "Very well then, but what would you like? Just to sit here with me?"

It was about that time that Fiora and Odelios were serving the food they had prepared, giving it out to everyone in the cafeteria. Shinobu started to nibble at her pancakes, and was about to speak more when someone sat across the table from the two.

"Excuse me, Shinobu," Yejoon said, rubbing his chin as he glanced between the two, "but could you give Shuuya and I some time alone?"

The historian blanched, and hurried out of there, moving to the nearest populated table. Shuuya glared at the artist, and said, "You have to be kidding me. You honestly think that I want anything to do with you, or listen to anything you have to say?"

"I was hoping to appeal to you, not on my account but for the others. After all, we both have the restrictions to our hidden talents, do we not?"

Shuuya growled in frustration, and cracked his knuckles. "The restrictions prevent you from murder, they prevent me from justice. It's not the same."

"For all your hatred of me, have you ever considered that we both want the same answers? That is why we came to this town, and now we have three points of interest."

The bounty hunter/assassin glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "The Mastermind behind Penjar, the Seed of Despair, and the Entity of Chaos. Is that what you are referring to?"

"If our information is correct, the latter two of the three are members of our group. I do not know who they could be, but I believe you and I could solve the mysteries we kept an eye out. We both were able to discern Samson's true nature, I believe we would be the best set of eyes to handle this subject."

Yejoon took a sip of the drink Fiora had given him along with his breakfast (after which she had scurried away as fast as possible). The artist chuckled, and added, "I'm sure you can sense that things are escalating quickly, and whoever is behind this is trying to throw more distractions at us."

Shuuya glanced to the side, and quietly said, "Such as whatever could be the reason behind the Kubs' disappearance?"

"Those behind these Killing Games love their distractions. They don't remove their puppets, so whatever is going on is merely another curve ball that is trying to throw us off. You sense that too, so I'll be counting on you to keep your senses peeled."

As Shuuya and Yejoon continued to converse, the former begrudgingly, Shinobu was now in a conversation of her own. Or it was more like an observation, as Ignatia didn't talk and Drake was engaged in their odd but effective manner of communication.

"It's so cute, isn't it?" Shinobu said to Crystal, who still continued to watch. "I really think it's great that they can have a relationship, after all that has happened."

Crystal shrugged, not really invested in her surroundings. She occasionally moved her hand to where the collar of her custom-made jacket used to be, but it being missing made her thinking tic a sad reminder.

"They're not exactly a couple," the military expert said, finally weighing in. "They've just been hanging around each other a lot. Though there may be chemistry, it's only conversations on their part."

Shinobu pouted, and nudged Crystal. "Where's your sense of romance? Come on, after all that happened yesterday, we really do need some kind of merriment."

"I don't think we can gush about how joyful it is when the both of us," the military adviser remarked, "considering we both voted the wrong way yesterday."

The historian winced, then muttered, "Sheesh, I know it was a bad day, but you don't need to pile on the guilt."

Crystal scoffed, and moved to stroke her missing collar again, growling in frustration. She watched Ignatia and Drake in their one study conversation for a little while longer, then she finally spoke to them.

"So there is something I've been meaning to ask you," she said towards Drake, who glanced over at her curiously. "We were talking about it the other day, but we never got to what I really wanted to ask you."

"About why I came to Penjar?" the cartoonist asked.

"Yes, that. I was hoping that we could possibly continue that conversation. If you'll allow my company still?"

Drake regarded Ignatia, who shrugged and then typed on her cell phone. The cartoonist read the message, and smiled, saying, "If you want to know about that too, I don't mind explaining myself.

"You see, as I think I told you, I was part of the one year artisan program. Ignatia was too, she told me she was the year behind mine. So we weren't there long, but I did make some friends…

"Including some," Drake took a shuddering breath as he recalled the horrible events, "of those who died during the Hope's Peak Killing Game."

Shinobu placed her hands over her heart, and said, "Oh no! I'm so sorry, Drake. Is that why you're trying to find answers here?"

"Yes, I just wanted to get something, anything, to find some sort of reason to it all. At first I thought it would be for their families, but I learned most of them died too during the start of the Tragedy."

Ignatia typed on her phone, then showed the question to him. "Who did you know?"

"Well, I'll tell you a little about that…"

* * *

 ** _Hope's Peak Academy_**

 ** _Third Floor_**

 ** _Eclectic Art Study Room_**

 _Drake was busy scribbling on the paper, trying to make the same character with different expressions and poses. The problem was, while he was good at doing a variety of emotions, anything with high aggression didn't seem natural. Not even the anger on faces seemed to be genuine to him, no matter what he tried._

 _He glanced around the room, observing the others in the room. There were several drawing on paper, some painting, a couple even sculpting. It was a bit imposing, these people were known for their modern art that could be found in art galleries or professional collections, and he was doodling cartoons._

 _"_ _Well well well," a voice behind him said, "Mr. Drake Flare, our newest celebrity."_

 _The cartoonist almost whirled around, to see a rather big guy standing there in observance. This guy was shaped almost exactly like an egg, with a shrewd look on his small face._

 _There was an awkward silence between the two, before the big guy laughed. "Did you like that? My best Severus Snape impression!"_

 _"_ _What? Oh! Oh I see now," Drake said, smiling a little._

 _"_ _Hehe, someone told me you were English, so I thought a little Harry Potter would be appropriate to say hello."_

 _"_ _Oh, I'm not British, I just speak English primarily; I come from America."_

 _"_ _Really now? I must chastise my sources; however, that's not important right now. So I heard you have a highly successful web cartoon going on right now? I'm highly curious about this."_

 _"_ _R-really? Why?"_

 _The egg-shaped guy chuckled again, and said as he adjusted his glasses, "Because I, Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, am determined to ensure that the future of 2D is done by the right kind of people."_

 _Drake was now really confused, but Hifumi was rather insistent. So the two spoke about animation, cartoons, and characters for a while in the class._

 _Hifumi showed up in the art classroom the next day too, and engaged with Drake about the same subjects again. Drake was still confused after several days, especially since Hifumi seemed to be interested in the cartoonist's female characters a little more than usual._

 _"_ _There's something about your ladies of the 2D world that have me rather confused," Hifumi admitted, a week into their odd relationship. "Like, you have the passion, that is true, but there is something missing about them."_

 _"_ _Hifumi, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."_

 _"_ _That's the problem, I'm trying to see-"_

 _"_ _No, I don't understand what's going on here, between us," Drake exclaimed, staring at the surprised fanfic writer. "I mean, you're a writer, and you're also about things like official animé. I don't understand why you want to help me with my web cartoons!"_

 _Hifumi blinked in surprise, then he chuckled. "I suppose it has been a little bit odd. You see, Drake, there was something I noticed about your art style, and I wanted to help with that._

 _"_ _You see, one of the things I do, the reason I received my title, is that I love to help people showcase their passion. After all, that is what fan fiction is about, showing your love for someone else's work!_

 _"_ _When I saw your work, I felt that you could not only create, but inspire as well. Though there was one thing missing with your work, and I wanted to help you with that."_

 _The big guy reached over and pointed towards one of the female characters Drake had drawn. "You don't like your ladies angry."_

 _Drake almost flinched, the unspoken issue he was having brought up. He stammered, "I… I just have a hard time drawing them angry, that's all."_

 _"_ _No, I think it is a bit more than that. An artist is much like a writer, your personality tends to shine through with your basic work. You prefer to have people not be angry and bitter, and that's why it's so hard for you to showcase that in your ladies._

 _"_ _You must learn to accept the good with the bad if you want your characters to speak, to showcase themselves. After all, if the lady doesn't ever get angry, then she doesn't have something to be passionate about."_

 _Hifumi pat Drake on the back, and added, "Just remember that when you're trying to convey emotion, my English cartoonist!"_

 _"_ _Hifumi, darling?"_

 _The voice from the front door to the room alerted the fanfic writer and the cartoonist. They looked over to see a pale, gothic-dressed gal standing there, staring directing at Hifumi._

 _"_ _You promised me you'd make my favorite drink today," the girl said, curling one of her black bangs in her fingers. "Are you going to keep me waiting until the afternoon? The evening?"_

 _"_ _Errr, no, my princess Celestia, I was just-"_

 _"_ _NOW!"_

 _She thrust her finger with the digit-protector claw upon it towards the door. Hifumi let out a high-pitched squeak that, at least to Drake, didn't sound entirely like fear. The fanfic writer sprinted out of the room, far faster than someone his size normally would move._

 _Celestia sighed and muttered, "I hate the fact that I have to rely on him so heavily." She then realized that Drake was still there, within hearing range, and approached. "Would you kindly ensure my little pet has done his morning deed for me before he hangs out with you?"_

 _Drake nodded, rather intimidated by this goth gal. Celestia moved as if to leave, then her eye caught the drawings he had done. She leaned in towards them, and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm… are you teaching him how to draw?"_

 _"_ _N-no, Hifumi knows how to draw."_

 _"_ _Does he? Is that why he," he started to say, then sighed in exasperation. "He'd better not do what I think he is going to do."_

 _She walked off, leaving a very confused Drake behind._

* * *

"I still don't really know what Hifumi was going to do for his girlfriend," Drake remarked. "Or… well, I don't think they were dating, but he certainly seemed to have a thing for her.

"It was such a terrible shame what happened to him. Hifumi helped me out a lot, and we really got along during the times we had together. He was even one of the few who respected the fact that I don't have to make my characters sexual."

Shinobu hummed aloud, and said, "That's so strange, I would have thought he would have encouraged that, after all the things I heard about him. Still, maybe that was the thing about him, he had passion and wanted to help people with others."

Crystal sighed, as she rubbed her ring. "Drake, I am sorry to pry, just part of me has wanted to know about those people before they were given amnesia. You're one of the very few who got to know them before the Tragedy, before the Killing Games."

"Yeah, I don't understand how most of that technology works," Monotaro said, running his fingers through his hair before adjusting the head band. "How exactly did they get selective amnesia?"

"That is something that was never fully explained," Shinobu said wistfully. "It's still scary, thinking that amnesia or despair can be given to people by a mere flash of light."

"Indeed," Crystal remarked, "it's more dangerous than guns, in a manner of speaking."

…

…

…

…

…

…

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" the three speaking graduates screamed as they all jumped up and backed away from the human speaking in Monotaro's voice. Ignatia was standing on the bench of the table, appearing ready to fight right away.

"HUUUUUUUUUUH?!" the white 'n red-topped young man hollered back, holding his hands up defensively.

"WHAT IS THAT?" Shinobu shrieked, pointing at the guy from behind Crystal. "Who's he? Why does he sound like Monotaro?"

"Why does he look like Monotaro?" Drake shouted.

"Why is everyone yelling at me? Am I hideous?" the guy asked, scanning all of the people staring at him, which was all of the graduates by now. "Was I made ugly? That's not fair!"

"Aw, what a shame for you, bro," Monosuke's voice came from behind everyone who had formed a semi-circle around the white 'n red-haired young man. "Luck of the draw you turned out uggo. Too bad!"

When the graduates turned towards the source of the snide voice, there was no short, orange little bear holding money in a gloating manner. There was in fact another young man staring over at the one who resembled and sounded like Monotaro.

"Okay," Aka shouted, "what the fuck is going on?"

"IT'S HUMAN MEATBAG TIME, BITCHES!"

There was a tremendous thudding sound as a leather-clad lad jumped into the air and landed on his legs atop of a table. He was holding a blue guitar in his hands, strumming it as he struck a rockstar pose. "Hot damn, we're taking this to a whole 'nother level!"

The graduates were all highly confused and concerned, until Souma stepped forward amid them. He approached the one who sounded like Monotaro, studying how he appeared.

If there wasn't any confusion over who this was or how they could be, Souma would have surmised he was a young man in his early twenties. His hair was split in color down the middle, much like Fiora, with pure white on the guy's left, bright red on the right. It was cropped short in a cute, boyish style.

He wore a jacket that was also color-split, white on the right and red on the left. The young man also had a gray scarf around his neck and draped down his back, a ninja star on the front of it. The jeans and boots he was wearing were a normal black.

Everything about the man's skin tone and features appeared to be asian. His right eye had a dark gray, almost black in nature, pupil, and his left eye had a bright red one.

"Okay," Souma spoke up, pointing at this young man, "who are you?"

"Um, am I that unrecognizable?" was the response, before the guy looked at his own hands, and he shrieked, "By the great one's globes, how did I get _hands_?!"

"We've been in these bodies for a couple hours now," the orange one shouted impatiently. "How have you already forgotten you're a human now?"

This orange one had a hoodie on, white on the left, orange with tiger stripes on the right. His hair and eyes also followed the same color pattern that the red one had, only he was wearing glasses.

"I fucking love it, that's what I gotta say! Hands fucking rock," the blue version of these new arrivals shouted.

Of the three arrivals, this one had done a lot of custom work, so to speak. While his hair was white 'n blue, he had it cropped just like a pop singer or rock star would have it, that unruly style that seemed to be all the rage. The guy had on a leather jacket, a low neckline shirt that exposed chest hair (dark blue hair), as well as leather pants and metal-studded boots. He even had gloves on studded on the back, and dark blue nail polish on.

And what's more, he had stars drawn around his eyes. At least, Souma assumed they were drawn, because if they were tattoos, the artist hadn't made the lines entirely straight.

"So that's what's up, bitches," the blue one shouted. "Pops got us some brand new fucking bodies to fuck with!"

"You… you have to be joking," Shinobu balked. "That kind of technology… no! You're just the people behind the bears! You have to be the Masterminds!"

Several of the people made a move towards the three new arrivals, but stopped short when Monosuke's human representation shouted, "Any harm done to us will bring The Guardian down on you! I'd advise you do not try to grab us in a threatening manner, or attack us, unless you want your own meaty bodies perforated by bullets!"

Saiko approached Monotaro, the white 'n red-topped young man shaking nervously at her steely look. She asked aloud, "Are we allowed to touch in nonthreatening manners?"

"I won't kink-shame you," Monosuke remarked with a roll of his heterochromatic eyes. "Sure, fine, do that."

"What? No fair!" Monokid shouted. "Monotaro gets the ladies touching him right away!? Why him? Wait, can we still beat up Dam if it leaves bruises?!"

Saiko was inspecting the one that was supposedly Monotaro, as the graduates grouped together. "What is going on here?" Hikari whispered. "What in the name of all that is gears and steam going on?"

"These are the true masterminds of this Killing Game?" Hara asked, sounding highly unsure. "I mean… they don't seem like the type."

"These three couldn't be trusted to leave a fast food store on their own," Isaac remarked, "let alone build this ghost town up the way they have."

"We really buying what they're saying?" Blake said. "That they were just given human bodies?"

"With all the insane science and biology I've seen made possible these days," Crystal said with a shake of her head, "anything seems possible."

"I must protest," Ken spoke up. "Just because they look like their bear counterparts doesn't mean that someone in this town stuck them in a machine and gave them human bodies."

"It wasn't like that," Monophanie said, shaking her hips side to side. "It was more like a downloading process."

"Really?" Blake remarked. "Because I think that sounds like a ton of bullsh-WOAH!"

The group flinched in surprise with how sharply he barked out that last word, coupled with the fact that they had a sudden guest amid them. They turned to see Monophanie, or at least someone made up and dressed (barely) as her.

The young lady had long hair, perfectly divided between white and pink, down to the small of her back. She wore a black bikini top, with a pink flower decal on each cup. She also wore a couple of white elbow-length gloves, with some frills at the end.

Her skirt was split white and pink, with her thong underwear visible at her hips. She had on flip-flops, also color-coordinated with the rest of her barely concealing get-up. Her heterochromatic eyes scanned those looking at her, and she nervously covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh dear, did I mess up my hellos? I'm so sorry," she whimpered, her voice unmistakably the same as the simpering pink Kub. "Should I start again? I could do better!"

"You're," Eisei said, staring up at the young lady, "you are Monophanie?"

"Err, yes," she said with a confused stare at the dentist. "Did my brothers not tell you what happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Ishiku asked.

"And why," Blake said, eyes staring at Monophanie's chest, "are you HOT?!"

Monophanie stared down at herself, then nervously crossed her arms over her chest; it didn't hide the fact that her D-cup breasts were giving that bikini top a heck of a job supporting her. "Oh please don't look at me like that, it makes me feel funny!"

"Now wait a minute," Aka shouted, purposefully standing between Hikari and Monophanie, "why are you dressed like that? You look like a fan service supermodel going for a beach shoot!"

Monophanie stammered, blushing bright red as she tried to cover her face and chest at the same time. As she squirmed, Eisei spoke up again.

"And why don't you have a navel?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Monophanie's stomach, which made her blush and fidget all the more. Sure enough, her flat stomach was completely barren of the usual belly button. This made all of the graduates' shock all the greater.

"No no no, what is going ON!?" Pyrrha hollered, gripping her red hair. "How is this possible?"

"Wait, is that plastic surgery?" Souma inquired. "Can you remove a belly button with surgery?"

"If I may," Eisei said as he approached Monophanie. When she didn't say anything, he started to feel up her stomach, and the amount of blushing shades she went through while giggling non-stop at the touch was palpable.

"P-please, now I'm feeling all sorts of things," she begged.

"Ooo, she's ticklish too?" Blake said with a wicked grin on his face.

"Down, boy," Ishiku snapped at him.

Eisei finished touching Monophanie's stomach, then glanced over at the others. "Everything feels natural there. I do not have the knowledge to know how navel nullification is done, but I would imagine there would have to be some kind of marking or the like."

"Wait, that's a thing?" Hara asked.

As Eisei went into a bit of a rant over navel nullification, Saiko called out to them while searching Monotaro's body. "He doesn't have one either. And as someone with the biology background to back it up, the lack of one doesn't seem to be surgery related. It makes no sense!"

"What makes no sense," Monotaro muttered, "is why you had to touch me all over, and I didn't even buy you dinner…"

"Shush. You're not allowed to be a pervert."

" _You_ were the one touching _me_!"

Saiko walked away from him, and towards the others. "Okay, this is actually quite concerning. It's not just the lack of a navel, it's the pristine skin, the heterochromatic eyes, and the flawless hair coloring."

"I have that kind of hair coloring too," Fiora pointed out, indicating her black 'n white hair.

"Shut up," Emanuel grumbled at her, his confused glare focused briefly on the movie maker.

Fiora sneered back at him, and Saiko said, "If I look close, Fiora, I can see where the dye is done; more specifically, your eyebrows."

"Yeah, the hair on my head is the only hair I dye. I don't do that."

Fiora pointed to Monophanie, and said, "Look at little miss fan service there, she's like the others. One eyebrow is perfectly white, the other matches her color theme."

Monophanie stared at Saiko, then nervously bit her bottom lip. "I wanted to wear more, but I was told that I needed to stay true to my bear form."

"How does your bear form relate to your lack of clothing?" Ken inquired. "You are hardly dressed, ma'am, and as the only female of your bunch, that's fairly inappropriate."

Monophanie raised her hands and waved them frantically. "No no no, don't give him an excuse-"

"THE PUBLIC DEMANDS IT!"

There was a lightning-fast amount of movement, and then Monokid was down to his boxers, his clothes scattered on the floor around him. His underwear was themed with blue and white stars. "You guys want a hunk of rockstar, here it is!"

"Oh my," Ken said glancing away.

"Oh my," Futaba remarked, but not in the same way.

"Oh good grief," Monosuke said, face-palming. "Do youse know how hard it was to get him to put on his clothes in the first place?"

"Okay, enough messing around," Saiko declared, stomping up towards Monosuke. "What's going on? Why are you all here in human form? How is this possible?"

Monosuke chuckled, and began his explanation. "Youse want to know? Well, after the last trial, Pops decided that we needed to relate to youse all more, so when we were finished restoring part of the eastern side of the town, we got our old science lab running.

"As it turns out, we can make ourselves new bodies, and we modified them to our specific desires. Everything except tattoos, Monokid got a sharpie for that.

"Anyway, the rules still stand by any violent attack towards us will be met with extermination. However, we want to show youse all our new part of the town, as well as the science lab."

There was an unsettling quiet amongst the graduates, as they let this all sink in. Isaac managed to find his voice first, and asked, "Let me get this straight: you made human bodies for yourselves overnight?"

"Daddy did it," Monophanie said, shrugging her slender shoulders. "I mean, I haven't a clue how that science stuff works, I just know how it does. Kind of like cell phones, you know? How do they work?"

"And fucking magnets!" hollered Monokid.

"Now we cannot take all of youse to the science lab at once, that'd be far too many people," Monosuke said, "but youse can explore the other buildings we restored."

"You restored more buildings?!" Ken barked out. "What… what is it about you despair-loving fanatics that you always do this? Opening up new sections after a trial, adding more areas, it makes no sense!"

"I don't write the meta, I just go with it to avoid confusion," Monosuke shouted. "But enough jibber-jabber, who wants to see-"

"But why?!" Saiko demanded to know, stomping forward. "Why did you all get human bodies? What is the point of that?"

"Pops could explain it when we're there," Monosuke said, adjusting his glasses. "No sense in trying to pull answers from me, I'm just one of the participants."

"This is just too weird," Pyrrha muttered. "And why do you all look our age? Are you… trying to blend in with us? Do you really want that? I thought you all wanted us to die."

"I'm more than willing to do human stuff with you all now," Monokid said with a devious chuckle, "especially since I'm looking at some of you, and it's making me feel things too! Like-"

"We don't need any more than that, Kidd," Monophanie shouted.

"'Kidd'?" Hikari asked.

"Oh, um, we decided to go by more human names while we're human. He's Kidd, I'm Fannie, Monotaro is Taro, Monosuke is Suke-"

"I still think that is slang for something inappropriate," Suke shouted, "it sounds dirty somehow! We don't have the internet here, how can we really know-"

"And then there's Dam," Fannie concluded. "Does that help?"

"Wait, where is Monodam?" Drake asked. "I don't see him."

"Dam is working on the final touches of a personal project," Taro said, tapping his fingers together, almost hypnotizing himself with his own movements. "He will be at one of the other buildings. Come on now… let's go before I forget which way the new places are."

The group of graduates started heading out of the cafeteria, along with the human Monokubs. The one hesitation was when Blake asked Fannie to hold up for a bit.

"Everyone was seeing," the pyro explained, "if you all were really human and such by investigation. I wanted to do the same."

"Okay," Fannie said, her black 'n pink eyes glancing to the side in confusion.

There was a moment of silence within the cafeteria, then there was a high-pitched shriek, and a mighty slap to the face echoed throughout the building.

"Just because I got a human body recently," she shouted as she stormed out of the building, "doesn't mean I don't know what you're trying to do, baka!"

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:24 AM**

 **Eastern Side of Penjar**

 **Near ?**

Moving past Town Hall, past some of the worn-down and decrepit buildings, was an area that appeared to be in the process of restoration. It was a little hard to describe for them, since it was that odd blend of buildings run down and ravaged by time and the elements, but something renewing life and strength in them.

All of the buildings were surrounding a plaza-like area, where there was a large statue of Monokuma at the center. The plaque on it said, "To our Beloved Father!"

To the right of the statue, or rather to the south, there was a school. It appeared to be a grade school for children, judging by the playground that was out front. This was one of the most concerning things to those who had taken to exploring the town; they had never seen a school around here.

Straight ahead from the statue, or rather to the east, there was an official two-story building. The windows on all sides were so grimy, the grime aged horribly, it almost appeared to be moldy wood. Though upon moving closer, one could see the inside, which was actually clean and maybe even polished. A crude sign was hanging above the front door, reading, "Science Lab."

To the left of the statue, or rather to the north, was a rather old fashioned tailor shop. There were mannequins in the display windows, all wearing similar clothes to what the human Kubs were wearing; there was also a sign hanging from one of the mannequins saying, "Coming Soon for Miss Wilson."

Behind the statue, or rather to the west, was a public bathroom, with a couple outhouses. It was quite unglamorous, especially since the outhouses were as faded and rusted as everything else.

"Ew," Fiora remarked as she regarded the outhouses, "that's got diseases written all over it. Now then, how are we going to go a'boot exploring the new areas-"

"Shut. Up."

Emanuel shoved the movie maker to the side as he made a beeline towards the tall building labeled Science Lab. "There's no point but to investigate this technology they allegedly have. And we need to have people who are intelligent enough to understand this shit, not dumbasses like you!"

Fiora scoffed and turned away from him. "Fine, whatever. Like hell I'd want to go with you, eh."

Taro stepped in front of the group of survivors, and raised his hand. "Attention, everyone! I'd like to say, since we have twenty-four guests now in Penjar, we should do tours of the Science Lab with a group of six. Who would like to go… first?"

He had managed to fascinate himself with his fingers again. Emanuel let out a loud, frustrated groan, and moved forward. "I am going with the first group, and no one who is pathetic, because they wanna be fucking funny or sexy or angsty, is allowed to go! Got it?!"

"Who the hell died," Ishiku snapped, "left you in char-"

Emanuel swung at Ishiku, but the magician managed to duck out of the way in time. The Bête Noir snarled and pointed threateningly at Ishiku, and shouted, "Because I will beat the shit out of you if you try!"

"Oh really?" Anzu shouted, stepping towards him. "I dare you! I dare you, you crass piece of shit!"

Ken moved forward to try and stop this, but Emanuel was faster. He reached out and shoved Anzu with a hard push to the chest; despite her determination, he was far stronger than her, and it knocked her down on the ground.

"There, happy, you cunt?" Emanuel said with a hateful, spitting tone. "Now back the fuck off, and let the serious people handle this!"

Much arguing followed, in which Anzu was helped up by Kimiko. The biker gang leader pulled her away from the confrontation, and helped dusted her off.

"It's pointless to reason with him," Kimiko said. "It's pretty much now his only way to handle frustration."

"It just makes me so mad," Anzu said with a mighty heave of annoyance. "You know why we haven't able to work as a group? Because of him! He makes it impossible to try and rally together!"

The fighting continued, until finally Isaac managed to be heard out by everyone. "We're not getting anywhere bickering like this! Let me just request to everyone that my group, consisting of myself, Hara, and Saiko, to take part in the first group. I would rather work towards getting this done, rather than fighting over it like brats."

Emanuel spat angrily, then said, "Fine, whatever. Crystal should come with us too, since she's the only one left amongst you that has a brain."

"No, I'd rather not," Crystal said with a shrug. "Besides, I believe there is a summons for me at the tailor shop, I wish to see what that is about."

The Bête Noir stared at her, then rolled his eyes. "Off to see something pointless and stupid instead of the real issues? I guess you aren't that smart, I mean, you're the one who trusted Samuel."

Crystal shook with contempt, then turned on her heel and walked away, towards the tailor shop. Emanuel looked like he was going to say more, but Ken stepped up, in front of him.

"I will be accompanying you," the cavalryman said, glaring at the detective. "If only to keep your rotten attitude in check."

"Stuff it, I just ain't putting up with bullshit anymore. You all just want to wait for someone else to die to do something, letting yourselves get distracted. But fine, let our attempted murderer join us, what could go wrong with that?"

The group of graduates all grumbled in frustration with what was going on, until one of them stepped up. "If only to finish this pointless argument," Shinobu said with a calm tone, "I will go with this group as the sixth member. There's actually a lot I want to ask on this tour."

As if alerted by this statement, Taro snapped out of his self-hypnotized state and stepped forward. "Oh yes, don't worry about that! Myself, Kidd, and Suke will be your tour guides through the Science Lab! It'll be so nice, escorting a lovely lady around!"

Shinobu blinked, then turned towards the other members of this group. "Which… which one do you mean?"

"You, of course!"

The historian blinked again, blushed, and then hid her face. "No no no! I'm not that lovely! I mean, you're… you're just the Kubs made human! You're like children!"

"No we're not," Kidd shouted, jumping up and down childishly. "We're about the same age as you guys!"

"And youse'll learn all this and more," Suke said, "if you take the tour. No more than six allowed in the Science Lab, and there will be restrictions to this building in the future!"

Emanuel sighed, and shook his head. "First place to have serious restrictions, this is going to be interesting. Well, whatever, let's go then."

Taro walked up towards Shinobu, and offered his hand. "Now, allow me to guide you."

"Eek!" Shinobu squeaked, before taking his hand. Her face was almost as red as his color theme. "This… this is so weird and odd and one of those things you read about but don't believe and it's happening to me right now-"

Suke loudly cleared his throat, as he approached the Science Lab's front door. There was a numerical key code lock next to the door, which he punched in while covering it with his body from prying eyes. The doors opened up, and the six graduates and three human Kubs walked in.

As the doors shut behind them, the rest of the graduates stood around near the statue. Fannie stood nearby them, a good distance from Blake. They were all silent for a few seconds, then Souma spoke up.

"Are we just going to stand here then?" he asked, crossing his arms impatiently. "We really should be doing something more productive."

Fannie hummed aloud, swishing her hips as she walked around them. "The tour will take an hour. You could always check out the tailor shop, or the school! Or the public restrooms! We managed to get them really clean."

"I think we can pass on the restrooms," Eisei remarked. "Unless you all just started hiding worthwhile items in seemingly unimportant places."

"Crystal already went to the tailor shop," Drake said, "I think I'd like to join her."

Ignatia nudged him, and the cartoonist added, "Oh, I think we'll go join her. Anyone else want to go?"

"That sounds lovely," Anzu said, smiling pleasantly.

"I wouldn't mind checking it out," Eisei commented.

"I'd love to check out some new threads," Ishiku said with a cheer. He turned towards Fannie, and asked, "Since three of you are being tour guides for the Science Lab, are you going to be a guide for the Tailor Shop?"

"Oh no, Dam is in there," Fannie remarked. "I'll be touring the school with you all, it's quite big."

There was a devious chuckle, as Blake stepped forward. "Well then, lady with the candy-colored hair, I wouldn't mind joining you for the tour of the school."

The white 'n pink-topped girl winced and declared, "Eww! I know what you're trying to do! You cannot fool me, I do not trust you!"

"I promise to behave with honorable intentions."

"Oh, okay then!" Fannie said with a happy smile. "Would all of you care to join me? The school is quite big, I'm sure you'd all like to look around."

The remaining graduates who hadn't gone to the lab or tailor shop exchanged glances, as Fannie with Blake close behind walked towards the school. They didn't know how this would be important.

"At the risk of sounding defeated," Odelios said, wringing Rubarrow's neck, "what the hell else are we gonna do? Search the outhouses?"

"Aw, I don't want to prove Emanuel right," Fiora declared. "I don't want to waste time doing things that won't help us, I wanna be helpful!"

"Now now, little flower," Yejoon said, patting her back, "there's a lot of highly unique objects in this town, and it's our job to find them."

Fiora froze up when touched by the artist, then shivered, and declared, "Yeah, um, maybe… there's one in one of those outhouses, gonna look there now bye!"

The movie maker sprinted off towards one of the outhouses, slamming the door behind her. Futaba snickered, and glanced over at Yejoon, saying, "You really think she likes attention from you? You're really pushing it if you think she wants your affection."

Yejoon scoffed, and walked off towards the school, but not before stopping nearby Shuuya. "Focus, remember?" he whispered, before heading towards the school.

Shuuya took a deep breath as he watched the serial killer head towards the school, then realized some of the others were staring at him. "What?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Do you all think I'm paying any heed to what he's saying?"

"Even if he isn't moral," Futaba said, "he isn't entirely wrong. There could be something in the school that's highly important."

"They have a science lab where they made themselves human bodies," Yitro pointed out. "How could a run-down school be more important?"

Kimiko spoke up, at first rather quiet but then finding her courage. "Anzu and I experienced visions when we touched random items. Maybe there is something in the school that will do the same?"

"Or maybe some history to this town," Souma remarked. "Either way, I think it is worth exploring here while we wait for our tour."

The ten graduates nodded in agreement. Then they all jumped in surprise when there was a high-pitched scream, and a sharp slap. "You lied to me," came the indignant shriek of Fannie.

"It was the artist guy, he pinched your butt!"

"What? Oh, you foxy pervert! I'd slap you, but I'm terrified of you too much!"

"Hey, I'm terrifying too! Come on, baby!"

"Kindly silence yourselves," Yejoon snapped at them over the heated debate.

The ten graduates nearby exchanged glances. Hikari sighed aloud, adjusting her hat as she said, "You know, this actually grinds my gears when I think about the absurdity of the situation. We're a collection of quirky people who are exploring a ghost town where there's an advanced science lab and a worn down grade school, all while being monitored by mechanical bears who have gained human bodies for some reason.

"This all sounds like some ridiculous cartoon, or a reality show, or something else completely different from this."

* * *

 **(Outhouse Confessional - Whoa, what the hell are we doing HERE?!)**

 **Fiora** \- * _sulking with her arms folded over her chest_ * "I'm so sick and tired of Yejoon following me around and encouraging me! I can encourage myself just fine, or get along with one of the other graduates!

"If… one of the other graduates would pay attention to me, that is. I mean, none of them are hitting on me like I keep seeing _everyone else_ doing, and they won't come near me with Yejoon around me…"

* _She stops talking, then glances around inside of the outhouse._ * "… Wait a minute. Why am I talking about my personal problems in here? What am I _doing_ in here?!"

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:31 AM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Main Lobby**

The main lobby was rather ragged, from down to the matted carpet to the peeling paint on the walls. The front desk was covered in dust, with papers so faded with time that the writing was illegible. Offices and rooms in the back were rather derelict, with cobwebs almost filling up every doorway.

Fannie was leaning against the front desk, keeping a close eye on Blake as she huffed rather adorably. The graduates glanced around the area, trying to figure out more.

"Okay, let's spread out," Souma suggested. "There's some classrooms nearby as well, maybe we can find something out about this place."

"I'll stay here," Blake suggested, grinning at Fannie, "and check out the, ah, student body!"

"Eww," Fannie cried out, "I'm not a student, I'm a woman! And what's more-"

Shuuya walked up to Blake and grabbed his ear. Pulling the man away, the bounty hunter saying to the protesting pyro, "Quit trying to score and help us, or I'll make you really feel like a misbehaving student!"

Futaba chuckled as she followed after the two, into one of the nearby classrooms. The others exchanged glances, then split up. Aka and Hikari walked into some of the surrounding offices, glancing around; the steampunk model used her umbrella to swat away cobwebs.

"I don't really see anything in here but more cobwebs and dust on normal objects," Hikari stated. "Okay, I really don't want to go in these rooms, they're filthy."

"And they make me think of the offices I got sent to all the time," Aka said, an impish grin on her face.

The model smirked over at the skier. "Were you a bad student, my darling?"

"I got into fights with boys and girls, got overly aggressive sports, did some dangerous things like climbed trees… oh, and I started making out with girls when puberty gave me hormones ablaze!"

"Have you always been a daredevil?"

"Hot damn, yeah. In fact, just to be that thrill-seeking daredevil," the skier walked up behind Hikari, and properly pinched her butt, "I'd say, let's skip all this and go to round two, _darling_."

Hikari squeaked adorably, then laughed as she turned towards Aka. "You just are happy we're having sex now, that doesn't mean I am going to drop everything and shag you sweetly."

"I'm the one on top, honey-bunny. Besides, what are we hoping to do? Find something that'll make us pass out when we touch it? Historic items in a grade school? It's not thrilling, and there's, like, ten people already on it."

Aka snaked her arms around Hikari's slender waist and pulled her back towards her. "Come on, it's on your mind! You cannot make a thrill-seeker like me just walk around and look at boring stuff."

"Nnngh," Hikari moaned, as she shivered at Aka's touch, "b-but I don't think we should dodge responsibility! Maybe we should… find something exciting?"

Aka hummed, and then glanced over towards the main desk. Fannie was still leaning against it, making small talk with Odelios. The clown had stayed back to examine the front desk, and was now entertaining Fannie with his rubber chicken.

"The boys are all over Monophanie's human form, it would seem," Aka remarked. "Put a girl in a bikini, they'll flock to her in droves."

"Oh you cannot deny you're curious too," Hikari said with a naughty laugh. "If you weren't trying to seduce me, you'd be trying to pump her for information."

The skier giggled most impishly, and whispered, "Wanna try and see if Fannie likes girls, together? Now that is daring, trying to seduce one of our sadistic hosts!"

"Are… are you serious?"

"It's worth a try, haha!"

Odelios was busy doing a routine in front of Fannie, who laughed and clapped at every joke. "You're so funny, Odelios," she said approvingly. "I love puns so much!"

"Thank you, little lady! I'm working on my routine for when I ask out a certain someone. There's work to be done."

"It's rather sweet, you all trying to get along! Now I'm happy to be a human, you have way more interesting ways of asking people out than bears."

Then, the bikini-clad former bear girl let out a shriek, leaping upwards as both of her butt cheeks were pinched. She whirled around shouting, "Darn it, Blake, I don't want…"

She went silent when she saw it was Hikari and Aka who had both done the deed. There was an awkward pause, then she turned to Odelios and whispered in fear, "Wh-wh-what do I do? I've never had so many people flirting with me before!"

"You think I have that experience?" Odelios asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They're mostly just trying to smack me and make fun of my voice!"

"Now that I have experience with."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:37 AM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Classroom 01**

"So what the hell is your deal?" Shuuya barked at Blake, as they rummaged through the grade school classroom. "Monophanie is still one of our hosts, an assistant to the death and despair that is part of Penjar, of maybe the Tragedy. Just because she now has a big pair of breasts doesn't change the fact that she's dangerous as hell."

"Oh please, have you seen them? Those big, pristine globes are so worth trying to get up in that. Besides, why do you care about my well-being, mate?"

Blake examined one of the desks for the students. The inside was so full of dust and cobwebs, he didn't want to dare stick his hand in there. Gripping it and lifting up, shaking to see if anything was in there, he groaned when nothing but dust and cobwebs fell out.

"You're an assassin, aren't you? If I need someone killed, I'll contact you, but I definitely don't need a damn lecture on what I should and shouldn't do," he said, glaring over at Shuuya.

"If you endanger us all with your actions, it concerns me."

"Oh, we really playing that card now? You gonna act like the better man, saying you care about the others so much?"  
Blake moved right up to Shuuya's face, the latter undaunted by this. Futaba, watching this exchange, kept silent due to her anthropologist side as well as personal interest.

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Shuuya said. "I'm just telling you, thinking with your penis is not going to help us out here. And also, do you honestly think you have a shot?"

Blake barked out a laugh, leaning up against a chair. "Oh, that's hilarious, you want to give me the moral lecture? Is that what the fucking world is like?"

He cackled again, and then stopped suddenly. "It's so fucking funny, it kind of circles back into not funny at all territory. Here you are, a man who willingly admits that he hunts down people and murders them, and everyone has just given you a pass. There's no worry, no voice of concern, they all just let you do you…

"Meanwhile, I hit on a girl, and everyone loses their fucking shit!"

The pyro kicked the desk and chair combo, knocking it and several of them over. There was an infuriated huff, and then Blake dusted himself off; so much of the dust had drifted onto him from that motion.

"You know, while I was in prison, I learned that not everyone in there is a cold-blooded, irredeemable monster, like people like you want to make them out to be," Blake remarked. "I also learned that life can be horribly fleeting, especially with all the shit that's been going on.

"So guess what, you stupid shit? I don't give a damn if you don't like me or what I do, and I'm going to do it anyway. Because I don't really expect anything of importance to simply be found in the town of our enemy; they're not fucking stupid.

"I'll be on my way, doing what I want to do. You can just waste your damn time and energy, until the next murder happens. We all know that's what is going to progress things here."

With that, he stormed out of the classroom. Shuuya stood there, silent without much reaction. Futaba allowed for some silence, before approaching the bounty hunter.

"In three," the anthropologist counted aloud, "two… one."

A second after the "one," a shriek came from the main lobby, and then a slapping sound. Futaba chuckled, and said, "Ever predictable."

"I don't know entirely about that," Shuuya said, shaking his head. "I mean… is he right?"

"About which part, handsome?"

"About, well, a lot of it, but most importantly, the part that we are wasting our time. Do we really think we'll find out the answers by exploring this old school?"

He gestured towards the classroom, which was just a dusty, abandoned mess to Futaba's eyes. She corrected her glasses, and said, "Maybe not, but we must move forward rather than slump backwards. Do you really think that we should just up and leave? Ignore new areas of interest? Sulk in our rooms?"

"No, not really."

"Then buck up. We have a school to explore, rooms to look into. Maybe we'll find something, maybe we won't; but we don't give up just because of failure!"

Shuuya glanced at her, then smiled a little. "Odd, the same advice could have been given to Blake with his continued attempts."

"Yes, but it's actually fun watching him fail trying to get into Fannie's pants."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:45 AM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Classroom 04**

Past a decrepit computer lab, beyond a couple classrooms that were completely overrun with dust and cobwebs, was a classroom that wasn't quite as rundown as the others. It was there that Yejoon had wandered in, and Yitro, Kimiko, and Pyrrha followed intrepidly.

The artist was looking at a long shelf, which was cluttered with all kinds of objects. They seemed to be a collection of childish trinkets and toys, though there were some rather elaborate objects.

Yejoon tapped against the glass of the aquarium, which was filled with water. The tank had an oxygenation pump working effectively, and there was gravel, faux seaweed stalks, and a tiny castle inside.

However, as Yejoon tapped on the case, it was obvious that there were no aquatic animals inside it. "Complete restoration of a fish tank amongst all of the other objects here, how odd."

Kimiko and Yitro were content in staying away from him, but Pyrrha dared to inspect the shelf too. She recognized almost all of the objects on the long shelf: a rotary phone, a baseball glove, an insect containment case, a duster that was far too dusty to use, an Earth globe, and numerous others.

The romantic writer placed her fingers on the globe, and spun it, watching the dust fly off and reveal parts of it. "Oh good, still round," she said with a small laugh.

"That would be a rather interesting thought," Yejoon said, making Pyrrha flinch slightly. "Penjar, a town so isolated from the world, they were all Flat Earthers."

Pyrrha nervously chuckled, and tried to make herself busy. When she noticed there was a great deal of drawings posted up nearby on the wall, she started examining them. Most of them were horribly faded, but they still had some visible images.

"There is actually something I wished to discuss with you, Pyrrha," Yejoon said, much to the romance writer's horror. "Could you pardon a minute to sate my curiosity?"

"I… I don't think I wish to discuss things with you, Yejoon."

"But you don't know the conversation-"

"I can guess. Plus, you frighten me. I don't feel comfortable discussing things with you."

"Really? Because ever since Shuuya's real profession, someone with an incredible art of assassination, was revealed, it has not seemed to darken anyone's feelings of him."

"That's different! Because if it is all true, he only kills people who are dangerous. That's something we've all had to accept in the world after the Tragedy. And… well…"

Pyrrha sighed as she rested a hand on the shelf, drumming her fingers until she found the words. "The Tragedy scarred the world more than we could imagine, and we saw the most overwhelming Killing Games taking place. Despair was almost broadcast across the entire world, a floating island nearly crashed onto Japan.

"We're not safe yet, and the more I see of Penjar, the more convinced I am that something else can happen. So I want to remain focused on trying to find the truth to this place…

"And most importantly, if you are seriously asking me why people are accepting to Shuuya and not you, you casually have admitted to murdering your parents, as well as two hundred people. Do you honestly need to be explained why Fiora doesn't like you?"

Yejoon stared at her, then chuckled. He tapped his cane against the ground, and said, "You are a very brave woman, and I appreciate your honesty."

"It should have been obvious," Pyrrha said, shaking her head.

"But I was merely going to ask you what you personally thought of Fiora. I hardly hear anything from the others about her but the films she made and the rather harsh insults thrown at her during the trials."

"We're not all Emanuel," the romance writer said with a shake of her head, her red hair swishing with the movement. "Fiora is not a bad person, she is eccentric and excitable, but I daresay scatterbrained. She can be quite lovely, but I don't think that romance or relationships are on her mind."

"I get the opposite distinction on the last part. When she observes those who are romantically or lustfully connected, she appears rather longing. I believe Fiora wants something positive, or at least fulfilling."

Pyrrha stared at him, unable to think of a proper response. She thought she heard movement out in the hallway, and the atmosphere of the creepy, abandoned school along with the fact that she was talking to an unabashed serial killer. She shook her head, and sighed with contempt.

"Look, I don't want to come off as a bitch, I really don't; however, I don't know how else to come across to you. You _scare_ Fiora, you are a murderer! There isn't anything you can do to change that, and if there is a shred of respect for her in you, then stop thinking about her in a way that implies that she'd change for you.

"Fiora isn't going to just overlook your horrendous past, and that chilling attitude you presently carry. So stop trying!"

There was a laugh from Yejoon, the last sound Pyrrha thought he would make. "And what about you?"

"Wh-what?"

"You've been quite the romantic since you first arrived, and there seems to be a lot of love and/or lust in the air. Fiora is bisexual, and I am fairly certain you are too. I'm quite good at reading people, and-"

"STOP!"

Pyrrha's shout startled Yejoon, as well as Kimiko and Yitro. The romance writer heaved in frustration, covering her face as she cried out, "Just stop! Don't you understand?! I don't feel comfortable talking to you! Stop asking me questions like that, please! Just… just leave me alone!"

Yejoon stared at her, quickly regarding Yitro and Kimiko. The two were watching closely, and the artist could tell the former swordsman was preparing to move if need be. The artist sighed, and said, "Very well. If you will excuse… me…"

He stopped speaking, as his keen eyes had noticed something. Pyrrha had her hand on one of the drawings, in a way that made him think at first she was balancing herself due to the emotion. Then, he realized she was covering it, shielding it from sight.

"What is that drawing, Miss Poole?"

Pyrrha flinched, then lifted her hand for him to see. Yejoon regarded the childish drawing, the crude depiction of a man wearing all brown, and an oversized hat. It was when he saw letters that were covered with dust, though there was a familiarity to them.

The artist moved in and removed the dust over them, and then it was clear. The words "Aaron Beardsley, Chereef" had been drawn in the corner. The man drawn all in brown was also, Yejoon realized, holding a gun at his hip.

"Why did you hide this, Miss Poole?" he asked her.

She shivered, then said, "I… I don't want you showing that to Fiora. If she brings it up again, Monokuma might go overboard."

Yejoon snickered, then tore the picture from the wall. "He's not here, his children turned human adults are. And they don't care. Excuse me."

And with that, he was out of the room before anyone could stop him.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:46 AM**

 **Ye Olde Tailor Shop**

Crystal stared at what was on full display on a mannequin, her eyes wide open in shock. She hadn't spoken for a while, but had moved forward to inspect the garment with her hands. There was no mistaking it, no matter how much she thought this was a clever fraud.

Her jacket, the custom-made garment with the wide brim, stitching and color coordination done with her preferences, was replicated perfectly. It was on display, in front of her, in her hands.

"I… I cannot believe it," she said aloud. She glanced around at the others there. "This is real, right? Am I hallucinating?"  
"That is, in fact," Eisei said, stepping up next to her, "a jacket. In fact, it appears to be much like the one you used to wear."

Crystal shook her head, and said, "You don't understand, I had that jacket custom-made. It was a brilliant piece of work that was more than just a style, it was something specifically made to fit my desires. I… this cannot be!"

Eisei motioned to her, and offered a lollipop. The military adviser shook her head, and thus the dentist treated himself to it. He asked as he began on the candy, "If I may inquire, why is it so impossible that a custom-made jacket has been replicated? I understand the difficulty of doing so, but is it really as impossible as you make it out to be?"

Crystal sighed. "My jacket was made by… my sister's husband. He was a tailor of sorts, he did work like that, and he made this… I mean, my original jacket, for me. It was something I treasured…"

She shook her head and walked away, adding, "I still wish I had something else, anything else, to snuff out those fires yesterday. And it was for nothing, damn it."

"In retrospect, maybe it was; however, you did the right thing, if I may add."

"You may."

"Though from what you were saying, is your sister's husband no longer alive? Is that the cause for your consternation?"  
"Yes."

Eisei nodded, as he glanced around the tailor shop, ensuring no one was eavesdropping. Anzu was inspecting a rack of dresses in the back, smiling as she enjoyed seeing how they looked on her. Drake, Ignatia, and Ishiku were all in the back, in the changing room, where they had been with the "employee" of the tailoring shop.

"I hate to pry, but during the end of the second trial," Eisei said, "Samson brought up your sister, and you reacted rather strongly to it. Now we've been rather bad at communication as a group, and information isn't being shared properly; I still am not entirely aware of what Kimiko saw in her vision, and yet it seemed to have affected her deeply.

"Is there any chance you could explain to me what happened?"

Crystal smiled softly, but shook her head. "It's not something I wish to go over, it is a personal tragedy. It would be as if I asked you the details of your family's death, Mr. Amane."

The dentist regarded her, then shrugged and said, "Very well then. I just wish to try and discover the answers to all the questions we have going on."

"We do have a plethora of questions and no answers, don't we? My apologies."

Anzu walked over to them, as she held a red dress in front of herself. The deep crimson color was rather intriguing compared with her pale apperance. "Hey there, you two~ How does this look, huh?"

"That's very fancy, but rather lovely," Crystal remarked. "It would amazing on you."

"Yes, the dark red is quite the sensual contrast with your skin tone and hair color," Eisei remarked.

"Hehe, maybe it would better," Anzu said with a wiggling of her eyebrows, "on the bedroom floor in one of your rooms?"

"I'm straight," said Crystal.

"I'm not interested in recreational fornication," said Eisei.

"And I'm losing my touch," pouted Anzu. "No, seriously, I thought I cheer up people with my skills and such… but all I've really been is a source of drama."

Crystal shrugged, and said, "There's still here I'm sure want to sleep with you, Anzu; however, I feel like you're underestimating yourself."

When Anzu quirked her head to the side, Eisei chuckled. "You've proven to be highly capable of standing your ground and presenting reason during the trials, as well as keeping yourself situated in this dreary place. I believe in your capability."

Anzu smiled at the two, and said, "Thank you. I do appreciate that, my dears."

Before they could talk more, they were interrupted by a proud declaration of, "Hey look at us! We're bears now! RAWR!"

Ishiku had burst out of the changing room, wearing a hoodie exactly like what Suke had. The half white, half orange with tiger stripes look worked out well for the magician, especially with the hood up and the bear ears on it poking out adorably. Ishiku even had a fake set of glasses on, really appearing like a nerd with the emerald skeleton staff he carried around with him.

"Rawr," he repeated, making a silly pawing motion with his free hand.

Ignatia stepped out of the changing room, wearing a blue shirt and a leather jacket much like Kidd. She had even used her own make-up to do stars around her eyes, far better than the rowdy rockstar had done. The mime smirked at the audience, and mimicked bear claws too.

Drake walked out at the same time as the one who had been in the store when they arrived there. Both of them were wearing a polo shirt that was half white, half lime green, with a collar and sleeves that dark gray; there was even an extended part of the sleeves that were metallic gray, much like the bear's original extension arms.

Dam's hair was the only one styled like his newly humanized siblings. Half-white, half-green, and his eyes had the same color coordination that the others did too. Dam appeared nonchalant as ever, staring around with the most blasé expression.

The cartoonist laughed and threw his arm around Dam's shoulders, pulling him in for a side-hug. "Look at us, we're like siblings!"

Dam blinked, then studied Drake. "I. Feel. Like. That. Is. Mainly. The. Clothes."

His stilted speech had persisted into this new form, but his words didn't sound as forced. Glancing around at the others, he saw the three staring with rather surprised expressions. "Is. Everything. Okay?"

"You really are going to wear that out there?" Anzu asked, staring at them all. "In front of the others? Some of them are going to be pissed!"

"Let them be pissed!" Ishiku declared. "I wanted a change of look, and these feel nice!"

The actress walked up to them, studying each one, and then grinned. "Okay, I'm sold. You all look amazing, especially you, Ignatia. That leather look is amazing on you."

The mime smirked and did an "oh you" wave to her, and gestured to Dam. The white 'n green-topped tailor noticed the exchange, and asked, "Did. You. Want. To. Try. Something?"

"I think I would! Why don't you help me out, Dam, I want to try-"

"Wait a minute," Crystal said, approaching the monotoned tailor, "Monodam… or rather, Dam, if you go by that… that jacket. How did-"

"Penjar. Has. Many. Secrets," Dam said. "When. We. Were. Given. These. Bodies. We. Were. Bestowed. Knowledge. As. Well."

"That jacket was made by someone close to me, someone who is gone now. How did you make it?"

Dam glanced at the jacket, then at her. "I. Don't. Know."

Crystal sighed heavily, shaking her head in disbelief. She started to walk out of the store, before he called out to her. "It. Is. Yours. Do. You. Not. Want. It?"

The military expert turned towards Dam, glancing at the jacket, then back at him. "It's not mine. You just made a replica of it."

"I. Made. It. For. You. I. Hoped. It. Would. Help. Us. All. Get. Along."

Crystal stopped where she was, and stared at the jacket. The silence that followed was interrupted by Anzu, who said, "You know, let's get me in a look like your sister's, Dam. Come on, help a girl out!"

Anzu happily pulled Dam alongside her, as the others killed a little time inside of the shop. Crystal still contemplated the jacket, unsure of what to do; it was a feeling she hated, but she couldn't make a decision just yet.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:31 AM**

 **Science Lab**

 **Main Lobby**

The six graduates who had entered the lab found that the main lobby was clean, polished in places. There were a few plants set up, which Taro quickly took credit for.

The front desk was completely devoid of any tools or office supplies, and there were a flight of stairs towards the back. Suke pointed out that those stairs were the only way up to the second floor; there were no elevators in this building.

Kidd said there were four rooms in the lab, two on the first and two on the second, one on each side. It seemed rather straight-forward, and thus they started to tour of the science lab.

On the left side of the first floor was one of the most advanced rooms of machinery that they had only ever seen in science-fiction. The large room was covered wall to wall with large computer hard drives, with several screens and keyboards as well. The screens all displayed programs, in a language none of them had ever seen.

Up against the largest wall were five glass containment tubes, each of them full of a pure liquid that bubbled consistently at the base. Kidd laughed as he approached them, knocking on the glass.

"It's the place where we first woke up," he said gleefully. "Ain't it grand!"

Emanuel walked up and studied the inside of the glass case, noticing that there were devices up at the top of the containment tube. "The hell is all that machinery for?" he asked.

"That would be the neural installment device," Taro said. "The metal cap seals onto the body's head, and then that little drill there, that goes into the head and attaches highly sensitive and tiny wires to connect to the brain.

"Thus, they download the program, or rather the personality, that you want in the body! After that, the wires retract, the medical wounds heal as the body fully grows, and then you can have a new body within an hour!"

Isaac stared in abject horror, clutching his notepad and pencil. "Oh… my God. This is horrible."

Taro turned to him, and said, "Is this about the ramifications of moral ethics, science evolving beyond control, and the possibilities of future usage of these devices… um… what's your name again?"

"How do you remember exactly how the machines work, all of that philosophical jargon, but you cannot remember my name?!"

As Isaac and Taro argued, the others spread out around the room. Saiko and Shinobu were trying to operate one of the computers, but realized quite quickly it wasn't going to work.

"Not only do I not recognize the language," Shinobu said, "and I have a pretty good understanding of languages, but the computer is not obeying my movements."

"The hell is going on?" Saiko said, as she tried to move the mouse around; it refused to move in the direction she wanted half of the time. "Okay, are they using glitchy computers or something?"

"Hehehe," Suke said, strolling up to the two ladies, "that's because youse don't have the knowledge that we have!"

"What are you getting at, nerd?" Saiko remarked, glaring up at him.

"Ooo, catty, I like that! Haha! Anyway, youse-see, we used our computer lab here to create a new language, one that has a lot of complicated features that make translating it a nightmare. Then we also programmed all the computers in ways that'll make them a nightmare to operate if you don't know the special features.

"Just one of those features is that youse have to hold down a certain button on the keyboard, if you want the mouse to work when moving it in a certain direction. That's just one of many, and some of these special features prevent a total system wipe, so not even the luckiest of lucksters could luck their way through it."

Shinobu and Saiko exchanged glances, and they both sighed in defeat. Stepping away from the computer, Shinobu asked, "So then, who knows these procedures and the language?"

"We do, of course, doll face," Suke said, arrogantly fanning himself with money. "We were programmed knowing all these when we were robots, and when we had our memory uploaded into the human bodies, we retained it."

"And where's this computer lab, if this is not it?" Saiko asked.

"Right above us, second floor room. Very nice place, it's our last stop."

Saiko groaned, and shook her head. "So, how exactly do you… grow a person?"

"Highly advanced technology, toots. I could try explaining it, but it would be incredibly complicated, lengthy, and kind of boring. All youse need to know is that we can start up growing a body to our exact specifications, and it doesn't take very long either."

The two ladies stared at the containment tubes, watching the bubbles float up to the top. Saiko drummed her fingers on her crossed arms, and glanced over at Shinobu. "You do realize what this means, don't you?"

"Every awful scenario we could imagine ever," Shinobu said with a shiver, "is possible if this is all true."

"Hey, nerd," Saiko barked at Suke, "you wanna grow a body in there, just to prove to us you can do it?"

"No way, short stack," Suke said with a laugh, "I don't take orders from youse!"

"Then how do we know this is all real?"

"Youse gonna have to take our word for it! But hey, if youse agree to help us out here in Penjar, we got a contract. Maybe we could make you a body that's tall like most of the rest of these people here.

"Don't worry, we won't reduce the size of your mammaries! Youse definitely want to keep those, don't youse?"

"Ugh, nothing worse than a pervert with power," Saiko remarked, walking away from him. "Are we done here?"

The other four graduates had seen as much as they could, so they agreed to leave for the next room. Traveling through the lobby, they found themselves inside of another lab-like room.

This very large room contained hundreds of test tubes, containers, scientific tools, and a large refrigerator that spanned the far wall. Many different liquids were kept in sealed containers, as well as some suspicious gels.

"This is our research section of the lab," Taro said, proudly putting his hands on his hips. "We have to place many different kinds of formulas into the human growth tubes before we can make a body, and this is where those chemicals are made!"

"Some of them are just hair dye," Suke admitted, "it's not easy getting these perfectly divided coiffures, believe me."

"Science stuff is boring," Kidd roared, "but there are some benefits! We got poisons and liquid explosives and some good shit that'll get you more high than a fucking cloud!"

"You have what now?" Ken asked, staring at the three suspiciously.

Kidd walked over to one of the refrigerators, which had an electronic lock on it. He tapped on the glass, where there were several labeled containers.

"Look at this, Novoselic warrior dude," he said, pointing to individual ones. "That one there is better than nitroglycerin, made here in Kidd Science Labs!"

"Youse don't get to name it," Suke angrily shouted from the other side of the lab, "after youseself!"

"Bite me, NERD!" Kidd shouted, then turned back to Ken. "You see, these poisons in here, you get them in a water supply, you could kill everyone in a metropolis! The explosions can be precise blasts or just fucking level an entire town! Haha, oh, and that beauty right there…"

He pointed at a glass container that had a light blue coloring to it. "That there is my favorite, it's a mixture of ecstasy and aphrodisiac. You take that within reason, and you won't remember what reason is! Hehehe!"

"Fascinating," Ken said, rubbing his forehead. "You're saying you have the power to wipe out civilizations, while also getting dangerous recreational drugs? Who wants to get that up?"

"'Get that up'? You mean high, dude. Come on!"

Kidd punched the refrigerator, which made Ken jump with shock at the thought of those items inside being knocked around. To his surprise, nothing happened, and Kidd laughed. "Relax, dude, this fridge could have a sledgehammer pounding on it, and it wouldn't break or even shake! The only way to get in is the numeric code, that only us Kubs know! Har har har har!"

Ken rubbed his forehead as he tried to calm his racing heart. "Okay okay. So… why is it the same code as the front door?"

Kidd's face contorted in disbelief. "How… how'd you know that, dude?!"

" _I didn't until you just told me,_ " Ken thought, as he chuckled as he spoke. "I'm just that smart, dude, come on!"

Kidd growled, and said, "Alright clever boy, alright alright alright! You think you're so smart, but you ain't getting the code from me! I'm too smart for that! Rawr!"

And thus Kidd slammed his guitar on one of the nearby workplaces, shattering multiple test tubes and creating a giant mess. Everyone else in the room noticed this, and saw that Monokid was bleeding; one of the glass fragments from a beaker had flown out and pierced his shirt and the skin on his chest.

"Damn, you human bodies are fragile!" Kidd whined, as he pulled the glass piece out. As blood oozed out, he muttered, "So, um, it stops doing that eventually, right?"

"Ugh, I'll handle this fool," Suke said, grabbing Kidd's arm and dragging him to a door near the back of the room, labeled, "Emergency Medical Room" with a smaller sign on the left side reading "Kidd's" tapped to it. "You can show them the other rooms on the second floor, Taro!"

"Alrighty then!" Taro said, thumping his chest as he stood with confidence as he glanced among the graduates. He grinned at Shinobu, who blushed slightly as confusion spread across her face.

Then the moment the medical room's door clicked shut, the white 'n red topped man panicked and grabbed that dual-toned hair of his. "Where's the second floor again?" he asked them all desperately.

* * *

 **Day 08, 12:02 PM**

 **Science Lab**

 **Second Floor**

It took a while to get Taro to calm down, and thus guide the guide to the stairs towards the second floor. Taro panicked again, wondering which room to show the group first, until he sprinted off to the left, the right side of the building.

When the six caught up with him, they were rather shocked to see what the room was. They had expected more science, and, while there was a case of experimentation with this room, it wasn't exactly the same.

The room was designed like a shooting gallery, as well as a sparring section that was meant for much more than sparring. Ballistic gel torsos, the kind that TV shows would use to practice weapons on, were lined up and had been throughly used.

Bullets riddled several of the torsos, with blood having spilt out from them. A spiked mace was set in the caved-in head of another torso. Several others had been slashed, smashed, and/or perforated in grisly manner.

"Oh, this is our weapons and vulnerability testing room," Taro said, pointing around proudly. "You see, now that we're human, we need to better know how these bodies work, so we're testing vulnerabilities."

Emanuel glanced at a glass casing, locked with an electronic key code as well, that had numerous types of firearms. The Bête Noir recognized the types of pistols, shotguns, and rifles that were in the case.

"Why so much differentiation?" he asked Taro. "I mean, surely you'd realize that all of these are possibly fatal if you get shot by them."

"We still needed to test them out," Taro explained. "I mean, there was also another reason for this, but I cannot remember. It was a really good reason too."

"Probably to showcase a bunch of lethal weapons in the middle of a Killing Game. Was that it?"

"Possibly! You're a sharp cookie, Emanuel! The only problem is, that's the same glass covering that you can beat with a sledgehammer and not even crack, and the same key code."

"Wait, what?" Emanuel asked. "It's the same key code as the fridge's lock, is that what you're saying?"

"The numerical key code is the same one for all the locks for this place," Taro said, scratching his head. "The front door, the guns and weapons, the fridge with the deadly materials, the final code for making a human body… we had to do it like that because it's too hard to remember multiple passcodes!"

Emanuel blinked in surprise, then smirked to himself at this information. "Thanks for explaining that, you're a good guide, Taro."

"Aw, shucks!"

The Bête Noir walked alongside the wall, observing all of the other cases with the same glass coverings and key code locks. There were medieval weapons, like maces and swords and crossbows. There was even a display with a bunch of household items, from the kitchen tools like knives and spatulas, to gym items like weights and a yoga mat.

"It's crazy," he said, "but you still haven't got everything I've seen that has been used to kill someone."

"Oh, would you care to help us update the arsenal?" Taro asked. He looked around at the others, and asked, "Do you all want to help us, because it would be great to know everything we could use? I'd like to get to one hundred and twenty-five ways to-"

"What is _this?!_ "

Isaac's shout alerted everyone's attention, and they hurried over to him. The reporter was studying a display case that had a single sword in it. There was still some blood on the blade, though it was on display like a priceless relic in that sealed case.

The plaque that Isaac was focused on read, "Peko Pekoyama's Sword, slayer of Samurai Monokuma and Maki Harukawa."

"You," Isaac stammered, staring at the case, "you have her sword?"

"Wait, Peko, the Ultimate Swordswoman?" Hara asked. "She was one of the poor students in the Hope's Peak Killing Game."

"She didn't kill Maki," Isaac said, studying the plaque. "She killed Gonta. Why does it say that?"

Taro moved up to them, and said, "Because the sword was used to kill Father's samurai side, as well as Maki. We have it here as a memorial towards the first Killing Game, something our Father is very proud of."

Hara took a shuddering breath, and said, "So many good people died during that Killing Game, it marked the Tragedy's beginnings. It's not something to be proud of, at all."

Taro scratched his head, and said, "Well, I mean, Father's proud of it, we're not about to deny this."

"Is that why you have this… memorabilia of the students of Hope's Peak?"

The white 'n red-topped guy hummed in thought, and said, "Yeah, kind of. You see, Father has allies who helped collected items from those who died during the first official Killing Game. They brought significant stuff, though most of it was lost during the destruction of the building, as well as the Tragedy wiping out so much property."

Isaac took this all in, while studying the sword. "Wait a minute, you've had these items in Penjar all this time?"

Emanuel groaned and shook his head, saying, "If you think there's something supernatural about that, reporter, you really need a strong dose of reality."

"Oh, like I'm supposed to believe the reality that a flash of light will turn even the best of people into ruthless murderers?" Isaac replied, glaring at the detective. "Like I'll believe that someone's mind can be transplanted in someone else's body with another flash of light?

"Like I'll believe that the fanatic followers of Despair took over the moon base and a floating island, and how many people died when the USA and Russia tried to stop the latter? Hundreds of thousands of people died because Despair had technology that overrode missiles and redirected them!"

"Hey honey?"

Isaac felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, as Hara stared at him with concern. The reporter stared into her eyes, and then took a deep breath. He stared back at Emanuel, and said, "Anzu and Kimiko both experienced visions after touching something. Even if it isn't supernatural, it's still a rather significant pattern."

"And why do you think that sword is part of it?" Emanuel asked, crossing his arms.

"Anzu touched a camera, and said she saw Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer. Kimiko touched a microphone, and, well, she hasn't told us what she saw, but you do know that both Sayaka Maizono and Ibuki Mioda died during the Killing Game.

"Now we have a sword that supposedly belonged to one of those who died during the Killing Game on display here, and Taro is saying that they have collected items from the victims of the Hope's Peak Killing Game. This is important, and you cannot tell me otherwise."

Emanuel regarded the sword, then the reporter, and sighed. "Well if that's true, why don't you touch it to see if you get one of these so-called visions?"

Isaac turned towards Taro, but Hara squeezed his shoulder. "Honey, please," she pleaded, "I don't like how this is set up. It's too suspicious and dangerous, you needn't risk your life over it."

He stared at her, and asked, "You really think it's that much of a risk?"

"That's what I feel. I mean, isn't it convenient that Taro is just admitting all this now?"

Taro wobbled on his feet, and said, "Whoa, was I supposed to not tell you all that? Darn it, remembering all this stuff is so tricky!"

Shinobu stepped up, giving Isaac and Hara a sympathetic look. "Taro, is it okay if I try out that sword?"

"No no, m'lady," Ken said, stepping up, "I should do that, I do not mind risking my life!"

Taro groaned and crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but no one is supposed to hold Peko's sword for now. You'll have to wait."

Emanuel growled in frustration, and added, "If that even is her sword. Come on, there's nothing else for us to do here, let's see the rest of this place."

With the group feeling confused, defeated, and concerned, they headed out of the weapons' testing room and crossed over to the other side of the building. The last room was just as large as the others, and it appeared to be the computer room the Kubs had said was there.

Numerous tables full of computers, all of them on and displaying various types of programming, filled the entire room. There were several motivational posters up on the walls, almost appearing like a normal office. The tables also had knickknacks, like mini-fans, stress toys, and other objects around the tables.

Waste bins full of paper and broken electronics were at the end of every lengthy table, as if the place had been working for a long time now. Isaac was rather intrigued by this detail, until a far more noticeable detail made itself apparent.

" **Well well well! It looks like our workplace synergy has paid off, we have new recruits!** "

Monokuma, typing at a computer and sipping from a coffee mug that read "#1 Bear Boss," looked over at the tour group. He pushed away from his desk and waddled on over. " **And will you look at my boy! So big now, they grow up so fast!** "

Taro giggled, and leaned down to pat his "Father's" head. "Hello, Father! How goes the coding?"

" **We've hit a few snags, but it's going along just fine! Don't worry, we'll be able to switch you back into your original bodies soon enough!** "

Monokuma gestured over to a shelf in the far-off area of the large room. To the surprise of the graduates, there was a large display case near the floor, and inside were the mechanical bodies of the five Kubs.

" **Oh, and yes, damaging or destroying my Kubs' original bodies is punishable by death,** " Monokuma added. " **They need those to survive!** "

"Wait, so the Kubs need their original bodies?" Emanuel asked.

" **That's how they were originally formed, so yeah, my widdle Kubs need those bodies! Heck, that's really the only way we managed to pull off the body swap, since it's so easy to upload and download using a machine!** "

Monokuma sipped from his coffee mug, and said, " **This tech is so hard to work with, it takes forever to understand; luckily, this is the perfect testing ground!** "

Shinobu shivered, and asked, "You're not… expecting us to help you, are you?"

" **Maybe! I mean, most of you would do everything you could to stop us, I'm sure. But of course, we might get some of you to help us. It's an even trade, considering most of you would do anything to stop us, just as long as you don't hurt the Kubs.** "

The six graduates stared at the mechanical bear bodies in the display case, then at each other. This was all a great deal of information to process, if any of it were true. It could be a massive fake-out, to make them think that Monokuma and his followers had this power…

Penjar had just become far more confusing and frightening than ever before to them.

* * *

 **Day 08, 12:33 PM**

 **Eastern Plaza**

When the first group of six survivors finished their tour, escorted out by Monokuma and Taro, they were told to get more of the graduates.

The next group took a little less than an hour to finish, and then a third group. For those who had finished their tour of the science lab, they set off to the school to investigate as much as they could. Nothing else was found in the school, no matter how many searched.

By about 2:30 PM, the third group was done, and Taro along with Monokuma was looking for their next group. With the search of the school becoming such a flop, the graduates had left the school at the same time, and were now out in the plaza, around the large statue of Monokuma.

"Okay, where are the last six people of you bunch?" Taro asked. He scanned the small crowd, noticing Fannie was there too. "Fannie, were they with you?

"No, not with me," she said, then pointed at the tailor shop. "I think they've been in there all this time."

"Yes, they're enjoying themselves," Crystal said. She had been a member of the third group, and she was now wearing the jacket that Dam had made for her. Only a few of them noticed this, but no one had a chance to ask her about it yet.

Monokuma chuckled, then pulled out a megaphone from behind him, seemingly from nowhere. " **HEY! You lot in the tailor shop! Come on out here! Your tour awaits!** "

There was a few moments of silence, then the front door opened. Ishiku, still dressed up like Suke, peered out and called out, "Ye-eeeeeees?"

There were a few seconds of silence, and then Emanuel shouted what a lot of them were thinking. "What the FUCK are you wearing?"

"A new outfit! It's rather comfortable, I forgot how much I like hoodies, so…"

"You cannot wear that, you fucking puta! That's the ENEMY you are wearing!"

To everyone's surprise, someone in the group snickered loudly. They turned to Pyrrha, who quoted aloud, "And you… are wearing… their MERCHANDISE!"

"It's not fucking funny!" Emanuel hollered.

"It's a little funny," Kimiko said with a laugh.

"I don't know about that," Aka muttered. "I mean, those stupid bears want the death and destruction worldwide, why would you want to look like them?"

While the group was talking, Ishiku leaned back into the shop, and cried out, "He hates it, we're a'go!"

Ishiku marched out of the tailor shop, pulling his hood up to give the full effect. Ignatia came out next, still dressed like Kidd, taking a very nervous Drake's hand as the cartoonist wasn't the most ready to be all dressed up in front of the others.

Anzu waltz out next, wearing the same kind of bikini top, gloves, and skirt Fannie was wearing, and even had a plush hat styled like Fannie's bear form on. She giggled and blew a kiss to everyone, announcing, "How's my new look, ladies and gents?"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Emanuel snarled. "You see? You see how we shouldn't bother with these dumbasses? They're _mocking_ us, they're wearing the clothing of… our enemy…"

It was then that Fiora walked out of the tailor shop, grinning happily as she flaunted her new duds. The white 'n red jacket and the long gray scarf looked nice with her own dual-toned hair, and her fedora.

"I'm a ninja now," she stated, posing like a ninja. "Wha-cha!"

"Now I feel fully justified," Emanuel muttered. "What kind of moron would think to do something that this fucking idiot would consider fun?!"

And for the grand finale, Eisei walked out of the tailor shop most casually. He was wearing a lavender onesie, themed exactly like the Monokuma look, appearing almost like a child wearing pajamas or, well, a onesie. He had managed to put his shoes on while wearing this, and was carrying a bag that had his original clothing inside.

"Hello, everyone," he said as he walked up to them, calm and casual as ever, removing the lollipop from his mouth to speak clearly. "So, it's our turn to take the tour of the science lab?"

"What?!" Emanuel blurted out, stammering with outrage.

"How?" Futaba asked.

"Why," Souma declared, walking over to his friend, "why on Earth are you wearing that, Eisei?"

"It fit, and it matches my hair," the dentist said, pulling the hood back as his large lavender pigtails popped out and draped on his shoulders. "They made it for me, apparently, wanted to try out the line."

"But… but… it's the look of our enemy."

"It's clothing, simple as that. Don't worry, I'm not joining the cult simply because I put on a onesie, my friend," he said, before putting the lollipop back in his mouth.

" **Awww, you look like my latest child,** " Monokuma purred, waddling over to Eisei, and patting his head. Rubbing it in the most condescending manner ever he continued, " **Do you wanna get a real body too, like my other Kubs? We'll get you a nice, tall body and you can be a real boy! Isn't that sw-** "

Eisei pulled the lollipop out of his mouth, and shoved it into Monokuma's mouth. The bear flinched and stepped back, and then laughed. " **Upupupupupu! Do you really think something like that would kill me? I may be dying a lot nowadays, but that's ridiculous! HA HA HA-** ** _grrrk_** **!** "

The lollipop shot into Monokuma's mouth when he laughed hard, and he made choking noises as he gripped at the area where his neck should be. There was several seconds of this gagging, and then he flopped over lifelessly.

"Waaaaaaaaah," Taro shouted, "Father! He cannot catch a break!"

"Daddy, no," Fannie cried, covering her face with her hands. Someone pulled her in for a comforting hug, which she accepted, until she realized it was Blake and shoved him away.

"So we gonna check out the science lab now?" Ishiku asked, grinning impishly as Eisei posed victoriously over Monokuma's dead body.

"NO!"

Emanuel shoved his way forward, and hollered in Ishiku's face. "You think that you fucking morons can be trusted to help us out in any way? You spent all that time playing dress-up in the enemy's clothing! Why the fuck are you even in this goddamn town?!"

A massive argument broke out, with everyone trying to voice their opinion. Emanuel was leading the charge against those he didn't believe took it seriously, and thus didn't deserve their respect. Saiko was chastising Eisei, unable to comprehend why he'd behave like this. Several others were arguing alongside Emanuel, though they didn't have his fury, but they were concerned over this.

During this argument, Ignatia took Drake's hand, and gestured away from the plaza. " _There's no point in us staying here,_ " was her wordless suggestion. Drake was blushing hard with her holding his hand, but he stammered out, "But don't we want to take the tour?"

"That. Will. Be. Tomorrow," Dam said to him. "With. Father. Dead. We. Must. Wait. For. Him. To. Get. Better."

Eisei overheard this, and said, "Oh, that must have been my fault. Sorry."

"Hey, I'm still trying to talk to you," Saiko declared, stomping her foot. "Come on, I can tell you're an intelligent person, why are you behaving so childishly?"

"Why are some of you acting like," Odelios fired back, "like you have authority over us?"

"Why are we even arguing this?" Shinobu shouted. "There's far more important things to discuss! We have to-"

There was a blaring horn sound, and everyone went quiet with how sharp it was. Suke and Kidd had finally returned, the latter covered in band-aids, the former holding an air horn. After using it, Suke rubbed his own ears, and said, "Ow, that hurt."

Ignatia rolled her eyes, and pulled Drake again, leading him away from the plaza. As the two started to leave, Kidd shouted, "Alright, you pack of fuckers! Now that we're all human and here, we have an announcement to make!"

"That's right, because now that the tours are done for the day," Suke said, "youse cannot enter the science lab unless you have one of us escorting youse! And trust me when I say, youse might never get to go in there again, unless you provide good reason."

"Like if you're willing to help Penjar," Taro said, smiling with endearing joy as he clapped his hands. "We'd love to have you part of our home, part of our family! It'd be great to see you become a member!"

"I'd love to see you all become happy and healthy in our home," Fannie said, smiling cutely with a tilt of her head. "This place can be made better, and we'd love your help."

The graduates exchanged glances, confused by this offer. When there was a pause, a devious chuckle came from one of the humans formerly a Kub. Kidd was holding up a canister, and he spritzed the last of it into the air.

"Oh, but if we're going to all get along, we're going to have to have some fucking honesty. Consider this your next Motive!"

"What!" Hikari hollered. "We just had a Motive! And you're pushing for us to kill each other while speaking about wanting to get along!"

"We do want you to get along," Fannie pleaded, staring down at the ground. "It's just that… we've seen some very scary secrets revealed, and that's far too harmful. I… I'm scared of how violent some of you can be."

"So we're putting a bit of truth serum into the mists of Penjar," Taro said, clapping his hands excitedly. "Don't worry, it's not going to be extremely powerful, but-"

"Wait, you are doing what now?!" Ken cried out, stepping forward. "Into the mists? How is that physically possible?"

Taro leaned back as Ken approached him, and then pointed towards the Monokuma statue. From the base of the statue were vents, spewing more mist out into the surrounding area. It mixed in with the mists already swishing around the people.

Kidd chuckled more, and said, "Don't worry, it's non-allergenic! I just plugged the formula into one of our vent systems, and now you, I, we're all breathing it in! Fucking awesome, we're all going to be totally honest!

"Like how I think we need to beat up Dam some, it'd be fun! Can we make a change to the rules saying we should beat up Dam?"  
The graduates were all exchanging startled looks, realizing that the misty truth serum was in the air, they had all breathed it in. The only one completely calm was Yejoon, who was drumming his fingers against his arm as he waited for the effects.

"I'm not feeling any different," the artist said. "Truth serum, or similar drugs that have the same effects, have almost instant effects."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Shuuya remarked. "Are you just trying to trick us into being truthful?"

Kidd snarled, and waved the empty canister around. "How dare you! I did everything perfectly! It'll take a little while, just be fucking patient! Why can't you all trust me to do a Motive properly? Why can't-"

"Look, whatever your truth serum is," Yitro said, adjusting his collar as he took a deep breath, "it isn't working. I don't feel different."

"My mother was a platypus," Odelios declared as he wiped his brow as he said with a crooked grin, "and my father was a relatively safe penguin! Yeah, I'm not feeling truthful."

"Emanuel is very attractive and desirable," Fiora impishly declared, and when she received strange glances, especially from the one she mentioned, she laughed heartedly. Swallowing on the saliva building up in her mouth, she added, "Yeah, I don't feel honest either!"

Fannie approached Kidd, and said, "Are you sure you put the right mixture in?"

"Of course I did, here!"

He shoved the canister into her hands, and she read it. There was an audible gasp from Fannie, and then she shrieked out indignantly. "You goof!" She hollered, bopping Kidd on the head with the canister. "You dolt, you dullard, you incompetent stupid wannabe rockstar!"

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow," Kidd cried out as Fannie hit him on the head repeatedly. "What do you want from me, I never learned to read-"

"JERK!"

The next hit clanged loudly, and Kidd's eyes rolled up into his head. He fell over unconscious, drool leaking from his mouth. There were several laughs and approving coos from the graduates over this display.

"What is your problem, huh?" Suke asked, approaching Fannie. "Did he put in the truth serum or what?"

Fannie let out a frustrated cry, and swung the canister towards Suke, accidentally bashing him in the face with it. "He put aphrodisiac in the mix!"

"He put WHAT in it?!" Taro asked, as Suke fell down to the ground in a heap too. The red-themed guy took a few steps back from Fannie as she aggressively fretted.

"Aphrodisiac, and not just any kind, but the super-strong kind that we vowed to never use!"

"What now? He used the eXXXtra Hormonal Overload Randy Needs'it Yesterday?!"

"It's in the very air as we speak!" Fannie clapped her hands on her blushing cheeks, as sweat ran down her forehead. She let out a long, breathy moan, as the mists became rather thick around the surrounding area. "It also kind of goes into vapor form real fast, absorbs through skin, and even stronger when inhaled…"

"Good thing we're robots," Taro said proudly, "or we'd be affected."

"Taro, we're HUMAN now!"

There was a pause, and then the two of them regarded the graduates. All of them were sweating, panting, swallowing heavily, and looking at each other with stares that lasted far longer than one should; it was almost as if all of them had become teenagers at the moment when everything could excite them, and it was cranked up to eleven.

"This. Is. Not," Dam said, glancing side to side, "An. Appropriate. Way. For. Us. To. Get. Along."

"Oh holy shit," Anzu said in the most breathy of voices, "oh _fuck_."

"I'm," Ken stammered, holding onto his collar so tightly as he tried to hide his heavy breathing inside of his hoodie, "I'm definitely not feeling it! No siree, I do not have the desire to get piggy with it!"

Pyrrha was giggling, and muttering to herself over and over, "I'll make love to you… like you want me to… and I'll hold you tight… baby, all through…"

"No no no NO!" Taro shouted, waving his arms frantically. "Turn it off, Fannie! Turn it off-"

And then the vents at the statue base poured out an incredible amount of vapor, like a finishing blow, and the entire area became enshrouded with the ultra-aphrodisiac mixed mist. The area was so thick that the people there were practically lost engulfed and hidden inside.

It was at this point that Drake and Ignatia, who had almost left the area but overheard the desperate cries and thus returned to see what was going on, returned. The area was so thick with a pinkish mist that they couldn't see the people inside. Occasionally, there was a moan or someone's limb flailing about, and then more moans.

"Um, hello?" Drake called out. "Are you all okay-"

Kimiko burst from the mist, sweating and heaving like a marathon runner. She fixed her eyes on Drake, and shouted, "Drakie, cinnamon roll baby! RUN! GET INSIDE! DON'T BREATHE IN THE MIST, DON'T LET IT GET TO YOU-"

Several arms grabbed her and pulled her back into the mist, as she shrieked, "Don't breathe in the aphrodisiac, little cinnamon bu-AAH! Ooo… ahhh~"

Drake and Ignatia exchanged glances, and then ran as fast as they could away from the scene.

And we're cutting it short here to be the Ultimate Tease to you, hahaha.

* * *

…

 **24 Graduates remain (and most very horny) in Penjar.**


	19. Chapter 3-2: Penjar's Growth

**Chapter 3-2**

 **The Big Blown-Up Picture**

* * *

 **Day 08, ? PM**

 **Penjar (in General)**

Penjar was rather quiet, if you were observing it from a bird's eye point of view, and you weren't anywhere near the housing area. There was a quiet in the eastern area, around the Monokuma statue that was the source of the madness that had come this night. The science lab was less quiet, but that was due to the loud humming of all the computers and the fans to keep them from overheating.

The only noise of humans was the light snoring that was inside Ye Olde Tailor Shop. Dam, the young man who wasn't a human yesterday, had fallen asleep against the main doors to the changing room area. He had his arms crossed, head slumped forward, as he let out noises of sleep.

"Zzz. Zzz. Zzz. Zzz. Zzz."

He was suddenly awoken when a chime inside the store rang out. The TV they had on the wall in case of times like this turned on as well, and the face of his bear father appeared on the screen.

"Oh. The. Closing. Announcement." Dam tilted his head to the side, and added, "It. Is. 11. P. M. Father. Is. Getting. Tardy."

* * *

( **Day 08 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma holds up a pistol, posing in front of calamity. He seems undaunted by the explosions, harpoons, lasers, and striped bikini tops flying around in the background._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you had siblings when you don't? Or to not have them if you did? It's hard for me to really comprehend if I have siblings or not, but I still don't feel really alone.

* _Monokuma is staring at the camera, with a hypnotic swirl in his right eye. His red, lightning bolt left eye is gleaming brightly, and there's more explosions happening behind him._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Actually, I don't think I really have a point here. I was kind of just butting into your business because I have to do this every evening! And I was a little delayed because some shrimp stuck a lollipop down my throat! Like an annoying little brother!"

* _Monokuma poses atop the cliff of a tropical island, still holding up his gun dramatically. Fannie, in her bikini outfit, is hugging him and trying to look like a hot supermodel for the camera, but with her lips pushed out too far and her eyes half-lidded, she looks like she's trying to imitate a sleepy fish._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Now you all should be glad you don't have little brothers, they shove lollipops down your throat until you die and you have to go get another body! … You know, I wonder if these incidents are killing my credibility. Stupid siblings!"

* * *

Dam blinked at this message, and rolled his eyes. "That. Wasn't. One. Of. His. Best."

A knocking on the door behind him slightly startled him, with his shoulders bouncing in a swift motion up and down in a way that almost appeared mechanical. "Hello? Dam, is that you out there?"

Dam blinked and glanced back at the door he was leaning against. "Yejoon. Is. That. You?"

"I do believe you know it is me, Dam; you were the one who pulled me in here."

The white 'n green-topped young man tilted his head to the other side, and then hummed aloud in thought. "Oh. Yes. That. Was. Necessary."

"Why exactly was it necessary? If this is about you making sure we all get along, I wasn't aiming to kill anyone tonight."

Dam felt a vibration in the door, Yejoon must still be knocking on the other side. "Now come on, let's be reasonable," the artist said, "I think you should let me out of here."

"No. The. Aphrodisiac. Affected. All. Of. You. And. I. Cannot. Let. You. Interact. With. The. Others."

There was a moment of silence, then Yejoon remarked with the slightest of bitterness in his tone, "I'm not a sexual predator, I'm a gentlemanly fiend. There is a difference."

"Explain. The. Difference."

"Dam, I don't know why you're taking sides, or even how you managed to overpower me and drag me into the changing rooms, but I would like you to open the door now, please. I believe not only has the aphrodisiac worn off, but I would prefer to sleep in a bed tonight, not in the changing room of an old tailor shop."

Dam stretched for a moment, then reinforced himself leaning against the locked door. "I. Would. Refrain. From. Using. Bladed. Instruments. Against. The. Door. Should. You. Stab. Me. The. Guardian. Will. End. You."

"Dam, what if I need to restroom?"

"They're. In. The. Back. Of. The. Changing. Rooms'. Hallway."

"… Why's that, exactly?"

"Bathroom. Stalls. Next. To. Changing. Stalls. It. Seemed. Appropriate."

There was silence in the tailor shop, and then there was a frustrated sigh from behind the changing room door. "I'm getting the distinct feeling that people aren't going to trust me here. And I even got something to show Fiora… oh dear.

"I just realized I'm going to have to sleep on the floor. This is the lowest I have officially sunken."

Dam didn't comment on this, he merely made himself more comfortable, and went back to sleep. Yejoon, resigned to his embarrassing condition, went quiet from behind the door.

Though after a few minutes, Dam's eyes went wide, and he left the building as if something, or someone, had called him out.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:02 PM**

 **Eastern Plaza**

Outside, around the eastern plaza, the mist had finally toned down. Thus, it was more clear who was lying on the ground.

Kidd lay in a puddle of drool around his mouth. His hand extended up into the air, wobbling around like a drunk stupor, and he slurred out, "I… dun… think… I like… concussions…"

"Oh what do you know?" Suke remarked, staring up at the sky through the mist. "You don't even get it. I get it. Woo!"

"What do either of you two know?" Blake asked, leaning against the statue base. "I mean… when you take a blow to the head, and you lay here, contemplating life… blargh…"

"Whoa, dude," Kidd blubbered, "ya gonna hurl? Dun hurl, I'm like two feet from you."

"I've got two feet near you!"

The three guys lay there, murmuring unintelligently there for a while. None of them could really make any sense of each other, or anything else, having to deal with the bumps to the head they got and thus were goofy and babbling.

Blake managed to become lurid for a moment, and said, "So, tell me, guys, how do I score with your sister? She kind of shoved me against this statue, and now I cannot straight think."

"See you, we don't actually know how we work out," Kidd blurted out. "You if really wanna know why we are the way we are…"

Blake slumped to the side, and proceeded to nap.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:06 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

"Sho you shee, I'm not trying to intentionally be a jerk," Emanuel slurred, slumped forward on the bar counter as he spoke to the bartender. "But the problem ish, there'sh shome sherious bishinish… business…"

The Bête Noir wiped his mouth, and then put all of his focus on speaking more clearly. "See, all this death… it's unnecessary. I don't want it, and we need to take it more seriously. But the problem is, we have clowns, even literally we have clowns.

"And when you have people who aren't going to help out, because they want to goof around while wearing Monokuma-styled clothing, or have sex… it just makes me mad. I mean, I like sex as much as the next guy, but I refuse to get involved when this serious situation is going on…

"You know what I'm shaying, don't you?"

Emanuel toasted the bartender, who was a cardboard cut-out of Dam. The white 'n green-topped human-Kub's monotone personality was such a quiet and unresponsive one, Emanuel hadn't really caught on in his drunken state.

"Now, when every ish good to go tomorrow, we're going to find out about your shience lab, and all the other shecretsh of Penjar! Got it!?

"Exshept, the thing ish, I'm not keen to go back to my room tonight… that'sh where everyone elsh went after your sex drug went off, and I'm not keen to overhear all of that. Sho I'm jusht gonna hit up your VIP lounge and crash there…"

Emanuel pushed away from the bar, and tilted over due to having absolutely no sense of balance. He instead crashed on the floor of the tavern, and spent the night there.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:11 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Drake Flare's House**

In one of the occupied but quiet houses this evening, two young souls were resting in bed. Though at this point, the two had fallen fast asleep cuddling. Until Ignatia started to stir, fidgeted, and woke up with a sharp gasp.

The mime gal's nightmare unnerved her, she was breathing hard and now fully awake. She regarded her friend, who was still gently holding her, and she smiled a little as his face gave her a grounded sense of calm.

Then she sighed sadly, and very gently pushed away from him. Making sure he was comfortable, she made her way to the sink, and washed her face off. The make-up came off, and soon she had her own face to stare at.

Ignatia reached up and traced a scar on her face that she had long since expertly covered with her make-up. She remembered how she used to have a small beauty mark there; had it really been that long that she had lost it?

Using a towel to clean herself off, she found herself glancing over at Drake. While Ignatia's normal expression was usually one of silent contempt, she found herself unusually emotional when regarding him.

Her face stung a little, she had rubbed herself clean a little too roughly. That was when she saw the marks she had made in the white towel, a bit like abstract art.

Maybe it was her artistic career, maybe it was something else in her subconscious that triggered the thought, but she could only think, " _You're alive now. It's a miracle you are now, but what's going to happen in the future? After that last trial…_ "

She clenched the towel in her hands, and was tempted to tear it apart by force. Drake made a small noise in his sleep, drawing her out of that anger. Ignatia stared at him for a moment.

The two had sprinted the hell out of that situation at the eastern plaza. She had wondered why he was so keen to avoid it too, but as she had learned when the two spent time communicating in his room, he truly was the cinnamon roll that Kimiko referred to him as.

Eighteen years old, almost halfway across the world, in a room with a girl, and Drake still never tried anything with her. Apparently, as she managed to drag out of him, his parents had always encouraged a healthy relationship should he ever find someone he likes.

That meant no sex, not even pushing for physical interaction, just… getting to know her. It wasn't easy, she had to type out everything she wanted to say, but wow. She hadn't thought boys were made like that anymore, from any country or any place at all.

Ignatia kept thinking he was like a lovable dork, but as they had conversed, she began feeling guilty over the "dork" part. It felt so stupid for her to consider him that, that he wasn't a man because he wasn't trying to make that physical move on her.

And the more she realized this, the more she came to a rather painful conclusion. " _So long as you're here, he's in the crosshairs. You're expendable, you're too quick tempered…_

" _I'm not going to get you killed, Drake._ "

The mime wrote a note out for him on one of the papers of his sketchpad, and gently kissed his cheek. With a heavy breath, she walked out of the door to his room.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:14 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik's House**

Isaac let out a long, exhausted, but happy sigh. He gently wiped the mint green bangs stuck to his sweaty forehead, and rolled over to look at Hara. "Still awake on me there, honey?"

Hara stretched slightly, letting out a soft moan that was just as sexy to Isaac as all the other ones she had made earlier. She was covered in sweat, blushing like crazy, but also smiling quite merrily.

"What, you wanna go one more?" she teased him, pulling herself to him and kissing him happily.

"Maybe! Heh, this aphrodisiac, it does give energy. I wonder if they included energy drinks in the mix."

"Vapor energy drinks, what a concept," she said, giggling. "Sounds like something you would do on a slow news day, my love."

"What I wouldn't give to have a slow news day again. It's…"

He sighed, then pet her hair. "No, I'm sorry, we're having a good time, this isn't the place for that."  
"Isaac, you know me better than that. No matter how happy we are, I don't want to let it be a distraction to you. Please, what's on your mind?"

The reporter sighed. "It's just that, I don't know if it is sex talking, or just being genuinely happy with you in this God-forsaken town, but part of me is thinking if maybe we should heed Saiko's advice."

"Leave Penjar for our own safety?"

"Have you considered it at all?"

Hara caressed his arm, and then said, "I cannot deny I haven't, but I'd feel so awful leaving her here alone. Plus, I know it would eat you up, the moment we left, what we could have found out."

"And yet, I think I would live with it if it meant you were safe."

Hara smiled and cupped his face. "Isaac, these last two years have taught me that there is no assured safety anymore. Whatever is happening in this town, I want to make sure that it cannot hurt anyone.

"And I know that if anyone is going to find out the answers, it's you. I may be rather biased, but you're one of the most capable people in the world for this mission. So I'm sticking with you, and we're sticking here."

Isaac caressed her hair, and kissed her sweetly. "Speaking of sticking…"

Hara burst into a fit of giggles, blushing, and sensual squirming. "You cannot just talk dirty like that when we're being serious!"

"But you're laughing, my dear Hara."

"It's not fair, I… I…"

She hissed in air as he set himself over her again, and her body started to wrap around him. As they stared into each other's eyes, she murmured, "It's so late, and we're still going at it… whatever is in that aphrodisiac, I wonder how much it has affected the others…"

"Oh, you think it finally loosened up Saiko?"

"Oh my God, that sounds hilarious and unbelievable! I doubt our girl would be that affected, we've got an excuse. She… who would she even favor?"

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:16 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Saiko Kobayashi's House**

Saiko let out a long, exhausted, but content sigh. She rolled onto her side, staring down at the floor, gripping her blue hair as she tried to register everything that happened.

The aphrodisiac hadn't caused any memory loss, this wasn't like getting really drunk and forgetting your actions; however, the forensic investigator was having a bit of trouble trying to remember what she had just done. The content side of her was replaced with a puzzlement.

" _Why is this so hard to remember? I mean, is it because this is so unlike me? Well whatever, I'm sure it'll come to me,_ " she thought, rubbing her forehead. " _I mean, that aphrodisiac, like hell it was going to affect me. I don't care much for having sex, I don't let chemicals alter my judgement!_

" _I… I… I have someone else in this bed with me._ "

She blinked, and then rolled back. Her resolution on what just happened was corrected within seconds, and everything came rushing back to her. Saiko's eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth, as she realized who else was in bed naked with her, and who had just made her feel very, very good.

"Is everything alright?" Eisei asked her, propping himself up on his arm as he smiled in that cute, friendly manner of his. "You seem shocked to see me, despite what transpired a mere twenty seconds ago. Did the aphrodisiac give you a bit of memory loss?"

"You… I… we… oh my God."

"This might be a kind of system shock, having done something that you are not used to doing. I do not judge, but I believe I am suffering from the same affects. Don't worry, it'll probably pass tomorrow morning, after we have slept. Still… one minute…"

Eisei inched over to her, and studied her quickly. He examined her eyes quickly, then took her pulse at her neck. And before he even realized it, he was kissing her neck. The soft moans coming from her encouraged more…

Until he pulled back, appeared slightly ashamed. "My apologies, I feel that the aphrodisiac has not yet run its course in my body. This is so very unusual and foreign to me."

"You think this is shocking to you?" she balked, shivering. "I haven't had sex in forever, my friends think I'm an ice queen who isn't swayed by human desire! And I'm here with… with you, of all people!"

"Is there something wrong with me that makes me undesirable normally? I suppose it is the appearance I take."

"N-no, it's not that. I… I just got the idea that you weren't into sex either, you're such a calm guy."

Eisei chuckled, and then searched the room for his clothing. Finding it, he climbed out of bed naked and went through his pockets, and Saiko found herself shamelessly staring.

"I haven't taken part in intercourse my whole life, I had no interest or desire. It would seem whatever chemical formula the Kubs developed, it overrode my strongest determinations and caused me to want to fornicate wantonly."

"You have the oddest way of saying that you fucked my brains out, Eisei."

Eisei shrugged, then managed to pull one of the last lollipops out of his pocket. Returning to the bed as he unwrapped it, he asked, with the slightest hint of vulnerability and compassion in his voice, "I hope it was at least pleasurable for you?"

"Um, yes. Yes it was. But you do realize that," she felt awful with what she had to say next, but she managed to do so, "this really doesn't mean anything. We only did this because of that aphrodisiac, I'm… I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

"I haven't ever been, I just didn't know how exactly to say such a thing in response. So I guess… we're just what they say a one-night stand?"

Saiko chuckled, and sat up. "I guess so. Oh, but I thought you were going to go? When you went for your clothes, I mean…"

Eisei smiled at her, and said, "I may not know much about the nature of sex personally except for last night, but I have done several essays and research on it, to identify the signs of arousal, intrigue, and desire. I did that so as to understand human interaction better, as I tend to miss such signs…"

"And, Saiko, I think we're both still highly affected by the aphrodisiac, and you have been showcasing many of the signs, physical. I was believing you wanted to go at it again?"

"What?" Saiko balked, staring wide-eyed at him. "Oh my gosh, if Isaac and Hara find out about this, they're going to think we're such a thing! We're even around the same height! I… I think that…"

Eisei stuck the lollipop into his mouth, then pulled it out and placed it into hers. She closed her lips around it, staring at him, before sucking longingly on it. A heated breath escaped her lips, and she murmured, "That's… that's not fair."

"All's fair in love and war."

"But we're not in love."

"A manner of describing sex is to say making love."

Saiko giggled, grabbed the short but well-equipped man, and whispered to him, "Then make love my brains out again."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:21 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Hikari Tetsuhime's House**

The steampunk model struggled to stand up out of bed, her loins and legs so damn sore that it hurt to stand up. She caught herself on the wall, leaving a bit of a sweaty handprint there. Letting out the longest sigh of sexual delight afterglow out, she glanced over her shoulder, and regarded her partner.

Aka lay splayed on the bed, appearing like a glorious conquerer of sorts. Hikari felt silly for thinking of her like that, but if she could describe the sex they had just had, it was like climbing the highest mountain and racing down it.

" _Fitting for you_ ," she thought, smiling as she made her way to the bathroom. She had to splash some water on her face, and get the make-up that hadn't been smudged to oblivion off of her.

As she brushed her hair, trying to get her raven locks in control from how much she had whipped her head around, she thought about her current state. Her inner thoughts, they were starting to grow in concern and worry.

It felt wrong to push them on Aka, she was enjoying their wild relationship so much. Hikari already felt like she had put too much weight on their friendship by explaining so much of her past. But she was starting to grow so concerned, and she didn't know who to talk to.

The model sank into a chair, staring down at her hand brush. "It is true," she ruefully whispered, "there is so much guilt after sex."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:25 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Shinobu Takahashi's House**

"I shouldn't have done this. I really shouldn't have done this! Oh my God, oh my God, why did I do this? Nnngh, I'm so stupid! Argh!"

Shinobu paced back and forth in her room, fiddling with her clothing as she tried to put something back on. The historian ran her hands through her hair several times, to the point where she started pulled strands out in a nervous fret.

She tried to reason with herself, use logic, emotion, anything to calm herself down. Nothing worked, she still realized who was in her bed, fast asleep, after the two had engaged in rather passionate sex.

"I slept with the enemy," she whimpered to herself, staring at Taro's sleeping form. "Oh my God, he's one of our evil hosts or something like that, and I slept with him. I'm the worst! I'm a horrible stereotype of that one type! I'm… I'm…"

Eventually she collapsed in a chair, and remembered some breathing exercises she used for the most stressful points of her life. Shinobu occasionally glanced at Taro, reminding herself of the situation.

" _Everyone is going to see it tomorrow morning, when he comes out of my room. If he doesn't go around bragging it, that is. Man, how could I let this happen? Sure, he doesn't seem bad, he's not vicious or cruel, and he can be rather nice…_

" _And… that was… such a good time. I mean, he really seemed to know what he was doing, and I still feel good in so many ways… NO!_ "

She smacked herself, and sighed heavily again. " _He's still someone who helps with the executions, he is one of those bears! Isn't he? Oh God, I don't know anymore._ "

Shinobu leaned back in the chair, and then watched Taro slumber. Eventually, she got up and got back into the bed, as she felt the exhaustion of the day catching up fast to her. She didn't touch him, but she did watch him, and wondered if there was an evil soul inside of that slumbering, cute guy in her bed.

"I suppose," she said, as her murmured in his sleep, "it isn't the worst mistake ever, right?"

"I dunno," he said, startling her as he rolled over to face her. He stared at her, and then asked, "What was the question again? Sorry, I was waking up when you asked it."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:30 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Ishiku Shyre's House**

"Are you thinking this was a big mistake on your part? You have that look of doubt and concern in your eyes."

"You're quite observant. I don't think your aphrodisiac has left entirely, but I'm going through those after-sex feelings of guilt and doubt. It's a human thing, very annoying, but still there."

Fannie nodded, her white 'n pink bangs bouncing as she draped herself on Ishiku's body. The two had pulled the covers over themselves, but were snuggling close together for warmth and comfort as well. The former pink bear now human gently caressed his chest, as her own pressed up against him.

"I wish I understood more about being human," Fannie admitted. "I sometimes hate how much my life has been trapped here in Penjar."

"You're trapped here?"

"Yes, it's kind of been our fate since we were… born? I don't know how it really worked out with us, it's hard to tell."

She lifted herself up a little more, so that she was laying more on him. Her body was light, warm, and soft, so he didn't mind so much. "I think I'm feeling some of that afterglow emotions too, if that's okay?"

"It's perfectly okay," he said, smiling a bit more than he meant to, but circumstances felt so nice right now.

"See, we've been in this town for so very long, and I never really knew what our point was. Daddy didn't show up until recently, and then we were determined to make friends, citizens of our town. But everything just seems to come at us, and I don't really understand…"

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:31 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Shinobu Takahashi's House**

"The problem is, after so many years of solitude, I haven't even been able to pin down what my purpose is," Taro admitted to Shinobu, who gently caressed his chest as he poured his heart out. "I am not even sure if I am in control of my own actions."

"What do you mean?" Shinobu gently asked him.

"I never even considered becoming a human," he admitted. "But it was only yesterday that the idea came around, and suddenly, I find myself totally on board. I don't get it, am I in control of my own actions, my… my own feelings?"

He slumped down in the bed, rubbing his forehead as he stared up at her. "It's so hard when that amnesia of mine flashes up."

"Do you think," she asked, still caressing him affectionately, "do you think that somewhere down the line, you were human to begin with?"

"If I was, I don't remember any of that. Shinobu, I know I'm not that smart, and this is just a weird moment of clarity, but I'm scared…"

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:33 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Ishiku Shyre's House**

"I'm so worried that there was nothing to me beforehand, that I," Fannie whimpered, "I was just some kind of tool or prop that is just being used. Who am I? I don't even really have a name."

She buried her face into his neck and shoulder, holding onto him. "The worst part is, I don't know why I'm thinking like this suddenly. Is it because I'm human? Am I supposed to act like this, for you, for Daddy, for someone else? I don't know!"

Taro and Fannie were both highly emotional, shaking as they tried to figure out who they were, what they were. Shinobu and Ishiku tried their best to calm them down, and be some kind of peace for them.

It was hard to discern if this was some kind of act or plot, or if their emotions were genuine, but whatever the reason, both couples spent a good amount of time speaking to each other as they rested for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:39 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Crystal Wilson's House**

Blinking a few times as she woke up from the slumber she had briefly taken part of, Crystal felt herself stirring awake. Her body felt so good and tired at the same time. She snuggled up to the grand sense of warmth and comfort that was nearby her.

The military adviser's mind was piecing together what had happened, she was still half-awake and allowing the good feelings to take control for the time being. All she could remember was that she felt great, and she didn't mind how sore and tired her body was, nor did she mind the slight smudges of face paint upon her face.

…

…

…

Wait, face paint?

Her eyes widened, and she saw who she was snuggling against. That rush of memory came back as fast as her vision's confirmation, and her jaw dropped when she realized who she was snuggling.

"Oh dear," Odelios said, grinning sheepishly, "I hope you're not regretting all of your life choices right about now."

"… I went to bed with a clown," she said aloud, despite the fact she wasn't letting go of said clown.

"I went to bed with a military strategic expert," he countered. "You seemed to have a really good time."

"I… I… wait, why are wearing face paint? You weren't earlier today," Crystal said, rubbing her head with one of her hands. "I'm sorry, I've been trained to resist chemical persuasion, so I'm suffering from a bit of memory loss."

"Well, see, when the aphrodisiac gas hit us all, I felt really uncomfortable without the face paint, but you were… kind of all over me."

Crystal went red in the face as she recalled her actions. "I kept reaching into your pants, and I pulled out… props. I kept finding props."

"We left a trail of props from that plaza to your house," Odelios said with a giggle, then he noticed her reaction to that. "Oh. Yeah, well, I can try and go clean them up before everyone else wakes up."

"So," she said, consciously realizing that she was still holding onto him, "when did you have time to apply the face paint if I was all over you?"

"Well, like any good performer, I had a partner assist me when I needed a distraction."

Crystal blinked in surprise, then she felt a soft, warm hand wrap around her. The soft feel of breasts pushing up against her back sent a shiver up her spine, and she felt a kiss on her cheek.

"And I turned out to be a damn good partner too," Pyrrha said, giggling happily. "Turns out going on a 'date' with Odelios really was grand!"

"What," Crystal said, seriously trying to fight her anti-chemical resistance haze with this sudden realization. "You. I. I'm straight!"

"Really?" Pyrrha asked not so innocently as she giggled musically. "Because while he was gone getting ready, and during the time he was ready, you sure weren't showcasing that. It was all I took to keep up with you!"

"I'm straight, I'm," the military adviser stammered, until Pyrrha's hand caressed her more, and laid another kiss on her cheek. The memories came flooding back, and Crystal locked up. "I'm definitely not just straight anymore. Oh boy, I blame the pent-up frustrations in me being unleashed when…"

Odelios smiled and rubbed his nose against hers. "Tonight, you don't have to be the overly serious military tactician genius expert who also is really, really sensitive in a certain area. Tonight, you are just a lady enjoying a slip-up the Kubs made."

"But… but I…"

Odelios kissed her, then Pyrrha kissed her. Crystal shivered, and whimpered, "Oh this is so not fair, but I'm… I'm…

"I'm over the slight amnesia, I remember everything, do me more. Now. And show me more about this alleged area of mine that's sensitive more."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:42 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Ken Kishi's House**

"Believe it or not, this is not my first threesome."

"I would have not believed you, except for the fact that I know your country's culture, and that you knew it was called a threesome. I would have imagined you calling it a three-way, you stud you."

Futaba giggled as she wrapped herself around Ken, nuzzling into his neck. She kissed him multiple times, enjoying how smooth and strong he felt. Glancing back over at Shuuya, who was sleeping peacefully, she giggled all the more.

"He really went all out, maybe he was just super pent-up and released it all tonight," she said. "Well, I mean, he really did release-"

Ken growled a little, the attention to his skin driving him wild. She was tracing his scars with affection, touching him in all the right ways. It was rather impressive to him, considering just how much a time she just had with two men.

"Miss Imajuku, if I may ask-"

"Any man who has been into me the way you have been must call me by my first name, handsome."

"Alright… Futaba, if I may ask, you seem to be very, highly desiring of this. Why do you have such an appetite?"

The anthropologist hummed, and said, "You know, I've been dodging death for a very long time, the Tragedy almost got me killed, a lot of times, a lot of ways. And yet I keep jumping into dangerous situations, like here and now. One day, it'll be my last.

"And something hit me when Taeko, the badass mercenary who was in the same year as me and dominated every physical challenge put forth to him, I realized that life is fleeting, so damn fleeting.

"I want to enjoy myself, I want to do the things that I kept observing others doing, and enjoy myself. I love anthropology, I love what I do, but now that I've put myself in a Killing Game, and I'm too damn stubborn to leave, I'm going to be a bit reckless."

Ken nodded, and said, "I… may be feeling the same thing, I was ready to die a couple days ago; however, I hadn't really planned on doing this."

"Planned on…," Futaba then gave a dirty description of everything she, he, and Shuuya had done in the past few hours. Ken, the cavalryman of Novoselic pride and combat prowess, was blushing bright red by the time she was done; even he knew how silly it was, considering he had just done those things.

The gal giggled a whole bunch, then grabbed ahold of him and rolled on top of him. "Look, that damn drug is still in my system, so long as it is, and in you too, I still got the energy to go at it. Wanna go for round… which is this?"

"I lost count. But I will comply, Miss Im… Futaba."

* * *

 **Day 08, 11:46 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Kimiko Hashiriya's House**

There was a gentle stirring in the bed, as Kimiko awoke from her sudden nap. She rubbed her forehead, as she felt a sense of sex-induced drunkenness-like feeling. Her hand ran through her green hair, as she let out a long, low moan. Then the person draped on her did.

The biker gang leader glanced down at Anzu, who was nuzzled into Kimiko's bare chest. She was immediately besieged with emotions, especially since she remembered, and could see both of them were only in their panties.

And Anzu had her hand still inside of Kimiko's panties.

"Oh dear," Kimiko said with a nervous little shiver.

"Mmmmgh… y-yeah, you can call me that too~"

Anzu glanced up at Kimiko, then smirked. She slowly pulled her hand from inside the biker gal's underwear, then held her tenderly with her pale arms wrapped around her. "Hmm, I think we both managed to restrain ourselves appropriately."

"Huh? Oh." Kimiko's sadness grew out of the cluster of emotions, to which Anzu leaned up and kissed her cheek.

"I know you're still in mourning for dear Angelique. I miss her too, so when I found myself in such a sensual tangle after that aphrodisiac mess… I restrained myself."

There was an impish giggle, as she added, "I mean, second and a half base isn't really restraining yourself, is it?"

"That position I believe is called the shortstop, so yeah, you did fine. I mean, we were all drugged," Kimiko said, as he wrapped her own strong arms around the lithe lady. "But dear God, I went to bed with a porn star and we didn't have sex? How am I going to feel about that in the future?"

"If we make out so much more, really go to town on tits, and snuggle each other until we have to get up tomorrow for more of the wretched town… I promise to do right by you, as… as…"

Anzu kissed Kimiko, and whispered, "As your friend. I just… cannot do more, I feel it would be disrespectful to go all-in."

"If Angelique is watching us from Heaven, she would be happy. I mean, anything to get my damn mind off of the horrid things I've seen… but thank you, Anzu."

"I may not have big boobs, but I can still distract you with them, eh?"

The Japanese gal giggled as the biker gal pulled her close, as Kimiko said, muffled due where she had placed her face, "I think they're just fine~"

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:15 AM**

 **Housing District**

 **?'s House**

The night went by, a great deal of the graduates not falling asleep for quite some time until the early morning. When sleep came after so much foreplay, emotional conversation, and passionate sex, it was the deep kind that would last as long as it would need to.

Morning in Penjar meant that the city was dully illuminated, the sun shining through the overcast. The windless mists drifted through the streets, curling around the corners of buildings as if to rouse them for the new day. Throughout all of the city, if anyone were up and at 'em, they would have seen that in person.

Those who had partaken in incredible foreplay and/or sex throughout the night were still asleep at this hour. Shinobu and Ishiku had conversed until the early morning with Taro and Fannie, respectively, and they were asleep as well.

There were only a few who were awake, a couple of them rousing at this point. Yitro was one of them, as he wasn't a stranger to heavy physical exertion before going to sleep, but for his normal lifestyle, that was usually exercise.

He stretched, his joints popping loudly due to how strong his muscles were. Letting out a long moan, he stared up at the ceiling, before being alerted to the soft coo of the one who had cuddled up to him.

"Can't we stay in bed a little longer?" Fiora pleaded, giving him a sweet smile.

"I'm afraid I normally get up at this point. We're not on vacation here, there's a point to our staying in this town… regardless of what happened last night."

Fiora giggled, and chirped happily, "Sex happened last night! And it was _so good~_! You were so good… and it's bin so long fur me, eh."

She blushed, her dark tan skin illuminated with a blush. The movie maker gently caressed him, and said, "You doo'nt regret it, do you?"

"Of course not! You were… very passionate, and I must admit, I very much enjoyed it too. But it is awkward, we haven't really gotten to know each other."

"I kind of have had sex with someone I knew less than you."

"Yeah, me too."

Fiora giggled, and he gently stroked her dual-colored hair. When he caressed the top of her head, part of her hair sprung upright. He chuckled and then poked at her hair.

"Keeping this under your fedora, were you?"

"Hmm, that ridiculous thing? Even dyeing it two colors didn't stop it from standing out like that," Fiora said with a huff. She swat at his playful hand, which made him giggle and dodge her attacks. "Maybe if you get your sword out, you could give me a trim?"

"You're crazy, I'm not doing amateur hair styling with a katana. I do rather like you when things are calmer and more in control, so to speak… though I don't know what this means in the future."

"Oh Yitro, we all knoo' that relationships brought a'boot by aphrodisiac gases doo'nt last long, but we're going to be friends and allies to help out our friends! Now come on…"

She straddled him, a happy smile on her face and her palms on his firm chest. Seeing her naked like this gave Yitro all kinds of feelings, and he doubted he'd ever see the silly, loud, energetic movie maker the same way again. He'd definitely never call her B-Movie Maker, that was for sure.

"Are we going to get up, eh?"

"You cannot ask me that while you straddle me, Fiora."

"Can too! Why not… OH! Um, I see why now. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be a tease, I think I'll need a break after last night, eh. Though I really wanted a bit moo'r… it's nice having someone else with me rather than Yejoon."

Fiora went wide-eyed, and then quickly got off of Yitro. She moved, a bit awkwardly due to the physical exertion from last night, and started gathering her clothes. "Oh God, I'm soo'ry, I'm so so soo'ry! If he finds out, he might-"

"I do not fear Yejoon. In fact, if he bothers you any more, come to me. I'll set him straight."

Fiora held her clothing in a bundle in front of her body as she watched him get up. "You'd… you'd do that? No one has tried to help me out with him so far."

"I believe that most of us felt that we should not provoke him, but I do not wish to fall into the indifference category anymore. I failed Angelique, I won't fail you; I don't want anyone else harmed by a killer."

Fiora smiled, blushing happily. "Um, if it is okay, could I use your shower? I'm a mess."

Yitro grinned at her, and said, "You look amazing."

"You're just saying that because we banged."

"Naw, I never would be so crass. Go shower now, I gotta use it next."

Fiora nodded and walked towards the bathroom. She paused, tempted to invite him to join her, but part of her realized that pursuing this was not likely; the whole reason they had been intimate was something other than genuine interest in each other.

It made her sad to think about, so she hurried into the bathroom. Yitro sighed as he gathered up his clothing, as he was also thinking the same things.

" _Never thought I would be involved with her, of all people. She's so goofy and loud and crazy, I even though her name was silly; I just got intimate with someone named Fiora, how crazy is that,_ " he thought to himself. " _I mean, she's a good person, and I don't regret last night. I just… don't know how to go forward with this._

" _Angelique, if you're seeing this, wherever you are, I hope you're laughing your butt off. You probably would be doing that if you could see me now. Not who you thought to try and pair me up with, huh? Still… let's just see what happens next. No sense in moving in any direction but forward._ "

As he organized the room as best he could, the TV turned on. He was rather curious to see who would be on this time.

* * *

( **Day 09 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Plaza Statue Greeting** )

* _The scene is instead set at the Monokuma statue at the eastern plaza. Kidd was on his hands and knees, appearing sick to his stomach. Suke is leaning against the base of the statue, rubbing his head._ *

 **Suke** \- "Oh bears, my HEAD."

 **Kidd** \- "Blargh… I… I feel so sick to my stomach. What a fucking party we held last night, huh? We must have drunk our weight in booze, snorted a drug cartel's shipment of drugs, and banged until our nuts fell off!"

 **Suke** \- "We didn't do any of that, you dimwit! We simply got concussed by our sister, and lay out here last night!"

 **Kidd** \- "Hahaha! You said 'lay'! That means sex!"

 **Suke** \- * _He groans in aggravation as he faced the camera._ * "Okay, youse pack of shagging bastards, youse had fun, right? I mean, youse better have! I slept out here in the cold, on the hard ground, and this headache isn't the hangover I wanted!"

 **Kidd** \- "Who did I lay with? Was it with the one with the big chest? Was it a man or a woman? Was it both? I don't know what my sexual desires are yet!"

 **Suke** \- "Can youse shut up? I just want to forget about this stupid accident, and get on with our town's progression! We have to make up for it and get to the motive today!"

 **Kidd** \- "I'm not even sure exactly what this dangly doodle in my pants does, anyway…"

 **Suke** \- "Then maybe it's a good thing our dumb sister knocked you out!"

* _At this point, Dam leans in within the camera's line of sight from the right side._ *

 **Dam** \- "You. All. Are. Free. To. Explore. The. Town. Today. There. Is. Still. Much. To. Find. The. Lab. However. Is. Off. Limits. Without. Permission."

 **Suke** \- "Where have YOUSE been? But yeah, youse all should have some breakfast. Dam will be making a good brand of coffee that'll cure any after-effects of the aphrodisiac."

 **Kidd** \- "Oh… I think I found out what the dangly doodle does. My pants are all wet…"

 **Suke** \- "I really hate youse, dude."

* _Someone sits up, visible now as the mist had covered them up previously._ *

 **Blake** \- "Ugh! I'm here? Please don't tell me I feel asleep out here with you two twats last night! Bloody hell, I was hoping to nut in your sister!"

 **Dam** \- "Could. You. Kick. Him. For. Me?"

* _The broadcast ends with a blur of someone with a white jacket and black hair leaping towards Blake, who is cut off mid-scream as he is assailed._ *

* * *

Yitro blinked in confusion, then shrugged. "I guess that's not the oddest thing ever, but that motive, I'm guessing they still hope to hit us with that truth gas, or whatever.

"And I'm talking to myself again, aren't I? Ugh."

The former Ultimate Swordsman was done organizing the room, when he found his katana. He held it in his hands, and thought about last night.

Indulging in physical enjoyment, dropping his guard, it had happened to him again. Though it was not like with his brother's death, Fiora was alive and fine. As he considered this, he smiled to himself, as he placed the sword on the desk.

"Angelique, Yone, I hope you're watching… because I think it's time to embrace who I was."

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:45 AM**

 **Housing District**

 **Souma Koukai's House**

There was a small snort, as the lone being slumbering in the bed was riled from his sleep. Souma blinked, and then groaned as he sat up. He shook his head, grunting as he glanced around, then he chuckled in triumph.

" _Perfect! I didn't do anything improper last night! I knew that this would work, so that I didn't molest anyone, or engage in wanton sex!_ "

Souma chuckled again, against the ball gag he had put on himself last night. He wriggled happily, which was all the nylon ropes he had tied around his arms, legs, and chest would allow.

" _I must say, I am quite glad I didn't do anything promiscuous. I do have an image to keep up, and I'm not going to be doing anything like THAT. The Kubs, Monokuma, they'll try to corrupt me, but I outsmarted them by making myself unavailable to do anything! Haha!_ "

He laughed, muffled, as he basked in how he had outplayed the system. After reveling in this for a minute, he tried to applaud, but realized that was difficult in his current position.

" _Alright then, well played, self-congratulations should only go on so long. … Wait a minute._

" _How do I get out of this again? Ugh, my head's still a little hazy, that damn drug, what's the method to untie myself? It was… I think… oh…_

"… _Oh God damn it._ "

Souma glanced around the room, trying to see if there was something he could use to get out of his self-made predicament. He started to feel some panic well up in him, as this couldn't get any worse right now.

There was a knock on the door. "Souma?" Yitro called from outside. "The door was left ajar, are you okay in there?"

" _OH GOD DAMN IT!_ "

Fiora peered in, opened her mouth, then closed it. "Jeez, whoever did that to you should have undone it before they left. Soo'ry, do you need help?"

" _Oh God damn it…_ "

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:06 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Everyone eventually was in the cafeteria, some coming in with who they had spent the night with, some going at it alone to avoid the questions. Though no one was immune to stares.

Fiora and Yitro had started making breakfast for them all. The service was polite, but the "customers" were either embarrassed, privately engaged otherwise, or bitter after what happened to them individually.

Drake had been rather miserable, until Ignatia walked into the cafeteria with Dam by her side. Drake spoke to her, and she confessed to trying to leave Penjar; Dam had stopped her, but why she wanted to leave or how the green 'n white-topped guy managed to stop her, she wouldn't say.

The vast majority of people weren't sitting with who they slept with last night, most of them agreeing now that the aphrodisiac was over, it was just embarrassing. The ones who had started off as couples beforehand were still seated with each other.

Yejoon sat with Fiora, who did not appear happy, nor did she tell him anything. Yitro, with his katana at his side, watched intensively to ensure the murderous artist didn't try anything.

The five Kubs, all still human, were helping up with the breakfast as well. Dam's coffee definitely did help them out, it felt so very soothing.

Taro was watching Shinobu from afar, and she was doing the same when he wasn't looking at her. It was awkward, neither knew what to do. She kept trying to convince herself that what she had done was not wrong.

And just as she summoned the courage to do so, Ishiku thanked Fannie for giving him a drink. The two giggled, blushed, and then she kissed him.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Both of them, as well as most in the cafeteria, jumped sharply. Emanuel was on his feet, quaking in fury. "You… you didn't! You fucking didn't!"

"What is your problem?" Ishiku declared, standing up.

"You fucking… fucked her? The enemy? The freak?"

Emanuel stared deep into Ishiku's eyes, and the two tanned skinned men appeared ready to fight. Everyone was apprehensive, watching and wondering if they had to intervene.

"That's really none of your business," Ishiku said.

"Oh right, you're right," Emanuel said, throwing his hands up in the air, pacing in fury. "Yes, it's none of my business. You just stuck your dick inside someone who wants Despair for the entire world, one of our vicious hosts who is encouraging to kill us, someone who was a mechanical bear a couple days ago.

"I guess it is none of my business that you literally _fucked an avatar of DESPAIR!_ "

Emanuel stood there, heaving in outrage. He pointed a finger at Ishiku, and barked, "You're practically an ally to Monokuma, to Despair, leading headfirst with your nut sack!"

"Stop talking about her like that," Ishiku declared. "You don't get to tell me what-"

"ENEMY! MONOKUMA! DESPAIR!" Emanuel screamed, punctuating each word so hard that spittle flew from his mouth. "You… you get the fuck out of Penjar!"

Fannie raised her hand, and whimpered, "Can I say something?"

"NO!"

With a horrified squeak, Fannie clung to Ishiku, shaking in fear and anxiety. The magician wrapped an arm around her, then glared at Emanuel. "You do realize I refuse to do anything you say, right? Your words hold no authority over me."

"My fists will!"

"So will mine!"

Blake stomped over, holding up one of said fists. "She picked YOU over ME? You're dead, mate!"

Before anyone could stop it, a fistfight erupted. It quickly evolved into a free-for-all, screaming and blows and all kinds of chaos; it didn't help that Kidd started bellowing about a mosh pit and crashing into everyone he could.

Those not interested sprinted out of the building. Isaac took Hara's hand and held her close as they made it all the way to the eastern plaza; Saiko was nearby them, panting from that retreat.

"Okay, well, that sucked," Isaac declared. "I mean, I knew things were going to be bad after that aphrodisiac incident, but I didn't think a bar fight would break out!"

"Damn immature twerps," Saiko spat out. "I guess throwing your fists around is easier than talking about it! How the hell are we going to handle this town if we cannot even freaking talk about this? God damn men."

"Hey, it wasn't just guys fighting there," the reporter protested. "I mean, I saw… oh, I guess there's no point in arguing this. Sorry, I think that we're just not as united as possible."

Hara sighed as she tried to collect herself, then she said, "But what is up with Ishiku doing… it, with Fannie?"

She quickly covered her mouth, mortified, and then whimpered, "I didn't mean to bring it up! I just, oh God, I sound awful."

"Listen, as much as I don't like Emanuel," Saiko said, "he has a damn good point. What the hell is Ishiku doing, having sex with one of them?"

She glared at Isaac, who held up his hands defensively. "Why on Earth are you looking at me? I don't know why!"

"You're a guy! Maybe it is that simple? You see a pair of breasts, you wanna get them!"  
Hara stared at Saiko in utter confusion. "Honey, why are you so mad at Isaac? That's not like you!"

"Because I'm mad about something I did last night, and I want to blame someone other myself for my decisions!"

Saiko blinked, then slapped her hands over her mouth, not unlike how Hara had done herself earlier. "What… what was that?" the forensic investigator blurted out. "I didn't mean to say that!"

"You're. Feeling. The. Motive."

Dam walked over to them, his hair a mess and his clothing torn at some of the seams. The green 'n white topped guy spoke as calm as ever, despite appearing like a riot victim.

"Your. New. Motive. Are. The. Mists. Of. Truth," he spoke. "Early. This. Morning. The. Truth. Serum. Was. Placed. In. The. Mists."

Saiko shook her head in confusion. "That's not possible! I mean, the mists here, isn't that nature? Are you making them artificially?"

Dam shook his head. "The. Mists. Are. Penjar. Penjar. Is. One. With. The. Mists. Father. Controls. The. Mists."

Isaac and Hara exchanged glances, then faced the young man. "You know, it's not too startling to me," the reporter said. "If you can make the mists soundproof, what else can't you do?"

"Not to mention how you intentionally made it so thick that someone could do something awful," Hara said, shaking her head and sighing. "It's terrible. So now you're saying that there is some kind of truth-telling serum in the mists? How does that work?"

Dam stared at them silently for a few seconds, before speaking again. "So. Long. As. You. Touch. The. Mists. You. Will. Feel. Its. Effects. Those. Effects. Will. Last. A. Short. While. If. You. Stay. Inside."

Isaac drummed his fingers against his knuckles in contemplation. "Sounds like if you want to avoid blurting out the truths, you have to stay inside. As a reporter, this is like a dream come true, but I'm wondering what on Earth makes you think this'll work, Dam?"

"Oh. I. Forgot. To. Mention. That. Bathrooms. Will. Lock. Up. If. People. Spend. Too. Long. Inside."

Hara scratched the back of her head, and sighed. "I guess that's one way to ensure someone goes outside."

"Indeed. Also. The. Longer. You. Spend. In. The. Mists. The. More. Compelled. You. Are. To. Tell. The. Truth.

"Secrets. Will. Be. Unleashed. Let. Us. All. Get. Along."

Dam started to walk off, heading to the Lab. He stopped, and turned to them, and said, "Oh. And. The. Lab. Is. Off. Limits. Unless. You. Have. A. Guide."

They watched him go, disappearing into the lab. Isaac and Hara exchanged glances, wondering to make of all this. Eventually, the reporter shrugged and spoke his mind.

"I don't fear this motive, but I believe it could be something horrid for anyone hoping to hide a secret; however, I don't believe that we have anything that terrible to be exposed."

Hara smiled, and said, "That makes me more likely to be victims rather than culprits. It's not terribly comforting."

"That's true. Still, we should start investigating the new places, at least the ones we have free access to. Shall we?"

The explorer nodded at him, and turned towards Saiko. The forensic investigator was shivering, keeping her face hidden from them. Hara immediately noticed this, and she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Saiko, if you end up saying what happened last night," the tall explorer said to her short friend, "we won't judge you at all."

Saiko shook heavily, gripping her clothing, her hair, trying so hard to physically restrain herself. Finally, she spoke as if the words were being ripped from her mouth.

"I framed an innocent man and got him executed."

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:27 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

 **Directly Outside**

After the brawl that resulted in some bruises and blood, everyone poured on outside, eager to get away from everyone else. It was then, when they were immersed in the mists, that Kidd and Suke informed them of the truth serum they were more or less soaking in.

All of them were skeptical, until Odelios started to talk. As per usual with the clown, it was difficult to get him to stop. It was only when he started loudly describing about the "activities" that he, Pyrrha, and Crystal got into last night that everyone knew the mists were truly making them honest.

That was mostly due to the fact that Pyrrha stepped in to give him additional details, even as she tried to mute herself. Crystal, red-faced at being exposed, grabbed Odelios by his ear and marched off with him. Ishiku, Drake, and Ignatia followed after, with Fannie sticking close to the magician as she watched the others nervously.

This realization couldn't be more horribly timed with everyone there, as the fight had made them rather distrusting towards everyone. They all sprinted off to find a new place to hang out inside, as the cafeteria and all of their homes had been locked mysteriously.

At the Western Tavern, Emanuel hurried over to the bar to get a drink. He stopped when saw that Kidd was already there, and was making himself rather sloshed.

"Thish ish what you do for fun?" he asked Emanuel, his lithe frame draped on the counter from behind it. "I feel shix degrees of shick."

"Okay, first off, you've been human for two days," Emanuel snapped, grabbing one of the bottles near Kidd. "Secondly, you hit the hardest stuff here. Are you trying to destroy your new liver that quickly?

Behind him were Ken and Shuuya, both of who wanted to be left alone for the most part. The two sat at different tables, silently contemplating everything that had happened. As Emanuel argued with Kidd, Shuuya eventually had to speak up.

"I thought you hated them," the bounty hunter said. "Why are you giving that one life advice?"

"He's provided the drinks for me when I'm fed up with the idiocy that the trials devolve into," Emanuel remarked. He stared at the sloppy drunk, truly looking like a rock star who had done too much heavy drinking, and sighed in frustration. "Besides, I was hoping to get to see inside the lab again, and you need permission for that."

Shuuya raised an eyebrow, and replied, "I suppose you'll have to wait for him to sober up to do that, lest you walk through that mist more."

Emanuel scoffed, and tried to prepare a drink for himself. "I've always spoken my mind, I don't fear any truth serum or whatever it is that they've pumped into the air. I just do not wish to have to deal with the morons who drag us down, as well as our IQ."

Ken rolled his eyes, and muttered, "You speak an awful lot of crap for someone who's been wrong twice during the trials."

The Bête Noir and cavalryman glared at each other, while Shuuya regarded the tension with mild concern. Eventually he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, saying, "It's no wonder we haven't made much progress, with how much this group has divided up."

Emanuel shot him a glare too, adding, "We don't need to work together, we just have to have the competent people do the investigating."

"And yet you're not investigating," Ken pointed out.

"There's nothing important in the eastern plaza except the lab, and I'm not going to go chasing after the Kubs."

"Why not?"

"Because it sickens me too much to try and bargain with the enemy, especially if they're going to seduce people to get them on their side," Emanuel said, then he shook his head. Rubbing his temples, he growled and said, "Damn it, I didn't mean to say that much. I guess whatever truth serum this is, also makes people talk incessantly."

Ken nodded, standing up as he headed for the kitchen. "That would be ideal for such a motive. I myself do not wish to be completely honest, I find those who are rude."

Shuuya watched as the Novoselician started to prepare some food, rather curious about his actions. "You surprise me there, Ken, I would think you would use this time to see if anyone here is on the side of Despair, or Chaos."

"What do you think I'm doing, dangling out with you two?" he replied, grinning slyly.

The bounty hunter/assassin grinned right back. "Touché. That's why I'm here too."

Emanuel regarded Shuuya, and said, "You would think an assassin would be against forcibly babbling. Wait, you are an assassin, truly?"

"Yes, I am. I have slain a great deal of corrupt, sinful monsters masquerading as humans," he responded, shrugging indifferently, "and I feel no guilt over such actions. Like I've said, the only one who should fear me here is Yejoon."

"How many people have you killed?"

"I do not keep count. What I do isn't a sport or a contest…"

Shuuya narrowed his crimson eyes at Emanuel. He was speaking so calmly, so honestly, it unnerved the detective. "What I do is because when there is true evil in the world, it must be eliminated before it hurts more of the innocent. Every kill, I investigated, I hunted, and I slew, knowing how dangerous the individual was."

Emanuel leaned against the counter, scratching his head. "Well, damn. You may be colder than me. I mean, I've never hunted and killed, and you're so proud of it."

"It's not something to be proud of, it just is how it is. I prefer not to showcase my past, which is why I wanted to destroy that one DVD in the movie theater."

The bounty hunter/assassin froze after he said those words, startled that he had said that without meaning to. Emanuel stared him down, and then asked, "The parking garage Killing Game, wasn't it? Why's that, were you in it?"

"No, but I assassinated the one responsible for creating it. I did not wish for such a horrid event to be showcased to you all."

A muffled laugh came from the bar, as Kidd lifted his head. "Oh, that one?" he asked, not so slurred now but woozy sounding. "Yeah, we put that one in the collection because it has some crucial details on one of you all."

"Yeah, Mr. Killer in a Trench Coat just said he was part of it."

"No, there's another person involved with that Killing Game."

Emanuel went quiet, then snapped his fingers. "That's it! We need to watch that movie, right now! What with the Seed of Despair, the Entity of Chaos, and whatever shit could be brewing, we need to know more about each other!"

Ken, who was eating some meat on the bone he had prepared, glanced up from his meal. "Is that really necessary?"

"Of course it fucking is! The Kubs made it against the rules to destroy those DVDs, and now we know someone was involved in a previous Killing Game?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised it took you this long," Kidd muttered. "The DVDs have been available since Fannie made the theater, you were all supposed to watch them and find out that dark secret. It's like… it is like in a video game, when you technically had access to something, but you weren't allowed to use it because the game wouldn't allow the interaction because it was important for a future chapter…"

None of the graduates were listening to Kidd at this point. Shuuya stood up, confronting Emanuel. "You do realize that this could be a trap," he snapped, "and that they want to be infected with Despair?"

"There's no Despair brainwashing stuff on those DVDs," Kidd murmured.

Now they were listening to him. Emanuel chuckled, then said, "Okay, look, you all want to do something to find answers? If we're not getting in the lab, we should watch that video, and get as many people in it as possible. The lack of knowledge between us all is pathetic."

Ken finished the meat on the bone, and then asked, "I guess this couldn't hurt, we do need to do something, rather than try to avoid the social awkwardness that comes from the fact that I was involved in a threesome with one of you."

Shuuya leveled an annoyed stare at Ken, and muttered, "Thank you very much for making it sound awkward. I'll go ask people to participate, just to get out of this situation."

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:37 AM**

 **Ye Olde Café**

Hikari felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, as she gingerly sipped her coffee. Aka stared at her apologetically across the table, as she nervously tried to explain herself.

"Listen, beautiful, just because I have led the lifestyle I admitted to doesn't mean I'm sticking to it with you," Aka blurted out. "Yes, I was very sex casual, and I had a lot of one-time flings, but there is something far more special about you than others!"

"It's not romance," Hikari bitterly remarked. "I mean, I didn't think you'd fall in love with me after a few days, and I was casual a little in the past, but to hear the way you spoke…"

Aka winced, remembering how she had remarked, without being able to stop herself, how much she wanted to have sex with Hikari more. It was becoming obvious that the relationship was more physical for her than mental.

"Hikari, can you honestly say that you considered something more than a good friends-with-benefits relationship with me?" the skier asked. "I mean, we're not in the kind of place or position to get up to romantic shit."

The steampunk model crossed her arms and stared outside. She could see a trio of ladies outside, consisting of Kimiko, Anzu, and Pyrrha. They were giggling and chatting, with blushes on all their faces. Whatever they were discussing, it was much more fun than this conversation she was having.

"Hikari? Come on, you cannot just cut me out like this, it's not fair."

"Fair? Nothing's fair in this world, especially nowadays," she remarked, shaking her head. "Aka, I didn't want to think it, but I'm sure if I asked you, you approached me because you liked my looks and just wanted to have sex with me."

The skier strained, clenching her teeth as she squeezed her ceramic mug. The pressure eventually became too much, and it shattered in her hands. She didn't even notice, the painful scratches that amplified with hot coffee on them, she just didn't want to answer Hikari's inquiry.

"The mere fact that you're trying so hard not to speak," Hikari remarked, "says just as much as a yes, Aka."

"Okay, fine," the purple-topped skier shouted, "I thought you were super hot, and when I realized you were a lesbian too, I really wanted to bang you! I like beautiful women, I like sex, and when I found out I was in this shitty town with a fucking Killing Game, I wanted something to work towards!

"I mean, I'm no detective, I'm not going to find out the answers to the murders or all of the history to this town! So you were the reason I stayed! But how many times do I have to say that I don't think of you as just a hot bod?"

Hikari felt her heart pounding, her mind screaming about a hundred courses of action to take this news. She didn't want to cry or holler, she didn't want to cave in to her own primal desires as well. She just didn't know what to do.

It was then that Ken walked into the café. The cavalryman noticed the two women sitting silently, and walked over. "Excuse me, ladies, but we're gathering up everyone to watch a movie that the Kubs have implied has crucial information on one of us. We need something to do while we cannot investigate the lab…"

Hikari stood up, and said as she walked out of the building, "Anything to get my mind on something else!"

Aka sighed in frustration, rubbing her forehead. "God damn it, this is the hardest part of being into women, they can be so freaking emotional. I thought we had a good thing going here!"

Ken glanced around nervously, really not sure how to answer this. Aka stared at him for a few moments, then shrugged and stormed out of the building too. The Novoselic cavalryman stood there in silence, before heading outside too, wondering how it could get more awkward for him.

That was right when Kimiko, Pyrrha, and Anzu were walking by. "Ooo, Ken," Anzu shouted as she ran over to him, "you gotta tell us who you banged last night~! And give us details!"

This was the worst motive in the entire world to Ken right now.

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:40 AM**

 **Ye Olde Tailor Shop**

Fiora was browsing through the Monokubs-themed clothing, trying to find something else she'd like to wear. One of the faux fur hats with Monokuma's head was such a stark contrast to her hair, she couldn't help herself.

As she removed her fedora, the front door chimed. Before she could turn around, a voice she was growing unfortunately accustomed to chuckled and said, "You really have styled your hair in the most fun way, haven't you?"

"Damn it, Yejoon," she spat out, turning to face him as she placed the white 'n black hat on her black 'n white hair. "Can't you just leave me alone for one day?"

"I'm afraid I am not accustomed to leaving my prey alone when I am hooked on them," he said, giving Fiora a hell of a shiver up her spine. "Ah, forgive me, but that truth serum mist is making my choice of words rather strong."

"You're still thinking of killing me, aren't you?" she remarked, her curiosity driving her words more than her common sense.

"That is certainly a possibility, I have a habit of killing a lot of people I know," Yejoon said. "But not all of them."

"You killed your parents, your sister was casually trying to kill you, and don't think I haven't forgotten about you claiming two hundred victims! What makes you think that not killing everyone you meet calms me down, eh?!"

Yejoon leaned against the counter of the store, as he watched Fiora fiddle with some of the clothing articles. "Have you ever been to South Korea, Fiora? You mentioned traveling a lot with your parents."

"No. I mean, I kind of want to, just haven't bin there yet. Why?"

"Because while that is my home country, I mostly did my work in North Korea. You see, it was far more challenging in our hostile, neighboring country. The change came after my second girlfriend in South Korea, when I found that it was becoming too… familiar with the people."

Fiora groaned in frustration. "Oh, how pleasant. Are you going to tell me how you murdered your girlfriends now?"

"I murdered neither of them, though the second girlfriend is dead; the Tragedy ended her life. I have no idea where the first one is, but those were the most normal relationships I had in my life. Oh, how I considered making them into beautiful works of art…

"However, I find that when I have attachments to someone, the usual urge for my most sensational works of art is not there. You see, death is the grand finale for what makes a person beautiful, but if they are able to have an equally beautiful purpose in life, the perfection of deadly art is not needed. I guess what I am trying to say here is…"

The artist approached her, and placed his hands on her shoulders from behind. He noticed her fearful shiver, and said quietly into her ear, "I'm trying to find a reason to not make you into a beautiful work of art, my little flower."

Fiora couldn't stop shivering, and she said back, with as much force as she could muster, "I hate you."

"Your cooperation isn't really necessary for my goal, dear flower. Though I imagine your new bodyguard may have a say in it."

"My what now?"

Yejoon gestured towards the main window of the building, and Fiora saw Yitro standing out there. The swordsman pointed at Yejoon to remove his hands from Fiora, then clutched his katana's handle. Yejoon complied, and chuckled. "Have you not noticed he's been following you at a distance? Guess he wants to make sure I don't try anything."

"Well good! Stop following me, damn it, I'm sick of being so scared and threatened and feeling like prey! Leave me alone!"

Fiora replaced the Monokuma hat with her fedora, and then hurried to the backdoor. Yejoon casually followed after, having no trouble keeping up with her. Yitro was about to give chase as well, but that was when Emanuel showed up and started to drag him off for the movie viewing.

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:43 AM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Front Desk**

Eisei watched Shinobu going through the papers for the nth time, curiously tilting his head to the side as he observed her organize them too. "Would it be safe to assume," he asked, "that you've worked in a school before?"

"I'm wearing a university uniform," she responded, smiling at the dentist. "Isn't it obvious?"

"True, just that I never judge people by their clothing. Still, I guess it was a ridiculous question. Perhaps I am a little off-base due to my disregarding all of my previous lifestyle decisions by fornicating with someone I have a casual relationship with."

Shinobu blinked in surprise, and opened her mouth to say that that was really awkward to hear. What came out instead was, "I slept with Taro."

The overwhelming silence was rather crushing to her, as Eisei stared up at her questioningly. The historian whimpered and exclaimed, "Please don't judge me! He was so sweet and he is a real person, not an evil bear thing!"

"The more you talk, the more I want to inquire, but I'll try to resist," Eisei stated. "But is that why you are here? You want to find out more on the history of Penjar, and thus the Kubs?"

"Y-yes. If there is anything to discover about this place's history, it would be here. And I've worked at schools long enough to know where they keep records… but there isn't anything here!"

Eisei shrugged and said, "Maybe we should search more of the classrooms? We aren't finding anything here, after all."

As Shinobu nodded in agreement, Souma walked in through the front door, Taro alongside him. The public speaker chuckled as he said, "Eisei, I had to fend off Shuuya's request to go to the movies by saying I was helping you out with a current investigation. If you don't need me, I fear I'll run back outside screaming that I must follow after him."

"Your assistance would be highly appreciated," Eisei remarked, then regarded Taro. "Is our ninja-like Kub joining us too?"

Taro nervously tapped his fingers together, staring at the blushing Shinobu. "I… I really wanna help her out. That's something a good boyfriend does, right?"

"Taro! We're not dating!"

"Oh, I meant that if I was going to be your boyfriend, I should be helping you out! I mean, I wanted to ask you out earlier, but there was the fight…"

As Shinobu and Taro walked off together, a nervous but interesting duo, Eisei and Souma watched them go. The public speaker chuckled, and said, "Well, I've seen a lot of crazy things in my time, Eisei, but this ranks rather high up with them."

Eisei popped a lollipop into his mouth, as he replied, "If what I heard about your condition when you were found in the morning is even half true, then yes, I would say this town has made us all a little silly."

Souma pursed his lips as he looked to the side. "I have an image to keep, you know…"

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:49 AM**

 **Science Lab**

 **First Floor, Chemistry Room**

"Hold still, my honey-bunny," Fannie chirped, as she placed a band-aid on Ishiku's forehead. "That mean old Emanuel got you good here, and I don't want you getting an infection~"

Odelios stared, flabbergasted, at this interaction, as the two were working near the first-aid room. The clown tried to distract himself, regarding some of the refrigerated bottles. Several of them were labeled, "HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE, DO NOT SHAKE!" He considered shaking the whole fridge just to see if it were so, but he wasn't stupid; he'd find Kidd to do it later.

The clown saw that the members of their tour group were in the corner, away from the others. Drake was trying to talk to Ignatia, but she was playing the distance game again. Suke was watching them, curious about what was going on; the orange 'n white-topped young man was actually trying to stay away from his sister at the moment.

Odelios then regarded the one person in the group he was actually considering regarding in more regards, in regard to the fact that they had had rather pleasant intercourse last night (and some this morning). Crystal was observing an empty chemical jar, which had been labeled the truth serum that was now in the mists.

The military adviser set it down, then saw Odelios was staring at her. She sighed, and then opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm not actually the Ultimate Military Adviser," she said. "I lied to you all."

This got the attention of everyone in the room, who stared at her in shock. Crystal took a deep breath, running a hand through her blonde hair, and added, "You see, I faked all of my credentials, I'm not official in any way shape and form. In fact, my greatest military achievement is winning twenty-seven games of Risk in a row."

"You're an imposter?!" Drake balked.

"You lied about who you were?" Ishiku declared.

"You won _twenty-seven_ games of Risk in a _row_?" Odelios hollered.

"I managed to get a negative number on my SATs back home," Crystal continued. "Also, I'm not a natural blonde, I actually have puke green hair that I'm totally ashamed of."

"What?" Odelios stammered. "Okay, first off… TWENTY-seven? And secondly, I know for a fact you are a natural blonde, because we…"

When Crystal stared at him sharply, he paused. Then he stared back, he stammered, and then it dawned on him. "Oh my gosh, you're lying, aren't you?"

"Damn right I'm lying, you think that the Ultimate Military Adviser would allow a truth serum from blurting out classified military secrets?" Crystal said with pride. "Ha! I trained myself to resist all kinds of truth serums, so whatever the Kubs put in the mists isn't working on me!"

Suke stared incredulously at Crystal, and then slammed his fist on the counter. "Damn it! I was so hoping you of all people would be susceptible!"

"Wait, I'm confused," Fannie said, scratching her head, "so you actually are a military adviser?"

"You slept with Odelios?" Ishiku asked, eyes widening.

"You actually didn't win twenty-seven games of Risk in a row?" Odelios muttered, rather crest-fallen. "But that was so very impressive."

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:53 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Isaac provided Saiko some food and drink, knowing how much substance helped calm his friend. Hara sat next to her, waiting for her to talk. Saiko had promised to explain everything when she had a chance to sit down.

It took a little time, but she was finally speaking. "It was a case involving a gang turf war. The one on trial was the son of the Dark Nails gang leader, being accused of killing several members from the Acid Bath gang. Now, this guy was a real bastard, I know he was guilty of a lot of stuff, but not the murders he was on trial for…"

Saiko slogged down her drink, before gasping and breathing hard. Hara rubbed her back, but it didn't really help out the forensic investigator. "I was approached," she continued, "at first peacefully, to sway the course of the trial. I refused, and the next time it came by, it was with a picture of my sister tied to a chair."

She shivered at the memory. "That picture of Touka, tied, gagged, with the text attached to it, it still fucking haunts me. It's so sick, but I went with their demands right away. It was… much easier to do than I thought. I'm pretty sure there were people in the justice system working the case for the Acid Baths, because it went so smoothly.

"The trial was so quick too… yeah, I'm sure there were more people than just me. Then the guy received the death penalty, even invited me to see it happen. I didn't go, of course, they were just rubbing it in my face that they had control over me. I just thank God that I got Touka back."

Isaac wrung his hands, as he tried to mentally sort out the times of events in his head. He could only vaguely remember when this trial was, but by the time he pieced it together, Saiko said what was on his mind.

"I didn't have her that long, though," Saiko muttered. "I know time is relative, but looking back, it wasn't that much time before the Tragedy. Before she fell into despair, before… someone killed her."

She ground her teeth, covering her eyes with her hand. "God DAMN it, I was even made to investigate it! Why didn't I have more backbone? Why… damn it, I got someone innocent of the crime they were accused of declared guilty, for, in the end, nothing!"

"It wasn't nothing," Hara assured her, trying to get through to her friend. "You were saving your sister, you couldn't have known about the Tragedy! Don't put that on your conscience."

Saiko scoffed, and shook her head. "I still got that man on my conscience. I don't have much else to go on, except maybe finding answers in this damn town."

Hara and Isaac were quiet for a moment, trying to let their friend vent a little more. All three of them were startled when someone cleared their throat from one of the doors.

"If you three aren't busy," Shuuya said, crossing his arms, a frown on his face that seemed gruffer than normal, "we're going to be viewing an important video in the movie theater. If you could report there ASAP, it would beneficial to be on the same level of information.

"Since we have way too many cases of people not being forthcoming with information in this town."

He then turned on his heel, and left the building as swiftly as he had entered. The trio exchanged glances, and Saiko felt a rather cold shiver go up her spine.

"Did he overhear me?" she asked, glancing between the two of them. "If he did, and he said he takes care of bad people-"

"You are _not_ ," Isaac declared, "a bad person. If he tries anything, he'll answer to us."

"That's right," Hara said, taking Saiko's hand. "You're our friend, Saiko, we're not going to let anything happen to you."

The forensic investigator glanced between the two of them, and smiled softly. "Well then, let's go to the movies together, shall we?"

* * *

 **Day 09, 11:58 AM**

 **Eastern Plaza**

 **Monokuma Statue**

Blake glared up at the statue, as he inspected the base. "Come on, I know there are vents here! I'm gonna find them and burn the fuck out of them!"

"What on Earth are you doing?"

Futaba, making notes on her pad, approached the Japanese-Australian man. She corrected her glasses, and asked as well, "Are you really trying to break the Monokuma statue? You do realize that'll bring a lot of trouble on you, most likely?"

"Like I can't handle that bear, he's now a big fuzzy pushover," Blake snapped, then groaned as he tried to find some kind of grate around the base of the statue. He fanned away the fog, and muttered, "If I can stop them from pumping truth serum into the mist, it'll stop the motive."

Futaba balanced herself on her feet, and glanced around the area. Seeing no one else, she then eyed the pyro. "You're a very blunt person, a characteristic I rather admire, so I don't understand why you'd do that."

Blake glanced up at her, and found her gaze rather demanding. There was something about her eyes that made him feel like she was scanning him, and that rather unnerved him. "Look, maybe I don't want to blabber everything on my mind at every given moment! The others will thank me for this, I'm sure."

The anthropologist shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it. You see, I have a good idea about the people here, and you are one of the most obvious people. You really don't care about other people."

Blake glared at her, before shrugging it off. "Yeah, not in particular. I've been an introvert all my life, and prison didn't really change that; I don't care much about anyone else anymore, I'm just here for my brother."

The pyro stopped himself, then realized he was speaking without really meaning to. Trying to find the grates that were unleashing truth serum into the mists had made him immersed in the mist, and even his incredibly stubborn nature was overrun.

"He died in prison. Prisons were like Killing Games with no Masterminds or trials, just motives to kill and everyone had them. If I can find out how to stop Despair from ever spreading again, I'll do right by him."

Futaba nodded, then asked, "I can understand that. I received some rather personal wounds from Despair fanatics."

"Those scars on your face?"

The anthropologist flinched, then caressed the scars around her lips which almost led to her ears. She never liked talking about this, but she could practically the chemicals in her system driving her forward.

"Yes, someone tried to carve a smile on their face, but I managed to fend them off before they fully got their pathetic attempt at being the Joker fulfilled. Luckily, plastic surgery and medicine have ensured I have a normal life again.

"It's not really something I like to talk about, but I guess since we're getting each other to express our biggest secrets, we cannot help herself, now can we?"

Blake stood up and leaned against the statue. "You're an anthropologist, right? Guess you're doing studies on us, this must be the best fucking motive for you ever."

"If I can profile one person who is hiding something terrible, I can definitely make it all worth it. So yes, so long as I take advantage of the Kubs' motive, I will make it work towards destroying Despair.

"For instance, there is something," she said, her eyes blazing behind her glasses, "I have wanted to ask you, our resident pyromancer."

Blake was a little unnerved by how forward she was being. "Damn, I liked you much better when you were just an observer."

"Observing isn't getting answers, I couldn't tell Jin was a serial killer by watching her or a simple conversation. I want to know why you were arrested, Blake."

The Australian graduate ground his teeth, but his body was acting against his will. He gripped his forehead, his tattooed arms flexing and making the flame ink work visually move, like a motion picture.

"I'm… more or less responsible for Melbourne's Great Fire."

There was silence in the area. Futaba had been gripping her pencil and pad, but dropped them when she heard this. When she knelt down to pick them up, she kept her eyes firmly on Blake, thinking he might lunge at her to silence her after overhearing this.

"You," she stammered slightly, gripping her pad and reaching for her pencil. There was a wooden snapping sound, and she gave up on trying to find it. "You caused that horrible fire?"

Blake scratched the back of his head, and said, "I was trying to make Greek Fire, and turns out I was on the right track. I did it, I really managed to make my masterful life's work come to light… heh, I actually hated puns, but that works so well-"

"Blake," Futaba shouted, stomping her foot to alert his attention. A small gasp echoed around the area, as Blake stared at her with a mixture of worry and frustration. "You cannot be serious! Melbourne's Great Fire resulted in the death of hundreds!"

"No no, listen," he said, holding up his hands. "That area I was testing in was known for some meth heads, who were making some shit when I wasn't around. They found my lab, and messed with the instruments, so when I tried an experiment, one of the fires got out of control!

"I did everything I could to stop it, but it raced out of my reach within minutes. It spread to the city faster than I could imagine, and in that instant…"

He clenched his hands, and chuckled slightly. "I found the answer to my Greek Fire! It was the answer found in the disaster, and now, the beautiful fire that grows with water and takes special measures to stop.

"Greek Fire was mine to control, to use as a tool, for the best of reasons. Do you have any idea how useful it was, when I was accepted into Hope's Peak? How much it is used in science labs, how the formula helps us with tools and advances that move us forward?

"I believe that my Greek Fire formula is the reason we've managed to make rocket ships that made it to the moon, the vehicles that we can use for grand design and rebuilding the world after the Tragedy!

"It was worth it, my research advanced us by decades! And it wasn't entirely my fault, Melbourne's Great Fire was because some meth addicts messed with MY tools!"

Blake took a few moments to collect himself, heaving in exasperation. He ran a hand across his short hair, and stared at Futaba. "Look, I never wanted people to die. That was never my goal, and it isn't something I am proud of. I have come to terms that it was partially my fault, just like the courts decreed."

Futaba shook her head, staring at him flabbergasted. "You… you went to jail for less than a decade over a fire that killed hundreds of people?"

"They could only prove that I was involved with the outskirts area that had my former lab. I mean, it was only the fact that I had illegal materials around the area linked back to me, like some chemicals, drugs… nuclear material."

Futaba wondered if her bottom jaw could detach at this point. Blake noticed her gaping mouth, and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I was just arrested for illegal material, but when Hope's Peak accepted me, I had to work on a lot of community service projects to reduce my sentence, as well as go to that school.

"So… yeah, I'm responsible for Melbourne's Great Fire, in a way. I don't like to say it, because I don't think those deaths were entirely on me. But maybe I don't like admitting to everyone that happened."

Futaba rubbed her forehead, and then let out a long, heavy sigh. "Well, you did your time, and you're trying to help us. I guess I shouldn't try to shame you."

"Shame don't work on me. I'm going to do what I can to get us closer to the truth."

"And get into Fannie's panties."

Blake chuckled at the rhyme. "Well I mean, you want information, right? Pump her for information! Speaking of which, I still have to find Ishiku and rearrange his face…"

Before the anthropologist could make a scathing remark, there were sounds of scuffling footsteps nearby. She turned around, and saw Emanuel approaching them. "Hey, you two," the Bête Noir said, eyeing both of them suspiciously, "we need everyone we can at the movie theater. There's something we have to view."

Blake glanced at him, then Futaba, then shrugged. "Whatever, it'd be better than standing out here admitting to all my secret shames to Miss Interrogation."

Futaba shrugged, and said to herself, "Wasn't like I forced it out of you."

* * *

 **Day 09, 12:07 PM**

 **Movie Theater**

 **Projection Room**

"Is this it?" Ken asked, holding up the DVD to the two men in the room. Shuuya and Kidd both nodded, the former ruefully and the latter excitedly.

Emanuel walked into the projection room next, observing the exchange between the guys. He dusted off his hands, and said, "That's great, we have enough people here to start it up."

"Shouldn't we get everyone for this?" Shuuya asked. His tone was calm, but had all the subtle begrudging of someone who'd rather have root canal surgery.

"We have enough, I'm not going to head off and fetch every idiot. Some of those putas will insist on making popcorn, or some shit."

Emanuel took the DVD from Ken, and started to work it into the machine. He glanced out over those who were in the audience, and realized how displeased he was when he realized it was only going to be a little over half of them. "I swear, it's like herding cats to get these people to do anything right."

Ken scoffed as he made his way out of the projection room. "Just get the movie started, it's not like any of us want to see something that Monokuma and his children want us to view."

Kidd laughed as he followed after the Novoselic man. "What's the matter? You don't like totally improved theater? That's what Dad does best!"

" **Do I hear someone talking about me?** " came the familiar, sinister voice from the screening room's audience. " **Come on already, I got popcorn! I'm raring to go-HEY!** "

"If I'm going to sit here," Saiko could be heard as she fought with Monokuma, "and watch your shit, I refuse to let you also hog the food! Give it here!"

" **No! My popcorn! I finally got the butter and salt amount I prefer, and I won't have-GRRR! GIMME!** "

"You give it over!"

Emanuel snarled in frustration. "Shuuya, help me get this thing running!"

"Is this actually necessary?" the bounty hunter asked. "You do realize that this could be watching people die."

"We've all seen people die, so what?" the detective snapped. "What, you afraid they may have caught your bad side on film?"

"The Mastermind behind this Killing Game was taken out by me a couple weeks afterwards. This is going to be something else entirely, perhaps the Killing Game, and people did die-"

"Stop being a fucking puta and start this up!"

" **MINE! MINE! MINE!** "

"Give me the popcorn, you freaking bear!"

Shuuya accepted that it was going to happen with or without his help, and he sighed as he helped Emanuel set up the movie. He could also hear Saiko beating Monokuma up with one of the chairs for the popcorn, and hoped that something could cancel what was about to happen.

* * *

 **Day 09, 12:08 PM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Classroom 04**

Shinobu rummaged through the desks, searching for something, anything. She had found disposable gloves in the medical room of the school, and was wearing those for a little protection. She hated to touch the incredible amount of dust, cobwebs, and who knows what else with her bare hands.

"Feels a bit like a historical dig, doesn't it?" Souma commented, as he observed the drawings. "You must feel right at home, Shinobu."

"I'm not an archeologist," she replied with a small laugh. "But I want to find out as much as I can. There's a lot riding on the history of Penjar, more than Monokuma is letting on."

Eisei eyed Taro, who was watching Shinobu as he also went through the desks. The dentist said, "Shouldn't we ask the original citizens, as in the Kubs?"

Taro paused his search efforts, and said, "The weird thing is, I don't really retain the memories of things that happened before you all showed up when I'm in my human form like this."

The dentist tilted his head, and asked, "So they gave you selective amnesia when you were placed in a human body? Why do that?"  
Taro sat in the desk, tapping his chin. "I'm going to guess because in our mechanical bodies, it is easier to prevent us from speaking our minds?"

Souma and Shinobu were both looking at Taro as well, confused by this statement. The historian walked over to him, and asked, "Taro, how much do you know about yourself?"

He stared up at her, and smiled sadly. "I know that the five of us are… something of a culmination, of sorts. I don't know what exactly, I just know that Penjar has felt like home to me for longer than I can fathom.

"It was only recently that it felt more clear, like I had a sense of self. And," he rubbed his forehead and strained, "I don't want to lose it. This human form is so liberating, and amazing, but I don't know why I have it."

"Um, what's it like," Shinobu stammered to say, "to be in your mechanical form? Were you like that from the start?"

"That's the only other form I remember. But it always feels like something other than myself is controlling me. The amnesia is so… difficult to comprehend, like something in my head won't allow me to remember."

Taro bumped his forehead against the desk, groaning in frustration. "I wish I could live without all this amnesia! I don't want to forget the good times I've had, the friends I've made… and you, most of all."

Now that made Shinobu blush like crazy. She giggled, then felt his hand take hers. When he squeezed it affectionately, the desire to help him out increased tenfold. She leaned in…

And in the process, she accidentally bumped into the desk. Something rattled inside, and it immediately grabbed her attention. She reached into the desk, and pulled out a large textbook.

"Ooo, did we find something?" Taro asked excitedly, clapping his hands. "I hope it's something you'd like!"

Shinobu dusted off the cover, and realized by the cover that it was a school history book. She felt her heart race, but then sink. "I mean, yes, I guess a historian would be excited to find a history book… but…"

"But what? Isn't that the most fitting thing we could find for you?" Taro asked, confused.

"If I may hazard a guess," Souma spoke, "it is because we need the history of the town, not of the world."  
"Especially the dumbed-down version," Eisei spoke as he unwrapped a lollipop, "that would come from a grade school textbook."

Shinobu nodded to this, but sat down in the seat next to Taro's. She noticed that there were a couple bookmarks in the textbook, and opened up the book to one of them. Casually reading through the text ( _which she was able to do impressively quickly to the point that the writer would wonder how she managed to process it all so quickly, did she skip right to the end, seriously, how do you people do it?!_ ), she found something interesting.

"Oh wow, this is about Gilroy Lanceson and Jibri Patando," she commented, studying the text carefully.

Eisei paused before popping his latest candy into his mouth, though before he could speak, he heard something from outside the room. The dentist quickly moved over to the door and glanced out the hallway, trying to see who was there.

"Who are they?" Souma asked.

"Famous abolitionists from American history," Shinobu said. "It's been debated if they were real or not, but I just find it interesting that a Japanese school textbook mentioned them."

"What's an 'abolitionist'?" Taro asked.

"During American history, when slavery was legal, there were a great deal of people who were trying to stop it," she explained. "While some tried to find legal means to outlaw slavery, there were those who took matters into their own hands and worked to free slaves."

"So it was criminal to free slaves?" the red 'n white-topped young man asked.

"Technically, yes, but the people helping the slaves saw them being inhumanely treated and detained against their will, so while the law and the social norm said otherwise, they worked to free their fellow human beings."

Souma raised an eyebrow. "You seem rather passionate about this, Shinobu."

"It's part of history that I find admirable, those who risked so much to do the right thing. History in some places, well," she sighed, and rubbed her head, "they don't want to talk about the good that people did, they only want to heap the guilt on and let that be how we 'learn' from history.

"I'm against that, I do not wish for our history to be nothing but guilt and shame. Slavery in the United States is one of those topics, while all countries have had their shames and terrible periods of history, but it is reminders of this that there were those in history who made a difference."

Eisei, unable to see anyone in the hallway, returned back to the classroom with a slightly confused look. He was mentally wondering if someone was spying on them, or maybe they wanted something from this room?

"You said they risked a lot," Taro spoke, listening with fascination to Shinobu, "was being an abolitionist dangerous?"

"If caught, they could be put in jail, or sometimes outright lynched," Shinobu said. "Social standing, careers, freedom, their very lives, it was all risked to help people go free."

She scanned the text some more, and continued to speak. "Gilroy Lanceson was a successful businessman who, when he witnessed inhumane treatment upon slaves, worked to free as many people as he could. Jibri Patando was one of the first slaves he freed, but instead of heading to safety, Jibri befriended Gilroy and worked alongside him.

"It was the kind of teamwork and friendship that inspires me, but the problem is, no one knows what happened to them. There was never any records of them being caught or killed, or where they ended up. So that's why people think they might be a story rather than the truth."

Shinobu closed the textbook, and said softly, "I wonder why this textbook was here to begin with?"

"It might be a red herring," Souma cautioned her, "something to distract us from what is going on in Penjar. We are in Japan, after all, not America. Still, I wouldn't ignore it all together."

He stroked his chin, as he regarded Shinobu and Taro. "Who knows, though? Maybe someone in your past was here, Miss Takahashi."

She smiled at him, then she noticed Eisei rummaging through the bookshelves against the wall. "Is something wrong, Eisei?"

"I'm not going to leave things up to chance," the dentist replied. "I believe someone was spying on us, and there might be something in here that they want."

"Spying? But why?" Souma asked. "Aren't they all at the movie theater right now?"

* * *

 **Day 09, 12:10 PM**

 **Movie Theater**

 **Screening Room**

 _The camera turned on, revealing the inside of a parking garage. There were only a few cars within this relatively small, one-story garage, which could have only housed about a hundred cars. The shutter door, visible on the right side of the screen, was closed shut._

 _There were twelve people lying on the floor of the garage. They were unconscious, their breathing signaling they were alive. With only a couple small lights inside the garage on, it was impossible to distinguish who these people were._

 _There was a brief bit of static, and the footage changed to another room. In what appeared to be a control room, with several screens and a control panel, there was a man seated and observing the screens._

 _His casual but ratty clothing didn't appear to be that of a security guard, though that wasn't the most telling visual about him. He had unbrushed hair, and a crazed smile on his face, appearing like a madman who had stayed up several nights._

 _"_ _Okay, they've slept long enough," he said with a sick laugh, holding up a small remote. He pushed one of the buttons on it, and then glanced directly at the camera. "Okay okay okay, we're filming. Hehe, this is going to be good, I know it."_

 _The footage cut to inside the garage again, and a visible gas was released from a small box that lay on the floor near the fainted people. As the chemical vapor reached them, the box also started playing a high-pitched noise. The sound was so shrill, even the recording of it was enough to make those watching wince._

 _The combination of whatever gas was released, along with the painfully sharp alarm, woke all twelve of the souls. There were six men, six women, only recognizable by their figures rather than faces; it was still too dark to see who they were._

 _"_ _Welcome," a voice on an overhead speaker declared, alerting the twelve people inside of the garage. The footage bounced back to the man in the control room, where he was leaning forward and staring intensively at the screens. He also had a microphone in his hand, connected to the control panel._

 _"_ _I'm sure you're all wondering what is going on, and I want to welcome you all. You've been randomly selected for the hottest, latest Killing Game there is! This is a test of intelligence and sanity, curtesy of your charming host here."_

 _The footage cut back to the people inside of the garage, all of them visible flustered and horrified. They were moving around, testing doors, the shutter, but they were locked and too sturdy to break down. It didn't stop of them from trying to kick them open._

 _When one of the people in the garage approached one of the cars, trying to open it, the voice on the overhead speaker cried out swiftly. "Ah ah ah! I wouldn't go opening the cars at random. You see, one of these cars is outfitted with a bomb, a very powerful fire bomb that will incinerate everyone in the garage._

 _"_ _It's a rather special kind of fire bomb that was created to be a flash fire, capable of fatally burning anyone the explosion comes in contact with. I suppose you could find something to shield yourselves with, but what is there in this garage that'll keep you safe?_

 _"_ _Okay, there are a few things!" The footage switched to the guy in the control room, who spun a keyring around in his fingers. The metallic clinking of keys echoed like a cruel taunt. "You see, the car that has the bomb in it will go off if someone tries to open up the car, or in…_

 _"_ _Let's see, where'd I put that… oh, there it is!"_

 _Inside of the garage, a large, electronic sign turned on. The bright red lights from it illuminated the garage some, casting a vicious shade of bloody crimson in the building. The lights were showcasing a timer, reading thirty-one minutes._

 _"_ _When I hit the right button, that timer will go down, and that's how much time you have until the fire bomb goes off. And well, I wouldn't want to be in there with you all when that timer hits zero, because you'll be far from okay!_

 _"_ _There's just… one other way to get out of there okay and alright. Would you like to know?"_

 _The cruel laughter burst from the speaker as well as the sound of the man slapping the counter in giddy enjoyment. "You probably guessed it, but if you didn't here it is: you must be the last person alive inside of that garage._

 _"_ _Fun, huh? Everyone else, all these total strangers who you've never met, have to die for you to go free. I have my ways of assuring that you aren't faking deaths or hanging on there with a faint pulse, so don't think you can cheat my system, okay?"_

 _The footage cut to the man leaning back in his chair, as he wiggled the remote around in his head. "So you have thirty-one minutes to make your choices. Oh, and the cars all contain weapons in the seats, but then you run the risk of opening the one with the fire bomb._

 _"_ _Still, it is relatively easy to kill a human being with a blade or a gun or something else far more lethal than your bare hands, is it not? Think you can strangle eleven people, or set a record for breaking necks?_

 _"_ _Okay, I've talked enough. Why don't I just start up the timer, and…"_

 _The lights in the garage switched to the same awful shade of red as the timer board, which made everything appear like a vision of Hell. "Oops, wrong button," the man on the speaker said. "Here, let me…"_

 _There was an electronic beep, and the timer board went from 31 minutes to 11. And then it proceeded to count down._

 _"_ _Oops, wrong button again. Oh well, have fun!"_

 _The timer included a milliseconds counter as well, and the racing numbers made everything feel much, much faster. The twelve people inside of the garage began to scream, some panicking, some trying to talk._

 _"_ _Listen, listen everyone," one of the men, wearing a nice suit and tie, shouted. "If we pick one car, we can hide inside of it to hide from the fire blast!"_

 _"_ _That's fucking stupid!" someone else, a woman dressed up with punk-styled clothing and hair, shouted. "We cannot fit twelve people in one car!"_

 _"_ _We're all going to die," a young man with an athletic build was hollering, "if we don't do something!"_

 _"_ _We only have," a lady wearing a summer hat and dress shrieked, "ten minutes! Please let us out, please!"_

 _The shouting continued, until there was a shattering of glass that made them all jump. One of the men had kicked at a car door's window, breaking the safety glass. He reached into the car, as the others all stood in shock at first._

 _Then they began to scatter, running around the garage. The lady in the summer hat was too scared to move, as was the girl with an ahoge standing behind her. The man at the car pulled out a gun, and pointed it at the two._

 _"_ _No," the summer hat lady shrieked. "No, please, there has to be another way-"_

 _The explosion of gunfire overloaded the speakers, making the recording fuzzy for a few seconds. The sun hat lady slumped over backwards with the girl trying to hold her up. Shrieks and cries echoed around the garage, as well as other car windows shattering._

 _The man with the gun approached the two, and pointed his gun at sun hat lady's head. She was still alive, her body shaking as the girl held her tightly. If words were said from either lady or the man, they were too distant for the recording to pick one._

 _One more gunshot, and the sun hat lady's head snapped down to the floor with blood flowing from the fatal shot. The girl shrieked and backed up, as she saw the man level the gun on her next._

 _One of the other men in the garage sprinted towards the gunman, and swung a fire axe at his back. The gunman slumped forward, the head of the axed embedded in him. The axe man sobbed and sputtered as he wrenched the axe from his back, and lifted it up again._

 _Near the back of the garage, one of the women was trying to use her heel to break open a window. One of the men grabbed her, and slammed her head against the window, over and over. The glass didn't give, but blood was splattering against the window more and more._

 _One of the men was swinging a shovel at the athletic young man, heaving and grunting with every swing. He tried to dodge the attacks, but he was striking him repeatedly as the fight went on. He wasn't going down just yet, but the impacts had slowed him down._

 _Another explosion deafened the recording. The one who had fatally beat a woman's head against the side of car was suddenly without most of his head. Blood spurted out all over as the body collapsed, and one of the other ladies was holding the shotgun stood there, terrified. The others ran from her, even though she didn't move._

 _One of the women huddled in a corner, sobbing, too terrified to move. The punky girl, holding a baseball bat, approached her. As blood-curdling screams filled the garage, she stood there, staring down at the horrified women as if she couldn't comprehend her._

 _The footage made a hard cut to the man in the control room. He grinned at the camera, wiggling his ugly eyebrows in entertainment. Sounds of carnage and screaming could be heard from this instruments._

 _"_ _Fun, isn't it?" he said._

 _Another hard cut back to the garage was a quick dive into Hell. The punky gal was bashing in the corner woman's head with the bat, and the axe man was opening the gunman's head with the axe._

 _The athletic man being attacked the shovel was shouting for mercy, for the carnage to stop. The ahoge gal cried for the same, as she went for the dropped pistol of the dead man. The axe man got there first, and she backed up hastily._

 _Gunfire echoed around the garage, but the axeman now with a gun was shaking too hard to aim properly. The girl didn't go down, she was trying to hide behind one of the cars._

 _Hammering against one of the doors alerted those still alive in the room. The man with the suit was desperately kicking at one of the doors, trying his best to escape. The axeman turned gunman slowly approached him, and raised his gun._

 _There were two gunshots, and then the gun clicked empty. It didn't matter, the suited man fell to the ground, clutching bloody gunshots. He was still alive, so his attacker gripped his axe and approached._

 _The athlete had avoided the shovel-wielding man long enough, but was bruised and bloody. The one with the shovel then noticed the lady with the shotgun was still standing in place. Something must have registered in his head, so he came at her._

 _She saw him coming, and pointed her weapon. Nothing happened, and she desperately fumbled with the weapon. It was obvious she had no idea how to properly use a shotgun, and it cost her dearly._

 _There was a horrible sound of the shovel slamming into her head. As she fell down, the man yanked the shotgun out of her hands. He properly cocked it, and then pointed at her. Her spine and a good portion of her back were blown to pieces._

 _His deed had unnerved him, and he stood there for a few seconds. During that time, the athletic man grabbed him and desperate tried to take the shotgun from him._

 _The punky gal charged in, and her baseball bat struck the athletic man's head. She then slammed the head into the shotgun man's face, knocking him back. She was stomping on them both, desperate to end them._

 _In her haste to kill the two men, she didn't notice that one of the other women, the one who had been viciously slammed against the car door, was still alive. This woman approached from behind, and plunged a butcher knife into the punky gal's side._

 _Shrieks of pain and rage echoed around the garage. A horrible brawl with lethal weapons was happening, within the corner of the footage's shot. Eventually, the camera panned towards them, and as the blood splattered around the garage floor, none of them saw the axeman approach._

 _The red head of the fire axe swung, and caught the athletic man in the neck. He was bleeding profusely, and appeared dead before he even hit the floor. The axeman turned towards the other two, only to stare down the barrel of the shotgun._

 _The punky gal had managed to get it, laying on the ground and firing. It launched the man off of his feet, and in a bloody mess a few feet from the carnage that was around her._

 _The punky gal slowly got to her feet, wobbling as she clutched her side. She glanced around her, noting the other people._

 _The woman who had stabbed her now had her own butcher knife embedded in her throat. The man who had used the shovel initially had part of his head caved in. Everyone around her was dead._

 _With a pained groan, the punky gal stumbled through the garage, looking around. There were dead bodies all over the place, from the suited man at the doors to the woman in the corner she had killed._

 _Though she noticed the one other survivor, the girl with the ahoge. The punky gal stumbled towards her, pumping the shotgun as she prepared for one more shot._

 _The girl cried out, backing up, screaming, "No! No, please, you don't have to do this! Please-"_

 _The shotgun was leveled at her, the punky gal aiming from a few feet away. There was a terrible moment of silence, as if the killer wanted to savor this, or if there was some other kind of hesitation._

 _The answer to that was when the punky gal fell down to her knees, and down on the ground without any effort of catching herself. Blood flowed from her stab wounds, pumping out of her at an alarming rate. A few seconds later, the flow was far less, and she didn't appear to be breathing._

 _There was finally silence in the garage, except for the terrified whimpers from the only person still alive. A small electronic buzz came from the speakers, and then the man from the control spoke._

 _"_ _Okay okay! You managed to survive! Though wow, you didn't kill anyone… that's kind of lame. Still, a deal is a deal! I'm not about to go back on my word, so you're okay!"_

 _The shutter to the garage made a loud clanging sound, and then slowly start to rise up. As sunlight poured into the garage and blinded the camera temporarily, the footage switched to the control room._

 _The savage man turned directly to the camera, and spoke. "They didn't take the alternate route, just like you predicted. You were so very right, oh wonderful deity of Chaos. I look forward to working with you more in the future, as well as this one's future. Such despair and chaos, it's gonna be fun to pursue!"_

 _With an affectionate pat to the camera, the man chuckled and started to leave the room. He pushed one more button on the control panel, and the camera changed one more time._

 _The garage was fully lit up, with the shutter fully open. The timer had stopped at two minutes and forty-seven seconds. This Killing Game's sole survivor was slowly approaching the entrance of the parking garage, shivering so hard she had to place her hand on the back of a car._

 _She then glanced at the trunk of the car, staring at it for a long time. The pause was concluded when shouting could be heard outside. "FREEZE!"_

 _The girl raised her arms, her dark splashing around her shoulders. "Wait, wait, wait!" she cried out, voice shrill. "Please, I didn't-"_

 _"_ _Keep your hands up! No funny moves!"_

 _Police officers entered the garage, pointing their guns at the sole survivor. They studied the scene, and several of them checked on the fallen people. Ambulances were being called, though it was obvious none of those on the floor were alive._

 _One of the officers approached the surviving girl, and ordered her to turn around. She was shaking, but compliant. The police officer forcibly yanked her arms down, and started to cuff her._

 _"_ _Hey! Stop that," one of the other officers shouted, approaching the one cuffing the girl. "We have no proof of wrong-doing on her part-"_

 _"_ _Fuck off, we know what these Despair-fanatics are capable of!" The officer shouted, and then, much to the shock of everyone, he pulled his gun out and placed the barrel against the back of the girl's head. "We should fucking end her now, it'd save us all from more Goddamn death!"_

 _"_ _Wait, wait please," the girl cried out. "I didn't do anything! It was the man on the speaker! He did this! He's probably still up there!"_

 _When she looked up, she stared directly at the camera, the first time anyone got a clear view of her face. The footage abruptly cut off then and there, and that was the end of the Parking Garage Killing Game._

 _Though for those watching the movie in Penjar's Movie Theater, the last few seconds where they could see her face, and match her voice to it, they realized who it was._

 _The sole survivor of the Parking Garage Killing Game, the girl with the ahoge, and the reason this DVD was so important to the personalized collection of the Monokubs, was…_

* * *

 **Day 09, 12:26 PM**

 **Movie Theater**

 **Screening Room**

"Fiora?!" several of the graduates shouted, practically jumping up with the realization.

"Oh my God," Shuuya said, transfixed on the now blank screen. He rubbed his forehead, and muttered, "How could I have overlooked that?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Futaba said, rubbing her temples. "She was in a Killing Game? She survived one?"

"The… the poor dear," Hara said. "That was so very horrible, and she… she…"

"She's a FUCKING LYING TWO-FACED TRAITOR!"

Emanuel's shouting startled everyone, and they turned towards him as a collective. He was heaving in fury, red-faced; it felt physically painful to him to hold back.

"Wh-what?" Kimiko blurted out. "What the hell are you on?"

"You cannot be serious," Anzu shouted, as Emanuel started to storm out of the room. "Fiora's a victim, and she-"

"Are you all fucking retarded? Are you _that fucking stupid?!_ "

He turned towards them all, clenching his hand so tightly that he was in danger of drawing blood. The group of graduates, as well as Suke and Kidd, the latter holding up the severely beaten Monokuma, were rather startled by this outburst. "She survived a Killing Game like that, and now she's this clueless, happy-go-lucky twerp who makes crappy movies? And… and… even her hair!

"It wasn't two-toned in the footage, so she did that afterwards! She styled her hair like Monokuma's after surviving a Killing Game! She's-"

"She's a victim," Saiko shouted, "you son of a bitch!"

"She is the fucking _Seed of Despair!_ " Emanuel hollered. "No one walks away from something like that, and behaves like a stupid little puta the way she does! I knew it, I knew she couldn't be that intensively incompetent and idiotic! It had to be more than that…"

"Calm the hell down," Yitro shouted, stomping right up to Emanuel and getting in his face. The two men were seething as they stared each other down. "You're acting like this is proof that she's corrupted."

"Why else," Emanuel said with the most vicious of snarls, "would Monokuma have this footage? No one leaves a Killing Game without being changed in some way, and she's obviously trying to put on a farce."

"You are just being bitter and hateful," Yitro snapped. "If you go within twenty feet of Fiora right now, I will break your legs. Don't think I won't-"

"You put your dick in her last night, didn't you?"

Emanuel's brash question was answered with Yitro grabbing his collar and moving to punch him in the face. Ken managed to get there in time and stop a fistfight from happening. As Yitro quaked with fury and had to be restrained by Ken, Emanuel let out sharp, barking laughs.

"The quicker you all finally realize the seriousness of this issue," he declared, turning towards the other graduates, "the sooner we can find some real answers. To despair, to chaos, to Penjar, to ensuring that we don't all fucking die in here like foul dogs! Like the countries we came… the families we lost…"

Emanuel took several deep breaths, then concluded by saying, "Fiora is our enemy now. I suppose we could know more, but our local assassin killed the only lead on who turned her into an agent of despair. Now, we're going to find her, and we're going to keep her locked up until she answers questions."

The Bête Noir shook his head, and walked out of the screening room. Everyone was struck mute, until the "local assassin" spoke.

"I was such a fool," he muttered. "When I found that man, I thought he was a crazed Despair fanatic, he made that Killing Game himself. I should have interrogated him."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked him.

"I mean that what he said last in the footage, he wasn't working alone. Someone gave him the idea, maybe even the resources, to this Killing Game. There was a bigger person at play, the real Mastermind… this person of Chaos… and they could be-"

"They could be the Entity of Chaos?" Isaac interrupted, staring fiercely at the blank screen.

"And I let that lead go, we're stuck with the possibility that whoever made that Killing Game happen," Shuuya admitted, "is here in Penjar now. Along with that Seed of Despair, whoever that is…"

* * *

 **Day 09, 12:31 PM**

 **Penjar**

 **?**

The rushing of wind, as well as the mists swirling around her legs, was all Fiora could feel. She was sprinting, unable to think of anything else but to run more. It was starting to hurt, her legs were feeling like lead, but she kept moving forward at the panicky, brisk pace.

She then recognized the edge of Penjar, where she had originally arrived. Standing there for a brief second, she tried to collect her breath. When she pitched forward to gasp for air, her fedora fell off of her head and to the ground. She reached down and picked it up, smoothing her black 'n white ahoge down before pushing her hat down.

That was when she heard footsteps behind her. Her eyes widened, and she started to run again, but the pursuing person was already on her. Quite literally, as she was tackled and knocked down to the ground.

"Ow! Ugh! Ye… Yejoon," she struggled to say as she attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, "let go of me!"

"No! I cannot let you leave Penjar," he said, grasping her shoulders and keeping her pinned down for a few seconds.

She spun onto her back swift enough to wrench out of his hold, and started to swing at him. Yejoon pulled his mask up to avoid it being damaged, and then pinned her arms down. "You cannot retreat now," he said, staring into her eyes.

"You doo'nt understand! If I stay here… if… if I stay…"

Her blue eyes had a kind of fire in them that Yejoon could only remember from one other person in his life. It made him squeeze at her arms, keeping her down harder as if that would stop what would be said next.

"I will kill him."

The movie maker stared up at the artist, as her hands balled into fists, and she spat it out again. "I _will kill_ him!"

* * *

 **Day 09, 12:31 PM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Classroom 04**

"Eisei, you seem a little bit unnerved," Souma said, watching his shorter friend go through the shelves up against the wall. "I don't recall ever seeing you like this, not even when studying for important exams."

"Studying is not stressful, it is taking the test that is," Eisei remarked, glancing over at his taller friend. "I'm telling you, I heard someone out in the hallway."

Taro rocked in his chair, as he watched Shinobu study the history book more. He rubbed his chin, and said, "I honestly don't know who would spy on us, or why. I mean, wouldn't we have to be doing something bad for that to be the case?"

Shinobu glanced up from the book, and stared at him. "Wait, Taro, if you stayed in the truth serum mist long enough, would you start saying things that you had forgotten? Maybe the forceful telling of truth will help you out."

"Oh, maybe that could work," he said, clasping his hands together. "I hadn't considered that! Maybe that's why people are spying on us, they wanna know what I'll say."

A splashing sound distracted him. Taro looked over at Eisei, who had pulled his sleeve back and was reaching into the aquarium. His hand sifted through the gravel, hoping to find something there; the short man standing on a chair in order to do this was still so vertically challenged that his face was almost dipped in the water.

"She's very eccentric," Taro remarked.

"Eisei is a man," Shinobu corrected him.

"Oh, sorry, he just looks a lot like my sister."

"I'm not offended, your sister has great hair," Eisei responded, after finishing digging through the aquarium. He shifted his lollipop to the other side of his mouth as he grunted in frustration. As he moved towards the other items on the shelf top, Souma winced slightly.

"Maybe you should dry off before you start touching other things?" the public speaker suggested. "You are always about cleanliness."

"I plan to sanitize thoroughly after I am done searching," Eisei said, as he grabbed the bug containment box. He looked under it, in it, then studied its sides.

Shinobu shrugged, and turned back to Taro. "When would you like to try our theory out?"

"Anytime you are ready," he replied, grinning excitedly. "Anything I can do with you is amazing, Shinobu."

The historian blushed and giggled slightly. Souma merely raised an eyebrow, not sure what to make of the rather affectionate relationship that she was sharing with the Kub turned human. The public speaker glanced over at Eisei, when he heard his friend make a small noise.

"S-sorry," Eisei muttered.

"It's okay, my friend, we know you're trying your best, but you don't have to-"

"G… _g_ … _ghhh_ … _awwwn… ta…_ "

Eisei squeezed the bug containment box in his small hands, and was shivering a great deal. He shifted on the chair he was standing on, as if trying to get off, but then he locked up.

" _Gonta is sorry,_ " Eisei said, " _Gonta… couldn't help._ "

The lollipop fell from his mouth, bounced off of the bug box, and fell to the floor. A split second later, Eisei plummeted down as well off of the chair. His small form landed in a heap on the classroom's dusty floor.

"Eisei," Souma cried out, as Shinobu and Taro scrambled out of their seats. They gathered around the fallen man, trying to see what was wrong.

He was unconscious, and his hands clutched the bug box to his chest with a grip that was stronger than iron.

* * *

…

 **24 Graduates remain Penjar.**


	20. Chapter 3-3: Penjar's Growth

**Chapter 3-3**

 **Advance to GO**

* * *

 **Day ?, ? ?**

 **? (?)**

 _Waking up at a desk wasn't something that Eisei had ever done before, he had not once fallen asleep in a classroom. He felt quite uncomfortable, as he noticed the desk was rather small. That was incredibly unusual for someone like him, who rarely ever had trouble fitting into places with his short stature._

 _"_ _Mrrrgh," he said, his throat and mouth feeling dry. "Ugh, what… what happened? Did I hit the back of my head?"_

 _He reached behind himself, and felt what was the most unruly head of hair in his life. The confusion was amplifying, especially when he pulled some of the longer locks in front of his eyes to study it._

 _Not only was his hair a dark green, but his hand was… huge! Eisei flexed his fingers, and sure enough, the giant palm and digits were his! As he tried to grasp what was up with his body, he stood up._

 _The floor was so very far from him, almost like he was on stilts! He would have wobbled, but this body of his was muscular and firm; he didn't fall down, he had incredible balance._

 _Eisei stared around, then noticed he was also wearing glasses. Correcting them, he tried to grasp where he was, and who he was, but there was a major distraction._

 _"_ _It's… it's like a whole new world up here," he quietly said, observing what life was like when over six feet tall._

 _He was in a classroom, and based on the style, he recognized it as a room in Hope's Peak Academy. The blinds were drawn, and he moved over to open them. Outside was something terrifying, even in comparison to the unnatural conditions in Penjar._

 _The sky was a sinister red, bathing the land in the same kind of negative energy that shade of crimson. Buildings in the distance were dark, as if all had been abandoned. Eisei winced at how grim it appeared, and shut the blinds._

 _"_ _Whatever this terrible vision is," he said to himself as he moved out of the classroom, "I daresay it is not ideal. I wish I had inquired towards Anzu and Kimiko, then I would have better preparation to this concerning scenario."_

 _The now very tall, very muscular Eisei left the room, and scanned the hallway. It was empty, but everything inside the academy seemed normal._

 _With a very swift stride (this body was really athletic, and Eisei couldn't help but enjoy how much ground he could cover), he started to search for people. Every room on the floor was empty of people, despite how many he visited._

 _The entire floor was empty, and yet after searching all of them, he wasn't tired. Again, he was flabbergasted about the stamina of this body, but now wasn't the time to stand around dumbfounded. He had to formulate a plan, and thus he came to a quick conclusion._

 _"_ _The medical classrooms were a floor down from me, if my memory is correct," he said, heading towards the stairs. "Maybe someone knowledgable in medicine like myself is there."_

 _Eisei headed towards the stairs, as memories of this place caught up with him. He knew which floor he was on, he remembered how much time he spent in the medical training wing._

 _It always seemed to surprise people when he stated his desire to be a fully fledged dentist. The amount of people who needed oral surgery or assistance would also be as numerous, as Hope's Peak was quite the dangerous place at times._

 _When he found the medical wing, still in the same place as it was at Hope's Peak (this vision was surprisingly accurate), he started searching through the rooms. He called out for anyone to hear, his voice far deeper and louder in this body._

 _Just as he was starting to wonder if this was a fruitless search, he noticed one of the rooms, the practice operating room, had its lights on. The bright white lights beckoned him towards that room. Though when he entered, a horrible sight greeted him._

 _A young lady lay on the practice operating table, a large scalpel impaled in her chest. Blood had poured from the fatal wound, dripping down to the floor. The light in her eyes was gone, tears having spilled from them in her last moments._

 _Eisei still checked to see if there was a slightness of life in her, but it was in vain. This pretty girl was definitely dead._

 _He took a moment to memorize details about her: black hair, bandages around her arms, pink uniform and apron. Then he quickly exited the room, and left the medical wing._

 _The walk back into the hallway felt like it took an eternity for the dentist. He kept thinking about how someone was deprived enough to set up the girl's body like that. What was wrong with this vision, this version of Hope's Peak?_

 _When he made it into the hallway, he could hear voices from down one of the hallways. Almost sprinting to find other people, he found himself face-to-face with a group of four teenagers when he rounded the corner. They stared at him, as Eisei tried to find the appropriate words for what he had seen._

 _"_ _Gonta? You alright there, buddy?" the tall one, with purple hair and wearing his jacket incorrectly, asked. "You look a little freaked out."_

 _"_ _I'm highly curious as to what that would be about," the redheaded young man in white clothing remarked. "With this big guy, it could anything for a bug he found, to another case of 'women weapon.'"_

 _"_ _Ooo, is someone offering women weapon?" the squat man, almost as short as Eisei normally as well as dressed like a chef, commented. He was grinning in a way only a true pervert could. "Tell me that's it, Gonta!"_

 _"_ _Maybe we should just," the redheaded young lady with freckles and a stern look commented, "let him speak. Come on, Gonta."_

 _Eisei had taken the time to try and formulate the proper words for this announcement. He spoke, in that deep voice he now had, "I regret to inform you all that one of the students here has been brutally murdered, within the practice surgery room. We should take great precaution, with a homicidal being within our presence."_

 _They stared at him. Eisei was rather confused by the lack of impact his words had made, so he tried again. "I assure you I am not pranking you, there is a despicable fiend in our academy. Caution must be advised!"_

 _They stared at him more. The purple-haired one scratched his head, and muttered, "You, uh, okay there, Gonta?"_

 _"_ _Aside from the vicious slaughtering of a young woman, I am fine. Why do you ask?"_

 _"_ _Why are you talking so funny?" the redheaded guy asked. "Seriously, it's weirding me out."_

 _"_ _Gonta, your studies on how to be a better gentleman seem to be paying off," the redheaded girl said, "but you really shouldn't say such scary things."_

 _Eisei was now rather confused by their confusion, and lack of action at being informed of a violent and dangerous predicament was astonishing. He drummed his fingers on his arms and tried to think of how else to say this._

 _"_ _There is," he said slowly, "a dead girl in the medical wing. I am being completely serious, this is not a drill."_

 _The squat chef-looking man nervously chuckled, and then said, "Gonta, buddy, could you and I have a word in private? I think we need to talk about your identity issues."_

 _"_ _Teruteru," the redheaded girl snapped, staring down the squat man suspiciously, "don't you dare try anything. Just because Gonta isn't feeling himself…"_

 _"_ _I object, I feel quite like myself," Eisei declared, then he nervously scratched the back of his head, and started to explain, "Okay, that may be a bit of a fib, mostly because I am not really myself at the current mo-"_

 _He was yanked backwards when the squat man with surprising strength pulled on his hand. Having Eisei walk backwards and around the corner for a little privacy, the man who had been addressed as Teruteru stared up at him and motioned for him to be silent._

 _"_ _Monsieur, you cannot talk like that while you inhibit Gonta's body," he whispered, as Eisei knelt down to be more eye-to-eye with him (or rather, as close as the towering Gonta and the squat Teruteru could be). "You are Eisei Amane, Ultimate Dentist, and one of the graduates residing in Penjar, are you not?"_

 _Eisei stared at him for a second, but his unflappable nature helped him from staring in bafflement for long. "Correct. And you are?"  
"I am Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Chef; however, there is more to it than that. I-"_

 _"_ _Excuse me for a minute, I must examine something."_

 _Eisei reached forward and pried open Teruteru's mouth. The short chef flapped his arms and let out a cry of protest, but there really no stopping Eisei when he had Gonta's herculean strength backing him up. The dentist examined inside Teruteru's mouth, and then pulled back._

 _"_ _The detail in this world is exquisite," he commented as he rubbed his chin, and Teruteru rubbed his jaw. "As a chef, you would take care of your mouth more than most, and you have such fine teeth. I believe you are telling the truth."_

 _Teruteru blinked in confusion, and muttered, "Well, I've found… odder things to be attractive, but whatever floats your boat. Listen, Eisei, first off, you should know the man who you look currently like is Gonta Gokuhara. He wants so very much to be a gentleman, and he speaks in third person._

 _"_ _Oh, that would explain why everyone was confounded by my manner of speech."_

 _"_ _Yep. Now, more importantly, I assume you have spoken with the others about the visions you have been having?"  
"No."_

 _The deadpan delivery made Teruteru wince, and then he declared, "What? Wot the ding-dang doodily are y'all DOING in tha' town out thar if you ain't speaking to each utter 'bout tha' most CRUCIAL details ye got!"_

 _"_ _The in-fighting and suspicion has risen to a fever pitch in Penjar. Suspicion is at an all-time high, mostly due to the fact we may have two traitors in our mist, two guilty parties who have shown to be more than heinous, as well as another serial killer, an assassin, a violent drunk, an odd relationship between humans and recently human-made Monokubs, and most of all, relationship issues."_

 _Teruteru's eye twitched slightly, as he nervously started to comb his hair. "W-wow. And they say teenagers have the most angst to bring to the table."_

 _"_ _Teenagers are rarely drugged with aphrodisiac and sent into an orgy of sorts where we end up fornicating with people we barely know, thus causing stressful awkwardness amidst the group."_

 _The chef glanced to the side, and muttered, "An orgy amongst classmates, huh? Funny, I always thought that would be my doing… wait, what am I saying?!"_

 _Teruteru grabbed Eisei's broad shoulders, taking a second to marvel at how strong they were, and then spoke more clearly. "Listen, Eisei, let me try to fill you in on everything this place is, as far as I can tell…_

 _"_ _This is a world between life and death, a supernatural plane if you would, that exists for purposes I've yet to identify. You see, someone created this when experimenting with the arcane, and it is a cycle of death and despair._

 _"_ _What is happening is the Hope's Peak Killing Game is repeating itself, over and over and over, and it is always different every game. I don't know why it is like that, but it is obvious that someone did this for nefarious purposes."_

 _Eisei rubbed his chin, and asked, "You are self-aware of this, but it seems the others are not. Why is that?"_

 _"_ _Because I know already that I am dead, and this is my penance for what I did when alive," he said with a shrug, and then sighed. "I haven't been able to solve the riddles of this place, however, and I was unable to help the two who came before you."_

 _"_ _Kimiko and Anzu," Eisei remarked. "So someone of great power made a plane between life and death, and is running a Killing Game simulation to achieve an unknown goal; however, that doesn't explain how you know about all this, Teruteru."_

 _"_ _There are forces beyond that of this world, and it is only recently that they are in much greater effect than before. You may have heard of such things that have taken place during the Killing Games recently broadcasted."_

 _Eisei shook his head. "I have had to lay low for the Tragedy, for most of the Killing Games. It is unfortunate, but my life has been in danger since the world went awry."_

 _Teruteru sighed, and paced a little, trying to think of what to say. "Okay, well, let's just say then that since the Tragedy started, the world has been privy to the supernatural."_

 _"_ _So ever since Hope's Peak Academy went under, the world has changed? That cannot be a coincidence."_

 _The chef glanced at him, and asked, "Wait, you think most of this originates from our school?"_

 _Eisei stood up, as he also paced back and forth in contemplation. "The Killing Games have been the academy's choices for future students, have they not? Someone has a grudge, and it may have started within the school. It was destroyed at the end of its Killing Game, correct?"_

 _Teruteru nodded, snapping his fingers in realization. "Aha! I see what you are getting at! So wait, did all of this begin at Hope's Peak? But for what purpose?"_

 _"_ _To know that, we'd have to know what the purpose of this supernatural plane is. Do you have any idea how you got here?"_

 _The chef shrugged. "All I know is I was added into it by higher powers. You see, when the people of the Earth started to interfere with the higher powers, it was mostly to deal with the darker, more sinister powers. I am the counterbalance."_

 _"_ _You are the angel from Heaven to stop the forces of Hell?"_

 _"_ _That… may be putting it way too generously on my part, since I am no angel. Yet I want to make things right, and I'm willing to suffer for it."_

 _"_ _Suffer?"_

 _"_ _I've died more times than I can count in this Killing Game, and the pain of being murdered is not one can ever get used to."_

 _Teruteru laughed bitterly, then flicked his baguette. "Sadly, with the pain of death also comes a poor memory. My mind is… wonky, to say the least. So I haven't been able to keep track of things the way I want to."_

 _Eisei sighed, and then asked, "What can you remember, Teruteru? Anything at all would help."_

 _"_ _Maybe… maybe you could help me? How is it you all managed to get here?"_

 _"_ _I touched a bug containment box, oddly enough, and…"_

 _Eisei stopped, as he realized that he had that same box strapped to his waist. He put one of his large hands on it, and examined it: it was mostly clean, but there were small stains inside of it. It had obviously been used a lot by a bug enthusiast._

 _"_ _Do you recall what the others touched?" Teruteru asked._

 _"_ _Sadly, that is information I am lacking. I wasn't around for when Anzu and Kimiko were transported here."_

 _"_ _Kimiko was here twice, you aren't aware of what she touched the second time?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _Teruteru slapped his palm against his face, and muttered some explicits in French. He paced back and forth, throwing his hands up as he muttered angrily under his breath. Eisei watched him, reaching into his pocket, and then realized Gonta didn't carry candy around with him._

 _"_ _Does the fact that I touched something that was a prized possession of this man mean anything?" Eisei asked._

 _Teruteru stopped his angry little rant, and stared up at him. "If that is true, then… it could mean that someone took prized possessions from those who were at Hope's Peak Academy."_

 _"_ _But what could that mean?"_

 _The chef was silent for a few moments, before he snapped his fingers. "Someone took those possessions from Hope's Peak, and brought them to Penjar. They knew about this plan from the start. Therefore… mon Dieu!"_

 _Teruteru grabbed his hair as he shouted with a startled expression on his face, "Someone's been planning this since the beginning!"_

 _"_ _Yes, but planning what exactly?"_

 _"_ _I do believe you're missing the point, Monsieur Eisei! If someone was collecting items from us at Hope's Peak, since our Killing Game, then Penjar is part of a greater plan! You've all been set up to go there, and fulfill whatever is planned!_

 _"_ _You need to get out of here, and let the others know that Despair has meant for all of this to happen! If you don't work together, then-"_

 _The lights went out in the hallways. Eisei and Teruteru were cast in the darkness, illuminated only by the vicious red light that came from behind blinds. Then that same hateful, crimson light was inside, glaring from the same lights as before._

 _Teruteru stood there, shivering in panic. Eisei glanced upwards, then straightened himself out. "What's going on now?"_

 _"_ _This… this is usually a sign that the Killing Game has someone playing. Someone… powerful enough to turn the very nature of the school into a nightmare."_

 _"_ _How bad is it?"_

 _As soon as Eisei said this, there was a horrific sound coming down the hallway they had left Teruteru's friends. It made Eisei think of something snapping and breaking at the same time, and that sound was followed up with a terrified shriek._

 _Eisei was about to run back around the corner, when Teruteru grabbed his hand. "Eisei, please, you must unite the people in Penjar! Only then can you all solve the mysteries that are keeping this diabolical realm in place, and find out its purpose. Please, work together to stop-"_

 _There was another awful sound, and it was something Eisei could recognize. Someone had been stabbed. He was now ready to round the corner, but the poor soul who had been shanked came around it first._

 _The redheaded girl from behind stumbled forward, clutching her stomach as blood flowed from it. She whimpered as she moved forward, eyes searching for help. When she saw Eisei, or rather Gonta, she raised a bloody hand up towards him._

 _"_ _Gonta, please," she gasped, trying to find words through the pain, "get… get out of here! He's gone crazy! He… he…"_

 _Tears were cascading down her face. Eisei came over to catch her, as her strength was fading fast. When he did so, he heard shouting from down the hallway._

 _"_ _You really are so predictable. And boring."_

 _A heavy impact followed, and someone cried out in pain. Eisei turned around, and could see down the hallway the others had been in._

 _There was a young man with unnaturally long, flowing hair standing in the middle of the hallway. A shadow was cast on his body due to the lights, which only made his sinister, red eyes all the more ominous. He was dressed casually, a button-up white shirt and slacks, both stained with blood._

 _The redheaded young man lay a few feet from the new person, his neck broken so intensively that blood was pooling underneath him. In front of this malevolent being was the purple-haired man, on his knees, spitting up blood._

 _"_ _I can predict every move you make, and every reaction you'll have," the horrendous man said, pointing down at the purple-topped man. "I know how you'll react when I tell you that I was the one who killed Mikan. So go ahead, react to me now, Kaito."_

 _The purple-haired young man coughed on the blood in his mouth, and then heaved in anger. "You… so… what Gonta was saying earlier… that girl… THAT WAS YOU?!"_

 _"_ _Yes. Now please, do what comes so predictably after being told that."_

 _Kaito heaved in fury and agony, as he attempted to get to his feet. At the same time, he swung his fist at the sinister man's face, but it was caught in one of the man's palms._

 _"_ _Predictable," the malevolent one spat. He twisted Kaito's wrist, and Eisei heard bones breaking along with Kaito's pained screams. "Boring."_

 _He threw Kaito to the side, slamming him into the wall so hard that he broke the plaster on it. Kaito slumped to the floor, not moving._

 _"_ _This is why I hate you all."_

 _"_ _Monsieur Hajime!"_

 _Teruteru sprinted around the corner. Eisei called for him to come back, but the chef stood between this malevolent man and the dentist._

 _"_ _Please, there mustn't be any more bloodshed," Teruteru implored the man. "Hajime Hinata, you know some of these people. They are your friends! They-"_

 _The one known as Hajime grabbed Teruteru's lapels, and lifted him up. The hateful red glow from the ceiling lights intensified, as did the shine from Hajime's eyes._

 _"_ _My name is Izuru Kamukura," he said, "and I find friends like you… boring."_

 _Then Hajime, or Izuru, grabbed at Teruteru's head, and his shoulder, and started to pull. There was a horrible scream, the sound of a human being ripping apart, but Eisei didn't look. He didn't want to see that, he didn't want to think it was possible._

 _There were two thudding sounds after the murderous noises, and then Izuru spoke again. "You aim to protect her? She will die in only a few minutes. Protecting her is pointless… but so very boring."_

 _Eisei opened his eyes and looked at Izuru, who was slowly approaching them. He was coated in more blood than before, and yet he seemed even more uninterested in what was happening, what he was doing._

 _"_ _H-Hajime," the redheaded girl whimpered, managing to look him in the eye, "you're… you're still in there. I know you are… please…"_

 _"_ _Hajime Hinata is a fool and a simpleton," Izuru replied, clenching his fist. "He wanted to be more than just that, and thus he became me. I am the one with limitless talent, with unparalleled potential, I am what he wished to be._

 _"_ _And I hate it. Everything is too easy, too boring, too predictable. You, Mahiru Koizumi, are so calculable, I can even tell why you still care about the boy who used to inhabit this body. Any feelings of dedication or care, maybe even the pointless chemistry you call "love" or "affection," they aren't there anymore."_

 _"_ _You… you lie," Mahiru spat out. Blood was in her mouth now, but she carried on. "Hajime is stronger than that. You… you're just nothing! You have the power to do anything, and you choose to kill people?"_

 _"_ _It is the only thing that interests me now. I felt that rush when I stabbed Hajime's friend in the heart with a blade. I felt it when I killed anyone who stood in my way. I am inevitable, I am unstoppable. I am-"_

 _A mighty fist shot forward, and caught Izuru's jaw. There was a very brief moment where time seemed to stand still, and then the malevolent man was sent soaring down the hallway. Crashing and rolling, he eventually stood up on his feet in a perfect recovery as he glared at who had struck him._

 _Eisei, with Gonta's fist brimming with steam from the heat of the strike, glared right back. "You are in dire need," he responded, "of someone to shut your mouth and stop your actions."_

 _There was a blur of movement, as Izuru came racing back faster than most could observe. However, his punch towards the entomologist's neck was countered with a defensive pose, and then he took a blow to the stomach._

 _Izuru and Eisei fought, glancing blows that could kill a normal person full on almost impacting Eisei, while brutal strikes that would fracture bones were taken by Izuru in stride._

 _"_ _What," Izuru stammered as he parried blows and threw his own, "what ARE you? Why can I not hit you?!"_

 _The frustration in Izuru's voice was highly noticeable, especially since he had sounded emotionless previously. The malevolent man aimed to strike at Eisei's heart, but a powerful palm slam from Eisei knocked him back several yards._

 _Izuru skidded on his feet, and snarled in frustration. "You… what has changed? You will tell me, or I will slay the girl there."_

 _Eisei scoffed, and spoke calmly. "I have studied self-defense methods for a long time. I just never had a reason to use them until now."_

 _"_ _Impossible! Gonta Gokuhara, the entomologist raised by wolves in the wild, is a gentle being at heart," Izuru replied. "You are predictable in your ways of becoming a gentleman…"_

 _The malevolent man reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small item concealed in his palm. There was a click, and Eisei could see the switchblade more clearly for what it was; it already had blood on the edges._

 _"_ _You are not predictable," Izuru said, his eyes blazing, "but I find that I dislike that even more. I am the Ultimate Talent, and the fact that you are countering me is loathsome."_

 _"_ _It should be obvious why I can fight against you."_

 _Eisei had taken a defensive stance, and was staring down Izuru. "What is ultimate talent without passion, desire, meaning? You lack any of it, so whenever you do something, you might be exceptionally good at it…_

 _"_ _But so long as you don't care, you'll never excel like you were truly meant to in you truly have ultimate talent."_

 _Izuru's dark scowl grew more intense, and he glanced to the side, towards Mahiru. He moved fast, but Eisei saw the movement, and reacted._

 _There was very little time to properly defend Mahiru, so Eisei had to move in front of her. A white-hot pain was felt in Eisei's chest, but it brought him the opportunity to strike back where Izuru had left himself open._

 _Eisei swung his mighty fist, and it collided with the side of Izuru's head. With all that hair, there was more room to impact, and the malevolent man was launched through the air._

 _This direction was towards the wall, or rather, the large window that was at the end of the hallway. There was a shattering crash, as the blinds were ripped away._

 _In one split second, Eisei saw the look on Izuru's face. The dentist hadn't meant to strike him so hard, but the strength of this body was beyond his expectations. He looked into the eyes of the man who he had knocked clear out of the building…_

 _And he saw nothing but indifference._

 _After that split second, Izuru plummeted out of sight. The blinds and glass now gone, the evil red light the outside world was basked in flooded inside. After a few seconds, the lights inside the building went back to normal, but the outside world's light kept the inside of Hope's Peak feeling as dire as ever._

 _Eisei let out a long sigh, and the pain he had ignored came back tenfold. He peered down at his chest, where blood was dripping from a deep cut. His hand went over the wound, though he realized how pointless it was._

 _"_ _Eisei…"_

 _Mahiru speaking his actual name startled him, and he turned towards her. When he moved, his body felt cold and weak, and he fell down. She cried out, and reached out to him, as he slowly picked himself up._

 _"_ _The knife… made it to my heart," he said, struggling to move over to her. "I am bleeding out fatally. I am sorry… I failed you."_

 _"_ _No, no, you didn't. Eisei…"_

 _Mahiru was deathly pale, the sight of her skin having lost so much color due to lack of blood was highly concerning; however, she moved forward regardless of her condition. Reaching with one of her bloodied hands, she gently cupped Eisei's/Gonta's face._

 _"_ _It is important for you to find out the answers to this place, but please, be wary. There will be a rebellion in your group, and a betrayal. You must remember that a leopard does not change its spots, nor must you change your stance."_

 _"_ _Mahiru… how do you know such things? How are you always able to warn us?"_

 _The redheaded girl smiled weakly, and whispered, "Clarity comes whenever I'm close to death. I'm reminded of every time I have died, and this place… it is, as they say, beyond space and time. I am aware of Penjar, I am aware of those in it, and of you… I…"_

 _Mahiru's eyes widened suddenly, and she grabbed ahold of Eisei's/Gonta's shoulders. "Eisei! Do not let them know you saw me, or what I've told you! Whatever you do…"_

 _A bright light started to envelop Eisei's vision, and the pain from his chest was growing faint. He could barely see or hear, but there was one last sentence he could make out before all of his senses were overwhelmed._

 _"_ _Don't let them know you saw me this time, or-"_

* * *

 **Day 09, ? PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Eisei Amane's House**

Eisei blinked his eyes open, and sat up instantly. He moved so fast, that those in his room didn't even notice until he let out a sharp cry. The bug containment box he had been holding turned into dust, the disintegration so fine that he could even see it on the sheets of his bed. He stared in astonishment, and then sighed.

"Sorry, Gonta," he said aloud.

"Eisei!"

The dentist turned towards the sound of his friend, as Souma moved across the room and embraced Eisei. "Thank goodness! You had me worried there!"

"Oof," responded the dentist, as he felt Souma's arms hold him close. "It was just like the others, I would have awakened from that coma eventually."

"The keyword here being 'coma,' my friend, is why I was so worried. We were all worried."

When Souma let go of him, he scanned the room. Sure enough, there were a lot of people watching him: Shinobu, Kimiko, Anzu, Saiko, and Emanuel. The dentist observed all of them, and said as he pulled himself out of bed, "You all were watching me? I didn't think I would be so important."

"Oh come on, you're still a person we care about," Anzu said, smiling at him. "We wanted to make sure you were okay, as well as…"

She trailed off a bit, as if ashamed, but Kimiko spoke up. "We wanted to make sure that you saw what we saw too."

Emanuel scoffed, and muttered, "While I don't take much stock in the idea that you're having visions, I find this pattern to be far more concerning than before."

Eisei stared at the Bête Noir, and responded, "You of all people I would think wouldn't believe me if I said what I saw."

"Once is just an oddity that can be dismissed," Emanuel stated. "Twice can be mere coincidence, but thrice? No sir, even I am not going to say it's ridiculous when three different people have fallen into comas and woken up having visions. So what did you see?"

Eisei regarded everyone in the room, his eyes falling on Saiko last. The bluebell smiled a little, and added, "I… wish to know too. This supernatural stuff has me so confused… and I was worried about you."

The dentist laughed a little, then reached into his pocket. Finding his favorite sweets, he took out a lollipop, and placed it in his mouth. "I used to be dubious, but now that I've experienced what I did, I can safely say that things are more unusual here than we originally thought."

He explained his vision of Hope's Peak, describing everything that he could remember. From finding Mikan's body, to the evil red light that the world was basked in, to Izuru's vicious rampage that led to the death of several students, which included Teruteru, he was sure to not leave anything out.

Except for…

"Wait, did you see Mahiru?" Kimiko asked. "I saw her twice, she was so important when I had my visions. Was she not there?"

Eisei scratched the back of his head, and asked, "Mahiru? No, I don't believe I saw her."

"Oh," Anzu said, appearing crestfallen. "Darn, I thought that was an important lead. I guess she's just part of the madness that version of Hope's Peak as much as everyone else."

"Except for what Teruteru said," Souma remarked. "So if I'm getting this right… this plane of existence is artificial, made by someone at Hope's Peak?"

Shinobu, who had remained rather quiet, let out a long sigh. She then excused herself, and left the room. The others exchanged confused glances, as Eisei watched her walk out into the mist, away from the house.

"Excuse me, everyone," Eisei said, clutching his forehead. "I'm feeling very woozy after what I just went through. I was literally stabbed in the heart, that kind of pain… you don't really forget. If you all could, I'd like some privacy and to get some rest."

"Are you sure, my friend?" Souma asked, rubbing his back. "It is almost the evening, you missed most of the day."

"I'm quite sure. Just spread around what I told you all, if you believe it'll help. If anything, it'll give us a purpose to investigate further."

"That someone at Hope's Peak made a plane of existence between life and death?" Emanuel said, scoffing again. He stormed out of the room, grumbling to himself.

Souma excused himself soon afterwards, wishing his friend to feel better. Kimiko and Anzu said good-bye, with the latter giving the dentist a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Though Saiko didn't leave the room, she stared down Eisei as she closed the door.

"Something on your mind, Saiko?" he asked.

"Why are you lying?"

Eisei raised an eyebrow at her, and said, "I believe we are enveloped in truth serum mist, I'm not capable of-"

"I have a good sense of when someone is lying, and when they aren't," she said, "especially when everyone here, myself included, is forcefully blurting out things they never wanted anyone to know.

"Earlier today, I told the two people I cherish more than anything in the world something that I thought would make them hate me. That's how strong this truth serum mist bullshit is. However, you haven't been in the mist for hours, you've been unconscious on that bed.

"So you are capable of lying, and I know you are; you don't want to go out into the mist, you're that concerned about telling people. So what are you hiding from everyone here?"

Eisei stared her down, the tense atmosphere something he wasn't really used to, but his personality helped him cope with it quickly. "Assuming I am lying, why should I confide in you? Because we were intimate last night? That is a cruel emotional trick to use."

"No, it isn't," Saiko shouted, stomping her foot. She stormed over to him, and grabbed his lapels, holding him close to her. "Just because you and I fucked doesn't mean I am trying to guilt-trip information out of you, so get over yourself! What are you hiding?!"

Eisei remained unperturbed at this physical altercation, and he responded, "If I am, don't you think it is for good reason?"

"What?"

"If I do not desire to tell you exactly what I saw in my vision, there is a reason for that. Maybe the reason is that there are two traitors in our midst, and an unhealthy amount of people who work with death as a career or pastime."

There was a moment of silence, then Saiko said, with a calm voice, "Eisei, take the lollipop out of your mouth."

The dentist reached up to do so, and braced himself. "If you are going to hit me," he said, "please don't go for my face. I pride my teeth above all else-"

She kissed him. It was a long and passionate embrace that caught Eisei off-guard entirely. When she finished, he stared at her in total shock.

"This place is evil," she said quietly. "It is full of people I cannot trust, except for the two I love more than anything. And they won't leave, they will not retreat from this terrible, terrible place, until they find the answers.

"At this point, I'm willing to do anything, anything in the entire world, to ensure their safety. They looked at me when I told them my darkest secret, and continued to be my friend. I would do anything to ensure they make it out of here alive.

"I would do," she spoke as she started to undress right in front of him, "anything in the world, and that includes going the highly cliché, awful, stupid route of having sex with a man to get the information I need. Please, Eisei…"

She stood naked in front of him, breathing heavily, holding his shoulders as she kept him in place. "I don't want to say it, but I would literally be… your… your… your fuck slave if you tell me what I need to know to keep Isaac and Hara safe."

Eisei stood there in place, staring into her eyes, as he contemplated all this. He sighed, then placed his lollipop into her mouth. "Saiko, please put your clothes back on. I cannot be bribed with fornication for information."

The forensic investigator shook, appearing ready to burst into tears. She slowly moved to get her clothing, shivering with shame and disbelief. When she reached for her jacket, he handed it to her.

"I'm sorry, I cannot tell you under any circumstances, because the information will leak out from you once you step outside, into the mist," he explained. "And if the wrong person hears it, then something terrible may happen."

Saiko sniffed, as she finished getting dressed. She hated herself so much right now, hated how much she had exposed herself for nothing. "Eisei… I… I am the last person in the world to beg, to put herself forth like this… and I hate myself so damn much for it, but please. Please don't do this."

"Saiko, if you care for your friends, then do this: be close to them tonight. Ensure that they do not venture out beyond what they normally do. If you do that, then they should remain safe with the danger that is looming over us currently.

"Now please, don't do anything else rash or ask further, we cannot risk this getting out. And also, you shouldn't offer yourself to me like that, for it will not work. You're far too good of a person to do that."

Saiko bit down on the stick of the lollipop, and let out a small, bitter laugh. "We hardly know each other, and it was mostly through the casual sex. How do you know anything about me?"

"I have noticed you throughout our days here, you are a very strong and determined woman. I realize that you feel a strong sense of desperation for those you care about, and that led you to do what you just attempted."

The forensic investigator stared at him, then a small smile managed to play on her lips. She ran a hand through her hair, and murmured, "I feel so ridiculous now, offering myself to you like that. You… could you promise never to bring it up again?"

"You have my word."

Saiko giggled a little, pulled the lollipop from her mouth, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "You're such a gentleman, Eisei."

* * *

 **Day 09, 8:37 PM**

 **Main Plaza**

"Emanuel, will you slow down?"

Futaba chased after the Bête Noir, struggling to as his stride was rather fast. He appeared to be moving after Shinobu, who was getting away from him. Futaba had noticed this unusual chase, and was now going after Emanuel.

"Emanuel! Come on, this is getting embarrassing for me to go after you," Futaba called out. "Look, could you-"

"Could you stop following me?!" Emanuel shouted, spinning on his heel to face Futaba. "I'm trying to get some fucking information here!"

Futaba stared him down, and noticed over his shoulder that Shinobu had also stopped, watching them. The anthropologist cleared her throat, and then asked, "Okay, what just happened that has you all in such a rush?"

"Eisei woke up from his coma, and he spoke about another vision. Whatever that fucking vision thing is, it's a consistency. And I saw that box he had in his little hands disintegrate right after he woke up, that ain't fucking natural.

"I tried to pry that thing from him when he was asleep, and not even pulling as hard as I could would work! There is something very wrong here, and I need to get back to what I was working towards!"

Emanuel took a deep breath, as he clenched his fists and stared down at the ground. "You know she's a danger to all of us, and if things really are as weird as they were made out to be…"

Futaba brushed her hair behind her ears, as she said, "I just don't think Fiora is the root of this problem. How does a B-movie maker get the power and authority to do what was done here?"

"It could be a cover! There's a hundred reasons, but if the previous Killing Games were any indication, it is that someone's talent is not a signifier towards their evil intentions! Futaba, listen to me…"

The detective walked towards her, holding up his hands as he tried to find the appropriate words. "You have no idea what it is like to have been me in the last few years. I have been trying to stop despair, the Remnants of Despair, since the Tragedy started. I've gone on trails, dug up leads, and found possible connections.

"I even found out about the construction of Kuma-Kuma Land before it was public knowledge. There was something in the details of that place that screamed to me it wasn't a theme park under a different name. I warned people…

"But nobody LISTENED!"

He stomped his foot, clenching his fists and his teeth in frustration. The heaving anger in his breaths were palpable, but Futaba didn't back away. She merely crossed her arms, and spoke.

"You think that no one is listening to you here as well?"

"Oh, it's more than just that incident. I've been traveling around, trying to stop the Killing Games from spreading, but did anyone listen? Did anyone take heed when I gave them warning?

"No one! Not one soul listened to me! I tried to tell people that the floating island had protection, and they fired missiles at it. Millions DIED. I was running all over the States, Japan, Russia, trying to find out where the Remnants of Despair have gone.

"I even went to fucking Versailles Academy, on a hunch that something was going to start there, a while back. You know what they did? Had security escort me out the moment I told the officials there I believed there could be a threat to their academy."

Futaba raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, they're kind of uppity like that. So what, are you saying that all these terrible events happened because people didn't listen to you?"

"Oh please, I'm not _that_ vain. I had no idea about Hope's Peak Academy, or the shit that happened out in space. But I know that I've discovered a number of leads that no one listened to me about, and it all ended with a lot, a LOT, of death."

Emanuel kicked at the ground, growling in frustration. "I mean, everything thinks I'm overreacting here, but why else would I be doing what I do? It's not like I can go home and enjoy myself."

Futaba scratched the back of her head, and asked, "Where are you from?"

"Venezuela, a mess before the Tragedy, and now just a gigantic carnage pit. You ask most people, there is no more Venezuela. I ain't got a home to return to, so all I have are my efforts to stop another Tragedy or the like."

She nodded, and then saw Shinobu walk away. Turning her full attention to Emanuel, she asked, "Look, most of us here feel the same, and maybe it is that truth serum mist going around, but I wanted to tell you, I do admire your persistence in trying to stop Despair.

"But you know as well as I do that true Despair will usually present an opportunity to self-destruct, that's how dark and twisted it gets. We cannot rush that, we have to work together and towards the end game of Despair."

Emanuel raised an eyebrow at this. "That usually involves in more killings."

"That's usually how it is, isn't it?" Futaba said with a shrug. "Why do you think I've openly enjoyed what I can here? Because of the high likelihood I could be dead before this is seen through. But make no mistake, I want to find out what is going on just as much as you.

"To profile Despair entirely, to find out its ultimate weakness, that is my goal. I am with you, I just don't believe that Fiora is a primary concern. I'd much rather hear what Eisei said."

Emanuel took in a deep breath, and crossed his arms. "Fine. But if I tell you, can you help me look for her? If she's hiding inside of a building somewhere, I want to just have her wait in this truth serum mist for a while. I need to see how she'll react."

"Very well."

* * *

 **Day 09, 8:43 PM**

 **Western Tavern Bar 'n Grill**

Kimiko and Anzu traveled together, telling everyone they met about what Eisei had experienced. With three people now having seen this comatose-vision or whatever it was, people were now fully believing.

It eventually led them to the tavern, where Aka was drowning her sorrows. Ken sat at one of the tables, nibbling at a meal he had made himself.

"She is apparently upset that Hikari is not talking to her right now," Ken explained to the duo. "I am her designated driver, with how much she is drinking."

"Ken, that only applies if someone needs a drive home," Kimiko pointed out.

"In Novoselic, we use that term if someone needs to be carried home," Ken said with a bit of a smile. "I suspect the Ultimate Skier may try to, how does it go with her sport, slope her way back to her house?"

"Not really, but a hilarious image to think of," Anzu said with a naughty giggle.

"Oh, go ahead and laugh!"

Aka bitterly shouted from the bar, as she tried to pour herself another drink, and got the counter quite wet in the process. "Hic… hic… Hikari is mad at me, and I really had a good thing going with her! She's so hot, and the sex was incredible!"

"Is that all you saw in her?" Kimiko asked, raising an eyebrow at the skier.

"Okay, look," Aka spun on her stool, facing the others. "I know everyone thinks that that is a terrible thing, to consider looks above all others. But it wasn't the only damn thing! It just was one of the most important things…

"But whatever," she miserably spat out, trying to knock back another drink and missing her mouth for the most part. "Damn truth telling mists really fucked me over, since she thinks that is all I care about."

Anzu sat down next to her, trying to help her balance on the stool so she didn't crash and burn, which the actress figured was the ultimate shame for a skier. "Look dear, as someone who comes from a profession that is all about the physical looks, I can tell you that you cannot just be in it for that. Maybe you need to back off a little, give her some space, and work on the mysteries of this city."

"I came to Penjar because I wanted excitement," Aka explained, wiping her mouth as if trying the stop the truth from spilling out. "My life is all about action, adrenaline, and… and… again, everyone is just going to think I'm a bitch because my desires are so speff… spiff… direct, damn it.

"Come on now, don't you two get it?" Aka asked, staring at Kimiko and Anzu. "You two have been all over other girls since we got here… I'm not the only one!"

The biker gang leader and adult actress exchanged glances, both blushing a little as they remembered how they woke up. "M-maybe we're not the best ladies to talk about this," Anzu admitted. "I mean, things are highly complicated in this town-"

"You wanna have sex, porn star?" Aka rather bluntly asked, staring at Anzu with quite the look in her eyes. "Come on, if you do it for a living, you can do me for a thrill."

The actress blinked at this, and curled one of her blue bangs around her finger. "Um, Aka, I'm not like that. I-"

"Oh, come on, you've been with more women here than most of us could hope for. Haven't both of you?!"

Kimiko walked over to Anzu, and took the actress's hand in her's. "I think we're done here, eh. Just because you're feeling bad fur yourself doesn't mean you get to treat my friend like this. Go sleep it off, Aka, befur you fully morph into a psycho hose-beast."

The biker gal held Anzu's hand as she led her friend out. Aka watched them go, and snorted as she tried to push through her drunken haze. "F-fuck me," she muttered, "there's… there's gotta be something I can do tonight. There's… gotta be…"

As she rambled to herself, Ken observed her carefully. The cavalryman had closely watched the two ladies who had left, as well as the skier. He stroked his chin as he contemplated the same thing, something that should be done tonight.

* * *

 **Day 09, 8:59 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

The cafeteria was a little busy, due to people trying to make something for dinner. Other than the tavern, it had become a hub of sorts for the graduates, and thus they gathered there to avoid the mists. This would last until the bathrooms weren't available to them, but for the time being, they were safe.

Crystal kept to herself, playing a game on her phone. Shuuya and Pyrrha were in the middle of a discussion, trying to plan things out for the evening. Hara and Saiko were also in a conversation, though the forensic investigator made it clear she only wanted her friend seated with her.

Yitro was having a meal to himself, listening to Souma describe Eisei's vision. The public speaker was making it his mission to spread the word about what had happened, not wanting anyone to be left out this time.

Emanuel sat alone, eating dinner as well, though he had eyes on one of the oddest arrangements at a nearby table: Isaac was "interviewing" Suke.

"You've always been about the ratings and viewings of this place," the reporter questioned, "but this isn't being broadcasted, correct?"

"That is correct, youse right," Suke confirmed, adjusting his glasses. "We don't have the tech to do that, not like the official Killing Games."

"So why does it matter so much to you, that people are presentable and such?"

"Because this is our home, youse'see?" the orange 'n white-topped young man said, tapping his spoon against the table as he spoke. "My siblings and I have been here for as long as we can remember, that's why we were given bodies to suit our age."

"You're only in your twenties?"

"Hmm, that's a bit complicated. I mean, all those years when you're learning to walk and poop and such, we kind of got to skip that. Youse wouldn't want to have to toilet train us, would ya?"

Isaac winced in disgust, and made a quick note of that. "Say, Suke, where on Earth have your siblings been? I haven't seen them all day."

"I dunno, actually, they're kind of rebellious in these bodies," Suke admitted. "See, I'm all about making sure Penjar is highly presentable, so this interview here? Totally good for our image. But they're more about finding out about themselves and such, while they can?"

Isaac stopped scribbling on his notepad. "While they can?" he repeated.

"Yes. These human bodies are only temporary, we weren't supposed to stay human for your entire visit. Tomorrow, we'll be back to normal, so I believe they'll be trying to enjoy or explore their human forms."

"What… what was the point of you all being human?"

Suke adjusted his glasses again, then fanned himself with money. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I think my siblings wanted to know what it was like to be all of youse, maybe free from the mechanical restraints we had."

"You had restraints?"

Suke glanced around at everyone in the cafeteria, noticing some of them were listening in on the conversation. He shrugged, and said, "I know the others did. Me, I'm not too sure; I've been perfectly fine human or robot bear, and I can stick to that.

"Now, I think it's getting late, and I need to find a place to sleep. Take care, reporter friend, and remember! Penjar is a place where you can call home by your own self!"

With this odd statement, Suke stood up and walked away. Isaac was rather confused, but he didn't try to stop him; however, Blake did when he walked into the cafeteria.

"Where's your damn sister?" the pyro asked Suke, blocking the snide, former Kub's way out of the building. "Listen, mate, I ain't giving up on tapping that."

"Like I'd tell youse! I have my honor and integrity and sibling pride-"

Blake leaned in and whispered something into Suke's ear. There was a moment of silence, and Suke cackled in delight. "Lemme go find her for youse, buddy ol' chum ol' pal!"

Shuuya and Pyrrha watched this encounter, and were rather confused. The romance writer exchanged glances with him, and asked, "Do you think we should be concerned by everything going on tonight?"

"What do you mean?" the bounty hunter asked.

"We have the manhunt for Fiora," she whispered, pointing over at Emanuel, "we have the news of what Eisei saw, the truth serum mist, and now the Kubs are going back to their original forms."

"The last one doesn't seem to be so much of a concern for me."

Pyrrha smiled sadly, and said, "It may be for those who are befriending them."

"Befriending them? That's absurd, they're agents of Despair, they consider Monokuma their father. Why should we concern ourselves with them, much less the people who want to befriend or… bed them?"

The bounty hunter glanced over at Blake, who was walking around the cafeteria, looking for something to eat from another's plate because he wasn't interested in making his own food.

"Takeo was technically on Monokuma's side," Pyrrha said, trying to keep her voice calm as she felt the emotions rush through her. "He brought the mysterious person known as the Seed of Despair into this town. But his last action was for Odelios and myself, to keep us safe from a murderer.

"I know you have made a life out of taking care of evil people, but just because the Kubs are the children of Monokuma, it doesn't mean they're evil. They probably don't even know any better than to do what they were told to do.

"And now that they're human, they're feeling actual freedom. It's…"

She clasped her hands over her heart, and said, "It's poetic and sweet, and I think that if we want to get somewhere in Penjar, we need to consider more peaceful routes."

Shuuya stared at her, slowly chewing his food. He didn't say anything for a little while, then finally spoke up after a great deal of consideration. "So what are you saying? You want to take action? And you're actually asking for my help?"

"I'm kind of a woman who has a tendency to trust dangerous men, if my history here is any indication," she said with a slightly giggle. "I mean, not bad boys, but dangerous, because they know what they're doing."

As Shuuya took this into consideration, he noticed that Blake was taking food from Crystal's plate. The military adviser didn't notice or care, she was transfixed on her game. Blake finished her food off, and then noticed what she was playing.

"Cthulhu Indestructible?" he asked, laughing out loud. "You actually play that shit?"

Crystal's eyes fluttered, and she took a deep breath. "I just like it, that's all. Did I ask for your opinion?"

Blake snickered as he nudged her shoulder. "Oh come on, what are you, a fucking fangirl of the company that made it? That's the only reason someone would like it, it was a cash grab made by lazy bums. Why are you wasting your time playing this, I thought you of all people would be busy investigating?"

The military adviser rolled her eyes, and muttered, "What's it matter to you, Blake?"

"With the truth serum bullshit mist going around, I'm not all about just waiting for something bad to happen. Why don't we do something worthwhile, try to find answers before we all continue blurting out the truth like we're physically forced to?

"Or are you more content playing a fucking stupid game?"

Crystal took a deep breath, but she slammed her palm down on the table. Turning towards Shuuya, she asked, "Hey, bounty hunter, do you do commissions?"

"For bounty hunting? No."

"Not for your cover job, your real job."

The military adviser eyed Blake hatefully. The pyro stared back at her, then walked wordlessly out of the cafeteria. Shuuya watched the exchange, and frowned with contempt.

"That wasn't funny, Crystal," he said. "I don't appreciate joking about assassinating someone over a trifle matter."

"Who said I was joking?"

She closed her game, pocketed her phone, and left the cafeteria too. Shuuya leaned back in his seat, and stroked his chin.

"I think that we're going to have some real trouble tonight," he said, glancing at Pyrrha. "You may be right, this truth serum business is getting highly aggressive."

Pyrrha swallowed nervously, as she glanced around the rest of the cafeteria. The evening was starting to feel very daunting to her.

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:04 PM**

 **Ye Olde Tailor Shop**

"Dam, I… I don't understand."

Dam glanced between Drake and Ignatia, his calm demeanor unchanging. He wandered around the store, organizing the goods as if he was an employee at the tailor shop. "What. More. Needs. Explaining?"

"Why do you have to go back into your robotic cub form? Why can't you just stay human?"

The green 'n white-topped young man turned towards the two, and said, "Because. That. Is. What. Father. Requested."

Ignatia made a dismissive motion, as well as a swat. Dam watched her, then responded, "It. Is. Not. As. Simple. As. That."

"But you're human now! You can make your own decisions!"

Dam readjusted the jackets on a rack, as he spoke, "There. Are. Consequences. For. Not. Obeying. Father's. Will. I've. Already. Been. Quite. Disobedient."

"What?" Drake asked, watching him behave like a good-mannered retail worker. "How so?"

"I've. Been. Watching. All. Of. You. All. Day. I. Wanted. To. Help. You. All. Find. Out. The. Answers. To. Penjar."

Dam sighed, and pulled a shirt from one of the compartments, folding it back up properly. "Maybe. That's. Why. We. Must. Go. Back. To. Our. Kub. Bodies."

Drake glanced over at Ignatia, who shrugged in confusion. The mime paced back and forth slightly, then she walked over to Dam and spun him by his shoulder to face her.

The mime "walked" with her fingers, made a pear-shaped motion with her hands, and motioned up and down with her hands with small circles as well. She gripped up on an invisible tool, and then swung several times, before her hands made a bursting motion. She then stomped several times, dusted her hands off, and grinned.

"But," Dam said, "Are. You. Willing. To. Risk. Your. Lives. For. Ours?"

Ignatia rolled her eyes, and grabbed a shirt that had Monokuma's face on it. With a rather strong yank, she ripped it in two, threw the pieces on the ground, and stomped on it. There were also some finger gestures made towards it that were just for flavor.

"I'm. Responsible. For. The. Merchandise. Here."

Ignatia started doing a whole bunch of hand gestures and signals, losing Drake in the process. The mime proceeded so quickly, her hands were almost a blur. Yet Dam managed to follow, as he nodded, and then asked:

"But. How. Will. You. Get. In. There? It. Is. Closed. Until. Tomorrow. And. I. Cannot. Tell. You…"

Dam then grabbed onto the shelf, and took several deep breaths. Drake held him up in support, and his friend looked him in the eyes as he said.

"Resistance. Is. Very. Difficult. I'm. Sorry."

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:34 PM**

 **Ye Olde Clockwork Shop**

"So, I'm sorry, but what are we doing in here?"

Fannie giggled as she caressed Ishiku's shoulders, staring into his eyes as she finally put her hands on his shoulders. "I told you that tomorrow morning, I have to go back to being a bear cub robot thingie, didn't I?"

"Yes. Are you sure there's no way I can stop that?" Ishiku asked, lifting his staff up in the air as he took a confidant stance. "A magician knows how to play a good switcheroo! I'll have it so that they'll think they download you back in the robot, but it'll be a frog instead!"

"You'll have them download my consciousness into a frog?"

"No no no, a frog's consciousness will get downloaded into your robot body!"

"Oh. But there are no animals in Penjar, Ishi," she said sadly. "And it won't work with a plant or even a reasonably clever mushroom."

"Drat! That was my back-up plan!"

Fannie sighed, and looked into his eyes. "I… I want to spend my last night as a human with you, Ishi. It felt so amazing and sweet and fun!"

There was quite the excited blush on Ishiku's face, as he realized what she was asking. The magician took a deep breath, and tried to play it cool…

"But I'd rather try to find a way for you to remain human for your sake, Fannie. After all the time we've spent together, I see you as more than just a friend with benefit."

He actually did play it cool! Even he was surprised by this. Fannie cocked her head to the side, repeating, "What is a 'friend with benefits'?"

"Friends who have sex together but don't date."

"Oh. But doesn't that describe us already?"

Ishiku nervously scratched the back of his head. He didn't want to be completely direct, but he felt that he didn't want to let go of what they had, no matter how confusing and odd. So he asked, "But don't you want more?"

"I do! I have felt so free and happy, being with you all this time. "But I cannot just go against Daddy's will on this… it could be really bad for my brothers and I if we resist."

"Then I'll go in that lab of yours and destroy the machine that swaps your consciousness!"

Fannie tapped her chin as she contemplated this. "I suppose that could work… but the lab is locked up, and I cannot give you the access codes."

"Why not?"

"I… I, um," she stammered, flustered suddenly as if something was holding her back, "I cannot. It was the one thing that they prevented me from revealing what I do know."

"But if we stay outside long enough, the truth serum mist will get you to talk!"

Fannie whimpered and shook her head. "No no, I don't want to stay outside! What if that nasty man finds me, he really scares me! You don't understand, Ishiku…"

She clenched his shoulders as she said, "The mist isn't just truth serum as in it makes you say the things you keep secret, it can also have you do things that you truthfully want to do."

Ishiku froze in astonishment. "You… you mean if someone like Blake is in the mist long enough, he'll try to take you if he finds you?"

"Yes, but only if we're out in the mist. The moment you go inside, you lose the urge to fully go against your physical wants and merely tell the truth."

"This would have been so nice to know earlier on, Fannie honey."

"I know, but Daddy wanted to keep it secret. I don't know why…"

"I do. He's hoping that someone stays in the mist long enough to become a danger to others."

Fannie shivered, and whispered to him, "I… I don't want to be part of the Killing Game anymore. I just want to stay human… I just wish… I wish I had more time with you!"

She clung to Ishiku, and they held each other close. There were very few words to be said at a time like this, so they held onto each other, as if letting go truly meant the end.

They had no idea someone had been spying on them this whole time…

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:49 PM**

 **Eastern Plaza**

 **Monokuma Statue**

"TALK! TALK, DAMN YOU!"

" **You'll never get me to talk! Not you nor your damn chicken!** "

"Rubarrow has ways of making you talk!"

Odelios proceeded to stuff his rubber chicken down Monokuma's throat, choking the bear. As he practically rammed his fist down the bear's "throat," he could hear two people approaching him from behind.

"Odelios, what on Earth are you doing?" Souma asked, raising an eyebrow at the clown's actions.

"Yes, as fun as it is to abuse Monokuma," Yitro remarked, "I don't think we're going to get information out of him. Reliable info, anyway."

"Let me try, damn it!" Odelios declared. "I'm not having anymore of this Killing Game with vague actions and optional options! I want the truth!"

" **You… gggrhrhgdle… tha… truuuoooghgghgh!** "

Odelios was furiously trying to insert all of Rubarrow, and his arm, down into Monokuma's stomach. Souma and Yitro watched this for a while, before Yitro finally couldn't tolerate it anymore.

"You know, if you really want to help," the swordsman said as he grabbed Odelios and yanked him back, freeing Monokuma's mouth, "you should try doing something closer to some of the points we're facing!"

"I've done everything I could," Odelios argued. "Short of looking for Fiora, searching that creepy school, or breaking into the lab…"

"That sounds like everything we're trying to do," Souma remarked as he face-palmed.

"Hey! I don't trust anything I don't trust, trust me on that! I'm trying things that no one else has! I won't let them down!"

Yitro stared at Odelios. "'Them'?" he repeated.

The clown's eye twitched, and he slapped his hand over his mouth. He started speaking, too muffled to be understood, and then began to sprint away.

However, Yitro grabbed the back of his collar, and prevented him from escaping. "Odelios, did I ever tell you about the time I actually had to kill a clown?"

The clown squeaked in fear, as Yitro spoke calmly but quite directly towards him. "You see, one time my friends and I went to a circus. The crew loved our own skills so much, they wanted us to be part of the show. But little did any of us know, there was a murderer amongst the clown crew.

"He was part of the knife-throwing act, and he loved those knives. Too much. You see, we had heard that someone was stabbing people in the spine within the vicinity; this was right at the start of the Tragedy, before my arrest, mind you."

"Oh, so detailed, you should be the Ultimate Storyteller," Odelios mumbled, as he walked in place as he tried to pull out of Yitro's iron grasp.

"Anyway, this clown was on such a murderous spree, I took it upon myself to stop his carnage. Decapitating someone, even a crazed lunatic aiming to stab you six ways to Sunday, it's not easy.

"So I'm telling you all this to let you know that if you, or anyone else is yet another crazy psycho in disguise, I've picked my sword up again. So be honest with me."

Souma swallowed nervously, as he pulled on his collar. "I'm certainly up for telling you everything, after hearing that. Do you want to know my family history? I think most of you-"

"That's nice, Souma, but I'm more interested in hearing why Odelios is trying to murder Monokuma for information."

" **I'm not dead!** " Monokuma hollered from the ground. " **I just got better.** "

Odelios moonwalked towards Monokuma, and stomped on his face. As the bear howled in "pain," the clown eventually twisted out of Yitro's grasp. "Fine! You want to know what's eating me?

"Ishiku is smitten by Fannie, and I'm not letting my friend get hurt! So long as this damn truth serum mist is around, he's in danger of people like Emanuel attacking him! Did you know about the little twist to this mist, that if we stay in it for far too long, it makes us even do the things we truthfully want to do?"

Yitro and Souma exchanged glances. "That's… news to me," the public speaker admitted.

"It's not going to be long until someone kills someone else, especially after that rather emotional orgy we had last night. I mean, come on, Yitro, if you really were with Fiora like I heard you were, then that's going to cause all kinds of strife between you and Yejoon, Emanuel, and great rubber chickens above who else."

Yitro sighed as he shook his head. "Odelios, you still haven't mentioned who 'they' are."

Odelios growled in frustration, then he heard diabolical chuckling underneath his foot.

" **Maybe he's talking about his dead family. Upupupupu-URK!** "

Odelios stomped so hard on Monokuma's face, that his foot went through the bear and planted on the ground underneath him. Standing there with a foot puncturing through the bear, the clown crossed his arms and scoffed.

"I'm sure none of you really care, but yes, my family, the entire circus posse of performers, clowns, staff, and managers, they all dead. The Tragedy killed them all, because if they weren't going ballistic with Despair and massacring people until they met a bloody end, they were on the receiving end of that madness.

"Everyone thinks it is so funny to see a circus get massacred, that we're a freak show that's funny to watch die like it was a horror movie twisting so much, it's practically a murder pretzel. So yeah, that's why I came to Penjar, to find answers.

"And I'll be totally and utterly damned," Odelios shouted, pointing at the two men, "if I let my new friends here die or suffer! I'm going to find a way to get into that lab, or at the very least, stop someone from committing a murder!

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have serious work to attend to. And no, I'm not helping you look for Fiora; that girl isn't guilty of anything, as far as I am seriously concerned."

And then Odelios walked off, dragging Monokuma's corpse around his ankle, and holding his rubber chicken in his hand. When he rounded a corner and out of sight, Souma and Yitro exchanged glances.

"You and Fiora?" Souma asked with a wry smile.

"You pester me about that, I'll grill you over why I found you as a self-bondage act."

The public speaker didn't really feel like speaking publicly now.

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:53 PM**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Classroom 04**

Shinobu was seated at one of the desks, slowly reading the history book she had found. She kept flipping back to one section, as she tried to mentally deliberate something that was causing her a lot of frustration. She even considered being out in the mist, maybe that would force her to be honest with herself.

There was a sudden knock on the classroom door, and she glanced up to see Fiora standing there. The movie maker smiled weakly as she said, "Hey there."

"Hey. Fiora, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm… peachy," she said, the obvious lie apparent by how much Fiora's eyes darted about as she spoke. Though they settled on Shinobu and showcased honesty again. "How a'boot you?"

"Fiora, Emanuel is certain that you're a traitor; everyone is looking for you. Where have you been?"

"In the school, actually. After Eisei fainted, I made my way in here, and settled doo'n in one of the classrooms. It worked rather well, but I had to make Yejoon promise not to follow me around anymore tonight."

Shinobu sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "He's still pursuing you?"

"You want to know the crazy part? I cannot honestly tell if he's just being a creepy stalker anymore."

Fiora walked into the room and sat down in the desk next to Shinobu. She pulled off her fedora, and rubbed her head; the historian noticed her ahoge bounced when she fiddled with her hair, looking rather adorable.

"Yejoon is a serial killer, and I'm terrified of him, but… today, he's showcased what looks like genuine concern fur me. I doo'nt knoo' what to do a'boot that, Shinobu."

Shinobu stared down at the textbook, her fingers touching the text which she had read over and over. "You want to know what I think?"

"What's that?"

"That history is a lesson, not a guilt-trip weapon."

Fiora stared at her, completely confused, until the historian clarified. "You see, I have always believed that history is something we should learn from, something to take to heart and become better from. To see what worked, what didn't, what we should do, what we shouldn't…

"I've seen far too many times that someone uses it as a weapon, to shame and guilt others into do things. It applies to entire countries, so much so that they would rather forget things.

"Do you know the name of Marie Antoinette?"

Fiora nodded, as she tilted her head to the side. "She was the queen or something like that during the French Revolution?"

"It is widely regarded that she said, "Let them eat cake," in regard to the people starving. She never said that. She was practically a teenager, arguably a child, when she was made into the royal status she was known for.

"Then the French Revolution happened, a bloody and vicious mob of the middle class revolting against taxes for the most part. While murdering so many people, the mob captured and imprisoned the poor woman, tortured her, murdered her friends in front of her, and took her son away to brainwash him into their crazed ways. It wasn't even really a revolution, it was a bloodbath, one that is marred with the most deplorable actions; it's no wonder many people wish to think of it as an uprising rather than the evil coup it was.

"Marie suffered so terribly, it was like a model for how Despair could make a single person hurt so much. Yet this woman, who people keep trying to say was a mean little tyrant, was put through such inhumane treatment…

"And then when they dragged her up to the guillotine, she even apologized when she stepped on someone's foot. The crowd cheered as she was beheaded; it sounds so much like the same kind of madness we had to handle during the Tragedy."

Shinobu took a deep breath, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her. "Then this so-called revolution went about murdering everyone who so much as disagreed with them, from religious figures to the provenly innocent to even their own. They were so dedicated to this cause, they murdered their own to prove a point. Like Despair followers, they eat their own."

The historian turned to the rather startled movie maker, as they looked each other in the eye. "I love France, I was there during the Tragedy. I have the Eiffel Tower tattooed on my back, because I actually survived there with other people when the bloodshed was mounting.

"And you know what I learned? That saying the truth can get you killed by those who don't want to hear it. It can be as simple as that."

She tapped the textbook, and said, "Do you know about Gilroy Lanceson and Jibri Patando?"

Fiora's eyes lit up at this. "Oh yes! My history teacher in grade school told us all a'boot those two!"

Shinobu smiled at this, and said, "Well, that's definitely nice to hear. When I saw those two names, I realized that they saw the truth, and they risked their lives for it. They weren't afraid of the consequences for what would happen if someone told them what to do.

"And that's why I want to do right by others, specifically someone else."

She glanced over at the doorway, and Fiora followed with a slight tinge of confusion. "You can come out now," Shinobu said.

Taro glanced into the room, worriedly staring at Shinobu. "I… I didn't want to eavesdrop, but you were avoiding me."

"I am sorry, Taro."

Shinobu stood up and walked over to him. She kissed him, and looked into his eyes. "The thought of you going back to your robotic body, it reminded me of enslavement. And it upset me so much, I was worried what I would do in desperation."

She caressed his face, and then glanced back at the movie maker in the room. "Fiora, do you want to stand up for the truth?"

The movie maker nodded and said, "I think I need to keep my mind off of something rather big that I found 'oot, so yes. Let's do the right thing, I'm all a'boot that!"

"The right thing?" Taro swooned, staring into Shinobu's eyes. "This feels so right."

* * *

 **Day 09, 9:59 PM**

 **Housing Area**

"Hey ladies!" Kidd shouted as he jumped out of Samson's house. The blue 'n white-topped guy was only wearing boxers, those Monokuma-themed ones. He was grinning at the small group consisting of Crystal, Saiko, Hara, and Hikari. "Last night to get a taste of a true rock star! So who wants their rock world?

"I mean, who wants to star their rock? World star? Um, hang on, let me try this again, words are fucking hard. LIKE ME! HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!"

He ran back in the house, slamming the door behind him. The four ladies exchanged glances.

"Do we wait to see how badly he screws up the second time?" Saiko asked with a sly grin on her face.

"I'm not interested in that," Hara admitted. "I'd rather just go to sleep."

"Yeah, about that…"

The forensic investigator took Hara's hand, and said, "You're staying at my house tonight."

"Huh?"

"It's just something that I need you to trust me on."

"But… but Isaac-"

"He can be in the same bed or something like that. Please, Hara?"

Hara nervously scratched the back of her head, and she whispered, or at least tried to with how embarrassed she was in front of the other two girls. "But… our bed is bigger, it's meant for two people, so…"

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Come on then, lead me to your room, Hara-baby."

"Eeek, don't call me that in front of other people!"

Hikari had to avoid laughing out loud at how cute Hara was like this, and she watched the two head off to the couple's house. With them having gone, she turned towards Crystal.

"So I may have heard-"

"This better not be anything to do with last night," the military adviser said, staring at the steampunk model with a firm glance. "I am not one to discuss my sex life in public."

Hikari twirled her parasol on her shoulder, and let out a whistle-like sigh. "I'm just curious about you, that's all. I'm not asking for what you did with others, I'm asking out of interest of a more personal reason."

"Tell you what," Crystal said, smirking at the model, "if you join Hara and I for the early morning walk, I don't mind chatting with you."

"Oh? Really?"

"You seem so surprised."

"I honestly thought that there would be more resistance. Though…"

Hikari froze up for a second, and let out a long, heavy sigh. It really did sound like a train whistle to Crystal, which made the steampunk model seem a little more genuine to her. "You look like a woman with something on her mind, and no one to talk to," she said to Hikari. "Okay, come on in my house, we can chat a bit. But we're not having sex."

"I'm not that easy…"

"I wasn't implying that you were, I thought you were hitting on me."

"I am… but… argh! Just let me sit down!"

She practically burst into Crystal's room, and sat down in one of the seats available. The military adviser took off her jacket and set it up on a rack, saying, "Okay, I am just going to get ready for bed. You can speak while I do so."

"Aka admitted to me that my looks are the main reason she wanted to have sex with me, and that everything else is secondary. She's a thrill seeker and a physical lady, the kind that just wants to see what excitement she can find."

"I've known soldiers and other people like that," Crystal said, as she pulled off her top and moved to one of her drawers. Hikari stared shamelessly for a little bit, but then reminded herself this was why she was upset with Aka. The military adviser went into the bathroom, and came out wearing pajama tops with no bra on underneath.

"Is it wrong then, that I'm upset by that, when I'm kind of the same?" Hikari asked. "I know it's weird talking to you about this, since you and I haven't really interacted… but you're an adviser."

Crystal couldn't help but laugh, as she reached for the hair band in her blond locks and pulled it out. " _Military_ adviser, if you haven't forgotten."

"I know that, but I just thought… well… you seemed approachable on this, if what I heard about last night is true."

"Now I'm rather confused. Because I found out I rather like sex with women last night, you think I'm the best person to talk about sex and dating life?"

"I think that someone who carries herself so well even after such drastic changes and events is someone I can trust to talk to about this."

"Oh," Crystal said, smiling a little. "You think I have it together?"

"Yes. Am I wrong?"

The blonde extended a hand to the model, who was a little confused and excited by this. She was pulled up to her feet, and Crystal placed something into her hand. Hikari noticed it was a video game controller, and she stared in utter bafflement.

"I find that I get to know someone when I play some games with them," Crystal said. "And since you make a life out of the unusual types of fashion and technology, I think you might appreciate an unorthodox way of bonding."

Hikari held the controller, and laughed a little bit. "And to think, I thought you would outright reject me as an emotional mess while much more serious matters were going on."

"The serious matters can wait until morning, my dear. Now, as I think they call it nowadays, you want to smash?"

The steampunk model's blush was rather attractive to Crystal, and she couldn't help but feel that arousal when seeing the model looking a mixture of interested and vulnerable. It would appear that her new outlook on life was catching up to her fast.

The two played games for hours, learning about themselves, with Hikari teaching Crystal how to subtly pose in a feminine manner, and Crystal taught Hikari all kinds of swear words when she lost games. It was a rather enjoyable evening to them, only interrupted by one thing.

* * *

( **Day 09 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma is sitting on the side of an old-fashioned train car, legs dangling over the side. Monodam is seated next to him, staring blankly forward._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Sometimes we get the desire to run away from our problems. Figuratively and mentally, it is said that you're only human if you have the urge to dodge responsibilities. I mean, think of all the things that you have to take responsibility for that you never even agreed to begin with."

* _Monokuma and Monodam have hopped off the train, and are walking through a rather old-timey town. The two are staring around the place, which is rather interesting considering all the buildings and lights are in black and white while the bears still have their color._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "See, that's why I say being human is overrated! You have to accept a million things right off the bat, and then you're not considered mature if you don't want to accept them! Screw responsibilities, screw child support, just let the little adorable bastards fend for themselves!"

* _Monokuma and Monodam are at an old-timey cafe, sipping drinks. While Monodam is content with his shake, Monokuma seems more interested in the waitress, who looks like another Monokuma in a blonde wig and a polka-dot dress._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "You know how we sometimes were allowed to play dodgeball when we were little? I'd like to think it is training for dodging responsibility when we grow up! So get to leveling up your dodging skills, and avoid all responsibilities."

 **Monodam** \- "FATHER-I-DO-NOT-LIKE-THIS-LESSON."

 **Monokuma** \- "I know you don't, son, I know. Upupupu~"

* * *

 **Day 10, ? AM**

 **Housing Area**

Someone up very late or maybe it was very early wandered through the housing area. They had a couple stops to make, before they were ready for their main mission. The doors were't locked to the houses, much to the surprise of the one going through some of the buildings with a sneaky kind of grace that surprised themselves.

Wearing one of the Monokubs jackets, the person quickly made their way out of the housing district, towards the eastern side of town. They were right in front of the taxidermy store when someone behind them spoke.

"Whatever you're up to, my little flower, you shouldn't go through with it."

"YEEEEEK!"

Fiora jumped upwards, and she gripped onto the drain pipe alongside the building's roof. It supported her weight for a few seconds before it cracked, and she fell down, landing on her butt. The movie maker winced in pain, then her eyes widened in terror as she looked over her shoulder.

"How are you even awake?" she asked Yejoon. "Don't tell me you stay up all night in the off chance I'll sneak out!"

"I have my ways, but that may be it. After all, you were determined to leave Penjar yesterday."

The artist walked over and extended his hand, to which she took it and pulled herself up. She strained out a long groan, and muttered, "Listen, I'm not leaving town, I promise. I'm doing something else."

"I am aware of that. I came to stop you."

"What? Why?!"

"Because what you are planning is dangerous, and you risk the ire of Monokuma, and the Mastermind in control of Penjar. Fiora, if you go off on a mission, you risk dying, or worse."

Fiora scoffed as she adjusted her jacket and hat, then turned to face him. "I see no need to listen to some psycho murderer who is trying to groom me as he sees fit."

"Fiora, you can see me as a cad, a monster, a fiend, any number of things, but I speak from my heart when I say that what you plan to do is too dangerous."

Yejoon tapped his cane against her shoulder, as he added, "And I know about how you have a great amount of fury in your heart right now, putting yourself at more risk."

The movie maker snarled as she glanced to the side. "What would you have me do, eh? I cannot hide in this town forever, Emanuel will eventually find me and have the others lock me up. I refuse to be useless or a hostage or… or a casualty with no purpose or reason."

She took a deep breath, then stared into Yejoon's eyes. The artist raised his mask to allow her a more civil conversation. "But," she said with a heavy sigh, "maybe you're right. Maybe I should just… forget a'boot this."

"You really think that, Fiora?"

"Yeah, I mean, if you of all people say this is too dangerous, then it really must be. Hell, I cannot lie in these mists right now, so I guess I really do think this is too much to some degree.

"I doo'nt even knoo' why I bother trying to hide stuff from you," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You already seem to knoo' what the plan is."

"Not entirely. Perhaps if you fill me in with the details, I could be able to help you."

"Sure. Let's get some tea from the cafeteria, I could use some at this hour."

"Now that sounds delightful."

The two walked to the cafeteria, and Fiora prepared the tea as Yejoon sat properly at one of the tables. The movie maker hummed as she stirred both mugs, and called out, "So how did you find 'oot a'boot this, anyway?"

"A certain Kub turned human told me some of the details," Yejoon explained. "They are so very happy to bond with anyone in their own odd ways. You really should consider that if he knew all those details, and would tell someone like me, this isn't a secure mission."

"Drat it," Fiora said as she brought the mugs out to the table. "The mission was shot from the beginning! I hate that… wait, does that mean you knoo' who else is on the mission?"

"Only you, the leader, and the Kub you have tricked so cleverly. Fear not, Fiora, once you go back to bed, I'll handle the situation on your behalf."

Yejoon took the mug handed to him, and smirked at her. "I can be quite persuasive, as you know."

Fiora nodded, sitting across from him. She stared at him, and said, "You do realize that doing this or not, I'm still in a lot of trouble with everyone else."

"Oh, let them fret over you, you are not the Seed of Despair, nor are you a danger. But you shouldn't be involving yourself in peril like this. And also…"

He reached forward, and took her mug from her hands. When she stared at him in confusion, he handed her his mug of tea, and added, "You shouldn't try this old trick."

"What?"

"I could tell by how fast you agreed to backing down that you had a reason to suggest getting some tea. Did you really think you could drug me?"

Fiora stared at him, her mouth hanging open in bafflement. "What are you even talking a'boot? Where would I get knock out drugs?"

"Didn't we theorize at some point that Samson had some, and used them to assure that Ishiku would be without an alibi? I figured you found them when hiding out, and planned to use them against me.

"Now drink your tea, my little flower, and we'll continue this conversation when you wake up."

Fiora stared at him nervously, then took the mug that was meant for him, and drank it down. Her eyes were locked on his, and when she was half-way done with her replacement drink, he downed his.

"Even if I had found Samson's knock-out drugs, I wouldn't spike your drink," Fiora remarked bitterly.

"Really now? So you're saying that my paranoia was unfounded? Well, that's a shame," Yejoon said, chuckling as he adjusted his gloves.

"Because I knoo' how controlling you are at this point."

Yejoon stopped suddenly, and rounded his eyes on her. She was glaring at him, arms crossed, more defiant than he'd ever seen her. He glanced down at the mugs, and noticed they were starting to become blurry.

"You're not going to stop me from doing the right thing, or from doing what I want to to him," Fiora said as she stood up. "So please, stop getting in my way. If you care a'boot me at all, Yejoon…"

As she spoke, the world became much more dizzy to the artist. Whatever those drugs were, they worked fast. Even with his incredible coordination, sitting up straight was increasingly impossible.

"Just stay out of my way!"

"Fi… Fiora…"

The movie maker turned around, her jacket fluttering behind her. Yejoon reached out to grab at her, and then fell out of his seat. Impacting on the floor, he felt the woozy darkness settling in fast.

"D… don't… do… this… don't… throw…

your…

l-life…

away… ffffffor… re… rev

re…ven…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

* * *

 **Day 10, 9:00 AM**

 **Housing Area**

 **Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik's House**

A half hour before the morning announcement came, Hara was up and dressed. Both Isaac and Saiko were still asleep, and she smiled down at them, allowing them a bit more rest. She was such a morning woman, she had to get up and at 'em as soon as she could.

When she stepped outside, she glanced around to see where her morning ritual partner Crystal was. Normally, Crystal would be outside first, but today was not the case. She waited for a few minutes, and then, with slight concern in her heart, she walked over to her house.

The moment she knocked on the door, Crystal opened it widely. She was dressed and ready, but the expression on her face said anything but good morning. She appeared highly concerned and terrified.

"Hara, I'm afraid that I cannot go with you this morning," she said. "Samson's gun is missing."

"What? Wait, why do you have it?"

"Because after Kimiko tried to shoot herself, I took it upon myself that no one else should get their hands on it. I," she let out a sigh, and muttered, "I didn't want it to get into a major debate, I didn't trust a gun to anyone else."

"But how could it be taken?"

"I don't know! I have it in one of the drawers in my place, and when I was getting ready, I saw it was gone!"

Hara took a deep breath, then stepped into Crystal's house. The military adviser had turned her place upside-down in a frantic search. "Okay, well, you obviously looked for it, but maybe we should consider someone stole it last night."

"That's not possible, the doors are locked at night, remember?" Crystal remarked. "And our places were all locked up during the day to avoid holding up in our houses to avoid the truth serum mist."

Hara tapped her chin, and then said, "Did you have anyone else here?"

Crystal's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Yes, yes I did."

She hurried out of her place, and made a beeline for Hikari's. Hara followed swiftly after, though she didn't have time to tell her not to simply barge into someone's house as Crystal barged into Hikari's house.

The military adviser stared at an empty bed, and glanced around the room, as if expecting to find the steampunk model hiding somewhere. She searched the bathroom too, but Hikari was nowhere in her own place.

"Crystal, calm down," Hara said to her. "You don't know for sure that she stole the gun."

"Who else but her?" Crystal snapped. "Oh gosh, I should have known that she didn't really want advise. She wouldn't even consider an early morning walk, or to… to…"

Hara walked over and put her hands on Crystal's shoulders. "Focus. I know you feel betrayed, but you should not jump to conclusions."

A minute of deep breaths followed as Hara helped to calm Crystal down, and then the explorer spoke to her. "Now, you said something about our morning walk. Did you invite Hikari?"

"Y-yeah. She said she'd meet us at the main plaza facing the housing district."

"Then let's check that out before anywhere else."

The two walked out of the housing district, and almost instantly saw Hikari standing in place, poised. Hara had a terrible flashback to Takeo's body at first, but she could clearly see the model twirling her parasol on her shoulder.

Hikari appeared rather forlorn, and when she noticed Crystal and Hara approaching, there was a dash of dread in her expression. "H-hi, ladies," she said nervously. "Listen, I don't think I can join you on a morning walk through the mists-"

"Hikari," Crystal said, stepping up in front of the model's face, "I had Samson's gun stored in my room last night, and now it's missing."

"What?" Hikari blurted out, staring at her in confusion. "You… you think I took it?"

"Hikari, you were in my house until I fell asleep, and when I woke up, you were gone. Now the gun I was holding for safe-keeping is gone!"

"But I didn't take it! I swear! Look!"

The model stood there, extending her arms out as if to present herself ready to be frisked. "Search me! I've been standing out waiting for you, in this truth-telling mist! I couldn't lie to you about this!"

Crystal crossed her arms as she stared at Hikari, dubious but trying to keep her temper. Hara glanced between the two of them nervously, and then spoke up. "O-okay, I know things are a bit tense right now, but let's all take things into consideration. Hikari cannot lie, Crystal."

"Not that I'd have any reason to," Hikari said, then added bitterly, "not about this, anyway."

"What does that mean?" Crystal asked, clenching her hands against her jacket sleeves.

"Okay, ladies, let's not stand out here in the mist arguing. I feel like that just plays into Monokuma's desire to get us angry and accusing," Hara said. "Let's just go into the cafeteria and get something cool to drink, and we'll talk about this rationally."

Hikari sighed, that steam whistle noise still quite the unique noise to hear. She was staring sadly at Crystal, such a look of shame and regret on her pretty face as she saw the military adviser appearing quite stern.

"You do look quite beautiful like that," Hikari remarked before she could stop herself.

"Don't," Crystal snapped, as she walked away from the two. "Let's just get to the damn cafeteria and get a drink. Because if you didn't take the gun, then someone else did, and we have to find out fast!"

The three of them made their way to the cafeteria, though when they opened the door, the last thing the expected to see was someone slumped on the floor. They rushed over to the person's side, but all of them hesitated when they saw who it was.

"Yejoon?!" Hikari declared, gripping her parasol tightly. "What… what is he doing here?"

"I have no idea," Crystal said, kneeling down next to him, checking to see if he was still alive. "He's not dead, but beyond that, I don't know what else to do."

The three ladies were rather confused on what to do next, so Hikari moved her foot out and nudged Yejoon. The artist groaned, and one of his hands slapped down on his ground. He pulled himself up, gripping his head.

"Oh, that hurts," he muttered, glancing around. "Blargh, how many did she use? There is such a thing as overdose, my little flower…"

"Oops," Hikari whimpered, glancing apologetically over at the other two. "Sorry, I just thought that… okay, I wasn't thinking. But-"

"Hey there," Yejoon said, pulling himself up to a seat as he gripped his cane in both hands, slumping on it as he tried to lift his head, but it hurt too much. "I… apologize, but who am I talking to right now? I don't recognize you by your shoes."

"If you don't mind, I'll ask the questions here," Crystal remarked, glaring down at Yejoon. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, is that Miss Wilson? Well, my military expert, Fiora is off on a mission, and she drugged me to ensure I didn't interfere. You all might want to consider stopping her too."

"What?" Hara asked, worried and concerned, but managing to keep her cool; she really didn't like talking to Yejoon, or being close to him, but it seemed now wasn't the time to worry about such things. "What is she planning to do?"

Yejoon managed to pull himself up to his feet, which made the ladies back up slightly. Hikari was holding her parasol tightly, the only "weapon" they had with them.

"If I told you all," he said, managing to glance up at them, "would you even believe me?"

"If it's for Fiora's sake, yes," Hikari remarked. "Please, just tell us what is going on."

Yejoon opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get any more words out, the world shook. The muffled but powerful sound and feel of an explosion from a relatively close distance startled them all.

"What was that?!" Hara exclaimed.

"Whatever it was, it doesn't sound good," Hikari remarked nervously.

"That," Yejoon said as he forced himself to stand up, "is what I was going to tell you. Fiora is part of a group planning to stop the Monokubs from being put back in their robotic bodies!"

"Wait, what?" Crystal shouted. "You cannot be serious, she wants to save them?"

"That explosion must have come from the lab," the artist said, using his cane to support his sluggish weight. "They're really going to do it… Fiora…

"She's going to get herself killed over this!"

He started to hobble towards the door, but almost fell over with how much the drugs were affecting him. Yejoon struggled to stay on his feet, and he glanced over at the three.

"You… you have to go stop her. Please, you don't understand just how much she doesn't care about surviving this."

Crystal walked up to him, glaring suspiciously. "And you expect us to just run towards where the explosions are going on? We might walk into a blast zone!"

Hikari and Hara exchanged glances, then the former spoke aloud. "Either way, we should still go, Crystal. We shouldn't just stand around and wait for something terrible to be announced."

The military adviser stared at them, then corrected her jacket's collar, and sighed. "Very well. Just keep close to me, alright?"

The two nodded, and then they made their way out of the cafeteria. Yejoon called out that he would follow as soon as he gained his composure.

Running towards the lab, through the thick mists that covered the streets and walkways, the three ladies felt and heard another muffled, intense explosion. They all froze for a minute, rather fearful of the fact that they might be walking into a bombing zone.

As they collected their wits and nerves, it turned to 9:30 AM. In all of the rooms, the TVs turned on. For the graduates who were awake, they noticed that the morning announcement, like yesterday's, was slightly different than the norm…

* * *

( **Day 09 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Very Important Lab Greeting** )

* _The scene is set in front of the lab's main doors. Monosuke, Monophanie, and Monodam, in their robotic bear bodies, are standing in front of the doors, appearing rather confused. The inside of the lab is dark, with none of the lights on inside._ *

 **Monosuke** \- * _adjusting his glasses on his snout_ * "My word, what's going on in our very important lab? This place is very important to us, don't youse know?"

 **Monophanie** \- "I'm so worried! What's happening? Oh I'm feeling so tense and nervous… I may puke from the apprehension!"

 **Monosuke** \- "Now we don't need none of that now! Monodam, what's going on in our lab this morning?"

 **Monodam** \- "HOW-SHOULD-I-KNOW?"

 **Monosuke** \- "Youse is closer to these meat bags than any of us! Are they fooling around with our sweet, practically holy lab? Did youse hear anything about this?"

 **Monophanie** \- "EEEK!"

* _Monophanie is frantically pointing into the building, as behind the glass doors, there is smoke collecting up inside the main lobby._ *

 **Monosuke** \- * _glances into the building, then turns back to the camera_ * "Well, _that's_ not good, eh?"

 **Monodam** \- "IF-ONLY-WE-HAD-A-REAL-FIRE-STATION."

 **Monosuke** \- "Oh, picky picky picky! Youse know we have other ways to handle this! And yet…"

* _As they are talking, with Monophanie panicking, Crystal, Hikari, and Hara run into the shot._ *

 **Monosuke** \- "Hello, dames! Haha, being short again makes me realize just how lucky I am when one of youse wears a skirt-"

 **Hikari** \- "Shut up, and open the door!"

 **Monosuke** \- "I'd love to, but we're no longer tall enough to reach the door code! And I'm not allowed to tell youse!"

 **Hara** \- "Monophanie! Monodam! One of you, please tell us!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _whimpers as she glances to the side_ * "I… I cannot. I'm… I'm not allowed…"

 **Monodam** \- "WE-CANNOT-TELL-YOU."

 **Hikari** \- "But… but you wanted to help us get along and such. Can't you-"

 **Monodam** \- "BUT-IF-YOU-LIFT-ME-UP-TO-THE-KEY-CODE-PANEL, I-COULD-INPUT-IT-FOR-YOU."

* _Hikari moves over to Monodam, lifting him up and holding him in front of the key code panel. As Monodam is inputting a code, covering it so that no one, not even Hikari, can see what it is, Monokid walks up to the doors from inside the lab._ *

 **Monokid** \- "Hey, you dumb fucks wanna hurry up and get in here to clean up this mess?!"

 **Monophanie** \- "What… what are you doing in there?! No, wait, why aren't you activating the emergency devices to handle what's going on in there?"

 **Monokid** \- "Because cool guys don't look at explosions, therefore I'm not physically able to head towards the danger! Plus-"

* * *

There was a beeping sound as Monodam finished inputting the code, and the doors unlocked. Crystal started to push her way into the lab, but the smoke that was filling the building poured into the main lobby, blinding and choking her.

"Don't go in there," Hara said, holding Crystal back as the military adviser coughed out some of the smoke she had inhaled. "It's too dangerous!"

"HIKARI-IF-YOU-COULD-PUT-ME-DOWN," Monodam asked, "I-CAN-GO-INSIDE-TO-ENGAGE-THE-EMERGENCY-DEVICES."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked him, as she set him down on the ground. "I mean, there's been explosions and such-"

"I-AM-NOT-HUMAN-ANYMORE. SMOKE-DOES-NOT-BOTHER-ME."

Monodam scurried into the building, out of sight within seconds. Monophanie whimpered nervously, pacing back and forth, as Monosuke and Monokid casually stood around.

"So what the hell is going on?" Monosuke asked. "Youse do all know that there will be serious repercussions if you have been messing with the lab."

"Don't make me slap a bitch!" Monokid hollered. "I can do that again now that I don't have to worry about it hurting my hands!"

He air-guitared, mostly because he didn't have one of his actual guitars with him. Chuckling happily, he said, "Aw yeah, I missed this! Being human was fun for a couple days, but I don't want to go back."

"There'll be things I miss," Monosuke commented. "But we are digressing from the matter at paw, with how the LAB WAS BROKEN INTO!"

Hara winced at the sudden shouting the orange Kub broke into, but Hikari and Crystal rolled their eyes. "Oh calm down," Crystal remarked, "we're just as confused as you are. We don't know who is in there, what they're doing, and why."

Monosuke eyed her up, then muttered, "Well, youse would be telling the truth since youse is standing in the mist, so I'll buy that. For now!"

Before any more discussion could be made, the sound of fans turned on inside of the building. The smoke building up inside started to thin out. Monosuke corrected his glasses, as he noticed this happening as the humans did too.

"Ah, I see our brother has turned on the emergency ventilation, in case of smoke or poisonous fumes build-up," he explained to them. "It'll be a few minutes, but youse'll be able to go in soon. He's just gotta vent the smoke out, and then bring some of that oxygen stuff youse all like.

"I just wonder if he's gonna…"

Before Monosuke could continue, the lab was illuminated with bright red emergency lights. The orange Kub chuckled again, and said, "I guess he felt that necessary. The main generator must be too unsafe to use right now, for some reason… huh. Wonder what that is…

"What DID youse people do in our lab?"

"How many times," Crystal shouted at him, "do we have to say we don't know?"

She glanced over at Hikari and Hara, silently requesting that they not speak; while she could lie in the mists, she knew they couldn't, and the more Monosuke implored to know, the more likely they might blurt something out.

Monosuke glanced side to side, trying to figure out what was going on. Monokid seemed more interested in doing an air guitar solo, and Monophanie was waiting for Monodam to return.

There were a few tense minutes, and while they were waiting, Yejoon finally managed to catch up with the group. He was still woozy and slightly dizzy from the drugs, but was able to move around now.

"So why are we standing around out here?" he asked, observing the three ladies and three Kubs.

"We're waiting for Dam… or rather, Monodam to come back," Hara explained. "He had to vent out a terrible amount of smoke, and then recirculate breathable air back into the building."

As soon as she was done explaining, the green Kub came wandering back to the doors. "YOU-CAN-ALL-COME-IN-NOW."

The lab was still illuminated with the bright red emergency lights. The four humans stepped inside, inspecting the place intrepidly. The chemistry lab part of the building could be seen from down the hallway, but it appeared empty.

Yejoon started to make his way down the other hallway, calling out, "Fiora! Little flower, please come out if you can hear me! Hey, anyone who is not dead should call out too! Fiora? Fi…"

He stopped when he saw further down the hallway…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Fiora was laying on the floor, a small pool of blood underneath her head. She was sprawled out on her chest, unmoving.

Yejoon shot forward and started to reach for her, when Crystal shouted, "Don't move her! If she's injured, you could exacerbate it."

The artist didn't respond, but he did move to check for her pulse. There were a tense few seconds, as he held his fingers against her neck.

"She's still here," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "But I don't know how bad it is… do any of you have medical knowledge?"

The three ladies and Monodam walked up to Fiora's unconscious body and the artist, trying to discern what was going on. Hikari, ever the fashion lover, noticed that the movie maker wasn't wearing her hat.

Maybe it wasn't just that, maybe she also was curious to find out what was going on in general. She peered down the hallway, into the main room where the body tanks and massive computers were located.

The lights in that room were flickering, causing a bad vision, but she could see an enormous amount of devastation. It appeared that a great portion of the ceiling had collapsed, with large chucks of concrete and rebar collected on the floor.

Not only the ceiling, but a good portion of the wall had been utterly destroyed. The mists of Penjar were seeping into the room, through the collapsed shelves of computer processors, one of which had fallen in a directional angle in front of that gaping hole.

Hikari ventured forward, her boot splashing upon stepping inside of the room. There was flooding that made it across the entire floor, and she realized it was because the tanks had all been shattered, the waters inside emptied out inside of this lab.

"Hikari," Hara called out. "Be careful! We don't know what caused this!"

The steampunk model turned back to call to the explorer, and that's when she saw something out of the corner of her eye when the emergency lights flashed just right. One of the large concrete chunks wasn't entirely building material…

…

…

…

Hikari couldn't believe what she saw at first, and when it registered, she gasped in horror. Her parasol slipped from her hand, and splashed against the wet floor. The steampunk model took a few steps back, covering her mouth in horror to prevent herself from screaming.

It never failed to shock her, how horrible the sight of it was. The Tragedy, her own personal experiences, she had never grown used to seeing this. And it was made all the more awful when it was someone she knew.

Impaled on a broken piece of rebar jutting from a concrete block, her body slumped on the bloody metal as if made to sit in on the watery floor, was Shinobu. The redhead was practically dangling from the rebar that was sticking through her chest.

Hikari didn't have to check for a pulse. The girl's wide eyes were devoid of light, her body unmoving. The emergency lights flickered and blinked, but the poor woman in front of Hikari didn't.

Shinobu Takahashi, the Ultimate Historian, was dead. Penjar's Killing Game had claimed another victim in the wreckage of this diabolical lab. Despite the noise and confusion, Hikari could hear the Body Discovery Announcement begin to play, signaling that there would be no rest for the graduates at this early hour.

* * *

…

 **23 Graduates remain in Penjar.**

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

…

 _A classroom with thick ivy covering the left wall, as well as the floor, ceiling, and the other walls attacked to it, sat in total silence. The room being overtaken by nature seemed at peace, unless you compared the vines coiling around some of the chairs to a hostile takeover._

 _Next to the blackboard, decorated with drawings of Monokuma and dumb sayings, was a tall locker in the corner. This seem inconsequential, until it started to rattle. It shook, then there was someone's voice inside._

 _"_ _Hey, let me 'oot of here! I've got things to do!"_

 _"_ _Ouch! Cut it out, why are you shouting?"_

 _"Awk! There's someone in here with me, eh? Why'd you stuff me in this closet with yourself?"_

 _"_ _What? How does that even make sense, I wouldn't… HEY!"_

 _"Oh, soo'ry, I was looking for the exit, I didn't mean to grab yoo'r-"_

 _"_ _Look, there isn't time to be fooling around when we-WHOA!"_

 _The locker door swung open as Fiora tumbled out through onto her back. She landed rather roughly, though it was equally as rough when the girl inside of the locker with her fell down on her._

 _"_ _Ow," Fiora groaned, then she glanced around at the place she was in. "Wait a minute, where is this? This isn't the lab! Did… did that explosion throw me into another building? Did I… oh… hello!"_

 _The movie maker couldn't help but blush a little when the flushed, freckled face of a redheaded girl lifted up, and stared into her eyes. The two made eye contact for a while, before Fiora tried to break the tension._

 _"_ _So, um, why did I joo'st get pushed into a locker with a redheaded cutie like you? Wait… redhead… SHINOBU!"_

 _Fiora got up so fast, she pushed the other gal down onto the classroom floor in her haste to get to her feet. The movie maker sprinted out of the classroom, and then realized something rather terrifying._

 _This wasn't the lab in Penjar. This wasn't anywhere in Penjar, definitely not that grade school that was locked nearby the lab. It was a school… but…_

 _She had absolutely no idea what school or academy this was. The vine-covered left wall of the hallway was rather unnerving, it was like a different version of derelict like Penjar was._

 _Fiora glanced down both ends of the hallway, and reached up to grab her hat. When she heard footsteps behind her, she whirled around to see that redheaded gal approaching her._

 _"_ _If you could just," the girl snapped, glaring with the kind of disapproval one would expect from a stern mother, "hold still for one minute-"_

 _The black 'n white-topped gal grabbed onto the redhead's shoulders and pushed her up against the vine-covered wall. "Alright you! Where am I, who are you, and what happened to Shinobu?!"_

 _The redhead took a deep breath, then stared into Fiora's eyes. "You are in Hope's Peak Academy, I am Mahiru Koizumi, and… about your friend… I'm so sorry."_

 _"_ _Wait… Mahiru? That photographer who died during the Hope's Peak Killing Game? The one who Anzu said she saw in her vision? Wait… am I in a vision? Oh, that makes…_

 _"…_ _Wait," Fiora repeated, backing up from Mahiru now, as her body began to shake in apprehension. "What do you mean you're 'soo'ry,' eh? Why are you soo'ry a'boot Shinobu? Did… did she…"_

 _Mahiru nodded, and reached out towards Fiora. "I'm so very sorry, Fiora."_

 _Fiora stumbled backwards, bumping up against the opposite wall, and slumped down to the floor. She hiccuped, then sobbed openly. Mahiru walked over to her side, and then wrapped her arm around the movie maker's shoulder before pulling her into a hug._

 _"_ _I know you're upset and confused," Mahiru whispered as she caressed Fiora's back, "but I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time. Your current state in this realm will endanger you if we don't seek shelter."_

 _"_ _Wh-what?" Fiora sobbed. "What could be worse? I… I got Shinobu killed."_

 _"_ _Fiora…"_

 _Then the lights went out, for a brief moment, only to be replaced by the vicious crimson light that seemed to seethe hateful energy into the air. Fiora shivered, and then saw the vines on the opposite wall start to move._

 _At first she thought it was wind, but then she saw the leaves curl up, and shape into ghastly looking thorns. The stems thickened, dripping nasty looking sap in places. It shifted and moved as if waking up._

 _"_ _There's something really bad going on right now," Fiora whispered to Mahiru, "isn't there?"_

 _Mahiru nodded, and as she helped Fiora to her feet, the intercom blared to life, as laughter spewed forth from it. It was the most malicious cackle Fiora had ever heard, and then words were spoken…_

 _Words coming from a malicious voice that struck terror into the very core of her being._

 _"_ ** _Does Fiora want to play in another Killing Games? I think she does, ahahahahaha!_** _"_


	21. Chapter 3-4: Case 3 Investigations

**Chapter 3-4**

 **The Dark Depths of History**

* * *

" _Ever since I was young, I have always been interested in the past, the history of Japan, of the entire world. There's a lot of material to go over when you study that, but when I was accepted to Hope's Peak, I found that it had a rich and intricate history of itself._

" _Though as I tried to dive more and more into the history of Hope's Peak, the more the staff, my classmates, the spirit of the academy itself, reminded me of something important: while the past is certainly worth looking at, the future is just as if not more important. And when I focused on my future, on everything this grand academy was giving me, I felt… so very fulfilled._

" _It is the happiest I have been, to not only study history, to graduate as a historian, but also to be a part of history. Now it's time for me to go ahead and not only make it, but make my future. And I wish for all of you to do the same thing, because I believe in all of you!_ "

-Shinobu Takahashi's graduation speech

* * *

 **Day 10, 10:11 AM**

 **Science Lab**

 **Organic Creation Room**

The terrible sight of Shinobu's body, impaled on rebar and slumped on the wet floor, was made all the more awful by how the emergency red lights didn't stop flickering. It was like the power itself was trying to make the scene more unnerving to those there.

The Body Discovery Announcement happened shortly after 9:30 AM, so people were already up and dressed. Some of them were there almost right after the BDA, having sprinted to the lab. Most of them arrived over time, confused at first and then horrified at the sight of her dead body.

Though as the humans collected in the building, and the Monokubs walked about to assess the damage, the one who could still be called both sprinted into the lab. He was screaming, with tears rolling down his eyes, as Drake and Ignatia tried to catch up with him.

"Shinobu," Taro cried, racing through the building so fast that he almost collided with several people. Some of them tried to stop him from rushing in, but he couldn't be stopped, until he saw her body.

Taro stood in place, in front of her body, until he fell to his knees in front of her. He sobbed, reaching out to her, until Saiko stopped him.

"Please don't touch her body," the forensic investigator declared as she attempted to hold him back. "You'll ruin any evidence."

"I don't care!" Taro wailed, as Isaac had to come in and help Saiko hold him back. "Shinobu! Why?! Why did this happen? I… I…

"The… the tanks! Put her body in the tanks, we can…"

The white 'n red-topped young man glanced up at the containment tanks, only to have his hopes as shattered as they were. Taro shivered, and then he sobbed wretchedly more.

"Wh-why?" he screamed as he clung to Isaac, heaving as the emotions appeared to overtake him. "Why would… why did this happen to her? Shinobu… I'm… I'm so sorry! I AM SO SORRY!"

Isaac had to pull Taro from the room, holding him up as he was able to stand on his own, overcome with grief. The reporter helped him walk out of the ravaged lab room, down the hallway, and into the main lobby. As he placed Taro in one of the chairs, the Monokubs all stared up at him.

"Oh come on, buddy," Monosuke declared, "youse only knew her two days!"

"It was ten days total, actually," Monophanie said. "I mean, that's true, right? I think it is… how long have they been here?"

"What? Are you losing your bear memory too?" Monokid hollered, holding up a new guitar and strumming it behind his back. "That's his thing! Or it would be, if he were a BEAR again! Like he SHOULD be!"

"STOP-INSULTING-OUR-BROTHER," Monodam ordered. "HE-IS-IN-MOURNING. THAT-IS-NOT-HOW-YOU-GET-ALONG-YOU-BASTARD."

Monokid snarled, and swung his guitar overhead towards Monodam. The instrument smashed against the green Kub, breaking in two as Monodam fell down. "OW."

"Don't you tell me what to fucking do, ya putz! You pansy! Taro should be one of us again! Why isn't he?"

" **That's a very good question** ," Monokuma, entering the lab while wearing a lab coat that fit on his bear body, said. He had a clipboard and a pen, and was taking notes. " **Why isn't my favorite son an adorable Kub again? Tricky, very tricky tricky!** "

"Daddy, what do you mean 'favorite'?" Monophanie protested, clasping her paws on her face. "You cannot play favorites! That's not right!"

"Why is he youse's favorite anyway?" Monosuke said, fanning himself with money. "Did he do something that I could do to be your favorite? Come on, Pops, spill the beans-"

Monokuma growled, as he dropped the clipboard and pen. He reached behind himself, and pulled out what looked to be some kind of medical uzi, as in it was a gun that had hypodermics as ammunition.

" **Stop being so competitive, and let your father** ," he said as he cocked the medical gun, " **have his moment!** "

Numerous hypodermics were shot, the Kubs scattering as well as the humans who were standing in the main lobby. Monokuma chased after his Kubs, with the hypodermics sticking out from all of them.

"Yeow! Pops, that was not medicine," Monosuke protested.

"Ohhhh, that's the good shit, right there," Monokid slurred, slumping onto his back and making drug-addled noises.

"Eek! Daddy, I thought you were anti-vax!" Monophanie protested.

"…" contributed Monodam, who had needles sticking in his eyes as he stood motionlessly.

For the humans, this display of callousness was ignored for the most part. Most of them had gathered in the hallway, as they contemplated what was going on.

"Where's Fiora?" Kimiko asked quietly, glancing at the others.

"There's an office behind the main desk," Crystal said, "and we put her on the sofa in there. Yitro and Yejoon are watching over her. Why?"

The biker gang leader held up a soaked fedora. "This was in that lab room. I thought I should give it to her, eh."

"Yeah, give it to her," Emanuel snarled. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, exuding a kind of fury that the others could feel. "Like we'll need to give it to her later when she wakes the fuck up."

"Oh for God's sake," Anzu declared, glaring at him, "don't start that now-"

"She is the main suspect, and none of you can doubt that," the detective snapped. He pointed into the lab room, towards Shinobu's body. "She was only a few yards away from Shinobu. Who else?"

"It's far too early to jump to conclusions," Hara said, her voice calm as she watched Saiko from afar. "Maybe… maybe we should consider splitting up, searching this science lab in all the areas, as well as other areas of importance."

"Are we allowed?" Aka asked, glancing back into the main lobby as Monokuma finished up his medical dart attack on his own children. "Don't we have to wait to get permission?"

Kimiko walked out of the hallway, to the office room, not waiting for an answer. Hara took a deep breath, as she surveyed the others, the crime scene, poor Shinobu's body.

"Listen, I know I'm not Isaac when it comes to these things," she said, "but I understand how these work by now, and… though it hurts…"

She clasped her hands over her heart, as she continued, "Shinobu was a friend to a lot of us, she wasn't someone I think any of us had problems with. She always wanted to help us, so we should help her."

"She was always so curious," Ken spoke, staring in the opposite direction from her body, "about Novoselic. So inquiring, but always so polite and well-mannered."

Eisei hung his head, running a hand through his hair as he muttered, "We truly lost a good soul here. I feel so responsible…"

"Hey, standing around feeling bad about it," Futaba said, facing them, "isn't going to bring her back to life, or solve this mystery. We need to work together, like we've done before, and find out who or what killed her."

"Though it should be obvious," Emanuel added, glaring in the direction of the science lab's office.

The graduates were silent after this, wondering what the next step was. The feelings of doubt, sorrow, and suspicion were starting to fester in all of them. None of them wanted to think about who could have done this, and even the concept of how and why were stumping them.

" **What's got you all so upset?** " Monokuma said, marching up to them, his lab coat billowing behind him from the wind blowing in from outside. He held up his medical dart gun, as he continued to speak in that mocking, sadistic voice that made all of the graduates shiver given then circumstances. " **I'm the one who should be most upset!**

" **After all, it was MY science lab that has been wrecked! I'm never going to get the deposit back on the supercomputers or the building or the life-creating containment tanks! Argh!** **Oh well, looks like I can always turn into a historical site. It already has a piece of that pinned up, now doesn't it? Phuhuhuhuhuh!** "

"Bastard," Ishiku spat out.

"Little freak show," Souma replied, crossing his arms.

"Monokuma, we're not really in the mood for your usual cruel humor," Shuuya remarked, staring down at the bear. The two locked in eye contact, as if they were daring the other to try something. "Do we have permission to officially start the investigation?"

" **Seems to me you already started,** " Monokuma remarked, glancing down the hallway to observe Saiko inside of the destroyed containment tank room. " **Hey, short stuff! No jumpstarting the investigation! Upupupu, ironic, considering…** "

"Hey!" The bounty hunter/assassin reached down, grabbed Monokuma by the stuffing in his chest, and lifted him up. He glared into the evil eyes of the despair bear, and thus there was fear into the puppet's returning stare. "When can we start the investigation, exactly?"

" **Upupupu… now I see why you are an assassin. I may have peed a little, but since I'm a doctor now, I'll consider it a urine sample…** "

"When." Shuuya slammed Monokuma up against the wall, pressing with his arm. "Can. We. Investigate?"

"Eeek, don't hurt Daddy," Monophanie shrieked from the hallway's entrance. The pink Kub was decorated with syringes that stuck in her metal body. "He's a man of medicine right now!"

"He'sh Doctor Feelshgood," Monokid slurred from down on the floor.

Shuuya ignored them, and stared down Monokuma. The bear chuckled nervously again, and then responded, " **Well, Shuuya, since you have pushed the point, I wanted to say that none of you have had breakfast, but if you're so keen to start…** "

"We are," he responded.

" **Then you have to wait fifteen minutes for my now adrenalized Kubs to go get you all some breakfast bars! Upupupupu-URK!** "

The assassin pressed the bear against the wall with certain force. "You don't want to test me, Monokuma," Shuuya hissed, his red eyes flashing in fury.

" **Oh, what good has killing me ever done you all? You sure put on a good show, but remember that I'm still in control. And if you want to do an investigation over your friend's dead body, you really should get some food in your bellies.**

" **Though I gotta say, you do make so mad that you foiled my plans, Shuuya** ," Monokuma said, putting his paws on his hips in a pout. The Monokubs were scurrying out of the building, syringes dropping off of their body as they went. " **I had originally hoped to see who tried to leave my precious lab first… because I want to know who ruined it.** "

"Why not ask the unconscious puta in the office?" Emanuel remarked, raising an eyebrow at the bear. "She was the only one in here other than Shinobu."

" **Oh, I would, but she's UNCONSCIOUS, ya dingus!** "

* * *

 _Fiora was sitting in the corner of a room, shivering as she wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them up against her chest. She glanced around the classroom she was now in, observing how unusual it was._

 _The vines were all over the ceiling and the far wall. With the wicked red lights shining in the room, the plants were curling and moving, as if it gave them special strength._

 _With a heavy sigh, the movie maker glanced up at Mahiru, who was sitting in the desk next to her. "What's going on?" she asked Fiora._

 _"_ _What do you mean by asking me that?" Fiora snapped, glaring up at her. "I'm in some freaky warped universe where there are evil plants in some twisted version of Hope's Peak, as the man who tried to kill me once is doing it a'geen!"_

 _"_ _That wasn't a man on the intercom. Is that what you heard?"_

 _Fiora stared at Mahiru, and then nodded. "What, you heard a woman?"_

 _"_ _Yes, a woman who is far worse than anyone you can possibly imagine."_

 _"_ _Why do you have to be so cryptic?"_

 _Mahiru sighed, and leaned back in her chair. She stared at the chalkboard in this classroom, which also had Monokuma sketches, as well as stupid expressions, drawn in colored chalk. "Fiora, I'm afraid that my memory is spotty, even during the times of clarity."_

 _"_ _Well, what do you knoo', if I may ask? Please, I knoo' I should be pissed or scared, or so scared I piss, but with everything I've heard a'boot you…"_

 _"_ _What?" Mahiru asked, staring wide-eyed at her. "Did Eisei tell you all about me?"_

 _"_ _Huh? Eisei saw you?"_

 _The photographer rubbed her forehead, and muttered, "Gosh, I am so ashamed right now. But Fiora, you cannot be shivering on the floor like that, because you're going to have to take care of yourself here. No one else can do that, no boys willing to step up and help out."_

 _"_ _Why does it gotta be boys?"_

 _"_ _Don't you know that-"_

 _Mahiru stopped suddenly, and gripped her forehead with both hands. With the pained cry she let out, Fiora stood up and walked over to her. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked the photographer, intrepidly rubbing her shoulder._

 _"_ _I'm… I'm sorry, but the more this realm changes, the more agonizing it gets for me."_

 _The photographer shivered, and Fiora could sense the pain she was in. She reached down and pulled the redheaded photographer up, and pulled her in for a close hug. "It's okay. Listen, I'm here fur you, okay?"_

 _"_ ** _FIORA!_** _"_

 _The blaring, shrieking voice from the intercom startled the two women. Fiora could definitely distinguish this as a female now._

 _"_ ** _When I find you, I'm so going to make you pay! You turned my playground into some weird, warped version of it by your very presence!_**

 _"_ ** _And it's fucking rad,_** _" the same woman, though with a totally different personality and tone, continued to rant, "_ ** _how it looks now! Like if I wanted to redesign Hope's Peak, maybe we should call this fucking Despair's Peak! Hahaha!_** _"_

 _"_ _Okay, ignore the psycho hose-beast," Fiora said to Mahiru, holding her close. "Joost talk to me, okay?"_

 _"_ _I… I'll try. Fiora, you should know that because you were forced into an unconscious state, that's why you are here. That's why Kimiko could be here a second time…"_

 _Fiora rubbed Mahiru's shoulders, and looked into the girl's eyes. "Wow, this is so freaking bizarre. But I need to ask, where exactly is this place?"_

 _"_ _It's another realm, between life and death. I'm trapped here, as well as someone else, or maybe more than one other."_

 _"_ _Wait, what? Are all the victims of Hope's Peak here?"_

 _"_ _I don't know, I see them in so many different forms, so many times, so many… many deaths…"_

 _Mahiru took deep breaths, shaking, but managing to keep her calm. She stared into Fiora's eyes, as she continued._

 _"_ _And… I think it's my fault."_

 _"_ _What?!"_

 _The world shook, with sound so loud it left nothing but a ringing in Fiora's ears. She was knocked down again, a blast making her hit the floor. The movie maker held Mahiru tightly, trying to prevent her from being hurt._

 _When she glanced over Mahiru's shoulder, she noticed a good portion of the wall had been blown away. Outside was bathed in a dark version of the hateful red light, like nighttime was illuminated by the moon shining the same kind of apocalyptic end times scenario down on them. (That was how Fiora thought it was, her description, not ours.)_

 _Metallic clanks and heavy impacts could be heard outside. The sound of missiles launching came, and then an explosion rocked the building as another room was eviscerated by a blast._

 _"_ ** _Where are you hiding, Fiora?!_** _" the woman on the intercom demanded to know._

 _"_ _Okay, time to move," Fiora remarked, helping Mahiru up. "Let's find a safe spot from the evil, omnipotent woman and her missile launchers!"_

 _"_ _N-nothing phases you, does it?" Mahiru muttered as she clung to Fiora, trying to find strength in her legs._

 _"_ _After the last couple days I've had, what I heard, what I learned… little else could phase me, eh."_

* * *

The Monokubs had returned with breakfast bars, bottles of milk and canned coffee. As unusual as it was, no one was going to argue or protest the quick type of breakfast. An empty waste bin behind the main desk was packed full with the wrappers, bottles, and cans shortly after.

" **Very well then,** " Monokuma said, pacing back and forth in front of the entrance to the containment tank room. His paws were kicking up water, and the brim of his doctor coat was soaked. " **You've all had food and drink, and I think we're almost good to go.** "

"Any additional rules?" Saiko asked, crossing her arms as she stared down the bear. "You seem so insistent that we don't venture outside."

" **Oh, it's perfectly alright to go outside** ," the bear said in a way that implied that it probably wasn't alright. " **I mean, I cannot stop you. So, let's see if we can find the answers to this tourist murder and the far more important issue of who blew up my lab! Now…** "

 **INVESTIGATION START!**

Saiko turned towards the group, but she was mostly addressing Hara. "I'm going to start inspecting Shinobu's body. Any help would be appreciated."

As the short lady walked off towards the containment tank room, some of the others stared at Hara in confusion. "Are you in charge?" Eisei questioned, raising one of his violet eyes.

"I… I can give suggestions," the explorer said, nervously wringing her hands. She stopped when she took a deep breath, and said, "Let me help us all out and get some organization in this."

"Oh fuck that," Emanuel snapped, glaring at her. "I'm not going to stand around and wait to be filed off. I'm investigating that room, and that's final."

As he stormed towards the room, Hara glanced over at the others. Before she could speak, Ishiku said, "Yeah, sorry, I need to check out something upstairs, so I cannot stick around here."

The magician walked off, but before he made it to the stairs, he noticed Monophanie standing among the Kubs. "Fannie… I mean, Monophanie, can you come with me?"

"Ugh, seriously?" Aka scoffed. "You're still after her, when she's like that?"

"Haha," Blake said with a snide grin. "You fucked that thing, you weird sicko."

Ishiku glared at them, but said nothing as Monophanie scurried over to him. The two walked upstairs, despite the jeering and snickering that was coming from humans and Kubs alike.

"I think we're messing around too much here," Hara said, crossing her arms as she kept herself calm. "Drake, Ignatia, Eisei, Souma, please help Saiko in that room where… where Shinobu is.

"Odelios, Aka, Anzu, can you help upstairs with Ishiku? We should go through the other large rooms in this lab. For the chemistry lab on the other side of this building, the following should go there: Blake, Kimiko, Futaba, Pyrrha, and Crystal."

She glanced around, and said, "Some of us should go outside to investigate… if you are all okay with that?"

"I can do that," Ken said, raising his hand. "However, I'd be more comfortable with someone by my side, an extra pair of eyes never hurt."

"I can do that," Hikari said, smiling over at the Novoselic cavalryman. "We may find something rather important out there."

"That might be what Monokuma doesn't want, so be careful," Shuuya said to them, eyeing the bear who was watching them all. "If he doesn't want us to find something, it's a safe bet that it is something crucial."

"I think everyone is good to go now," Hara said, with a confident smile. "Allow me to check with Isaac on anything else we should look, but let's do this. For Shinobu, and for our survival, everyone!"

The groups left in their designated areas. Hara walked over to Isaac and Taro, the latter still utterly miserable. The explorer frowned in concern, and glanced at her fiancé. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"If you could," Isaac said as he stood up. He pat Taro's shoulder, but the young man didn't acknowledge it; he was too busy staring at the ground, covering his wet, red eyes. "He's been inconsolable thus far, though."

"He lost someone he cared about," Hara reasoned. She looked around the lobby, noticing Monosuke and Shuuya were also in the room. The explorer leaned in and whispered to Isaac, "You think it's genuine?"

"I know how to read people, even those who have been corrupted with Despair," he replied quietly. "If you could get a second opinion, and also find out anything you can from him, that would be wonderful."

Hara nodded, and kissed him before he left for the containment tank room. The explorer sat down next to Taro, who only regarded her for a second before staring down at the floor again.

"I don't know what to do," Taro whimpered.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, but know we're going to do everything we can find her killer," she assured him. "But please, anything you can think of would greatly help us out here."

"That's the problem, I cannot," Taro muttered bitterly. "I'm a human still, I'm not part of the loop, as it were. You see, when I am a robot, I know what is going on, I know the answer to these things…

"It's like input is uploaded into my head, even if I'm constantly forgetting things. Like, I'm sure I'd forget your name if I were a Kub, but I know your name is Hara."

Taro stared at Monosuke, who was in a staring contest with Shuuya. "My brother probably knows what happened, he'll probably be of more help than me. Though I doubt he would even if he could give details."

Hara regarded Taro, watching his eyes, his body language. "Taro, why did you care so much about Shinobu?"

The red 'n white-topped young man wiped at his eyes, and said, "Because she actually cared about me. I… I didn't think that was possible. As long as I have been conscious, for so very long, I only had thoughts about responsibility, of Penjar, of my amnesia…"

"You had memories of forgetting stuff?"

"Yes, that was something that Shinobu and I talked about. You see, I don't know why, but I've always been forgetful, but I've always been dedicated. She and I would talk about that, she wanted to know more about me, and she was so nice…"

Taro sniffled as he thought back to Shinobu. "I wanted to learn as much as I could about her. The more I learned about her, the more I wanted to never to forget her. She became my reason for becoming… a better person!"

"What?!" Monosuke snapped, losing the staring contest to glare at Taro. "That's blasphemy, and youse know better than that! Our purpose is to better Penjar, to help Father, to keep this Killing Game going!"

Taro frowned at his orange Kub brother, and replied, "I don't ever want to be a robot again. I won't ever forget Shinobu."

"Yeah, yeah, big time emotions because you're in a human's body. But just remember, youse are obligated to do this! Youse cannot resist the call of your calling!"

The red 'n white topped young man winced and refused to look at his brother anymore. Hara tried to get the conversation away from Monosuke, by asking Taro, "So why are you human and they aren't?"

"Yesterday, I was told by Father that I was changing back to a human today, at 10 AM," Taro explained, his voice growing weary from emotion. "I couldn't disobey that, I had to go. It is… complicated, I know." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"But you cannot now that the containment tanks have been destroyed?"

"Yes, until Father gets them fixed, I cannot be put back into my original body, as Monotaro," Taro explained. "I guess it'll have to wait until this trial is over."

"Youse said youse got to go back to normal at 10 AM?" Monosuke asked, staring at his brother. "That's weird, I was told I had to go at 8 AM."

Taro glanced at his brother, then went back to talking to Hara. "That's news to me, actually. I had no idea that we had different schedules." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Hara intertwined her fingers as she stared at Taro. "Why did Shinobu want to stop that?"

Taro stared down at the floor, then spoke. "She wanted to do something about my condition, she said that she didn't want me to be a slave anymore to my Father, to Penjar."

"That sounds like her. She was highly compassionate, from what I saw."

Taro stood up and said, "Here, why don't I show you what she got her so excited about this plan… I wasn't even sure she was going to do something like this until I found out about her."

The young man glanced down the long hallway, unable to see Shinobu's body clearly, but knowing she was there. He sighed, then added, "I don't want anyone else to forget about her either."

Hara stood up as well, smiling at him. "Please show me, it might help us all."

"I'm going with you," Shuuya commented. "No sense in standing around here."

The three of them left the science lab, as Monosuke stood there, baffled. He crossed his arms, and shouted, "Well fine! Leave me here all alone, why don't youse? I don't mind monitoring the lobby! I'll be the secretary!"

He waddled over to the chair, and sat down in it, spinning around lazily. That's when the office door opened up…

* * *

 **Day 10, 10:40 AM (Several minutes after the start of the investigation.)**

 **Science Lab**

 **Office Room**

Yitro stared at the unconscious Fiora, wondering what was going on in her mind right now. Her breathing was slightly shallow, and she appeared to be in distress with how her face was wincing every now and then.

The girl's hat was placed on a small desk nearby, still wet and thus making a small puddle. Her head had been bandaged where she had received a bloody wound. Yitro was rather confused why she was wearing one of the Monokub jackets, though the flashing red lights that were on made it hard for him to tell which Kub it was themed off of. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

The swordsman glanced over at Yejoon, who was leaning against the wall. The artist had his masked pulled down, so Yitro couldn't see where he was looking, but he had a sense of where his eyes were.

"I don't think she needs two people watching over her," Yitro remarked.

"Then you can go," Yejoon offered. "I don't wish to leave her side when she's like this."

"Yejoon, while I dread an argument during all of this, you should not be the one to watch over her."

"And why is that?" he snapped, then shook his head and placed his fingers on the mask's forehead. "No, forget it, I don't wish to argue about this, mostly because I will kill someone who vexes me any further."

"You know I don't fear you," Yitro said with a determined frown, "but you should consider Fiora's side in this."

Yejoon stared at the swordsman, and Yitro could notice the tensing of his arms. While Yitro was confident in his abilities, he really didn't want to deal with the skilled serial killer losing his temper.

"Right now, Fiora is the prime suspect, and you can bet your ass that Emanuel is going to go hard on her. When she wakes up for the trial, we're going to have to be ready to argue against not only him, but those whose who will agree with him.

"Now when she wakes up, what is she going to want to hear: you ditched the investigation to watch over her, or that you worked to assure the case against her wasn't going to be as strong?"

Yejoon scoffed, then muttered, "You know, I can perfectly well gather what you're insinuating… and I hate the fact that you're right."

The artist pushed off of the wall, and silently walked out of the room. Yitro sighed in relief, and glanced over at Fiora.

"What happened to you, Miss Movie Maker?" he asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

* * *

 _"_ _Run! Run faster!" Mahiru shouted, as the two sprinted down the dark corridor. The murderous red lights weren't as bright down here, but they still cast an ominous glow._

 _"_ _I'm only running as fast as I possibly can, eh!" Fiora hollered. The heavy metallic footfalls of what looked like a mech, the thing firing missiles from earlier, were thudding heavily on the floor above them._

 _The two young ladies hurried forward, and then ducked into a room that appeared to be a rather impressive library. Mahiru searched for a lock, but found nothing. "Okay… this isn't good… but they may not find us in here."_

 _"_ _What is going on here?" Fiora snapped, rounding on the redhead. "I mean, what did you mean that this was all your fault?!"  
Mahiru sighed heavily, as she stared at the shelves full of old books. "I'm the only one who seems to realize what is going on in this damn school. This Killing Game that never ends, that keeps resetting itself…"_

 _"_ _Ohhh, I get it," Fiora said, clasping her hands together, "it's like when you're in a video game, and you reset it when you lose or do something wrong. Save scumming, that's what it is called, eh._

 _"_ _Maybe you should find 'oot what the player is trying to do. Is there a lewd ending to this game? Maybe they're going for the lewd ending, and you have to get specific conditions for that."_

 _Mahiru stared at her, her jaw dopped in utter bafflement. "What was any of that just now?" she asked. "Did you hit your head, or are you really that stupid?"_

 _"_ _Hey, I'm not stupid! If you doo'nt knoo' what's going on here, then my theory has just as much merit!"_

 _"_ _This isn't a video game, this is," Mahiru growled and paced back and forth. "Look, I don't have a lot of time, so please, understand me when I say that this is a different realm, not a game, a realm!"_

 _Fiora tilted her head to the side, and remarked, "But maybe whoever is in charge of the realm is save scumming?"_

 _"_ _It's not… jeeeeeeeez."_

 _Mahiru covered her face with her hand, shaking her head… and then she started laughing. Her giggling sounded so sad to Fiora, the movie maker was worried what was going on._

 _"_ _You remind me so much of my classmates," Mahiru explained, glancing over at Fiora. "They were a crazy, loud, wild bunch, but I loved them. Fiora, you have to…"_

 _There was a sharp noise of static, and that was when Fiora and Mahiru realized there was a TV in the corner of this library. It had turned on, and music that was tense, nerve-wracking levels of tense, played as images started to flash across the screen._

 _Fiora had paid attention to Hope's Peak Killing Game, so she could recognize the people that were being shown. That made it far worse to see all of them brutally murdered._

 _Shuichi, the shy detective boy, was sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs, neck broken. Kazuichi, the nervous mechanic, was slumped at a cafeteria table, bloody foam dripping from his mouth. Chihiro, the shy programmer, was dangling from a noose in a bedroom._

 _Akane, the wild gymnast, had a fire axe lodged in her neck as she lay on the floor. Byakuya, the arrogant progeny, had been riddled with bullets. There was no recognizing the charred corpse of the explosion victim…_

 _"_ _No! No no no, please stop," Mahiru screamed, turning away from the TV. "I don't want to see this anymore!"_

 _"_ _Mahiru, what the hell is going on?!"_

 _"_ _This happens every game, every single time. There's no stopping the death, the carnage!"_

 _"_ _But shouldn't there be a class trial over a murder?"_

 _"_ _There's never been a class trial," the photographer cried out, clenching her arms around her body. The music grew even louder, and she flinched. "It has always been a massacre, with random victims, random perpetrators! And I haven't found any way to stop it…"_

 _"_ _Why doo'nt you tell the others this? Just make them understand!"_

 _Mahiru shook her head, muttering, "I don't remember it all until I am close to my death. It's something that hits me, reminding me of every failure I've been through. Every miserable, painful, awful…"_

 _She sniffled, then a noise in the outside hallway alerted the two gals. It was metallic, like something being dragged on the floor. And it was growing closer by the second, which was so confusing to Fiora because anything being drug on the floor out there should have been drowned out by the blaring music._

 _Mahiru seized Fiora's shoulders, sharply bringing the movie maker out of her thoughts on the noise levels. "Listen, Fiora, you cannot tell anyone you saw me here! I'm the consistency, I'm probably what they are looking for!"_

 _"_ _There's no time for the pronoun game, tell me who is they!"_

 _"_ _Chaos, Despair, the agents and leaders of it had a part in all of this, though I still think I did too! Please, you have to realize that whatever this realm was made for, it cannot be a good thing if evil people find out about it!_

 _"_ _The Seed of Despair, the Entity of Chaos, they're both in Penjar! Fiora-"_

 _A heavy bang could be heard at the door, someone was kicking at it. Mahiru flinched, but continued, "Fiora, don't let your anger get the best of you. The mists saw what happened, they aided it, but a person is still in control of their actions. Remember that, it was a person!" *_ ** _TRUTH BULLET_** _*_

 _"_ _Mahiru, I doo'nt-"_

 _There was another kick at the doors, and they splintered at the hinges, at the door handles. Both came crashing down, and standing on the other side was the world-famous model, Junko Enoshima. She huffed as the dust cleared, and then laughed._

 _"_ _Oh, was it unlocked? Oopsie! Still, I like to make an entrance, sha' know?"_

 _She clutched the metal bat in her hands, and grinned at the two ladies. "There you are, Fiora. And Mahiru, the ever-present thorn in my side."_

 _"_ _Hey you back off," Fiora shouted, pointing at the model. "I doo'nt knoo' your deal, but you stay the hell away from her-"_

 _There was a rush, so fast that the movie maker couldn't follow. Warm liquid splattered on her face and side after a blink of her eyes, and a second blink noticed Junko wasn't at the doorway any more._

 _She slowly turned, and saw Mahiru's body, head smashed in fatally at the side, slumped against the book shelves. It was her blood on Fiora's face, on Junko's bat._

 _Fiora shrieked in terror, but it was cut off as Junko moved right up in her face._

 _"_ _You and I are going to have a chat in private, B-Movie Maker. I got wicked cool plans for you!"_

* * *

The containment tank room still had a few inches of water in most of the area. Eight humans and one robotic Kub were exploring the scene, though only a single being there had on aquatic gear.

Monodam waddled around, watching the humans through the lens of his goggles. The snorkel in his mouth appeared ridiculous, but he had fallen over and had his face entirely underwater, so it seemed appropriate.

"IF-YOU-HAVE-QUESTIONS," he said to the humans once again, "YOU-MAY-ASK-ME."

"I have one," Isaac spoke up. "Wasn't it against the laws to destroy this place?"

"FATHER-ONLY-DEEMED-THE-MONOKUB-BODIES-OFF-LIMITS-TO-HARM. THE-SECURITY-SYSTEM-ON-THE-COMPUTERS-HERE-WAS-GOOD-ENOUGH."

After this information, Isaac took a quick scan of the entire room. Near the right side of the room, a large portion of the ceiling was gone. There was a gaping hole right in front of the door that was for the workplace room; Kimiko was standing in the doorway, trying to see how to get into the room with such a large gap.

She waved down to Isaac. "Hello there. Find anything yet?"

"No, not yet, will let you know when."

"Okay then! I don't know how we're going to get into this room, the hole is way too big."

Isaac nodded, then continued to scan the containment tank room. There was a large hole in the far wall, with the mists seeping into the room from the outside; it made Isaac think of the opposite effect of bleeding. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

One of the large metal shelves that had all the super computers on them had slumped over, the top part lying against a thick table that kept it a little less than a forty-five degree angle.

Drake and Ignatia were observing the shelf, and so the reporter walked over to them. "See anything interesting?" he asked.

Ignatia tapped at the base of one of the super computers. They were all screwed in tightly, with other signs of them assuring they could not be removed from the shelves. They weren't even falling off at this angle.

The mime knocked at the back of some of them, even pushing. It did no good, none of them would break away from the shelf. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"That's not the only thing we noticed," Drake said, moving underneath the shelf to the other side, the side that was next to the large hole in the wall. He reached down and pulled up a large power strip that was submerged in the water.

"This fell off into the water," he said, very gingerly holding onto the cord. "And there's electric burns around the sockets, I think it fell in. But don't these things have safety features for that?"

"You're thinking of hairdryers, most things aren't waterproofed like that," Isaac remarked. "So the power strips were on the shelves rather than the floor?"

"Far as we can see, all the power strips are on the shelves, yeah," Drake confirmed. "They're all on the left side, zip-tied to the back bar. This one fell off for some reason, the zip tie that kept it on the shelf was broken." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Okay, just be careful with that thing. That might have been what caused the blackout, and why we have to deal with these emergency lights."

Drake nodded, and placed it back on the shelf as best he could. Ignatia raised an eyebrow at him, and moved over to inspect the power strip and zip tie some more. Isaac decided to leave them to that, and turned back to the others.

Emanuel and Yejoon were inspecting the wreckage, Saiko and Eisei were at Shinobu's body. Souma was looking inside the broken containment tanks at first, but he became distracted by a smashed table.

"What's got your attention?" Isaac asked Souma, who was pulling ruined papers out from the water.

"It looks like they had some kind of paperwork that was kept next to the tanks," the public speaker said, sighing as he stared at a completely illegible paper. "Whatever it could have been, it might have been important.

"Sadly, it seems the water and destruction killed all hope of finding out what they had planned, except for this."

Souma held up a laminated paper that was mostly in tact. Isaac took it and read it over fast, what he could make out.

It appeared to a description of each of the five Kubs, and what their human forms would look like. The details were very specific, right down to nose size and even mentions of reproductive organs.

Written at the right side of each description was a time, or at least for the ones that were still there. The laminated paper had been damaged, and thus only two times were visible.

"Monotaro, 10 AM. Monokid, 8:30 AM. Monophanie… something at 7 or 4, I cannot make out the time," he read aloud. "What do you think this means?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"I'm not entirely sure, but what I do know is that these machines have been in use in some way," Souma remarked.

The public speaker reached into one of the broken containment tanks, and dipped his fingers into it. Sniffing the water on his digits, he offered the scent to Isaac, who stared at him in confusion at first. Then the reporter relented, and sniffed Souma's fingers, then recoiled.

"I… I recognize that smell," he said, shocked. "It's blood… it's more than that, but the blood is the most prevalent."

"Indeed. Whatever liquid was in this tank, there was blood in it too," Souma said, crossing his arms as he frowned in concern. "Though I believe that there is a reason for this. Monodam?"

The green Kub waddled over to the two men. "YES-YOU-BASTARD?"

"Adorable. Anyway, your human bodies, what happened to them after you were returned to your mechanical bodies?"

"DISINTEGRATION."

This provoked a reaction from the two men, as well as Emanuel who overheard this. "You're kidding," the detective said, walking over to the conversation. "You melted down your human bodies?"

"THE-BIOLOGICAL-FORMS-WERE-NO-LONGER-NEEDED-NOW-THAT-WE-WERE-DONE-TESTING-THEM," Monodam explained. "FATHER-DECREED-AFTER-THE-UPLOAD-WAS-COMPLETED, OUR-HUMAN-BODIES-MUST-BE-BROKEN-DOWN-FOR-FUTURE-PRODUCTS."

"Where in Hell do you store biomass or whatever you call that shit," Emanuel questioned, "anyway?"

Monodam knocked on the base of the containment tanks, the metal bastions they were set upon. "IN-HERE. IF-YOU-ARE-WILLING-TO-DONATE-BLOOD-FLESH-ORGANS-OR-HAIR-FOR-FUTURE-PROJECTS, YOU-ARE-MORE-THAN-WELCOME-TO." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Fuck that," Emanuel remarked. "We all know that this sick place is meant to be a weapon for Despair, you guys were just the test subject."

"What do you mean?" Souma asked him, stroking his chin in thought.

"Think of it, if they can make human bodies at will, and upload any personality they want into them, they could have an army of Despair fanatics," the Bête Noir said. "You could even make versions of people in power, and send them in place of the real thing.

"It's going to be a very difficult time when world leaders could easily be replaced with Despair leaders."

Souma glanced down at the laminated paper, and gasped in shock. "Good heavens, the cloning possibilities are diabolical! Do you think Despair has other facilities like this? Monodam?"

"I-DO-NOT-KNOW."

"Wait, does the Future Foundation know about this?" Isaac asked the public speaker. "That Despair has this kind of technology?"

Souma glanced to the side, then said, "I'm not at total liberty to say, but it has been a dreadful possibility. With how much we've seen Despair experiment with mind swapping, body changes, and the like, the possibility of evil cloning has been considered." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Emanuel growled, and rubbed his forehead. "Well, guess we owe it to Shinobu if this was her doing. We sure as hell don't want Despair clones running around like madmen."

Isaac nodded, then cast a glance at Shinobu's body. Saiko and Eisei were still inspecting it, both of them with lollipops in their mouths. The reporter walked over to them, as did Emanuel.

"Hey, Saiko," Isaac said, "any chance you know how she died?"

The forensic investigator nodded. "There's no doubt about it: she was electrocuted."

"What? With all this destruction?"

"I would have a better idea if I could open her up, but yes, I'm positive about it. She has all the signs of someone who died from electrocution." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Emanuel flicked some of the water off of one of his shoes, only to stick it back into the water. "Probably got zapped when the water flooded the area. Lucky for her, it was probably fast."

"Nothing is lucky about what happened to her," Saiko replied with a dark frown. "She still suffered, I have to say. This rebar sticking out of her chest? That was painful, and possibly fatal."

"So she would have died from bleeding out?" Isaac inquired.

"Maybe, she lost a lot of blood, but I don't know if that's all before or after she was electrocuted; I'd still stake my reputation on the fact that the electricity killed her.

"But Shinobu," she took a deep breath, and continued on with a more morbid tone, "looks like she suffered from other things. She has tears in her clothing, cuts and other injuries on her body."

Emanuel glanced over the dead woman, and scoffed. "Why's she got one of those fucking Kub jackets on?"

The flashing red lights made the color difficult to discern which Kub the jacket was based off of, not to mention all the bloodstains; however, it was quite different from her academy staff uniform, standing out. Eisei raised his hand, and spoke as if he were in class again. "I believe the amount of pockets those jackets have would be a reason."

With great care and permission from Saiko, he moved Shinobu's body slightly to get behind her. As he moved, he spoke, "You see, there is a pocket in the back of the jacket, near the hem of the thing. It's even got a zipper on it, quite convenient if you want to have something secret…"

He unzipped this pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. There was so much blood on it, and the red lights were flashing unhelpfully, Eisei stared at it with no results. "I'm afraid I'm not sure what it says, it has so much of her blood on it." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Here, let me take a crack at it," Emanuel said, holding out his hand. "I know a trick or two to get writing out of ruined paper like that."

"That would be very useful," Souma remarked. "We lost so much information, I'd like to try to find one clue intact."

"You sure about that?" Eisei asked, glancing up at Emanuel dubiously.

"Hey, if you don't trust me, lollipop," the Bête Noir said with an annoyed scoff, "I'll ask someone to help me. How about…"

He glanced over at Drake and Ignatia, the latter of them trying to climb up on the tipped over computer shelf. "Hey, mime girl! I need a second witness to handle this note in another room! Come join me."

Ignatia stared at him, then glanced at Drake. The cartoonist nodded, and said, "I'll search outside here, but as far as I see, it's all rubble."

The mime shrugged, and headed over to Emanuel. She tapped her foot impatiently, causing slight splashes on his feet. He glared at her, and the two stepped out of the room.

"What a duo," Souma said with a dry chuckle. "Okay, let's keep looking, there may be more clues here."

"Hello down there!"  
They glanced up, to see Kimiko waving up at them. "We need someone who can make the jump across this gap! Any of you feeling able to do so?"

Yejoon adjusted himself, and said, "I believe I can make that leap. Be up there in a minute."

* * *

Kimiko stared at the large gap, then glanced back at everyone near her. "Of course you all realize we had to ask the serial killer because none of us thought we could do it."

"I'm used to jumps only when wearing skis," Aka grumbled.

"A circus performer knows how far they can leap," Odelios said, taking a very proud pose. "And I safely can say that I'm not capable of making it! I could always verify it if you want me to fall on my face in that watery room!"

"Oh shut up," Kimiko remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Why don't you hang out with your friend instead of doing stand-up?"

Odelios glanced over at Ishiku, at the far end of the pathway. The magician was seated on the floor, talking quietly with Monophanie.

"Hey look, if my friend says he requires privacy, then he gets it," the clown responded. "But wait a minute! You could always toss me!"

"No," Kimiko remarked with a slight smirk, "you're not a dwarf."

"Ooo, you got the reference! Hooray! Still, we gotta wait for foxy slayer to get up here, so… anyone got a deck of cards?"

"I refuse to be called Foxy Slayer," Yejoon remarked from behind the clown. Odelios yelped, completely startled, and leapt up in the air. As he backed up and hid behind Kimiko, the artist sighed and shook his head. "It's just not the same way Fiora does it."

"Can you just leap the gap then?" Aka grumpily asked, crossing her arms. "I hate the feeling of not being able to do anything worthwhile."

Yejoon glanced down the walkway, noticing Ishiku and Monophanie as well. "Why don't you inspect the weapons testing room then?"

"It's locked," the skier remarked. "Ishiku tried it, and couldn't get in, so he's talking to Monophanie to try and persuade us to let us in." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

She then chuckled deviously, and added, "Or he's trying to cope with the fact that he stuck his dick in that, ya know?"

The artist rolled his eyes. "Say, wasn't Anzu supposed to be up here with you? I'm noticing a distinct lack of sass."

"She left when she couldn't go into either room," Kimiko said, "though she didn't really say where she was going.

Yejoon nodded, then observed the gap in the floor of the workplace room. He took a few steps back, then sprinted forward. He moved so quickly, the three watching him could barely follow his movement; he was on the other side of the gap in what felt like a second.

"That was easier than I expected," he declared. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll conduct the investigation of this room."

Aka face-palmed, as she muttered, "Great, a super athlete serial killer, so nice to know he can kill us before we'll know we're dead."

"Well, maybe we should help out someone else then," Kimiko suggested.

"What's the point in that? I mean, there's about six people in the other rooms, we'd just be getting in the way."

"If that's how you want to be, whatever then," the biker gang leader remarked. "That seems to be your modus operandi anyway."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means," Kimiko rounded on Aka, glaring at her fiercely, "I doo'nt like how you used Hikari."

"Oh, what? You want in her pants too? It's none of your damn business anyway," the skier shot back. "Like you're any better! You hooked up with that singer with big tits as soon as you could!"

"Hey! It wasn't like that, it wasn't _anything_ like that!" Kimiko stomped up to get face to face with Aka, who didn't back down from the angry biker. "How dare you say such a thing!"

"Oh please, you're bisexual, a biker girl punk, and a nearly suicidal mess," Aka retorted, crossing her arms. "You're the very definition of someone who would play it all loosey-goosey."

Kimiko seized Aka's tracksuit by the lapels, but the skier didn't react except to smirk at her wickedly. "What's the matter, did I touch a nerve?" she mocked Kimiko. "You're no different from me, but don't go acting like you're better than me."

Odelios nervously cleared his throat. "May I remind you two that we have a very crucial trial upcoming, and now is not the time to get into conversations about relationships?"

" **Oh no no no, don't stop them now, clown boy!** " Monokuma, who had snuck up on them, cackled. He was tucking into a tub of popcorn, snacking as he spoke. " **I haven't seen a good catfight in ages!** "

"Where the fuck did you come from?" Kimiko asked, glaring at Monokuma.

"What do you care what we do?" Aka snapped. "We all know what you want at the trial."

"Where'd you get popcorn?" Odelios asked. "And can I have some?"

Kimiko let out a long, frustrated groan, and shoved Aka away. "Fine, whatever. But this isn't over, I'm going to have words with you after the trial, bitch."

"Sure, if we survive it," Aka remarked, brushing herself off. "I mean, you were so much help last trial, just moping and acting like a big emo biker bitch!"

Odelios and Monokuma chowed down on popcorn as the fight started to reignite; however, Kimiko would deny them the chance at a girl fight, when she simply glanced at the gap in the workplace room. "Might as well put myself to use and help the serial killer, rather than stand around here like this cunt."

She took a running start, and leapt over the gap with a couple feet to spare. Turning around to give Aka a one-finger salute, she ventured into the workplace room. The skier merely shrugged, and remarked, "Yeah yeah, go hang out with the murderer, what a dumb whore."

Monokuma cackled, wolfing down popcorn. " **Woohoo! I missed these!** "

Odelios nodded as he sipped from a soda bottle. "I know, sometimes you have to take a step back and appreciate the things in life, like seeing two females attacking each other and hope that it results in things you see on the internet!"

" **That's my boy! You're like the oldest son I don't have anymore! And… hey wait a minute, where did you get soda-** "

"Hey, clown boy," Aka said, looming over the startled clown boy and the confused despair bear, "you wanna go somewhere, make ourselves useful somehow?"

"I'd rather wait until Ishiku convinces Monophanie to open up the weapons' testing room?"

" **What? Those adorable little Kubs locked up the weapons? How sweet of them, to consider that their Father would want first crack at them!** "

Monokuma handed the popcorn tub over to Odelios, adding, " **Hold my popcorn, and let me go get some of the sweet instruments of death for you all! I gotta feeling that we might need some today, phuhuhuhuhu!** "

As he waddled over towards the other side of the walkway, Aka stared down at Odelios. "Why do you encourage him?" she asked.

"It's more agreeable than antagonizing people!"

* * *

 **Day 10, 10:55 AM (Shortly before Yejoon entered the Workplace Room)**

 **Science Lab**

 **Chemistry Lab/Room**

The five humans and the single Kub in the chemistry room were inspecting every inch of the place. They checked the shelves, desks, fridges, even the medicine room. Monokid watched them, casually strumming at the guitar. He hummed to himself, until Crystal approached him.

"Monokid, can you open that special fridge with the electronic lock on it?" she requested. "I need to see what is in there."

"Why?"

"Because it's important to the investigation, that's why!"

"How?"

"Damn it, you said so yourself that there were explosive chemicals in there, and explosions ripped this building apart!"

Monokid stared blankly into space, then muttered, "I did?"

Crystal growled in frustration, and then glanced at the others. "Could one of you get another one of the Kubs? Monokid isn't interested in helping us with the investigation."

Futaba nodded and left the room. Pyrrha walked over to them, staring down Monokid. "What's the deal, honey? You know you're supposed to help us out. Don't you want the trial to be exciting?"

"You know what's very exciting? Drugs!"

Monokid grabbed a vial of yellow liquid, and swallowed it down. He belched loudly, a goldenrod bubble floating from his mouth. Flopping back down on the table, he moaned, "Oh yeah, that's the GOOD stuff!"

Pyrrha took note that the vial was labeled, "Edible Dishwashing Liquid." She raised an eyebrow, and said, "Right. Crystal, I think he's being difficult on purpose."

Staring at the blue Kub, the military adviser remarked, "You know what? I think you're right. It may be for petty reasons, or something else altogether." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Futaba came back in the room, Monosuke alongside her. "Thanks for inviting me into the investigation, toots," he said appreciatively, "I was going crazy sitting out there doing nothing!"

"If you could just open the fridge with the dangerous chemicals and such, we'd appreciate it," Futaba said. "Or is that not allowed?"

"Oh, it's allowed, alright. I have no idea what's up with Monokid… maybe he's missing that human body of his too much."

As Monosuke started to work at the numeric key code on the fridge, Pyrrha noticed there was a piece of paper stuck underneath one of the pieces of science equipment. She pulled it out, and started to read it. "Hey, I think I found something. Blake? Could you come here?"

The pyro walked over to the three ladies, and observed the piece of paper with writing on it. "Huh. Yeah, I recognize a lot of these chemical names, but it looks like whoever wrote it added a cheat sheet."

"I thought it was a bit odd, since I never saw notes like that when we went on the tour of this place," Pyrrha explained. "Maybe it's a note by Shinobu? It does have nice handwriting, and she seems like the person to have good penmanship."

Blake tapped at the listing, noting each one in particular. "It seems that Shinobu, or whoever made this list, was interested in three kinds of explosives."

"Explosives?!" Crystal declared. "Good heavens, why would she want that?"

Futaba noticed that Monosuke had finished opening the fridge, and moved over to it to examine the inside. Before long, she placed four different beakers full of liquid on one of the tables, as well as a variety of other tools.

"These were all stored on the same shelf," the anthropologist remarked, correcting her glasses. "And I think I recognize the scientific names on the beakers."

"Okay, someone want to walk me through this?" Pyrrha said, scratching her head. "Because I'm looking at a bunch of fancy-colored liquids right now."

"You're looking at the materials for some very powerful liquid explosives," Blake remarked. "I worked with all of these in the past."

"How comforting to know," the romance writer said as she took a few noticeable steps back.

"It looks like the Kubs, or whoever made this good shit," the pyro continued, "color-coded them as well. I'll skip the scientific names, I think most of you would get lost. Let's go with the colors, but first off…

"You see this dull liquid here?" he said as he pointed at the sealed beaker with murky gray liquid. "That's what you could call the stimulant. You mix that in with one of the colored fluids, and it'll become the type of explosive that you'd want.

"According to the notes, once you've done the mixture, it requires a sudden and violent impact to cause the explosion," he couldn't help but chuckle as he pointed at a written sentence at the bottom of the note.

" _Throw it like a baseball!_ "

"That'd do it," Blake remarked. "I'm kind of surprised that someone like Shinobu knew all this."

"There's an instructional booklet in the freezer section of the fridge," Monosuke remarked. "Youse can read that, but there's a lot to read! If she had to read it, she'd have to be a speed reading maniac!"

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "That sounds entirely possible, for Shinobu to be a speed reader. Maybe she did set this all up?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Now, just a quick crash course," Blake said. "The red liquid," he said as he pointed at the sealed beaker with the crimson fluid, "is a type of explosive fluid that, when given the stimulant, it's like a shredding explosive.

"It'll cut through all sorts of shit, but it is mostly used as a tool to destroy a bunch of unwanted stuff. You set it off in here, it'll destroy everything on the counters, but the counters will just get all scratched up."

Crystal rubbed her chin. "I think I've heard of this Red explosive. Definitely sounds like an explosive that Despair fans would want…" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Blake nodded, and pointed at the beaker full of cerulean liquid. "This beauty, however, would do the opposite of Red. Blue is used for heavy blasting, specifically for very strong materials, like, well, buildings."

"That has to be what was used on the ceiling and the wall," Futaba said. "But now I'm wondering why Shinobu or Fiora would be throwing that around in the building they were in." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED AGAIN** *

"And finally, we have Yellow," Blake said, grinning at the goldenrod liquid in its sealed beaker. "Believe it or not, that's an EMP blast in liquid explosive form."

"What now?" Crystal remarked.

"Now that sounds like something Shinobu would have used," Pyrrha declared. "An explosive EMP? I don't want to ask how it works, because I'm sure it's very complicated, but would she just throw that at the computers?"

"Oh yeah, Yellow isn't terrible dangerous to humans, so you could chuck it into a room and fry everything electronic in there," Blake remarked. "Now if you were too close to a Red or Blue blast, you'd be dead, for sure." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED YET AGAIN***

Crystal examined all of the tools that Futaba had pulled out. "It seems that Shinobu had everything she needed to make bombs out of any of these colors. There's the short glass tubes with stoppers, could they be made into explosives?"

"Hell yeah, mix the chemicals, and then chuck them at where you want to blow up or ruin," Blake said. "Girl knew her stuff! I'm actually kind of sad now that she's gone, even if she was a flat-chested shy thing."

"Oh how you must be grieving," Pyrrha remarked, rolling her eyes. "But I think we found out what she would be doing here!"

Monosuke snickered, and then said, "It's all very interesting, but I'm curious how she got this stuff."

"What do you mean?" asked Futaba.

"I mean that youse need the number code that is the passcode for everything in the building, and I don't know how she could have gotten that! None of us could tell her, human or robotic, we were ordered not to…

"Not to mention how we have a bit of a security system going on right now in this here building," Monosuke continued, standing proud with his information. "This entire place has hidden microphones, and if it hears voices that don't belong to use Kubs or Pops, the entire place will go on lockdown!"

"But it isn't against the rules here to interfere with the lab, isn't it?" Futaba inquired.

"Yeah, but mark my words when I say that if we found out about anyone who tries to ruin our lab," the orange Kub snickered as he adjusted his glasses, "we would make their life a complete and utter hell! I'll let you know how at the trial." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Shinobu obviously found a way around this," Crystal remarked. "Though we should go and discuss this with everyone else, and inspect the crime scene to see if we can find-"

Crystal was interrupted when the entire place shook. An explosion on the floor above them startled everyone and everykub inside. There was yet another bombing, in the very building they were investigating.

* * *

 **Day 10, 11:05 AM (Shortly before the most recent explosion.)**

 **Science Lab**

 **Outside in the Perimeter**

Hikari and Ken were walking around the building, the former shaking off her wet parasol and the latter keeping a firm grasp on his sword's handle. The steampunk model was still visibly shaken from having seen Shinobu dead, and was trying to talk to Ken about it.

"You know, I wish this didn't keep happening between us," she admitted. "You and I always seem to be in the same place whenever bad things happen, and I hope you don't think I'm a jinx."

"No, of course not," Ken said with a smile. Hikari barely returned it, so the cavalryman started to suspect. "But that's not all that is bothering you, is it?"

"Shinobu obviously had a big plan going on, and there were people she trusted. It makes me wonder, did we really ruin our trust in the others with what happened last time?"

Ken sighed, as he scratched the back of his head. "Part of me wonders if I am living on borrowed time right now."

"The phrase is actually… oh wait, you got that one right. But why on Earth do you feel that way, honey?"

"Hikari, realistically, I should have been dead when Novoselic collapsed. I should have died during the second trial, instead of Angelique. Honestly, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

The steampunk model smiled, and reached out to rub his shoulder. "Honey, if you had died if you had killed Yejoon, then who knows what Samson would have done afterwards? Besides, if we go down the road if 'should I have died,' then I'd get hung up on when I almost died in Novoselic."

Hikari glanced around the area, trying to spot anything sticking out of the ordinary. "Haven't we circled around the lab twice now? I doubt we'll find anything, what do you think?"

Ken was about to respond, but then he noticed Drake walking outside of the Science Lab. The cartoonist kicked at the excess water on his shoes, then studied the surrounding area. He noticed the steampunk model and the cavalryman, waving at them shyly.

"Find anything, sweetie?" Hikari asked him. She glanced at the busted wall, wincing at how prominent the damage was. "Oh goodness, it looks much worse from here; however, why are you searching out here? Do you think someone left out here?"

Drake nodded, then squat down. There were wet footprints, or at least something that resembled them. "Look here, there is some kind of marking, like… the dust settled from after the explosion, and then someone stepped here."

Ken squat down near where Drake was, observing what the cartoonist was looking at. "Yes, it seems like whoever did this scraped their feet around to ensure we didn't know the actual size of their feet are." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

As Drake and Ken tried to inspect the footprints that were there (difficult when there was still mist in the air), Hikari was distracted by her own thoughts. She felt a little silly, but she breathed in deeply, then spoke:

"Would now be a bad time to admit I'm the Entity of Chaos?"

Both Ken and Drake stared at her with wide eyes, as she continued, "And I'm actually totally straight, because I'm such denial despite my lifetime of flirting with women."

Hikari stared at them, as Ken stared at her totally aghast. Drake appeared petrified, then he blinked as the realization dawned on him. "You're lying," he stated.

"I sure hope that would be obvious, but I wanted to be incredulous about it," Hikari admitted, scratching her head underneath her fancy hat. "So I guess the truth serum is out of the mist now, that was quick after poor Shinobu's death." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Monokuma must want to make sure he doesn't accidentally cause a confession," Ken remarked. "How'd you know, Hikari?"

"Because I didn't have any more urges to confess things on my mind. There was," she paused, then twirled her parasol around on her shoulder as she signed, "there are things on my mind right now, but I remember how much that truth serum mist made me want to speak my mind over anything and everything.

"The most important that's grinding my gears, however, is something I happened to notice about Shinobu and Fiora. They were both wearing those dreadful Monokub jackets."

Ken stroked his chin, asking, "You don't think it was a coincidence?"

"I think that, for whatever reason, the group in the lab were wearing those, yes; however, you and I didn't see one discarded anywhere around the place. Though if there was another member, they would have had to get rid of that jacket quickly." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Drake nodded, saying, "If they didn't, we'd connect the dots really quickly."

"And when I showed up alongside Crystal and Hara, we didn't see anyone else other than the Monokubs. I know it was intense, but we would have noticed someone running around with a bright, tacky jacket like that."

Drake rubbed his head, trying to piece together this mystery. He noticed both of them were looking at him, and he grew nervous. "Is… is something wrong?"

"Oh, sorry," Ken said, "but you've been very good about solving these things. I kind of suspected you would have a theory amongst the three of us."

The cartoonist rubbed his head, shyly looking away. "Oh, I don't think I'm that important…"

"Darling, don't sell yourself short," Hikari said with a smile. "I admit, I'm a little stumped as to where that jacket would be, if our theory is even right."

Drake glanced around the area, trying to think of the nearby buildings that it could be stored away with. All of the abandoned buildings would be a poor choice, he imagined, due the fact that the thick layers of dust and cobwebs; anyone going through them would leave a very prominent trail.

"If they didn't store it in some random building, and they couldn't risk going around holding or wearing it," Drake remarked, "then maybe they stored it some place nearby."

"Inside of the lab?" Ken guessed.

Hikari cocked her head to the side, noticing the nearby tailor shop. "Or maybe they hid it in plain sight?"

She embarked towards the store, with the two following close behind. When she entered Ye Olde Tailor Shop, the steampunk model beelined towards the racks of jackets. Rummaging through them, she muttered, "Can you two help me out? We don't know how much time we have left, look for any jacket that appears to have been…"

Ken cleared his throat, and the model spun towards him with a hopeful gasp. Then she winced, when she saw him holding up _three_ jackets.

"That doesn't help narrow it down," she muttered, before noticing Drake was also pulling other jackets from the rack, all of them dusty or dirty in some ways. "Oh grinding gears, it's a lost end."

"Actually," Drake said, "with so many of them soiled, I think we can tell that someone deliberately did this. Someone wanted to hide the fact that they wore one of these jackets, the soiled ones were probably to make us think it was a dead end."

Hikari nodded, then asked, "Though I'm curious, why take the time to dirty numerous jackets like this?"

The cartoonist observed the jackets he had, then the ones Ken had. A quick survey of some of the other jackets led him to a conclusion. "The dirty jackets are of Monokid, Monodam, and Monophanie. And I think I remember Shinobu was wearing a Monotaro jacket, and Fiora a Monosuke one…"

"How on Earth did you know that with the emergency red lights flashing?" Ken inquired.

"I notice details like that. Monotaro's jacket has a thick collar, to mimic his scarf. Monosuke is striped on the colored side. So whoever was part of the Shinobu's secret team had one that was for one of the other three, I'm sure." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Hikari contemplated this, and asked, "Are you sure? You think Shinobu would do something like that? It sounds highly conspicuous."

"We don't know what our late historian's plan was," Ken said, "nor the intricacies to it. Though I wonder, I just wonder with her creative mind and her way of processing things, if there was meaning to who wore which jacket."

"As tacky as the jackets are, I could see her doing something like that," Hikari said with a sad smile. "I mean, I know I would. But then we have to think about who that implies, because there is a broad number of suspects for Monophanie, Monodam, and Monokid." * **TRUTH BULLET YOU-KNOW-THE-DRILL-BY-NOW** *

"I hope this is relevant," the cavalryman said. "I wouldn't want this to explode within our faces!"

Before either the cartoonist or the steampunk model could correct him, something exploded within the Science Lab.

* * *

 **Day 10, 11:05 AM (Shortly before the most recent explosion.)**

 **Penjar Grade School**

 **Classroom 04**

"This is what Shinobu was looking through a lot of the time," Taro explained, pulling the history textbook from the desk. "She was fascinated by it; she told me so many things about the world that I never knew."

Hara took the book gently, and started glimpsing through it. Shinobu had cleaned most of the dust off of the aged pages, so she didn't know where to begin. Shuuya watched over her, then glanced at Taro.

"Did she mention anything in particular, Taro?" he asked, staring at the young man. "More importantly, what was the last thing she talked about from it with you?"

"The story of Gilroy Lanceson and Jibri Patando," Taro said, smiling proudly. "She told me all about those two, about their fight against slavery, and abolitionists."

As Taro spoke, showing Hara some of the sections that Shinobu took a particular interest in, Shuuya watched and observed. He went very quiet, as his thoughts about what this could mean, but also on Taro.

The bounty hunter/assassin had slain a lot of horrible people, before and during and after the Tragedy. He had studied the monsters behaving normally in society, the ways that those suffering from or immersed in Despair. There were tells, some of them very hard to notice unless you were looking for them, but he was familiar with many of them.

Taro showcased no tells, and that confused him. Shuuya knew he was created, molded, and made to be like a member of Despair. Was this slightly clueless young man who used to be a Kub just that good at acting that Shuuya couldn't pick up on it?

" _There's only two answers to this, really,_ " he thought. " _One is that Taro is a devious Despair fanatic that is so immersed in it that my years of training cannot pick up on any tells. The other is that his free will is his own, that he genuinely liked Shinobu, that he's… human._

" _Either way, I don't know how involved he is in this,_ " he concluded, narrowing his eyes on the white 'n red-haired young man talking with Hara. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

After a few minutes, they heard a noise in the main lobby of the school. Shuuya gestured for them to remain there, and left the classroom to inspect who it was.

Emanuel was at the main desk, studying a piece of paper that Shuuya could smell the blood on it from where he was. Ignatia was leaning against the desk, watching him work.

The Bête Noir was busy with the paper, until he noticed the bounty hunter/assassin nearby. "Hey there, Shuuya, what are you doing here?"

"I'm helping inspect something that might gleam some light on Shinobu actions. What are you up to here?"

"Needed a damn place that isn't full of flashing red lights to discern this bloody note," Emanuel remarked. "Ignatia came with me to make sure I'm not up to no good, as is the norm with this group."

He showcased the bloody paper to Ignatia, then some notes he had been writing. The mime studied both, then shrugged and gestured for her to carry on. Emanuel did so, continuously holding it up to the light.

"She wrote this in Japanese, but that doesn't really deter us," Emanuel remarked. "Everyone who studied and graduated at Hope's Peak learned Japanese and English." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Shuuya shrugged as well, and said, "Well, I'll leave you to that then. I'm going to check back on Hara and Taro."

"Taro's here?" the Bête Noir said, pausing his work. He took a deep breath as he asked, "Please tell me you aren't trusting a word out of his mouth?"

"I'm a professional, just like you are. I don't trust anyone here until I get the answers I want. So trust me to do my job, and I'll trust you."

Shuuya walked back into the classroom, where Hara was immersed with the history textbook. Taro was watching her silently, appearing rather confused.

"Did you learn anything, Hara?" Shuuya asked her.

The explorer placed the book on the desk, and said, "I think I did. I'm fairly certain I know why Shinobu was in the lab… it was because of him."

She pointed at Taro, who appeared rather surprised. "Wh-what? What about me?"

Hara stood up, holding the textbook in her hand while keeping it close to her. "I think Shinobu saw you as being enslaved by this place, Taro, and she wanted to give you your freedom."

"But… but… I'm not a slave! I don't have to do anything I don't want to."

"Could you leave Penjar if you wanted to?" Shuuya asked.

"Well, I guess if I wanted to now, I could. I mean, I couldn't leave when I was a robot, there's things I have to do…"

Taro slowed down his speech, and his eyes widened. "N-no. Are you… did… did she… I cannot believe that she would risk her life for me! I mean, aren't we your enemy? Isn't that what you're all saying?"

The young man collapsed in a desk chair, shaking slightly as he gripped his knees. "I… I don't know what is true anymore."

Hara walked over to Shuuya, slightly nervous as the bounty hunter/assassin's red eyes focused on her now. "Don't tell anyone this until the trial, but I think Shinobu did this for Taro, and maybe the other Kubs too." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"It's highly confusing for me to comprehend that, but you might have known her better than me," Shuuya admitted. "So what do we do now?"

The answer for that came with a muffled but still prominent explosion, the sound coming from the Science Lab. Shuuya didn't remember reacting to it, except for the fact that he was running out of the school before Hara finished asking, "What was that?"

The bounty hunter/assassin sprinted towards the Science Lab, leaving everyone else behind as he could move fast when he wanted to. When he made it to the Science Lab, there were some of the graduates in the lobby.

"What happened?" he pushed Futaba, who was one of those in the lobby. "What was that explosion?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it came from upstairs!"

Shuuya was up the stairs within seconds, and he came to the walkway to see quite the sight.

The area around the doorway to the weapons testing room had been eviscerated. The building itself suffered from severe cosmetic damage, but whatever had been in the weapons test room, all close by the entrance had been completely destroyed.

Ishiku, Odelios, and Aka were all at the other side of the walkway, thunderstruck by what just happened. Monophanie peeped out from behind Ishiku, and whimpered, "Is… is it over now?"

Yejoon landed on the other side of the workplace room's gap, back in the walkway. "What in the world was that then?" he asked, as Kimiko made the jump as well.

Shuuya cautiously approached the weapon testing room, and noticed he was stepping in pieces of black and white material. He paid little heed to that, and studied the ruined remains there.

He could instantly recognize what the objects had been: the weapons. Everything, from the modern-day guns to the medieval swords and maces, had been collected to this area, and were now obliterated.

Though that wasn't the only thing amid the wreckage. He found an incredible amount of shredded metal, some of it painted. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Several of other graduates were up on the second floor now, some of them approaching the room too. Blake stopped short when he saw the incredible destruction, and then he whistled lowly.

"Guess now we know what happens when you use the Red," he said.

"What the fuck just happened?" Kimiko shouted. "Did another bomb go off in the weapons room?"

Eisei walked into the room, casually staring at everything inside. He picked up a piece of cloth, studying it carefully. "Looks like someone either wanted to get rid of evidence," he remarked as he looked at the coral coloring, "or this was something else entirely."

"Goddamn, that's the last thing we need right now," Yitro said, wiping his brow. "Could Shinobu have set this up?" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED, AS YA DO** *

Monophanie wandered up to the group around the weapons testing room. "Either way, I have to suggest to you all that you hurry up on your investigation. You normally would be given more time, but when Daddy gets back, he's not going to be happy with you all."

"What?" Yejoon inquired. "What are you talking about?"

Monophanie pointed down at the ground, and all of them realized they were stepping in Monokuma remains. "Daddy, no," she added pitifully.

"Thank goodness it wasn't one of us," Yitro said with a heavy sigh.

While most of the others agreed with him there, Yejoon was staring down the swordsman. "If you're up here," the artist said, "then who is with Fiora right now?"

Yitro's eyes widened, he cursed, and sprinted downstairs. When he burst into the office room, Yejoon close behind him, they were both greeted with a horrific sight.

…

…

…

Fiora was gripping her head with both hands, arching her back, and screaming in utter agony.

* * *

 _"_ _I hope those aren't too tight for you, my movie maker," Junko Enoshima said, as she pat the leather straps that bound Fiora's wrists to the chair. "But I cannot have you running off until I make my pitch!"_

 _Fiora struggled against the bonds, as she glanced around the room that she had been forced into. It was like a computer room, with a ton of screens and equipment. The movie maker had no idea what was going on ever since the model had taken her hostage, but she didn't like it._

 _"_ _You killed Mahiru," she snarled at Junko, "I doo'nt have to listen to a damn thing you have to say."_

 _"_ _Oh, I think you'll want to, since you doo'nt knoo' what it's a'boot, eh," the pink-haired model replied, grinning maliciously as she imitated Fiora's accent rather flawlessly._

 _The movie maker growled in frustration, and stared at her, taking deep breaths. She rotated her wrists slightly, as she asked, "Fine, let's hear it."_

 _"_ _You see, I'm starting to get very, very bored of this never-ending Killing Game that I'm stuck in," Junko said. "I'm starting to see repeats, and who wants reruns? No one, that's who!"_

 _Fiora's eyes widened, and then she struggled in her chair some more. "Wait! Wait wait wait, you don't have to do this! You're just a victim of this Killing Game! I can find a way to help you!"_

 _"_ _Why would I do that? Or for that matter, why would you do that? After all, I'm the one who started it all."_

 _The movie maker fell silent, staring incredulously at Junko. The model laughed, and continued, "Yeah, I know, teenaged supermodel ruined the world, hard to believe, huh? But I so totally fucking did it!"_

 _She procured a pair of glasses from one of her pockets, and put them on, speaking more intelligently. "According to statistics, I am quite possibly the most dangerous person there ever was, but that would be a lie because 90% of statistics are made up. Also, I'm not recorded."_

 _"_ _Wait… you started the Killing Game at Hope's Peak?" Fiora inquired. "You did that?"_

 _"_ _I did much, much more than that," Junko said, precociously holding her hands on her face and cooing as she spoke. "I've been a bad, bad girl. But it's not over yet~"_

 _"_ _I thought you were pitching a movie idea," Fiora shrieked, trying to scoot back with the chair. "And I don't want to do sequels!"_

 _Junko stomped her foot on the seat of the chair, in-between Fiora's legs and coming dreadfully close to her groin. The movie maker swallowed nervously, and stared up at the girl with a mile-long venomous grin._

 _"_ _What if I said it was more like a direct-to-video idea, but a little bit different? Like, let's say, a direct-to-life idea!"_

 _Junko moved off to the side, rummaging with some things on a desk. "You see, in this Killing Game within another realm, one only realizes of it all happening when they are close to dying, so I have to act fast. The only problem is, for all of my many talents, doing things quick and subtle is just not one of them, so that's why I had to take you alive and tied up as if we were going to have kinky fun…"_

 _The supermodel slipped something around her forehead, and turned around. There was a metal strap against her skin as part of the band, with a long cord connecting the center of it to another headband like the one she was wearing._

 _"_ _Because I just don't know who is my classmate, and who is an invading person, except for that biker girl that came by here a few months ago."_

 _"_ _Months?!"_

 _"_ _Yeah, time is funny here, so I've gathered. I mean, I already know quite a bit about you, Fiora, this place kind of lets me get glimpses into Penjar every now and then. So believe me when I say I'm doing a big-time favor…_

 _"_ _Because you're just going to die pretty soon anyway."_

 _Fiora felt her blood run cold, and during that moment where her heart skipped a beat, Junko slipped the headband onto her. "So you'll be happy to hear that I'm going to help you out, as a friend, as someone who knows you."_

 _"_ _You… you know nothing a'boot me."_

 _"_ _Fiora Rhonda Stenton, age 23 and birthday February 7th, blood type B negative, orphaned at a young age, creator of over twenty feature-length films, survived an amateur Killing Game, contemplating a murder of her own, and part of Shinobu Takahashi's plan to undermine Despair within Penjar."_

 _Junko chuckled, and pat Fiora's head. "Don't worry, I have a good idea what it is like to be you. You see, one of my best features is how much information I can process, how much I can memorize and handle. It's how I managed to start my own special brand of entertainment._

 _"_ _It's how I got to learn about all of my friends, and how I could predict their every move. Now, the big problem with that last part wasn't always flawless, especially with those thick with Hope."_

 _Junko rolled her eyes, leaning in towards Fiora. She almost mushed her breasts up against the movie maker's face. "So I knew there was always a point where I could lose, and that kind of Despair, that wondrous, intoxicating, suffocating feeling of divine Despair… I know where that goes._

 _"_ _That's why there are such things as contingency plans. Though I don't think I really planned for this one, but so long as I am Junko Enoshima, no realm can keep me down for long!"_

 _The supermodel placed a chair in front of Fiora, and plopped down in it. "There's a little something that I considered, which would be uploading my consciousness in someone else's body. But it's so tricky when someone's already there, so give me a few minutes with you, and eventually…"_

 _She pat Fiora's cheek, and then giggled, "I'll be taking care of your body from hereon in!"_

 _The movie maker struggled aggressively against her bonds, as Junko held up a device that both of their metal headbands were connected to. She grabbed one of the switches, and said, "Good-bye, Fiora. Let's see what will be last on your mind."_

 _The supermodel flicked the switch, and soon, she could hear the inner thoughts of Fiora throughout every part of her brain…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _[Attack of the Eye Boogers! Movie Production! Hope's Peak Academy! Mother! Yitro! Saiko! Monosuke! What would happen if every color looked like a version of_ ** _wood_** _? When's the last time I had_ ** _pineapple_** _? Someone ought to cure death, that'd be handy.]_

 _[Souma! Hikari! Shinobu… oh why Shinobu? Boxing gloves that aspire to be boxing boots!_ ** _Sharks_** _, bigger sharks! Multiple-headed sharks, sharks in natural disasters, sharks that are undead, sharks that are robots, sharks that are undead robots! Wait, didn't I vow to never do sharks? Maybe just one.]_

 _[Crystal! Monodam!_ ** _Blake_** _! Aka! B-Movie Maker, Z-Grade Movie Maker, Straight to the Bin-Movie Maker! What if alcohol made someone smarter the more_ ** _drunk_** _they were? Boot to the head! Dumbest ways to die! **Critical** Failure! You are tearing me apart! What a pretty punk! Trust the spiders, trust all of the spiders!]_

 _[Clothing_ ** _hangers_** _as a hidden weapon! Odelios! Pyrrha! Father! Despair! Hope! What's in-between? Is there an in-between? What if the in-between is where I am? What is_ ** _my_** _purpose? Death. Murder. Life. You're on an island, Charles Joe! I wonder if I should renew my subscription to Prism of War when I get home? Who's the next Smash Ultimate **DLC**? REVENGE! SPITE! NOTHING TO LOSE!]_

 _[The Garage Killing Game! Why am I here, what is my life? Is this_ ** _real life_** _? Where did the expression "cool cat" come from? Is it alright to like a meme even when it's overdone? When is it overdone? Monokuma! Futaba! Shinobu! I like winter. Winter is a fun season, and a nice title.]_

 _[Has someone really_ ** _killed_** _Shinobu? Cotton_ ** _candy_** _! Jumping jacks! Monophanie! Emanuel! Hara! Punching things to see if they break! Zombies! Vampires! Zombie vampire pirates! Excitement! I really like my hat but maybe I should get a new one after all it has been through.]_

 _[I don't want to be crushed, that's the last thing I want! **Guns**! Swords! Staplers! It's been years, why do I have **Dumb** Ways to **Die** still stuck in my head? Why here? Why now? Why me? Why why why why okay stop it, it sounds whiny now. I wonder who would pick me if I was a character in a **dating** **sim**... what if you made a movie off of a dating sim? **Ooo**.]_

 _[Sequel to "The History of Prehistoric Cavemen"? Is it trashy to have a_ ** _bikini_** _babe in cavemen times? Oh, has that been done? What would_ ** _my parents_** _think about that? What if I made a movie based off of a minor character from a story I liked, would that be relatable? Potatoes!]_

 _"_ _GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

 _Junko gripped her forehead and shrieked at how freaking overwhelmed she was! She slumped out of the chair, kicking and screaming as she tried to handle this rush. "What is this?!" she hollered. "What are you?! Why would you make a sequel to that zombie caveman movie, that movie SUCKED!"_

 _Fiora felt her body start to relax, as Junko was failing to handle the movie maker's mind. Her incredible scatterbrained and imaginative thoughts gave her a chance to focus on something else as the supermodel was distracted._

 _"_ _Nngh, good thing I practiced this," she muttered as she twisted her wrists, pulling back with her arms, "to ensure… hostage situations… were real!"_

 _"_ _Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Junko shrieked, rolling on the floor as her limbs flailed about. With sweat running down her forehead, she grabbed the headband and yanked it up and off of her. "FUCK! How could anyone's mind be that cluttered and confusing?!"_

 _There was the feeling of being shocked at Fiora's forehead, a very painful jolt, and she yanked back with her body. Her arms slipped out of the leather straps, and she reached up to try and pull the headband off of herself._

 _Junko kicked at the legs of Fiora's chair, pitching the movie maker forward. She unintentionally headbutt the supermodel in the stomach, which made the evil girl's eyes go wide as the air was driven from her lungs. "Hunnngh!"_

 _Fiora grabbed at Junko, trying to pin down this wicked and powerful young lady. Without any weapons to use, Fiora's mind thought to what she had, and thus that was her split second decision to drive her forehead down into Junko's._

 _The metal part of the headband slammed into Junko's forehead, dazing the model. Fiora, heaving and straining as she gripped the supermodel's shoulders, and slammed her forehead into Junko's again._

 _"_ _DON'T!"_ ** _THUNK!_**

 _"_ _EVER!"_ ** _THUNK!_**

 _"_ _DO!"_ ** _CRACK!_**

 _"_ _THAT!"_ ** _CRUNCH!_**

 _"_ _A'GEEN!"_ ** _SMASH!_**

 _Fiora drove her head down one last time, and then, as the haze of pain and blood and rage tunnel vision died down, she slumped to the side. The carnage ran down her bloodied forehead, and she couldn't see straight._

 _It was then that the door to the room opened, and she could hear frantic voices. Someone walked over to Fiora's side, and spoke. "Miss? Miss?" They pulled the headband off of her, and called out, "Oh goodness gracious, what happened?"_

 _"_ _Whatever did happen, Junko's head looks like someone took a fucking sledgehammer to a watermelon," someone else shouted. "What the fuck is going on here!? Who is that girl?"_

 _A hand cupped her face, and Fiora couldn't really see who it was at first. Then she could make out a face, a squat face on a squat young man. He smiled softly at her, and whispered._

 _"_ _You need to go back now, Fiora. Don't let her influence you at all. The words of Junko Enoshima should never harm another soul."_

 _Fiora smiled up at Teruteru, and murmured out with a slow drawl, "Washat who I jusht got a headful of? Hehe, well, I got in thar purdy good… she'll try a'geen fur shure. Ha!"_

 _The last thing Fiora could make out was Teruteru's horrified expression, before bright light started to fill her sight. The pain started to go away, and she welcomed it…_

* * *

 **Day 10, 11:20 AM**

 **Science Lab**

 **Containment Tank Room**

"You sure you don't want to be searching that explosion site?" Saiko asked Isaac, who was rummaging around the side of the room opposite from the tanks.

The reporter paused for a second, overhearing the furious shouting and screaming that was coming from upstairs. Emanuel and Ken had returned at separate points, but both were furious that an explosion could have gone off during an investigation. This had led to arguments amongst the survivors, despite the warnings from Monophanie that the investigation would be over sooner rather than later now.

"I'm good," he assured her. "If they find something up there, we'll hear about it when the trial starts. There's something I am more interested in finding here."

The reporter stopped rummaging through the stuff on the floor, and found something amid the flooding and rubble. Underneath the desk were a couple of cracked vials, the plugs missing and whatever liquid they may have contained long gone due to the water. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"I think I found something important," Isaac said. "Rather lucky, considering we'd need a fully fledged team of professionals as good as you handling a scene like this if we wanted the real details."

"Wish in one hand, crap in the other," Saiko muttered, as she stared at Shinobu's body. Then, with a length sigh, she reached forward and closed the dead woman's eyes. "There's nothing more I can find out from her. I only hope we found enough."

The series of coincidental timing struck again, as right after she finished saying that, the overhead speakers blared to light. " **A-HEM! Ahem. Ahem ahem ahemy. Attention, tourists of Penjar! The time for investigation is now over. Please report to the front of Town Hall, at the front steps, within the next ten minutes. Anyone not there may be subject to immediate execution!**

" **AND IF I FIND OUT WHICH ONE OF YOU BLEW ME UP,** " he was bellowing into the microphone, causing a painful reverberation in the building, " **EVEN IF IT WAS ONE OF MY DARLING KUBS, I SWEAR TO DESPAIR…**

" **I WILL GIVE YOU SUCH A PINCH!** "

There was a clatter of the microphone being hung up, and then a moment of silence as everyone took in Monokuma's outburst. Isaac sighed as he walked alongside Saiko out of the room, away from Shinobu's body, and joined the others in the lobby.

The reporter hurried over to Kimiko, and asked, "So, what did you find in that workplace room?"

"Nothing much, there's only two things to note," she said as they left the building. "That glass containment shelf that the Monokubs' mechanical bodies were being stored in? It was empty. Also, everything in the room was unlocked, except for another long shelf a'boot the same size as the one the Kubs were in.

"It had one of those electronic numeric lock codes on it too. I doo'nt knoo' if we ever inquired a'boot that, but I think we were always preoccupied with every other room in that damned lab." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Kimiko sighed and stretched her arms, her leather jacket making a little noise. "This is going to be rough, I am pretty sure. Even Yejoon seemed rather fixated on the little details."

"I'm actually surprised that he investigated rather than watched over Fiora. Speaking of which, did anyone get her?" Isaac asked.

As he searched the crowd, Hara came over to him. The explorer still had the school text book in her hands, and she was carrying it close to her.

"Honey, do you have a minute?" she asked. "I think I know why Shinobu was in the lab."

"Okay, Hara, but one minute. I want to make sure Fiora is with us."

Hara winced, then pointed to the back of the group. Leaving the science lab were Yejoon, Fiora, and Yitro; however, the woman was being supported in walking by the swordsman, as she seemed… out of it.

"Wheee, we're going fur walksies!" Fiora cheered, grinning stupidly. "I like walking, it's my third favorite form of moving forward! Do you all like daisies, I like daisies!"

"Ever since she woke up," Hara explained, "she's been goofy. I know that may be a normal reaction after being knocked out, but it seems rather strong…"

"I wasn't like that when I woke up," Kimiko commented, staring in concern at the giggling movie maker. "Something may have happened to her, something like what happened to me when I was unconscious."

"Tell me 'boot the bears, strong woman holding me up," Fiora cheered.

"Somehow I doubt we'll get a straight answer out of her, but are we sure," Isaac winced at having to say it, but he still managed to get it out, "she's not faking it?"

"Yitro introduced himself to her when she woke up and asked them who they were," Hara said, trying very, very hard not to smile. "She kissed him full on the lips, and declared he tasted like pancakes."

Yejoon had his mask down over his face, and was striding forward without any digression from his path to Town Hall. Isaac had to resist smirking like his fiancé was struggling to do, and added, "Yeah, with how much she fears him normally, she could never bring herself to do that."

The group made their way to Town Hall, all of them gathering as a group together. They were talking amongst themselves, trying to gather as much information as possible. The Monokubs all stood at Town Hall's main stairs, as well as Taro.

The Kubs glanced up at him, as he stared back at them. The white 'n red-haired boy muttered, "Oh, um… am I still part of this?"

"Do you look like a Kub?!" Monokid shouted, raising his fists in a rage. "You're no brother of ours anymore!"

"While that might be a bit harsh," Monosuke remarked, "youse is taking the elevator down with them. You couldn't make it through the usual route."

"Sorry, Monotaro," Monophanie whimpered. "But there's nothing we can do about that!"

Taro visibly slumped, then he took a deep breath. "It's Taro, remember?" he replied, before moving over to the graduates.

"Oh, someone's too good for us now!?" Monokid shouted, stomping his feet. "Well I wouldn't let you back if you got on those stupid body parts you call 'knees,' and BEGGED me!"

As this infighting carried on, most everyone was in front of Town Hall with time to spare. The only one who wasn't present showed up a couple minutes later.

"Anzu!" Kimiko called out to her, as the actress sprinted over to the group. "Where have you bin? You had me worried there, girl!"

"Sorry! But I went to Shinobu's place, I wanted to see if there was something, anything there at all, to tell us why she," Anzu paused, and took a deep breath. "Why she was in the lab, and why she died. It's still kind of hard to say it out loud, you know?"

"Yes, I agree," Kimiko said. She eyed a notebook that Anzu was clutching. "Did she write anything down?"

"I glanced through the last entries, she had a pretty good journal, but she left out whatever her plan was in here. What she does have, I don't want to read it out loud just now, but I will if it is necessary. At the very least, we have a sample of her real handwriting, in case there is any verification needed?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Before anyone could comment on Anzu's find, the main doors opened up. Monokuma, wearing all kinds of armor and protection that made him look like a bomb squad member, waddled out.

" **Okay, people,** " he shouted, standing confidently. " **Why don't we all go on down into our trial room, and start our life or death agreement to tourism in our proud town?** "

"I'm all for that, Pops," Monosuke declared.

"Oh, I hope everyone finds the right answer," Monophanie cried out.

"I'm fucking raring to go!" Monokid hollered.

"…" disseminated Mondam.

Monokuma waved them in, and then waddled awkwardly as the armor wasn't really easy for him to move in. The Kubs followed, with Monokid walking backwards so he could wave and make faces at Taro. He continued this odd pace until he slipped in through one of the ruined doors, and was gone from sight.

As the graduates poured into the dreaded Town Hall, one of them hesitated. Taro was staring in the building, appearing lost and upset. Anzu stopped next to him, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I cannot go in there," Taro whimpered.

"What? Did they tell you that you aren't allowed anymore, since you're still human?"

"No, I'm allowed. But… if I go in there, then… it's all true. Everything that happened is official, including… especially that Shinobu is dead."

Taro rubbed his eyes, they were still red from the crying he had done. Despite the same color type, Anzu felt that that red stood out from his hair, singular eye pupil, and his clothing. It stood out, because it made him look human.

"I don't want to go in there," he admitted, "because that's where the truth comes out."

Anzu nodded at him, and said, "Yes, and the truth burns, but you cannot let it stop you. Taro, I know this must be difficult for you, but there is nowhere else to go. So don't ignore the door in front of you, and know this: you're not alone."

She extended her free hand, which perplexed him for a moment, until he reached out and took it. The actress guided Taro forward, as they walked through the ruined Town Hall.

The temperature seemed to drop when they entered the building, but if that was because the place was truly cold, or if it was a nervous reaction, they didn't know. Every footstep echoed, sounding like hammering heartbeats. The elevator felt an eternity away.

The group was gathering up inside of the elevator by the time Anzu and Taro caught up. Some of them glared at the young man, but no one was going to start a fight here. Monokuma waved at his human son before he pressed the button.

The door to the elevator slid shut, and with a mechanical rumbling and slight lurch, the elevator started to go down…

Down…

Down…

Down to however low the trial room was…

Down to where the truth burned and bit…

It was no different from the last two times, the dread and fear was still as palpable and desperate. Even with two prior victories, the confusion and mystery to this case was draining hope from them with each second.

At long last, the elevator stopped. The door scrolled open, and despite the trial room having changed last time, this new look was just as shocking.

The floor, ceiling, and walls were all a slightly tanned white, like a used mattress's color. It made the place look like a padded room, complete with Monokuma's podium and the trial placements all having a hospital-styled cleanliness to them.

The statues were completely opposite from the safe and clean look of a place of healing. They were lanky, gaunt figures that had bandages wrapped around their arms, legs, and face. Their mouths were wide open, exposing razor-sharp teeth.

On each hand and foot, there were lengthy claws. These monsters were like monstrous humans, each of them wearing something resembling a hospital of sorts: a nurse outfit, a doctor coat, a patient's robe, a broken straight jacket.

And of course, each one was a busty woman with their breasts almost spilling out of their top, especially with how they were all posed to be lunging forward or glaring down their prey threateningly. These statues were perfectly sculpted, and it was an unnerving coincidence that the death was in a lab of sorts, while these medical monsters were looming over them.

Monokuma had discarded his bomb squad gear, and was seated on his throne with a happy smirk on his evil face. The four Monokubs were in their appropriate places, excitedly watching everyone get into place.

The one who should have been up there but wasn't observed the trial room. Taro glanced at the positions for the participants of the trial room, seeing Samson and Shinobu's added to where they originally stood.

The young man walked over to Takeo's spot, and picked up his memorial stand. Placing it a short distance behind them, he then took the mercenary's spot.

" **What are you doing, Monotaro?** " Monokuma shouted, sitting up in his seat. " **You are not a tourist!** "

"It's Taro, Father," he replied, staring down the despair bear. "So long as I am human, I am not one of you, as I have been told several times. So my place is here, amongst the humans."

"Traitor!" Monokid hollered, shaking his fist at Taro. "Hypocrite! Person I don't like and I'll let you fucking know!"

" **Oh well, I think you'd look odd on the Kub platform, so I'll let it go** ," Monokuma said with a lazy wave.

"Are you kidding me?" Emanuel shouted. "He's still working with you! He's against us!"

"Well then, maybe you should just treat him like you do everyone else you don't like," Anzu snapped, crossing her arms as she stared down the Bête Noir, "and ignore and insult him as he contributes more than you ever do."

"Fuck you, puta," the detective spat out. He finished whatever drink he had in his flask, and added, "Besides, it should be obvious to everyone who killed Shinobu."

"I'm on a merry-go-round!"

Fiora was sitting on the railing of her position, and was whirling her hat above her head. "Wheee! Giddy-up, cowgirl! Wheeeeeeee! I feel like a rainbow!"

Blake let out a loud laugh, and glanced at Yitro. "Still proud you stuck your dick in that?"

Yitro didn't dignify this with an answer. Ishiku, on the other hand, looked over at Monophanie as he remembered where she would be here. The pink Kub saw him staring, and waved at him as subtle as she could.

" **Are we all ready then?** " Monokuma asked. " **Because as hilarious as it is to see you all argue about each other's sex and love lives, I'm far more interested in getting things going here! So let the third trial of Penjar begin! Let your passions and accusations explore here!** "

Monokuma clapped his paws together, then pumped his fist into the air. It echoed around the trial room, reverberating around as if it wanted to rub this dreadful truth in over and over again.

This mysterious town with the mysterious premise, now hosting yet another mysterious trial over a mysterious death…

* _Jin glares forward, three fingers correcting the rim of her owl-themed eye mask._ *

* **Yejoon stares through the eye holes of his fox mask.** *

* **Crystal stares downwards, as if surveying a map or field.** *

* **Isaac is leveling a studying stare straight forward with a hand extended, as if wanting an answer.** *

* **Fiora is smiling and laughing as she wobbles on her feet, still appearing QUITE out of it.** *

* **Aka has a hand on her skiing goggles perched on her head, looking bravely forward.** *

This was the trial for Shinobu Takahashi, the Ultimate Historian. She cared about solving the mysteries, as she cared about a great many things. While she could be argumentative, she was highly passionate. Was it that passion that got her killed?

* **Saiko has her hands on her hips, glaring downwards at someone or something.** *

* **Drake is nervously glancing to the side, while holding his sketchpad up and close to his chest.** *

* **Souma has an arm raised as he is apparently in the middle of delivering a speech.** *

* **Hara has her hands clasped together, staring anxiously forward.** *

* **Shuuya is glancing over his shoulder, with his arms crossed defiantly.** *

* **Eisei has a lollipop in his mouth and looks half-interested in whatever is going on.** *

Why was she in the lab? What caused the destruction, what was the plan she had? Everything about this trial seemed to be an enigma, but the biggest one was who killed her, and that seemed to be the one they knew the least about.

* **Blake is cracking his knuckles and growling in frustration.** *

* **Ignatia is glancing from the side, seemingly uninterested.** *

* **Hikari is taking a confident pose with a smile, hand on the brim of her hat and her chest stuck out with pride.** *

* _Shinobu is holding a finger up, trying to prove a point about something or other._ *

* **Odelios is holding up a rubber chicken and pointing at it, as if to accuse it of the crime.** *

* **Yitro has his arms crossed and eyes closed, scarf pulled up slightly over his mouth.** *

If only Fiora was in a right state of mind to talk, if only they had more time to study the lab… there were many things they wanted right now. Though there was one thing all of them wanted and wanted it most of all: to get out of this trial alive.

* **Ishiku is grinning and holding up one of his signature chocolate coins in-between two fingers.** *

* _Samson glares forward from underneath the brim of his hat._ *

* _Takeo pumps his fist into the air with gusto._ *

* **Emanuel gives a tired stare from the side as he is holding his favorite flask close to him.** *

* **Ken salutes and stands proud, staring up to the sky.** *

* _Angelique has her hands over her heart, silently praying._ *

That's why they were going to move forward, with determination and passion, to find out what Shinobu's plan was, what happened in that lab, and who killed the good historian. There was no time to let worry and dread get them down…

* **Kimiko is pointing forward while shouting defiantly.** *

* **Pyrrha is making a heart with her hands, a sad but sweet smile on her face.** *

* **Futaba has a finger touching her glasses, narrowing her eyes.** *

* **Anzu stares forward defiantly, her frown and posture confident and ready.** *

* **Taro crosses his arms as he stares forward, using his red eye more prominently, as he joins the debate.** *

And thus, it is time to begin the Town Trial of Penjar!

* * *

 **Truth Bullets for Case 3** :

…

 **Science Lab** \- The lab's front (and only) door, as well as important other areas of the building have a lock with a complex numeric code that must be entered. Only the Kubs knew them, but they wouldn't say it, unable in Kub form and unwilling in human form. The building had a voice detection to ensure anyone who spoke inside who wasn't the Kubs or Monokuma, and was inside without permission, would be sealed in; grave but unknown punishment would follow.

 **Containment Tank Room** \- The lab room with the containment tanks and supercomputers was where Shinobu's body was found. The ceiling on the right side has fallen into the room, and the western wall also has a large hole blown out of it, with the mists creeping inside. The tanks have all been destroyed, and the room has water from side to side; the water didn't go into the hallway, due to a short rise that was too tall for the water level.

 **Computer Shelf** \- The room had large shelves with computers bolted and sealed down, with the power strips zip-tied to the back left bar. The one closest to the western wall fell over and landed on a desk at an angle, right in front of the large hole. It is at a lower angle than a higher one, thus making crawling under it impossible without getting wet.

 **Power Strip** \- The power strip of the tipped over shelf fell from the shelf when the zip tie broke. The power strip was most likely the cause of a fatal electric shock in the water, and the reason the main power was out in the building.

 **Cracked Vials** \- Amid the rubble and underneath one of the desks in the containment tank room were two cracked vials, similar to the vials that were in the special fridge alongside the explosive fluids

 **Returning to Kub Form** \- The Kubs were ordered to come to the Science Lab, and surrender their human bodies to return to their robotic bodies. The containment tanks were meant to retract all of their mental structure, then dissolve the body down into biomass for future usage.

 **Human to Kub Schedule** \- Taro was scheduled to return to his robot form at 10 AM. Kidd was scheduled at 8:30 AM. The others are currently unknown when.

 **Cloning Project** \- It has been a long-standing concern of the Future Foundation and other forces that Despair leaders are trying to clone human bodies, either for armies of followers, or to replace prominent people of power with Despair-infused versions. This lab seems to be perfecting this process.

 **Locked Weapons Test Room** \- Ishiku said the room to the weapons testing room at first. The others saw him talking to Monophanie for a while, but she did not unlock the door for him. Monokuma was eventually the one to go and open the door.

 **Liquid Explosives** \- In the chemistry lab room, there was a specific fridge for some of the most important chemical mixes in the building. These were the following: Red, the eviscerating explosive; Blue, the building buster; and Yellow, the electronics eliminator. There was also the stimulant necessary to turn them into these explosions, as well as small vials with stoppers to ensure using them like grenades.

 **Locked Fridge** \- The special fridge in the chemistry lab containing the liquid explosives also had the numeric lock; someone had to know the code to get the chemicals.

 **Wet Footprints** \- Amid the rubble outside of the building where the wall was blown out were footprints from the wet soles of someone's shoes. They rubbed their shoes around to hide any prints or what size they were.

 **Monokub Jackets** \- The Monokub jackets are distinctive, with a special pocket in the back. There are ones modeled after each of the five Kubs. Shinobu was wearing a Monotaro-style. Fiora was wearing a Monosuke-style. Someone tried to hide the fact another one was worn, but which Kub-style it was is unknown.

 **Shinobu's Autopsy** \- Shinobu Takahashi died from a fatal shock of electricity. She was impaled on a jutting piece of rebar, and had taken some other relatively minor injuries such as cuts and bruises. Saiko fully believes that she died from the electric shock and not from bleeding out. Time of death is unknown.

 **Shinobu's Secret Paper** \- There was a paper in the secretive pocket of Shinobu's jacket, one covered in blood and making it very hard to read. Emanuel and Ignatia worked to try and decipher what was written, which was in Japanese.

 **Shinobu's Reason** \- While nothing is fully confirmed, there is evidence that points that Shinobu's plan was to stop Monokuma from having the Kubs return to their robotic form; they lacked free will in those bodies, which she compared to slavery.

 **Shinobu's Journal** \- Anzu found Shinobu's journal in the historian's house, containing entries she made while she was in Penjar. While the last entries are not very informative, Anzu has taken interest in them.

 **Fiora's Condition** \- Fiora was found unconscious in the hallway leading up to the containment tank room, facing away from it as if leaving. She was injured, but eventually woke up; unfortunately, she's in a state where she is incredibly goofy and nonsensical.

 **Monokid's Attitude** \- Monokid was extremely unhelpful to the graduates during the investigation, continuously refusing to do what was required of him, and laying on his back most of the time.

 **Taro** \- As the containment tanks have all been destroyed, Taro remains a human. Thus he has the free will and drive to partake in the trial as a member, instead of an observer. He seems genuinely upset over Shinobu's death, as he was quite close to her in the time they had.

 **Workplace Storage** \- There were two shelves with the numeric lock on them, one of them being the display case that the Monokubs' bodies were stored in while they were human. It is empty now. There is another shelf, though completely metal with no glass panel, nearby it roughly the same size. Neither of them could be opened.

 **Explosion** \- There was an explosion during the investigation, inside of the weapons testing room, nearby the door. Everything in the room had been moved to the blast site, including what appears to be all of the weapons, metal shredding of various colors, and fabric. Monokuma was utterly destroyed when he opened the door.

 **Mists of Penjar** \- The mists were infused with a powerful truth serum that the longer someone was in it, the more truthful they were. Staying in the mists made people blurt out confessions against their will, and prolonged exposure to the mists would even lead people to take action with what they truthfully want. This effect was gone after Shinobu was found dead.

 **Mahiru's Warning** \- In Fiora's vision of an altered version of Hope's Peak Academy, Mahiru gave her a warning about the circumstances of Shinobu's death, as well as to contain her own anger. Junko killed Mahiru, then tried to take over Fiora's body, but failed due to the volume of the movie maker's thought process.

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL WILL COMMENCE SHORTLY!**


	22. Chapter 3-5: Case 3 Trial, Part 1

**Chapter 3-5**

 **The Ascending Volume of the Truth**

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!_**

* * *

Monokuma twiddled his claws on one of his paws, and then spoke. " **Now then, everyone, allow me to briefly recap the town trial. We have a Deviant Tourist amid our guests! You all need to work together to find out who is the Deviant Tourist, and if you do…**

" **I will subject the Deviant Tourist to an execution, where they will be tested to see if they are truly worthy of being a citizen of Penjar! However! If you vote for the wrong person, everyone besides the Deviant Tourist dies! And they will get all the rewards for it!**

" **And when I find out which of you blew me up… phuhuhuhu! Anyway! Let the third Town Trial commence! Upupupupu~** "

The trial room was quiet, as everyone seemed to have different ideas on their minds on what should be discussed first. Most of them were glancing around, trying to see who would take the lead.

Isaac decided to do so, speaking up first. "I believe that we have a lot to go over, and I know it's confusing to think of where to start. However, maybe we should state the obvious facts first off."

"Agreed," Saiko spoke up, smiling appreciatively at her friend. "And I believe I can help with that. Because everyone should know right off the bat that-"

"Fiora did it," Emanuel interrupted.

There was a loud slapping sound, as Saiko face-palmed so hard that she hurt herself slightly. "Oh, Jesus Christ," she swore. "I was trying to avoid this!"

"We cannot just jump to a conclusion like that," Isaac shouted at Emanuel, who seemed entirely unfazed by the retaliation. "You seriously don't expect us to just vote her guilty and leave it at that!"

"Life is like a tackle box," Fiora declared, her eyes spinning around as she tried to get a grasp of reality and gravity at the same time. "And my finger… is really big when I stare at it. OH MY GOD IT IS GETTING BIGGER!"

As Fiora freaked out over the fact that she was bringing her finger closer to her eyes, Emanuel let out a humorless laugh. "Well then, prove it, you collection of putas. Prove that there could have been someone other than Fiora."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Why are we even doing this?" Saiko cried out, her frustration causing her eye to twitch. "We haven't even gone over any of the facts!"

"Because when you think about it, it makes perfect sense," Emanuel replied. "She was the **only person** in the lab besides Shinobu."

"That doesn't prove that she **murdered** Shinobu," Eisei calmly pointed out. "That just proves her involvement."

"Eisei's right, Emanuel," Souma added. "What if Shinobu's death was because of an **accident**?"

"Oh right, she blew up the ceiling, then the wall," Emanuel snapped viciously, "then she threw herself backwards on that broken rebar, and waited for herself to be **electrocuted**!"

"That's way too complicated," Taro said, nervously glancing around as he chimed in. "I mean, Shinobu was very **organized** , she wouldn't blow stuff up willy-nilly!"

"Who the fuck," the detective rounded on the nervous new guy, "said you could **TALK**?!"

"Emanuel is kind of right about one thing," Futaba remarked. "Unless there is evidence of **a third party** , we have to believe that Shinobu and Fiora were the only ones in there."

"Oh no," Fiora blabbered as she pulled her hand away from her face, "now my finger is **shrinking**!"

" _I have your proof_ ," Hikari declared proudly, " _right here!_ "

* * *

"Some of us went to the tailor shop nearby the lab, on a hunch that Shinobu had her partners wear the Monokub jackets," Hikari explained to everyone. "Since, you know, both Shinobu and Fiora were wearing one.

"And when we were looking through the jackets, several of them were dirty, as if someone was hiding the fact that one was worn."

"It's our belief," Ken chimed in, "that this was a vain attempt to try and hide their involvement with Shinobu's plan and death, but also a way to hide another clue."

Emanuel snorted. "You two again? You really think your words hold any weight here? How involved are you in this now?"

"We're not involved with the events at the lab," the cavalryman declared.

"Yeah, and Hikari was so not part of it again," Aka shouted, putting her hands on her hips in defiance. "And I totally have proof of that!"

They all collectively glanced over at the skier, who was now beaming with confidence. Hikari started waving her hands and shaking her head desperately, as Hara asked, "Proof? What do you mean?"

"We totally had sex again last night," Aka announced, "and I know exactly when she left, so she couldn't have snuck out to be part of Shinobu's plan."

This knocked everyone through a loop, and the steampunk model appeared to be hiding underneath her fancy hat. She could hear Crystal's disapproving tone when she asked, "Really now, Hikari?"

"I didn't want it to come out this way," the model whimpered, unable to look up at everyone else. "But this is a private matter! Aka, how could you?"

"What? Sexy, I just gave you an alibi," Aka blurted out, glancing around at the others, then staring nervously at her. "Wait, why are you upset with me now?"

"As fun as it is to discuss lesbian sex," Ishiku remarked, "does this verify Hikari and Ken's claim?"

Emanuel snorted again, and muttered, "I still don't trust those two."

"I was there," Drake said, raising his hand. "I joined them and saw the jackets myself."

The Bête Noir glanced at Drake, his eyebrows rising in surprise. He quickly shook it off, and muttered, "Well okay, if you were there, kid, I'll believe it more so. You're one of the few here who can be trusted. So Shinobu's team had a third member."

"So who is it?" Pyrrha asked, glancing around the members of the trial. "I mean, why aren't they speaking up?"

"Because they're probably afraid of being persecuted," Yitro remarked, "or maybe they are the guilty party."

The trial room was quiet, as they all exchanged stares. It was unnerving to them, not knowing who to trust. Eventually, Isaac spoke up again.

"We're digressing, as we don't have anything concrete on the who or how now," the reporter said. "Why don't we focus on one of the more important subjects? Like…"

"Like what Shinobu's plan was," Hara spoke up, staring pleadingly at her fiancé. "I think that if we study her plan, we could get a much more clear picture."

Isaac stared with some confusion at his lover. Hara pleaded with her eyes, as she held the history text book close to her chest. The reporter let out a sigh, then smiled at her. "I trust Hara, and if she thinks this is a good place to truly start, we should begin there."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Crystal spoke, tracing the collar of her jacket, "we are going to find out what Shinobu's **plan** was?"

"We could always start with **why** she did it?" Anzu suggested.

"I mean, I would think that destruction of that place was obvious," Yitro remarked. "It was a highly advanced lab for Despair, it needed to be wiped out."

"Hey there," Monosuke hollered, "what if we found a **cure** for cancer?"

"But you weren't investigating a cure for cancer!"

"We could have been, youse should have more faith in us!"

"Seriously, Hikari-babe," Aka called out to the model, "why are you upset with me? It's not like people didn't know we were doing it…"

"Not **NOW** , Aka," the red-in-the-face beauty pleaded.

"Wait, are we talking about why **Shinobu** did what she was planning to do?" Taro asked, staring nervously at Emanuel as he spoke.

"Again, who said you could talk, puta?!" Emanuel shouted at him, making the new guy jump back in fear.

" _Stop arguing about these other things, please,_ " Hara requested, " _because I have an answer_."

* * *

"I believe that Shinobu was inspired by an old history book she found," Hara said as she placed the book on the railing of her podium. "There was a particular part that she took interest in, which was about abolitionists who fought against slavery."

"Wait a minute, what's this about?" Souma asked, staring at the explorer. "The lab was full of potential to create Despair-driven human bodies. Surely that was the problem Shinobu had?"

"That might have crossed her mind, but… to get the inspiration to fight against such a powerful force, such as the ones controlling Penjar, you have to have incentive.

"And I believe what she wanted to do was destroy the lab so that the Monokubs wouldn't have to return to being robots," Hara said with a hopeful smile on her faith. "She wanted them to be free."

Everyone took a second to take this in, a wide variety of reactions amongst the crowd. Souma scratched the back of his head, muttering, "The possibility of Despair clones sounds far worse to me, but…"

"You have got to be kidding me," Emanuel said, grinding his teeth as he shook in outrage. "You're telling me that stupid bitch wanted to help our enemy? You think she did this for them, you fucking stupid puta?"

"HEY!" Isaac shouted, pointing at the Bête Noir. "You speak that way to Hara one more time, and I'll come over there and-"

"Honey," Hara called out to him, still smiling as she raised one of her hands as a request for calm, "I appreciate you defending me, but I can fight this battle. Do not worry."

The reporter stared at her, then nodded. She glared one more time at Emanuel as a warning, then tried to calm himself down.

"Honestly, Emanuel," the explorer said, facing the detective, "I would think this would be something you approve of. Imagine what would happen if the Kubs had free will, unlike they did in their robot forms. Imagine if they wanted to help us, like Taro is now."

The white 'n red-haired young man covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide his emotional state. "I… I like being human. There's no forced amnesia, there's far more feelings and joys…"

"Hey! Hey hey hey," Monokid shouted furiously. "What the hell are you saying, you hellspawn? You hellishly are demeaning us! Hell, you guys believe the hell out of what he's saying?!"

"…" divulged Monodam.

"…" answered Monophanie.

"…" informed Monosuke.

"You cannot be serious," Monokid bellowed. "You guys _miss_ being human?!"

"There's things I miss about it, yes," Monosuke remarked. "I think youse can guess these two have hang-ups as well, but aw well, that's the way to goes, yo."

The Kubs were mostly silent, as Monokid raged on. The humans took this all in, and then Souma spoke. "Okay, either way, prevention of the cloning or saving the Kubs from slavery, we have good reason for Shinobu's actions. That's a good start, but what is next?"

"Let's try to guess what her plan was?" Hara suggested.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So Shinobu was going to destroy the **containment tanks** ," Drake mused. "What did she plan to use originally?"

"There were the **explosive liquids** in the fridge," Crystal pointed out. "We all knew about those during our tours of the lab."

"She must have gained entry, and then prepared the explosives," Blake said. "I don't know why she'd need **teammates** for this, however."

"Obviously she could wipe out the containment tanks and the computers with the **Yellow** explosive liquid," Pyrrha pointed out. "That's the perfect way to destroy all their electronics."

"Wait, the what now?" Ishiku asked, staring at her in confusion.

"Oh, for the explosive liquids, **Red** destroys things, **Blue** destroys buildings, and **Yellow** is an EMP burst."

"Could it have been that simple?" Odelios asked, as he scratched the back of his head with his rubber chicken. "I mean, which part of the plan involved blowing up the **ceiling** and the **wall**?"

"Maybe that was her original plan?" Ken inquired. "Blow that damnable place to Hell?"

"She probably used the Blue explosive," Aka said, "and blew everything to Hell in there when she just got carried away!"

" _Wait a minute_ ," Isaac declared, pointing at Pyrrha, " _I believe you're right!_ "

* * *

"Huh? Me?" the romance writer was startled at first, then smiled gratefully. "You mean about Yellow being used?"

"I am pretty sure that that was Shinobu's original plan. You see, there were two of the vials in the containment tank room…"

Isaac reached into one of his pockets, and pulled them out, putting them on the podium's railing for display. "Saiko can back me up in where I found them."

"Yes, he's definitely right," Saiko remarked. "My guess is that if they were intact, whoever planned to use them didn't."

"But why didn't she then?" Yejoon asked, rubbing his digit against the chin of his mask. "And why prepare two vials, and if they weren't used, why were they emptied out?"  
"That's a hell of a lot of questions," Ishiku grumbled.

Hara sighed, then spoke up again. "I know it's very confusing, but we need to work together on this one problem to get to the answer.

" _I've had enough of stepping back and letting you take the lead_ ," Futaba declared, pointing furiously at Hara. " _Stop this nonsense, and let a professional take over!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

Hara almost jumped in shock at the sudden accusation. She stared at Futaba, and stammered out, "W-what are you saying? I'm trying to find the truth out here."

"I think you're wrapped up in a romanticized version of what happened, and you're leaving out crucial points," Futaba declared. "Because there are several flaws in your plan, and most of them start right at the front door!"

"Huh? But Shinobu was in the lab, we know she found a way in…"

"If you have the proof and the gumption to back up your version of this, then do so," the anthropologist said, crossing her arms defiantly. "Otherwise, I suggest you stop speaking."

Hara swallowed nervously, and glanced over at Isaac. The reporter beamed with confidence, and said, "Don't worry, honey, I know you can do this. Just stay calm, and keep to your case."

The explorer smiled at back at him, then took a deep breath. She stared down Futaba, as their two platforms moved closer together for a more dramatic effect, curtesy of Monokuma or whoever was controlling the trial room's machinery.

"Ooo, I love this dance," Fiora swooned, draping her back on her own podium's railing, bending backwards. "And it is more fun upside-down! Hey, speed up every time someone says the overused word!"

Futaba rolled her eyes, and spoke to Hara. " _While we know that Shinobu was inside the lab, as was Ms. Loopy here, that doesn't answer everything. After all, the electronic locks of the science lab all require an intricate passcode only the Kubs know._

" _And while I cannot deny they were in the building, that doesn't mean that either of them knew the code. They could have been let in by one of the Kubs!_ "

Hara took a deep breath, before countering. " _Except that we know that she had the code, because she managed to open the fridge and take out what she needed there. Unless you have a better explanation for the explosions, that had to have been the case._ "

" _Again, that could be the workings of one of the Kubs, who refuse to tell us anything. Though that is not the biggest problem in your argument, and that is the security system. The Kubs told us afterwards only that there was a voice recognition system of sorts in the lab…_

" _And if Shinobu had gone in with her team, they would have_ ** _spoken_** _, and set off the lockdown! So that's why they made the_ ** _Blue_** _formula, rather than the_ ** _Yellow_** _, to bust their way out of there! It just went horribly wrong for her at that point!_ "

" _No, I can refute that argument, and strengthen my own,_ " Hara retaliated. " _And I have evidence to back it up!_ "

* * *

"Futaba, there is proof that Shinobu had the information needed to set up a plan and act it on in the lab. And that would be all of the notes that were found; I was told that there were multiple messages and papers around the lab."

Hara glanced around at the others, and said, "From what I gathered before we came down here, Shinobu had a note in her jacket, and there were notes left in the chemistry lab?"

Crystal spoke up as she nodded in agreement, "Yes, there were instructions how to prepare the explosive liquids left in the lab. I was wondering why that was there, if Shinobu was able speed-read the instructions and make them herself."

Futaba exhaled in frustration, muttering, "Okay, maybe I overreacted a little. But I'm just really confused how Shinobu knew about all of this, when none of us could get any information from the Kubs."

The graduates all contemplated this, except Fiora who was trying to mentally debate if waffles or pancakes had a better taste in terms of color. It was Pyrrha who spoke up first (about Shinobu, not waffles and pancakes).

"I have a theory about that, actually," she said, tilting her head to the side as she spoke intrepidly. "But it's just a theory right now, and I'm not sure where it'll go if I'm right."

"What is it?" Odelios asked.

The romance writer looked at Taro, who stared back at her. "Did you tell her?" she asked him. "About the numeric code and the voice activated alarms?"

Taro glanced over at the bears watching the trial, and then at the graduates. He took a deep breath, and said, "Yes. I told Shinobu about everything dealing with the Science Lab."

" **WHAT THE HELL!** " Monokuma raged.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Monokid screamed.

"AWWWWWWW~" Pyrrha let out the longest, happiest coo, so prominent that hearts appeared in her eyes for a few seconds. "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Futaba asked, her confusion growing with her frustration. "What is going on?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Wait, how could you tell her about the **secrets** of the Science Lab?" Yitro asked Taro. "You're forbidden from saying them."

"I just did, **last night** ," Taro admitted. "She asked me about the defensives the place had, and I told her everything."

"I'm going to kick your ass," Monokid growled. "Kick it to kingdom come! I'll punt you like a ball! I'll punt your **balls**!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Emanuel remarked. "The **mists** didn't loosen the Kubs' lips that much, even when they were human."

"Yes, and they were as adamant about keeping those secrets when they were **human** ," Yejoon remarked.

"Wait, did Shinobu sleep with the guy?" Aka asked, glancing between Pyrrha and Taro.

"Um, uh, I," Taro stammered, covering his blushing face.

"Wait, what?" Emanuel said, outrage growing in his expression. "What the fuck are you talking about-"

" _I know how she done-did it,_ " Odelios declared.

 ** _HONK!_**

* * *

"I will fucking kill you," Emanuel snarled, "if you use that horn one more time during a trial!"

"Wait your turn, everyone wants a piece of the clown," Odelios said, smirking as he tucked the horn into his pants. "But about my point, I know how Shinobu got the information from Taro: the mists!"

"Odelios, the mists only work so much," Crystal remarked. "They couldn't make the Kubs convince secrets they knew, they didn't even work on me."

"Well, if you stayed in the mists for an extended period of time, that might be different. I don't know how many of you knew this, but the longer you were in the mists, the more it corrupted you!"

Ishiku sighed, and muttered, "Yeah, he's right. I can confirm that from Fannie."

"No one cares," Emanuel shouted at the magician, making the young man back up in his podium away from the enraged detective, "about you and your fucking stupid decision to bang the enemy! So shut the fuck up!"

"Oh good God, calm down, Emanuel," Anzu remarked. "You're not helping and you're being unreasonable."

"I'm not helping? _I_ am the one who's unreasonable? Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I should be more understanding to someone who let his dick decide for him and have sex with someone is part of this hellhole town!

"Not to mention you all are going on and on about Shinobu's plan, when that's not important now! What we need to know is who fucking killed her!"

The graduates exchanged glances, as they tried to think of how to handle his outraged statement. Anzu groaned as she twirled her blue bang around in her fingers. "You say that, but we were just going over how Shinobu was able to actually move around in the lab. To know her plan could lead us to find out who was helping her."

Emanuel scoffed, and replied, "Maybe you should focus on the more important clues, rather than this bizarre route you seem to have of pairing her up with one of the Kubs. It's nonsense, she wasn't that type of woman to have sex with a villain."

"I'm not a villain," Taro exclaimed.

"Everything you say can easily be a lie, so I'm not listening to a word you're saying!"

"Hey," Anzu snapped at him, "if you're so sure about this, have you got an idea on who her other partner was besides Fiora?"

Emanuel reached into his pocket, and pulled out the bloody note they had found on Shinobu. "You know that paper you all found on her? I managed to discern what most of it said. She mentioned having two partners, and got a little poetic over the reason behind the reason behind the jackets."

"We did think that she picked them out for a reason of sorts," Drake said, as Ignatia rubbed her chin and glanced between the cartoonist and the Bête Noir. "What exactly did she say?"

"Just something about the jackets relating in some way to the one wearing them…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"That's not going to help us narrow it down," Isaac remarked. "You could think of all kinds of connections between any of the **Kubs** and **one of us**."

"Yeah, if the third member had the Monophanie jacket," Kimiko said, "Shinobu might have given it to them because they were a **girl** too!"

"I don't think it'd be that simple," Hikari remarked. "I mean, Fiora is neither orange nor does she wear **glasses** , like Monosuke."

"The **moose** is gonna be on the ash'fault tomoo'row, a'boot at high noon, eh," Fiora shouted. "It's bin fun, but I doo'nt knoo' who is going survive, soo'ry!"

"They both have **accents** ," Yitro remarked.

"What youse say?" Monosuke asked.

"But between **Monophanie** , **Monodam** , and **Monokid** , there are way too many connections to be made," Hara protested. "This won't help us go anywhere!"

"It's hopeless to guess who it was at this point, so maybe we should go back to discussing her **plan**?" Ken asked. "She needed two teammates, one for each of the **unlocked rooms**."

"Whoa, was it the person who was assigned the **workplace** **room**?" Aka asked. "But what would they even need from there?"

" _Whoa, hold on a minute,_ " Odelios hollered, " _back up a minute there!_ "

 ** _HONK!_**

* * *

"I swear," Emanuel seethed, clenching his fists, "I swear to God I will take that horn and shove it up your-"

"What do you mean, the 'unlocked rooms,' Ken?" Odelios asked. "I mean, when Ishiku found that the door was locked, wouldn't it be obvious that one of Shinobu's teammates was up there, preparing that trap?"

"The problem with that is how would they lock the door?" the cavalryman asked. "Not to doubt your friend, but was he sure it was locked, and that there wasn't a ton of stuff blocking it from being opened?"

"It was locked," Ishiku protested. "I mean, I couldn't get it to open, and I don't know how Monokuma managed, but you know how crafty that bear is!"

" **Aww, you flatter me!** "

Ken crossed his arms, as he glanced between the magician and the clown. "So what is assertion, that Shinobu had three teammates, one for each room?"

"No, no no no," Emanuel declared, holding up the bloody note. "She said she only had two teammates in this note, so this is obviously just a dumb theory from the dumb putas!"

As an argument started to break out, Hara tried to call attention to them. She couldn't get her voice loud enough, but luckily, her fiancé was rather resourceful. An incredibly sharp whistle stopped everyone, and Isaac stared down everyone as they looked over at him.

"I believe my lovely lady has something she wants to say, instead of pointless bickering," he said, smiling over at Hara. She blushed slightly, then spoke her mind.

"Instead of debating who her teammates or how many there were, let's ask ourselves something: why did her team booby-trap the weapons testing room?"

The graduates all exchanged glances, and it was Blake that spoke up. "Well, it was the Red explosive used there, no questions. Red is used to utterly destroy objects."

"So they wanted to destroy all of the weapons in that room," Souma spoke. "But why, besides the obvious reason?"

"Maybe it was just as simple as that," Ishiku remarked. "I mean, the amount of lethal weapons in that room was real bad news."

"No," Eisei said, crossing his arms as he spoke up defiantly, "I believe there was much more reason than that."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"While it is true that the explosion decimated the weapons," Eisei pulled the lollipop from his mouth as he explained himself, "there was also a lot of **metal** and **cloth** remains that weren't simply from the weapons."

"Wait, I can guess why cloth was foreign to the mess," Souma commented, "but why the metal? A lot of the **weapons** there were made of metal."

"It was different than the weapons, mostly because they were **painted** metals," the dentist continued. "The weapons were not painted."

"Do you remember the colors you found in that mess?" Saiko asked.

" **Crimson** , **tangerine** , **moss** , **cyan** , and **cotton candy**."

"Wait, what?" Ken asked, cocking his head to the side. "Are you hungry, Eisei?"

"Wait a minute," the forensic investigator shouted as she pointed at the Kubs, "they're the same colors!"

"Bitch, do we look **dead**?!" Monokid shouted.

"Well, what was the cloth colored?" Hikari asked.

"It was a lovely **coral** color," Eisei commented.

" _Eee, that's it!_ " the steampunk model shouted in joy. " _I got it!_ "

* * *

"I know which jacket the third member had," Hikari said with a proud grin. "It was a Monophanie jacket!"

"Aww, do I have a fan?" the pink Kub asked, cupping her face as she giggled.

"Coral is a pink color?" Kimiko asked. "Thought it was orange."

"I'm not coral," Monosuke protested, "get your eyes checked!"

Hara held up her hands, stopping the conversation as politely as she could. She looked at Hikari, and said, "If you think that the culprit blew up their own jacket to hide evidence, that's an interesting theory. But knowing which Kub it was doesn't narrow it down enough."

"Oh, sorry," Hikari remarked, tipping her hat down.

"Hey, don't decrease the accomplishments of my girl," Aka shouted angrily. "She found that out, you're just jealous!"

"Aka, please!"

"Come on, babe, I'm doing everything I can to defend you!"

Hara sighed, then scratched the back of her head. She blinked in confusion, as something rather prominent dawned on her. "Isaac," she said, "if the metal pieces were colored the same as the Monokubs, what would you say happened?"

"That the Monokubs were blown up in the explosion?"

"Yes, but they weren't… and yet they were. So what does that say?"

Isaac crossed his arms, as he pondered this. He turned to Taro, and asked, "Did you guys have back-up bodies?"

"No," Taro said. "Well, not functioning ones, anyway…"

"Dude, shut up," Monokid shouted.

"That's a spoiler," Monophanie whined.

"Youse say one more word," Monosuke snarled, "I will come down there and smack you silly!"

"…" interjected Monodam.

The graduates stared at the Kubs' reactions, then turned to Taro. "What are you talking about?" Yitro asked. "What is this about non-functioning ones?"

Taro was trembling as he saw the Kubs and Monokuma staring him down. He gripped his dual-colored hair, and declared, "Oh, I'm so dead if I tell you all! They'll never accept me back, even if I become a Kub!"

"Told you guys," Emanuel said with a roll of his eyes. "He's our enemy and a traitor, he'll never say anything that'll stop him from getting back in their good graces."

"I like toads," Fiora happily announced, and then tried to hop like one, before crashing into her podium's bars.

"Taro, honey."

Anzu spoke, smiling peacefully at him. "I know this is difficult for you, that you feel like you're damned either way. But remember why you are doing this, who you are standing up for."

"Shinobu doesn't have a voice anymore," Hara said, gesturing to the memorial stand of the historian's. The red X painted on the gray photo of her was like a cruel taunt, but it couldn't cover up her pleasant smile. "We want to find out who did this to her, and we need your help."

Taro stared at that X'ed out picture of Shinobu for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. "Okay. Allow me to tell you all something."

"You… are… so… DEAD!" Monokid shouted as he shattered yet another guitar.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"When we were supposed to go back to our **robotic bodies** ," Taro explained, "we were to approach the **containment tanks** and drain them, before entering into them."

"You're dead," Monokid continued. "Dead dead dead!"

"Then the tank would fill up, connect a plate to our head, and upload all of our mind into the **supercomputers**. A mind is a lot of data!"

"Deader than dead! You're going to be a zombie when I'm done with you! No, a mummy! Mummies are fucking cooler!"

"Then when the process is done and the body is broken down into biomass, our mind is transported to our robotic body inside of the shelf in the **workplace room**."

"This is so sci-fi," Hikari marveled. "If it weren't so horrible, it'd be amazing."

"Tell me about the robotic bears, **Mr. Beardsley** ," Fiora exclaimed.

" **I HEARD THAT** ," shouted Monokuma, flexing his claws.

"Wait, you go back into your bear body inside of the shelf?" Kimiko asked. "How do you get out?"

"There's an electronic lock inside, which will allow us to leave that shelf. We were then supposed to get our **replacements**."

"A replacement?" asked Anzu.

"And once I've killed you, I'll destroy Monodam next! He's the most deadest dead dead-bear that's ever deaded!"

"Fiora, please calm down," Yejoon requested from the movie maker.

"We were requested to put a **fake version** of ourselves back in the shelf, so that the atmosphere of the room wasn't thrown off," Taro explained, "according to Dad."

"The **feng shui** really required lookalikes," Monokuma commented. "Plus, you never know when you might need an emergency back-up!"

"Where on Earth did you keep fake versions of yourselves?" Drake inquired. "That **workplace room** didn't have a lot of places to store things. Were they in **another room**?"

"… until you need a doctor to pull it out again!" Monokid bellowed.

" _I believe I have the answer,_ " Yejoon declared.

* * *

"Remember how there was a shelf the same size as the one the Monokubs were stored in?" the artist explained. "That's where the decoys were kept."

"Oh shoot, the one place we couldn't look into," Kimiko declared. "That makes so much sense!"

Emanuel scratched his chin, and then looked at his flask. Realizing there wasn't a drop left, he sighed, then spoke. "So the point of this is again?"

"I believe," Hara said, rubbing her temple as she concentrated, "this is a crucial point of Shinobu's plan."

"How? She was going to destroy the decoys to save the Kubs?" Emanuel said with a scoff. "Good grief."

"I don't think she knew about the decoys. Don't you remember how she was told by Taro that his transfer was going to be at 10 AM? She held this heist before that time, and the explosions were before 9:30 AM…"

"So she and her teammates must have been inside of the place by around 9," Isaac carried on Hara's words when she slowed down, helping her out. "She must have thought that all of the Kubs were going through the transfer at the same time!"

"Wait, what?" Taro exclaimed, then he gripped his head with both of his hands. "But… wait, I told her that my transfer was at 10! I didn't think our schedules were different!"

"Oh crap, she must assumed it," Ishiku remarked, gripping his hair as his eyes widened in realization. "Fannie wouldn't even tell me what time she was scheduled! Did you tell this to Shinobu when you were under serious mist duress?"

"I… what?" the young man asked, then he pieced together what the magician said. "Oh, yeah, she learned about my schedule when I was telling her everything. Oh gosh… Shinobu…"

"That unfortunately explains why you're the only one here as a human," Souma remarked.

The public speaker sighed as he leaned against his podium, and spoke clearly to everyone there. "I found a surviving piece of laminated paperwork in the ravaged room, and it had some kind of schedule on the side. Monotaro was scheduled at 10 AM, Monokid at 8:30 AM, and the others were before that."

"I was at 7 AM," Monophanie spoke up.

"I was 5:30 AM," Monosuke chimed in.

"…" explained Monodam.

"Probably 4 AM, if the pattern was consistent," Souma remarked, as he stroked his chin. "It would appear that Shinobu went around 9 AM, to try and stop what she thought was everyone's time to transfer at 10."

"Wait, what does that have to do with the decoys?" Blake asked. "I mean, this is starting to come together, but that shit sounded the most important."

Hara took a deep breath, as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. This trial was already emotional and intense, and it was tough but she was working through it. "I think she planned to have what she thought were the Monokubs' robotic bodies destroyed."

"Blasphemy," Monokid shouted.

"Madness," Monophanie gasped.

"SPARTA," Monodam added.

"Monokuma said destroying their robotic bodies was punishable by death in this town," Emanuel pointed out. "She wouldn't do something that would endanger her life, or the lives of her teammates. Unless you think she was going to trick one of them?"

"She wouldn't do something like that," Taro shouted angrily at the detective. "Shinobu wasn't cruel, she wouldn't get someone killed for her cause!"

"Not to mention we all knew those rules," Ken remarked. "None of us could be tricked like that."

"Then how did she do it?" Emanuel asked, glaring at Taro, then at Hara. "You seem to know so much, why don't you tell us?"

The explorer flinched slightly, then tried to speak. The pressure was getting to her, and her voice was starting to lock up on her. She stared pleadingly at Isaac, trying to find her words. " _He makes this look so easy…_ "

The reporter returned her stare, and smiled at her encouragingly. He wanted her to speak her mind, to let her lead the charge in this case. She did have a good idea, and she couldn't let him down, not when she relied on him during the other trials.

" _Just calm down, Hara. Emanuel is volatile and aggressive, but he is right. And you need to explain this to him in a way that he cannot argue with, so consider this the biggest step, and then… you'll be shining on top!_ "

"It was the booby-trap that was set up in the weapons testing room," she declared. "You see, whoever was helping Shinobu, or maybe it was her herself, set up that room to explode with a Red-styled blast, eviscerating everything in there!"

"That would just kill whoever went in that room first," Emanuel countered. "Not to mention they'd still be found guilty of destroying the Kubs' bodies!"

"Not as long as they're going to follow the rules of a Killing Game," Hara said with a smirk on her face. "You remember how we all almost thought Ignatia would be considered the guilty party because she set off the laser trap last trial?"

"How could we forget," Drake remarked, glancing over at her. The mime merely shrugged it off, and listened to Hara's speech with an intrigued look.

"The rules of the Killing Game have always been that whoever sets off the trap is guilty of the murder, and thus," the explorer raised her voice to emphasize the biggest point, "the trap was set up so that whoever triggered it would be responsible for destroying the Monokubs' bodies!"

"That's… that's crazy," Souma exclaimed.

"That's madness," Monophanie squealed.

"That's genius," Monosuke guffawed. "Honestly, what a pro, setting up a trap like that! I'd tip my hat to her, but I ain't got one."

"I got a hat," Fiora gleefully shouted. "Do you want one, short bald baby person with spectacles?!"

"Do I ever!"

As Fiora struggled to hand her hat up to Monosuke at his perch, Monokuma growled viciously. " **Are you telling me that Shinobu was the one responsible for blowing me up?!** "

"No, Monokuma," Isaac said with a sly grin on his face. "YOU are responsible for blowing yourself up."

"She obviously didn't want one of us to get hurt or killed," Hara said, "so that's why she had the door locked! And thus only someone who knew that place would open the door and spring the trap…

"Someone like you, Monokuma!"

" **Wha… but… I… grrr… argh…** " Monokuma snarled and gnashed his teeth, then threw his hands up in the air and shouted, " **REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!** "

"I'll admit," Emanuel said after the furious bear outburst, "that does sound pretty good, Hara. It definitely sounds like her, but there's one problem with that."

"What's that?"

"How did her teammates know how to do all of this? She couldn't explain it to them when they were there due to no talking, and this is a rather complicated plan…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Between the **containment tanks** , taking out the **Kubs' bodies** , and setting up the **booby-traps** ," Emanuel laid out, "how would they know what they were supposed to do?"

"Not to mention that this involved a lot of **chemistry** that you cannot mess up," Blake asked.

"There was the **note** in the chemistry lab," Pyrrha pointed out. "Any of us could have prepared the explosives."

"It's not like they could have **written** a lot of notes on the fly," Aka said. "This plan must have been done very quickly."

"It also went quite wrong quite quickly," Yejoon remarked. " **Shinobu** was dead and **Fiora** was unconscious when we arrived."

"Man, we could really use Fiora's **testimony** right now," Drake remarked, glancing over at the movie maker.

"Hey, what am I doing up there?!" Fiora shouted, pointing up at Monosuke. "Get doo'n from there, me, you're not a little baby short man, eh!"

"You're still wearing one of their **jackets** , my little flower…"

"Wha? Oh maybe I am! Thank you, pancakes lips~"

"…"

" _Wait a minute now!_ " Ken declared. " _I believe I have found the twisted plot!_ "

* * *

"Anyone want to correct him," Souma asked, "or we all just letting this carry on? Anyone?"

"If you would all permit me to speak," the cavalryman said, bowing respectively to the graduates, "I think I know of a way Shinobu could have given some detailed instructions to her teammates."

"How's that, hon?" Futaba asked.

"The jackets!"

They all stared at him for a few seconds in confusion, before Eisei snapped his fingers. "Of course. They have pockets, and they were wearing them inexplicably at the Science Lab. She could have told them to pick them up, and they found written instructions in the pockets of their jackets!"

"Wait, that would make a ton of sense," Crystal remarked. "Shinobu would tell them beforehand which jacket they were to pick out at, say, the front of the rack, and then they'd find what she needed them to do inside of them."

"But why wear them?" Hikari asked. "I mean, as far as things are considered, that's a good hiding place to pass on instructions, but what possible reason could they have to put a jacket on for this caper?"

The graduates all exchanged glances, baffled at this point. "That may be something only those part of the mission would know," Yejoon remarked. "We'll either need to find out who the third member is, or wait for Fiora to recover."

"Wait, Fiora is still wearing her jacket," Anzu remarked. "Couldn't she be still carrying her instructions?"

"I already checked her pockets," the artist said. When a great number of the graduates glared at him, he merely brushed at his shoulder, and said, "Your ire is unnecessary, I was checking to see if she had anything on her that would be important to this trial. And the answer is no, she did not."

"Even in the hidden pocket?" Eisei asked.

"Yes. Even there."

"Look, the reason why they wore the jackets isn't that important," Hara cut in, "because we know they wore them. So we should go back to mapping out Shinobu's plan."

The graduates took a moment to collect their thoughts, and then someone who had been very quiet spoke up. "Sorry that I haven't contributed anything thus far," Shuuya said as he uncrossed his arms, "but I believe I'd like to analyze what has been lain out thus far."

"What are you thinking, killer?" Emanuel asked with a snide glance at the bounty hunter.

Shuuya rolled his crimson eyes, and spoke. "For the most part, I believe that Hara's theory is very solid. She and her allies arrived at the lab, then split up. Someone made the liquid explosives, someone moved the Kubs' bodies to the weapons testing room, and someone else was… what, in the containment tanks room, standing around?"

"Wait, Shinobu might have been preparing a trap there too," Hara explained. "I mean, just to be on the safe side, in case Monokuma decided that destroying that room was punishable by death."

"But the first being to enter that room would be the Monokubs coming in for their body exchange," Shuuya pointed out. "She would effectively kill the ones she was trying to save if she did that."

Emanuel snorted. "According to the rules, they are responsible for their own deaths."

"N-no," Taro declared frantically. "She wouldn't do that! I know I only knew her for a short time, but she wouldn't kill us to save us!"

Shuuya stared at Taro, his eyes burning with intensity. "Tell me, Taro, would the Yellow explosive kill a Monokub?"

"Huh? The what now?"

"Would an EMP explosion destroy a Kub?"

"Oh, something like that? No, that wouldn't work. The Kub bodies are built to withstand all kinds of crazy damage! They're shock proof, water proof, EMP proof, blast proof, and fireproof!"

"There's your proof," Anzu said triumphantly, grinning at Shuuya. The bounty hunter glanced at her, then chuckled.

"And Shinobu knew about this?" he asked Taro.

"Yes, she did. Why?"

"Because then Hara's theory has more water, if she could set up a booby trap that wouldn't kill the one triggering it." Shuuya took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, we've mapped out how Shinobu was going to do this, but now we should think about what went wrong. It's time to discuss why Shinobu is dead now."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So did one of Shinobu's teammates **betray** her?" Futaba inquired. "Did one of them decide to kill her?"

"Why would anyone want to murder her then and there?" Saiko asked.

"Fiora was then and there," Emanuel remarked.

"I heard my name, or someone who has the same name as me and generates the same amount of irritation that a drug-crazed **squirrel** does," Fiora shrieked from underneath Monosuke, who was pinning her down to keep her hat.

"Give her the damn **hat** back," Yejoon calmly ordered the Kub.

"Why don't youse make me?!"

"I don't think someone would just murder Shinobu like that. This teammate had to be someone she **trusted** ," Anzu remarked.

"We trusted Jin and **Samson** to some degree," Kimiko remarked bitterly. "Did anyone see Samson's evil side coming until it did?"

"But how did they even murder her?" Shuuya asked. He continued speaking as a throwing dagger was hurled across the trial room. "Did they try to **blow her up**?"

"Yeeep! Alright alright, I'll give her the damn hat back, youse crazy person!"

"The **Blue** blaster is incredibly strong," Blake remarked. "If someone wanted to kill her, they could throw a vial of it at her or close to her."

"So did someone go into the containment tank room, and hurl a vial of Blue at her?" Aka asked, gripping her goggles in shock at this revelation.

"Fiora was in the **hallway** to the containment tank room," Emanuel grumbled.

" _No, you're all wrong,_ " Saiko shouted, slamming her hands on the podium.

* * *

"Are you all forgetting that Shinobu died by electrocution?" the forensic investigator declared. "She couldn't have died by someone throwing explosives at her!"

"You're 100% sure," Shuuya asked, "that it was electrocution and not bleeding out or internal damage? You could only do a basic examination of her."

"Hey, I'm a professional like you, buster," Saiko remarked, staring him down. "Everything you know about making people dead, I know about what made them dead!"

"Whoa, Saiko, don't provoke him like that," Yitro cautioned her.

Shuuya chuckled, and said, "No, it's quite alright. I admire a woman with that kind of confidence."

"So do I, apparently now," Eisei muttered under his breath.

"Speaking of confidence, there's something else I'm 100% sure of," Saiko said, crossing her arms. "I know that the ceiling had to cave in first, because how else would Shinobu would be impaled on that rebar?"

Isaac drummed his fingers on his arms, as he said, "So first the ceiling came down, then the wall was blasted… would that be how Shinobu was impaled on the rebar? Was she knocked backwards by the second blast into that metal spike?"

Blake groaned as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, with Blue, it is possible if she wasn't too close, she would be propelled away from the blast without it being fatal. Most of the blast goes into the building it is impacting, while only some of it goes the other way."

"Okay, let me map this out too," Shuuya said. "Someone was on the second floor and used Blue to cave the ceiling in?"

"Oh yeah, that had to be it," the pyro commented. "If you were to throw that shit up at the ceiling of the room you were in, there's no way you'd survive. You have to have some kind of distance, not to mention the fucking building is gonna come raining down on you."

"Shinobu was injured aside from her grievous injuries," Saiko commented, "but she wasn't mangled by debris."

"So it had to be someone in the workplace room, but that would mean," Shuuya said, stroking his chin, "that whoever threw it did so at the ground? Wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous?"

"Yes, yes it would be," Blake remarked. "I mean, if you were to stand on the other side of the room and chuck it, that could work without being killed."

"Wait a minute, everyone," Anzu shouted, gathering their attention. "Are we seriously deliberating this? That the third person betrayed Shinobu, and tried to murder her?"

"That's the most reasonable conclusion we can gather," Isaac remarked. "I don't want to believe it either, but it is highly likely that the third party member is the responsible one."

Anzu shook her head, and muttered, "I'm sorry, it's just… it's so hard to believe that someone was so cruel to do that. She trusted them to help her on this secret mission, and they ended up murdering her? How does this keep happening?

"Why is there so much darkness amongst us? Aren't we supposed to be survivors, the best of Hope's Peak, the ones who were the shining beacon of the future?"

She gripped her balcony as she took long, deep breaths. They could see how upset she was, especially with her pretty face contorted with that mixture of anger, sadness, and confusion.

"Whoa, that's deep," Fiora commented, then she jumped off of the Monokubs' platform. "Ouch! This pool sucks!"

"Anzu, I know you're angry over this," Kimiko said, "but we have to ask ourselves, why else did the ceiling cave in by an explosion except that someone was trying to kill who was in the containment tank room?"

"And that someone was Shinobu," Hikari remarked, shaking her head. "The poor darling was probably setting up the trap there, but she didn't expect that."

"Except that the ceiling caving in didn't kill her," Hara remarked. "For whatever reason, they missed when they tried to kill Shinobu."

"Maybe that was how Fiora got hurt?" Drake asked. "She went into the containment tank room to do something with Shinobu, then the ceiling caved in and she was hit by some of the debris?"

Ignatia snapped her fingers and pointed at him, smiling at the others. Isaac chuckled, and said, "Seems you have someone agreeing with you there, buddy. But then we have to ask ourselves, what could have happened then?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So let's say that the culprit bombed the floor in the **workplace room** ," Pyrrha said, running her hands through her red hair. "Why didn't they try it again?"

"They had cut off their only way out," Kimiko remarked. "The door was closed when we first approached, so they had nowhere to go but **down**."

"Okay, so they leapt down," Shuuya said, "which is not impossible, just not safe, but they had to risk it. And they saw that Shinobu **wasn't dead**."

"Yes, she couldn't be," Saiko commented, "since the rebar she was impaled on came from the ceiling, and she wouldn't have just **fallen** on it."

"So, the culprit saw that she was still alive, and then what?" Crystal asked. "For that matter, why didn't Shinobu run **out** of the room?"

"Maybe when the ceiling collapsed, she was on the **other side** of the room," Isaac suggested. "Thus, the killer stood between her and her only way out."

"But wasn't she facing the wall that was blown out?" Hara asked. "That would mean when she was propelled by the blast and onto the rebar, the poor woman was **facing** the explosion."

"I think the answer to that," Souma spoke up, "is when her killer threw the **vial** at her, and it hit the far wall, she turned to see what it was that had been thrown at her?"

"Why would she look at what was being thrown at her?" Emanuel asked. "She knew what they were working with!"

" _No, that's wrong,_ " Anzu shouted, " _this is all wrong!_ "

* * *

"Listen, I know you all are thinking I'm just being emotional here," the actress cried out, "but think about the supposed killer's actions."

"That's exactly what we're doing," Emanuel said, "you dumb whore."

"Shut it! What I am _trying_ to say," Anzu defiantly declared, "is that our killer was on the second floor. They moved the Monokubs' bodies to the weapons room, set the trap up with all the weapons, and then…

"They went to the workplace room and started bombing it in the hopes that they would kill Shinobu? So why the hell did they not go downstairs and just do it where they could easily kill her with an explosive, instead of this wildly unreliable method?"

The others were quiet at first, trying to think of an answer to that. Shuuya stared at the lady, and spoke, "I think you're thinking about it from a compassionate point of view. Speaking from experience, looking someone in the face as you kill them is not something you can just do unless you have solidified your nerves.

"This could have been their way to try and kill her without having to look at her while they did it."

"Not everyone has those nerves Shuuya speaks of," Yejoon remarked as he inspected his nails.

"Ugh, I really didn't need to hear any of this," Pyrrha remarked, shivering as she glanced between the two men.

"Y-yeah," Drake murmured, hiding behind his sketchpad. "How did so many people good at killing get into Hope's Peak anyway?"

"A discussion for a different time, my young friend, let's not digress," Shuuya said. "The fact is, while Anzu is correct that this is a complex manner of trying to kill someone, it doesn't disprove what we're discussing."

"But why was Shinobu facing the wall that blew up?" Anzu shouted desperately. "She would be running for her life if she was being attacked."

"Oh my God, will you shut your dumb whore mouth?" Emanuel snarled. "We did not ask for a porn star's opinion, we never will!"

"Hey, back off," Kimiko snapped at him, before the Bête Noir slammed his fist rather aggressively on his podium.

"Oh no, the thumps are invading after being annoyed at our global warming usage," Fiora hollered, and ducked down at her podium. "Signal the President, he has to make a decision that the hero will ignore because they know better!"

Emanuel shook his head, rubbing his face as he said, "Who cares why Shinobu was facing in the direction of the explosion when it went off? The point is that she did! She did, and it is as simple as that!"

"W-wait," Anzu stammered, "that's not everything I have to say-"

"You keep your damn mouth shut, or I'll go over there and use it for what it was made for!"

"You stay the hell away from her," Kimiko shouted, tightening her hands into fists.

"Back off, you big bully," Pyrrha shrieked.

Again, the trial room was filled with emotional shouting and arguing. Isaac used his sharp whistle again, but this time it failed to stop the furious yelling. Odelios tried his horn as well, but it had no effect.

"You stop threatening people, or I'll kick your ass," Kimiko hollered at Emanuel.

"You dumb fucks are just going to get us all killed," the detective retaliated, "with how you keep digressing from the fucking point!"

"Stop shouting," Crystal shouted, trying to use her most powerful commanding voice. "You are all going to ruin our chances at this trial if you don't all stop fighting!"

"It was the doll the entire time?" Fiora blurted out. "I totally did not smell that coming!"

The fighting didn't stop for another minute, until there was a rather sharp noise that overwhelmed even this intense fighting. They all flinched and covered their ears, and then stared at the one responsible.

Taro took deep, shuddering breaths as he lowered the air horn. "You… you all cannot do this. You're supposed to be finding out who killed Shinobu, you're supposed to be doing the right thing! That's what she was doing, that's what you all say I should do!

"How am I supposed to do the right thing, to be human like you, when all the humans here are pointlessly fighting? Please, just stop the yelling and shouting… because if we lose, we all die. And I don't want your last memories of each other being how much you hated and distrusted each other."

They stared at him, and then glanced around nervous at each other. It had been such a heated argument, they couldn't believe it had just happened. As they all collected their emotions and their breaths, Odelios spoke first.

"Where'd you get the air horn, Taro?" he asked with a grin on his face. "No wait, not important, your words are so much more important!"

"Oh, um, thanks," Taro said, shrugging. "I kind of borrowed it from Father, because I didn't want him using it during the trial; it's really painful when you're standing right in front of him."

" **You adorable whippersnapper,** " Monokuma crooned. " **I expect that back when the trial is done, one way or another.** "

Hara shivered at the implications, then her eyes widened. "Wait, what do you mean by that?" she asked. "Are… are you saying that you would kill your own son if you were to punish us?"

" **He did volunteer to be part of the cast instead of the crew,** " the despair bear pointed out. " **I mean, what else am I supposed to do? Make exceptions to the rule? We'd have anarchy! We'd have chaos!** "

"Ooo, chaos is big nowadays," Monosuke remarked.

"Poor Monotaro," Monophanie whimpered, then she shook her head and said, "I mean, Taro. I wish I could be as brave as him."

"Brave? Fucking coward is what he is," Monokid shouted. "He just wants to die because his girlfriend did! I mean, it's metal in a sense, but I cannot get on board dying just because your chick did!"

"Alright, enough from the peanut gallery," Souma declared, "we're getting back on track like our newest member asked us to do. Get back onto who killed Shinobu."

"I believe," Emanuel said, eyeing the Kubs suspiciously, "that we were talking about how the killer jumped down into the tank room and threw a Blue vial at her?"

"Let's go with that then," said Shuuya, "and stay on topic, for Shinobu's sake as well as ours."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Okay, one way or another, Shinobu was knocked onto that **rebar** ," the bounty hunter/assassin said, "and pinned there. Was she electrocuted right then and there, or was that later?"

"She did bleed a lot," Saiko said, "but I don't know for how long, I apologize. Still, I believe she was alive for a short period before being **electrocuted**. With the sudden death of electrocution, her heart would stop and she'd **bleed** far less, I believe."

"So she's thrown by the **explosion** , impaled on the rebar," Emanuel said, "and then shortly after, she gets electrocuted. How was that again?"

"One of the **computer shelves** fell over from the explosion," Drake said. "And one of the **power strips** on that shelf fell from it, and into the water."

"Wait, was the room **flooded** by this point?" Isaac asked. "When would the tanks have broken?"

"They could have easily have broken by the ceiling explosion," Souma said. "I mean, that was a great deal of **concrete** and **debris** falling down, the glass would have been smashed."

"So the second explosion caused the electrocution?" Eisei said. "Then whoever caused that would definitely be our **killer**."

"Why wasn't the killer electrocuted too?" Aka asked. "I mean, they were in the room too."

"They were probably standing on the debris," Souma replied. "I don't believe concrete conducts electricity, so they'd be safe standing on some of the debris."

"Yes, but why stand on it, it's not like they'd know that there was going to be electricity running through the **water** ," the skier declared.

"Maybe after the second explosion, they ran **out** of the room," Eisei offered.

" _Stop the argument_ ," Yitro demanded, slamming his palm down at his podium. " _There's something wrong here!_ "

* * *

"We've been going on about how Shinobu was killed, but I think that part was more or less outlined," the swordsman said. "However, what is vexing me is how the killer got out of the lab after the death."

"The shelf didn't block the way out," Drake explained, "you could climb under it, but you'd get really wet from how close you got to the ground."

"That's what bothers me. Our killer apparently dives down to the first floor, bombs the wall with a blast strong enough to throw Shinobu into that rebar, and then… leaves through the gap in the wall?"

Yitro pinched the bridge of his nose, and muttered, "I fail to see how any of that is possible. Why would the killer not go out the front door?"

The cartoonist collected his nerves, and spoke. "We found wet footprints outside in the dust from the remains of the wall. At least, they were like footprints, but the person who walked out moved their foot around to disguise prints or their foot size."

Emanuel glanced over at Drake, and shrugged. "Not to mention there was that issue with the jackets at the tailor shop that was mentioned earlier? Yitro, someone had to go out that way."

"And not the front door?" the swordsman questioned.

"I would imagine," Hikari said, "that Shinobu or Fiora would have shouted when the ceiling came down on them. That's not something you can stay quiet to! The front door would have been locked due to the voice activated alarm."

"It's just bothering me that the killer seemed to avoid being electrocuted altogether," Aka spoke up, shaking her head. "I mean, you'd have to be pretty damn agile to ensure you're bouncing around, throwing explosives, and avoid getting zapped! Sounds like my kind of jam, honestly…

"Extreme sports aside," Hara said, surveying the graduates, "it seems like we mapped out what happened, more or less. We know what Shinobu's plan was, and we know how someone could have betrayed her."

"Yes, but now the problem is," Isaac said, "trying to narrow down the possible suspects."

The trial room was rather tense, as everyone scanned the others in this group, with twenty-four people observing each other.

Taro cleared his throat, and spoke up. "Normally, you would take into account everyone's alibis at this point, right?"

"That's a great suggestion, Taro," Anzu cheered him on. "Good thinking! So we should do a quick questioning of everyone to see who doesn't have an alibi. We can start with you!"

"Oh, I don't have one."

Anzu stared at him wide-eyed, her gusto gone suddenly. "Oh. Um, sorry, I thought you would have."

"No, Shinobu told me that I needed to sleep along last night, because she had to get some things done… I didn't know that she meant she was planning something like this. And I was too nervous to pry, I've never tried courting someone. Women don't like it when you pry, right?"

"Fucking shut up," Emanuel snarled. "We don't want to hear this."

"I do," Pyrrha protested.

"Shut up! Let's just go over alibis then, for who cannot be that third person and who can be…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So **Crystal** and **myself** were up early," Hara explained, " **Saiko** and **Isaac** were still asleep when I left. We met up with **Hikari** at around 9 AM."

"I'll state that since the three of us were together, and heard both of the **explosions** together," Crystal said, "it's not possible for us to have been that third person. We are, you could say, Ground Zero for alibis."

"Then you can vouch for **me** too," Yejoon said. "I was unconscious in the cafeteria, due to Fiora's little trick."

"Wait, what? She got the jump on you?" Blake asked, staring incredulously at the artist.

"Fiora is more intelligent than most of you give her credit for. Now, are you going to press the issue, Blake?"

"Nosiree, not me," the pyro declared as he regarded the serial killer, "no way, no how!"

"So who else has an alibi?" Hikari inquired. "I mean, besides **Aka** , who I know was in my room when I left."

"Hell yeah, sexy! By the way, it was amazing, and I really hope you aren't taking my words under truth serum as my-"

"Aka, please! Not now!"

"So does any other soul have a way to verify they aren't the third person?" Eisei asked, glancing around the trial room.

"…"

"Are you serious?" Odelios balked. "You mean besides you seven, and **Fiora** and **Shinobu** , none of us have anyone to verify? Weren't we all orgy'ing it up a couple days ago?"

"That's highly inappropriate," Eisei remarked.

" _Hold on, what you just said_ ," Souma said with a snap of his fingers as he pointed at Odelios, " _might be more important than we thought!_ "

* * *

"I apologize, I know this may be a dark thought of mine, however," the public speaker corrected his uniform before he continued, "should we also consider the possibility that Shinobu died from an accident?"

"What?" Hara balked, staring at him. "But the only way that would be possible is if she threw the explosive that created the fatal shocking!"

"We were wondering why she was facing the blast when she was thrown backwards," Souma continued, "so what if the answer is that she threw it at her attacker, and the blast was bigger than she anticipated?"

"She threw a Blue explosive at someone?" Blake said, shaking his head incredulously. "That's ballsy and downright stupid. I think she would know better than that."

"Even if her life was in danger? We all do things that might not be the most safe when we are endangered?"

The group was quiet as they contemplated this, then there was a snapping sound from someone else. Ignatia was shaking her head, while making all the motions that she completely disagreed. Drake offered her his sketch pad, and she quickly wrote down her thoughts.

"'If Shinobu threw the Blue explosive at her attacker, how could they walk away unscathed when she was practically killed by it'?" Drake read aloud.

"That's true," Isaac remarked, regarding the two. "I mean, everyone here is perfectly fine, we certainly would have noticed if someone here had been harmed from an explosion!"

"Yeah boi, that done did snap at'cha, wha'cha knoo'?" Fiora cheered, pumping her fists into the air, before falling over backwards.

"Aside from our now unusual cheerleader, that is."

Emanuel smirked, and then snapped his fingers. "Or maybe it really was her all along."

"Will you not?" Anzu shouted. "We're so tired of this!"

"I don't need to talk to you, I'm more interested in people with brains here," the Bête Noir said. "For you see, all of you seem perplexed that the killer could just dive down a floor, avoid being electrocuted, and then leave without getting soaked by going under the fallen shelf.

"So what if Souma's theory is right, and she threw that Blue explosive at her attacker to defend herself? And that attacker was thrown clear across the room, and landed on her stupid head, knocking her out?"

"Oh come on, dude," Ishiku said, turning up his hands as he rolled his eyes. "If it really was that, then why hasn't the other teammate spoken up? They're totally innocent if that were true."

"We don't know everyone's positions, they might think that they are somehow responsible."

"How could that even work?!" the magician hollered. "For this to happen combining our theory with yours, Fiora was on the top floor, preparing the booby trap with the Monokubs' bodies, and the other ally was downstairs in the chemistry room! When the explosions started happening, they would have sprinted over to see what was going on, and surely they would have seen something happen."

Emanuel scoffed, then he glanced around at some of the others. "How far apart were the explosions, ladies? You would know best."

"Um, the second one happened at 9:30 AM, or just seconds beforehand," Hikari remarked, "because the morning announcement started playing on the speakers. And the Kubs were in front of the building in the middle of it when we arrived."

"The first explosion was possibly a minute or two before the second one," Crystal said, rubbing her chin as she recalled. "It's hard to say, things were happening so fast, but I'm positive they were close together."

"Why would Shinobu even have Blue explosive on her?" Ishiku shouted, glaring at Emanuel. "She was going to use Yellow to fry all of the electronics in that room! Why blow it up too?"

"I'm afraid only she could answer that question," Emanuel retorted. "It's a mystery why any Blue was made to begin with, but two vials of it were prepared."

"That is one of the oddest parts about this, to be honest," Futaba remarked. "Why make Blue explosives if they were going to destroy the Monokubs' bodies and fry the electronics?"

"Probably to bring the whole building down afterwards?" Shuuya theorized. "I mean, you use Blue to destroy a building."

Taro gasped, and declared, "Blow the whole building up? No no, that's not allowed under any circumstances!"

The graduates turned towards him, as Anzu asked, "Wait, why not, Taro?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"I'm sorry, I forgot to mention earlier," the white 'n red-haired young man said, "when I was going over the things I was talking to Shinobu about. There is one **rule** that Father never brought up, but I told it to her."

"Oh great, another mystery rule," Yitro griped. "What was it?"

"Destroying one of the buildings in Penjar is punishable by **death**."

"Whoa, that's heavy," Saiko remarked.

"What did youse expect, Toots?" Monosuke shouted. " **Penjar** is the most important thing in the whole wide world to us, and we're not going to have you blowing up the buildings!"

"It wasn't really a possibility," Monophanie said, "until the ability to make **Blue** explosive came around."

"So do you mean destroy a building like entirely," Isaac questioned, "or do you mean make it unusable?"

"The rule is **entirely** , that means all of the building," Monokuma stated, crossing his two-toned arms. "My Kubs can get a little crazy, so I am giving them some leniency."

"Shinobu's plan maybe was to ruin the **workplace room**?" Futaba said, correcting her glasses.

"Argh! Why would they do that?" Ishiku shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. " **Fiora** wasn't going to just start bombing the workplace room when the team was still there!"

"What if she was supposed to set up a **trap** there?" Souma guessed.

"She'd be too busy with the Monokubs' bodies, and moving them to the **weapon testing room**!"

"Wait, are we going with Emanuel's theory then?" Blake asked. "So did Fiora kill Shinobu, or did she **kill herself**?"

"No," Ishiku groaned loudly, double face-palming.

"Yes," Emanuel growled.

"It's not looking good for Fiora, either way," Futaba remarked, glancing over at the babbling movie maker.

" _I have the answer,_ " Odelios declared, pointing his horn up high in the air.

 ** _HONK!_**

* * *

"Okay, that does it," Emanuel shouted, leaving his podium to run towards Odelios. "That tears it! Come here, I am going to kick your ass!"

"Awk, killer Bête," the clown squawked, and sprinted away from the enraged detective. The two were running around the trial room, and they weren't alone before the first lap was done.

"Yay, chase scene," Fiora cheered, and ran after them.

"Oh good grief, he really has turned this into a circus," Crystal said, rubbing her forehead.

"So do we just wait for Odelios to get back into the conversation?" Ishiku asked. "Or anyone have an idea of what he was going to say?"

"I might," Taro said, "but it's just a guess."

"Go ahead, honey," Anzu said, smiling at him as she tried to ignore Emanuel's swearing, Odelios's panicked shouting, and Fiora's excited yelling.

"I would think that instead of using Blue, Shinobu would have used Red to destroy what was in the workplace room," he said. "I mean, if I understand what she was planning, she wanted to prevent us from having to go back into our robotic bodies, so she needed to destroy the computers and equipment in the workplace room, as well as the containment tank room."

"Why Red, and not Yellow?" Hara asked.

"Oh, the workplace room has a ton of written paperwork and other items that aren't electronic as back-ups. Father was kind of particular about that, said we shouldn't leave it up solely to technology today."

" **I cannot trust you kids to not upload it to your social media pages on the off-day that you're bored!** "

Anzu twirled her colored bangs around in her fingers, and then asked, "And you told Shinobu all this?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then I think you knew her pretty well, Taro. You know what?" The actress smiled at him as she said, "This might be the turnaround we were looking for to find some sense in this scenario!"

"Wait, what is going on?" Hikari asked. "Anzu, I think you lost some of us."

The actress curtsied, and said, "Sorry, my theatrics got ahead of me. What I'm thinking of, is that why would Shinobu's team bother bringing the Monokubs' bodies over to the weapons testing room? Why not just set up the trap in the workplace room?"

"Maybe to make sure they got everything in one blast?" Eisei guessed.

"That's not a bad point, but considered the fact that they were rigging up the containment tank room and the weapons testing room. In all honesty, I think they were going to do something for each of the three rooms, to destroy the tech, the Kubs' bodies, and the weapons!"

"But what does that prove?" Isaac asked.

"Shinobu wouldn't use Blue for her goal, she wouldn't risk the building coming down and facing Monokuma's wrath. So one of her teammates made it, and it somehow wound up in the workplace room."

"Wouldn't Fiora know that she had Blue," Ishiku asked, "rather than Red?"

"What if she didn't know the difference? Someone else could have made the liquid explosives, and she was given Blue unbeknownst to her!"

The others paused to consider this, and then Yejoon spoke up. "This is quite the theory you have, Anzu; however, it goes against your previous stance that someone on Shinobu's team wouldn't have betrayed her. Plus, what would the point of tricking Fiora like that be?"

"I… have to admit, with how we're trying to piece together the scene, there had to have been some kind of treachery," Anzu admitted, sighing sadly. "But my theory comes from the idea that Shinobu wouldn't make the Blue explosive, and I don't think Fiora did that either."

"Why not? I agree that she is innocent, but we must be able to prove it."

"Let's debate it then, shall we?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"We all know at this point, poor Fiora was in a **Killing Game** beforehand," Anzu said. "She survived it despite not hurting or killing anyone. Do you really think she would suddenly become so extreme?"

"We didn't see **Jin** or **Samson** either," Crystal said. "How well do we truly know Fiora?"

"If she was truly planning a murder, why would she try bombing the floor to have the ceiling fall on **Shinobu**?" Yejoon said. "It's very poor planning."

"I believe we went over how difficult it is to try and kill someone to their **face** ," Shuuya remarked. "Is this an emotional argument, rather than a logical one?"

"There's the argument that the **third person** would have spoken up by now," Eisei said, "if they weren't part of this."

"If the third person made Blue instead of Red, would they be guilty?" Pyrrha asked. "I mean, they'd be responsible if that **mix-up** caused Shinobu's death, right?"

"I'm afraid that the only one who is accountable in the eyes of Monokuma's **rules** ," Yejoon said, "would be the one who caused that **electrocution** , not the tools that led up to it."

"I… ugh… haaaah…," Odelios panted, leaning against his podium. "I missed out on what was going on… what're we talking about?"

"Yeah, what we talking a'boot?" Fiora muttered, slumping back into her podium, or at least she thought it was, since now she was leaning up against a very confused Crystal.

"I… I… really don't care," Emanuel panted, wiping his brow as he made it back to his own podium. "Are we really doing this now?"

" _I believe I know where this is going_ ," Isaac said with a triumphant grin, " _and how this will help us out!_ "

* * *

"First off, I want to thank Anzu, Taro, and especially my lovely Hara for doing so well this trial," Isaac said as he adjusted his beanie. "I think I have had a real breakthrough, with all of you working so hard on this."

"Oh, what is it, honey?" Hara asked excitedly.

"You see, while this is grim, I was wondering why Fiora was simply knocked out at the scene, but how could she be the perpetrator when the third person wasn't speaking up. The evidence is her herself."

"Can you get the evidence off of me?" Crystal pleaded, as Fiora was making kissy noises and trying to get to the military expert's face. "I have no idea what's going on in her goofy state, and I don't-MMMMPH~!"

"However," Isaac continued, trying not to stare or laugh at what was happening, "I think the issue is that Shinobu asked this third person to make the liquid explosives, and provide them for her and Fiora. She kept them apart, because she was carrying this mission out in secret.

"Fiora was assigned to rig the upstairs rooms to explode when they were opened, but for some reason, she was given Blue for her second batch in the workplace room. I believe that Shinobu's third teammate wanted to take a more extreme route, and bring part of the building down."

Isaac tapped at his notepad, where he had written down some comments that had been on his mind. "Now, I am still trying to think of what happened in that room, but consider the fact that Hara and the ladies told us the explosions weren't so far apart. Do you all honestly believe she bombed the floor, jumped down, and then hurled an explosive at someone all within less than five minutes?

"Fiora is no Rambo. Heck, she's not exactly Shuuya, either."

The bounty hunter chuckled slightly. "While I appreciate the comparison, I think I see what you are gathering at. Fiora's only alive because she never saw the third member, but she's not the culprit."

"Thank goodness," Yitro said with a soft sigh of relief.

"Oh thank heavens," Hikari said, placing a hand over her heart. "The poor darling has been through so much."

"I've been saying that since the beginning," Yejoon said, though some of them could sense he was smiling behind his mask.

Then the trial room was filled with a rather menacing chuckling, which evolved into barking laughter. Emanuel was practically cackling as he slammed his palm on his podium. "You all went that far," he shouted in-between bursts of laughter, "for that stupid puta? Oh congratulations, you spent so much valuable time ensuring that cunt wasn't guilty! Give yourselves fucking pats on the back!"

"Okay, I've really had enough from you," Anzu declared, pointing at him furiously. "You haven't contributed at all."

"Yeah, seriously," Ishiku muttered.

"What is wrong with you, Emanuel?" Futaba said, staring at him as his laughter finally quieted down. "You told me how much the truth meant to you, how you wanted to be taken seriously and for people to listen to you. Why are you being difficult?"

"Oh, I apologize to you, Futaba," he said, casting her a small salute. "I mean, I guess I just found it too funny not because they simply wasted their time…

"But I've finally found out who the third person was. I have proof and damning evidence, and I'm finally going to expose them to you all now."

Emanuel chuckled as he glanced around at everyone. "What's the matter? Any of you got a clue who it is? No? Aww, come on, guess maybe?"

"Listen, Emanuel," Isaac snapped, "if you have an accusation to make, we'll want to hear about this proof first."

"The proof is their own words, as well as a series of coincidences that I can show to everyone that this person was most certainly that member of Shinobu's team. And it makes me so happy to say…"

The Bête Noir swung his arm out, pointing at someone with a fervent intensity that could be felt in the air, singling out…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

"The third member of the team, and Shinobu's killer, is you, Ishiku!"

Ishiku Shyre flinched and jumped as he held his arms up defensively, staring at Emanuel with eyes wide in terror. He opened his mouth, and the Ultimate Magician let out the only noise he could to such an accusation.

"… Nyeh?"

* * *

…

 **TRIAL INTERMISSION!**


	23. Chapter 3-6: Case 3 Trial, Part 2

**Chapter 3-6**

 **The Germination of Despair**

* * *

* **Monokuma Family Trial Intermission** *

* _Monokuma and the four Monokubs are all standing at the front steps of Town Hall. Monokuma is standing on the top step, the Kubs two steps below him. Taro is nowhere to be seen._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "As we stand here, mourning the loss of our beloved Monotaro, we must ask ourselves: where did we go wrong?"

 **Monodam** \- "HE-IS-NOT-DEAD."

 **Monophanie** \- "Maybe if we understood him more, his desires, how he wanted to represent and better Penjar?"

 **Monosuke** \- "Youse think we should have paid more attention to him? Wha'cha think would happen if we listened to more of his ideas?"

 **Monokid** \- "Fuck that guy, this just means more time for me and my ideas! And since he isn't here to stop me from picking on Monodam, my life is infinitely easier!"

 **Monophanie** \- "How can something be infinitely more easy?"

 **Monokid** \- "Shut up!" * _He proceeds to hit Monophanie on the head with his guitar._ *

 **Monophanie** \- "Ouch! Oh woe, now I'm one of your targets too? I miss Monotaro so much!"

 **Monodam** \- "STILL-NOT-DEAD."

 **Monosuke** \- "Such a shift of power and responsibilities! Youse never really know what someone contributes until they are gone. I knows I will be missing my big brother, and will try to do things to honor his memory!"

 **Monokuma** \- "That's the spirit! Because when you are moving forward, you can only do your best, and that is all that is expected of you! It's not like you can ignore the tragedies of the past, but they help guide you on the correct path!"

 **Monokid** \- * _hits Monophanie on the head with his guitar again_ * "I hear ya, Father!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Ouch! Oh boohoohoo, I miss him so much!"

 **Monosuke** \- "Let us all do our best for the future, youse hear that, Monodam?!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokuma** \- "And now, on with the show!"

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!_**

* * *

Ishiku stared with a wide-eyed, deer caught in the headlights kind of fright at Emanuel. The magician held his hands up defensively, as if that could help against the accusation. "Um, okay," he whimpered, "what now?"

"Ohhhh," Fiora crooned from her position of clinging to Crystal but staring at Ishiku, "you're in trouble~"

Emanuel growled in frustration, and held out his flask. "I'm tired of doing this sober. Monokid, the refill, if you would?"

"With pleasure, you magnificent bastard!"

As Monokid rushed over to grab Emanuel's flask, Anzu let out a vexed groan. "You're accusing Ishiku, but that's just the same as how you always blame Fiora. You hate him too, you just want to brand someone as the villain."

Emanuel snickered, and glanced over at Anzu. "Well then, let's see you defend him after I strip him of all of his defensives, and showcase his true nature. First off, Ishiku, where's that fucking staff that you always carry around?"

The magician glanced at his empty hands, and he chuckled nervously. "Um, in my house?"

"And why is that, hmm?" Emanuel asked, leaning against his podium to stare down Ishiku with a more personal touch. "Maybe that's because you couldn't bring it with you when you went to help Shinobu? I mean, that's not something you can take on a mission where you'll need both hands available. And no time to retrieve it too, huh?"

"That's it?" Odelios squawked, slamming his hands on his podium. "That's all you got, you drunken git?"

"Oh, I'm just getting started, clown boy!" Emanuel snapped, then went back to grinning wickedly at Ishiku. "Secondly, who was it that told us the weapons testing room was locked?"

"Um, that was," Aka started to speak, then she gasped, "that was Ishiku!"

"How highly convenient that the one who claims it was locked, especially when he left the group early to inspect the second story of the building. Maybe someone wanted to make sure no one walked into his trap."

Ishiku nervously twitched his fingers, accidentally causing a chocolate coin to appear in his hand and dropping it. "W-wait, that isn't what it looks like-"

"Oh yes, about the booby traps, I was wondering who would set those up for Shinobu. While Fiora may have some idea, Shinobu wouldn't know that, but a magician? Someone who works with props, tools, even explosives?"

Emanuel chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "That slight of hand applies to the weapons testing room, pretending it is locked and everything. I mean, your stupid friend went up there, you couldn't get him killed, even if it'd technically be his fault if he opened the door."

"Wait a minute here," Isaac declared, interrupting the Bête Noir's revelation, "this is getting out of hand, Emanuel! These are coincidences, just like last time you did this."

Emanuel glared over at the reporter. "I'm not done yet."

"Well, maybe it's because I have seen this before, and I don't want this to set up another person who just happens to fit some circumstances."

Isaac crossed his arms defiantly, glancing around the trial room. To his surprise, not everyone seemed to be in agreement, they looked confused and concerned. It was time to stop this rant before it received momentum.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Why don't you let me finish the damn **case** I have," Emanuel shouted, "before you tell me I'm wrong?"

"Because we all know how you do this," Isaac said, "and your track record showcases you try to dominate the **trial** even when you're wrong."

"But Ishiku did go up to the **second floor** right away," Aka said, scratching the back of her head as she spoke. "And he was the only one who tried the **door**."

"…" Ishiku stood there, staring at the ground nervously.

"Ishiku isn't a **violent** person," Hikari argued, putting her hands on her hips. "He wouldn't have a reason to kill **Shinobu**."

"I don't see how not having his **staff** is proof," Drake remarked. "I mean, yes he carries it around with him a lot, but…"

"What actual **proof** is there that Ishiku is involved?" Hara said, shrugging in confusion. "I mean, it's not like we found anything of his there."

"We didn't find any lost items or things that stood out of place," Saiko remarked, "except for the **jackets**."

" _You see, this is why I'm the Bête Noir_ ," Emanuel shouted, pointing at Saiko, " _and you should heed what I'm saying!_ "

* * *

"You all wanted proof? Here's something that is definite proof: the jacket that was destroyed was a Monophanie jacket."

"So? What's the problem with that?" Odelios asked. "Monophanie's jacket obviously belonged to a girl, right? That was the connection."

"The connection is that Ishiku fucked that thing when it was a human," Emanuel snarled, "and that is why Shinobu would give him that jacket. Because that would be his reason to help her out, he wanted to keep his piece of ass a human!"

"Hey, don't call her that!" Ishiku shouted indignantly, throwing his fists down in outrage.

"This… was about me?" Monophanie asked, nervously poking her chin. "Was I really that special to you, Ishi?"

The magician stared at her, then went silent. Blake noticed this, and exclaimed, "Wait, 'Ishi'? That thing is still calling you a pet name? Haw haw haw, you really left an impact on that thing when you fucked it, dude!"

"Hey, you were trying to get in her pants since the moment you saw her," Kimiko shouted.

"Yeah, but I didn't, and we all know who did. So yeah, that's totally why Shinobu would pick the Monophanie jacket for him. I mean, the two girls there were given other jackets, if being a girl was the reason to give someone the jacket, it should have gone to Fiora."

"That's hardly reasonable," Crystal said, as she finally managed to push Fiora away from her. She brushed herself off, and tried to compose herself, though everyone noticed her slightly flushed face after the amount of kissing she had been through. "Still, if Ishiku wanted to save Fannie like Shinobu wanted to save the Kubs, that is motivation, for sure."

"Ishiku is one of those without a motive," Futaba noted. "Plus, I cannot help but notice that he isn't denying anything."

The magician was shaking slightly, his hands nervously twitching as he tried to control himself. Chocolate coins flipped and bounced out of his hands, as he stared down the smirking Emanuel.

"Is there anything that disqualifies him, hmm?" the detective asked. "He has no alibi, a disgusting motive, he's skilled for what was needed, his activity was suspicious, and he isn't even himself right now without that stupid staff."

"That doesn't prove he killed Shinobu," Anzu shouted, pointing furiously at the Bête Noir.

"I thought we were just done discussing that whoever the third person was could most likely be the killer?" Emanuel countered. "You don't get to change your mind just because it's someone you like."

"I fail to see how we came to the conclusion that the third person is the killer," Odelios snapped, standing quite boldly against the claims. "I mean, you all were saying that the third person gave Fiora the Blue explosive, and then… what? She just dropped it accidentally? She'd be dead!"

Pyrrha cleared the throat and waved over at Odelios. "Odeli, honey, you may be overdoing it. Maybe we should let Ishiku defend himself?"

The entire trial room turned towards Ishiku, who ran out of chocolate coins to drop. He sighed heavily, and said, "Odelios, I really appreciate it, my friend, but I shouldn't try denying my involvement any longer."

The trial room went quiet as the grave, with everyone letting that statement sink in. Ishiku wiped his sweaty brow, and then braved glancing up at those staring at him.

"What?" Anzu balked.

"What?!" Odelios cried out.

"He admits it?" Blake asked, then he thrust his finger towards Ishiku, and shouted, "Murderer!"

"Wait, no no no!" The magician frantically waved his hands and shook his head. "I didn't kill her! I swear!"

"Don't try to fucking deny it," Emanuel shouted, slamming his fist on his podium. "You just admitted you're the third person!"

"Let me explain, please!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

" **Shinobu** asked me to help her out last night," Ishiku said, "because she wanted to save the **Kubs** from being forced into that robotic slavery state."

"Wait, how much did she tell you?" Isaac questioned him.

"She told me at that point that she had to spend time asking **Taro** for details, and that I would have to wake up at 8:30 AM, and go to the **tailor shop**."

"Uh-huh, and next?"

"I got the instructions from a note in the first **Monophanie jacket** on the rack! It was highly detailed, and it let me know everything I needed for the mission."

"Wait, you didn't question any of this?" Eisei asked.

"Why'd you wear the jacket, anyway?" Saiko inquired.

"Oh, the note said to wear the jacket, because that would signal to her that we were onboard with the plan when we approached the **front door**."

"Do you still have the **note**?" Yejoon asked, twirling around a throwing dagger in his hand.

"No, I don't. That was in the jacket when I left it in the **weapons testing room**."

"How convenient for you," Emanuel snidely remarked.

"Looking back, I would say it was a stupid thing to have done! But that matters, I just need to explain my actions. I was working alongside **Fiora** when I got upstairs."

"You spoke to her?" Isaac asked, rather surprised by this confession.

"More than that, the two of us were told to stay up on the **second floor** , and make sure everything up there was prepared!"

" _Haha, got it!_ " Odelios declared happily. " _Ishiku, buddy, you're gold, baby!_ "

* * *

"Our theory was that the killer didn't kill Fiora because she never saw this third party, but if Ishiku and Fiora worked together, then it makes perfect sense," Odelios announced. "He's not a killer!"

Emanuel let out a loud scoff right as the trial room went quiet for a moment. "Oh for fuck's sake, that's not proof or a contradiction, that's just an alibi."

Crystal ran her fingers on the collar of her jacket, and remarked, "It isn't really helpful that Ishiku lied about his involvement until it was dragged out from him."

"I didn't want to say anything," Ishiku cried out, "because I knew something like this would happen! I knew that I'd be accused, and Emanuel would do everything in his power to make me look like the killer!"

"You're Goddamn right I would," Emanuel declared, "because you are! Like hell you were working with Fiora… how would she end up on the first floor if she was helping you on the second floor?

"Unless you're declaring she is the killer?"

The Bête Noir grinned wickedly once again, as he leaned towards the quite intimidated magician. "Oh please, tell us that. Accuse her of being the killer, I'd love to hear how you deflect this from that idiot."

"I used to be terrible at dating," Fiora sang as she wobbled back to her podium, and was now leaning rather strongly on the railing. "Then I met a Love Fairy, and I'm all better now!"

Ishiku took a deep breath, as he tried to summon all of his courage while the entire trial room stared at him. He was obviously struggling with words, so someone spoke first.

"Ishiku, is it true?" Taro asked, taking a deep breath as he stared at him. "Did you get Shinobu killed? I… I don't want to believe it was you, I really don't."

"I don't either," Monophanie shrieked from the Kubs' platform. This gathered a lot of their attention, because of how loud she was. "Ishi, you're not the killing type! Please, tell them what happened!"

"Youse really shouldn't cheer them on," Monosuke remarked.

"I thought we were here to cheer on the death!" Monokid protested.

Ishiku stared at Monophanie, who had her little paws clasped as she pleaded with her metal eyes. The magician inhaled, and declared, "No, I didn't kill Shinobu! But I believe I know who did!"

"Who?" Taro asked, gripping his podium, leaning towards the magician. "Please tell me who did this horrible thing to Shinobu!"

Ishiku glanced defiantly at Emanuel, then he raised his hand to point at…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… Monokid.

"He did it," Ishiku shouted, glaring at the blue Kub. "He was the one who killed Shinobu!"

Now this shocked the entire trial room, with the silence feeling like a thunderclap cleared the place out. Ishiku trembled with emotion, but he didn't back down from pointing at the Kub.

Then there was laughter, strong and mocking laughter, coming from the humans and the Kubs. Some of the laughter was the nervous variety, but it didn't help the tense atmosphere that felt suffocating at this point.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Blake shouted, clutching his stomach as he cackled. "You're saying the Kub did it?"

"That's ridiculous," Monosuke hollered as he guffawed.

" **My adorable widdle Kubs aren't murderous,** " Monokuma protested, " **well, they aren't directly homicidal, at the least.** "

"Of all the stupid, ludicrous, pathetic excuses," Emanuel said, as he tried to contain his emotions but failing, "you're trying to pin this on the dumb Kubs?"

Monokid had stayed silent throughout all of this, and then he barked out with laughter of his own. "You wanna take me on, magic boy? Alright, then bring it!

"You bring it harder and more metal than you've ever brought anything in your life if you're gonna accuse me in a Penjar trial!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Tell us what happened, Ishiku," Isaac pleaded. "We need to hear your side of the story before we can reach any conclusions."

"Alright, please hear me out. I was setting up the trap and all of the **weapons** in the other room, when **Fiora** beckoned me over to the other room."

"Is there any point to listening to this liar?" Emanuel asked.

"He gets a chance to explain himself," Anzu affirmed, pointing rather viciously at the detective. "Ishiku, please continue!"

"Haw haw, I ain't buying it," Monokid guffawed.

"Okay, so, Fiora had to communicate without words, but she showed to me that the **Monokubs' bodies** were different. The Monotaro one was heavier, like a robot of different **material**."

"Which would be because he was the only **real one** ," Kimiko commented.

"Then, all of a sudden, that one came to **life**!" Ishiku declared, pointing at Monokid again. "He ran over to that other shelf, opened it up, and pulled out this **other version** of himself…

"Then he chucked himself at us! Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed the **two vials of Blue** that Fiora had left on one of the desks!"

"So she did have Blue explosive instead of Red, like you were given?" Hara asked.

"Yeah, that really confused me, but I had little time to react, as Monokid started **running** around the room, laughing and cackling and acting like a freaking child carrying a bomb and playing **Keep Away** with it!"

"Haw haw haw! I'm **no child** ," Monokid shouted. "There, proved you fucking wrong, discussion over!"

"I actually dove towards him when he made a run for the door, and he dodged out of the way. Then… I still cannot believe this… he did a **football victory dance** , and raised his arm to **spike** one of the vials!"

"That does sound like him," Taro said, staring suspiciously at his blue brother.

"Hey, I thought I won. What do you have to say?!" Monokid demanded. " **No, that's fucking wrong!** "

"How did you survive that?" Yejoon asked.

"I kind of leapt out of the room when diving for him, so when I saw him ready to spike that vial, I slammed the **door** shut. I guess since Blue works best against building material, rather than metal doors, it saved my life."

" _I'd hate to ruin a bullshit story,_ " Emanuel shouted, " _but this is over right now!_ "

* * *

"There's so many holes in that story, I'm tired of fucking listening to it!" The Bête Noir spat, and then turned to Monokid. "Hey, by the way, where's my drink?"

"Huh? Oh, I gave it to her to give to you, I kind of got wrapped up in the trial when it became about me."

Monokid gestured towards Fiora, who was holding the flask in both hands. "I love fruit punch," she declared, before trying to drink from the still-closed flask.

Emanuel slapped his palm against his face, and mumbled in Spanish. Shaking it off, he went back to the debate. "Okay, let me just go over this quickly then:

"If Monokid had spiked the explosive on the ground, he'd be obliterated. Not to mention he had the other one in his hand, as you said, which would have blown it up too! And most of all, you used a fucking door to defend yourself from a building busting explosion?

"How fucking dumb do you think we all are?"

"But it's the truth!" Ishiku shouted, frantically glancing around at everyone. "I swear, that's what happened, even if I cannot entirely explain everything that happened!"

"Need I remind everyone that the Blue explosive demolished the floor of the building, and one of the walls?" Emanuel hollered. "There's no way that little bear survived that explosion from that close!"

"I'm fucking tough," Monokid protested.

"Can we wrap this up? I'm tired of listening to these horrible stories," the detective remarked. "We all know he did this solely to get his piece of ass back."

"Stop calling her that!" Ishiku shouted, his eyes blazing with emotion, mostly anger and frustration at Emanuel. "This is precisely why I didn't say anything, because I knew it would lead to this!"

"Lead to what, exactly?" Crystal asked.

"Everything thinking I did it because Fannie and I were intimate. I knew that you'd all think it, 'Oh he's a guy, he just wants to have sex with her more.' That isn't why I did it, and that isn't why I like her!"

Ishiku gripped his hair again, and groaned in frustration. "But no! I'm a man, so of course that can be my only motivation, isn't it? How am I supposed to defend myself when people will think I'm just a sex-crazed pervert?"

"But you're not!"

Monophanie sobbed from up on the Kubs' rise, and gestured towards the magician. "I… I… I know it's different, and I'm who I was meant to be now. But Ishi… I know what we had was more than physical delight! You cared about me, when no one else did."

The speech would have been so much more impactful if the two foot, pink, robotic bear with a shrill voice wasn't delivering it. Still, Ishiku let out a relieved gasp, and smiled. "Oh, Fannie…"

"This is fucking disgusting," Blake remarked.

"You are talking about romance," Futaba snapped, glaring at Ishiku, "with a Monokuma-based robot who simply had a human body for a couple days. And nothing more!"

"Are you really that type of person?" Souma asked, crossing his arms as he frowned at the magician. "Do you really believe that anything that comes from the very depths of Despair is going to have a heart, a true care for you?'

"Stop claiming my sister and Ishiku are liars!"

Taro shouted as he slammed his hand on his podium, and stared furiously around the trial room. "I feel emotions and desires the same way you all do. It was different when I was a robot bear, but I know now the free will you all possess, the desire, the want for affection, friendship, romance…"

The white 'n red-topped young man sniffled, and a tear ran down his face. "Every time I think about Shinobu, about losing her after getting to know her so well, it feels… heart breaking. I feel like someone kicked me, right here…"

He pointed at his chest, and took a shuddering breath. "After all she did for me, what she meant to me, it's what makes me human. And who am I to deny my sister and her friend that?"

"This is fucking disgusting," Blake repeated.

Pyrrha sobbed, wiping tears away from her eyes. "T-Taro, you really felt that way about her? Did you love her?"

"I… don't know what love truly is, I was only introduced to all these emotions when I became human. I-"

"Did you fuck her?"

The trial room went quiet at Emanuel's sudden question. The Bête Noir was glaring the sharpest of daggers at Taro, as he was gripping his podium and shaking in outrage. "Did. You. Have. Sex. With. Her?"

Taro nervously glanced around the trial room, and asked, "Do… do I have to answer that?"

"YES YOU HAVE TO ANSWER IT," Emanuel bellowed, his voice making the room feel like it was shaking, "SO TELL US NOW!"

The newcomer yelped in fear, and cried out, "But… but it was private between us!"

Emanuel's jaw dropped, and then he shook his head. "Holy fuck, that's what it was about, all this time. It wasn't about trying to free them from enslavement, or stop Despair's cloning process, or anything noble like that…

"It was about that flat, lonely, idiot girl trying to save a boy she had sex with so she could have what she saw as a boyfriend!"

Emanuel slammed his fists down on the podium, and spat out, "Unbelievable. She was just as awful as Ishiku this whole time!"

"Hey, I didn't know she was intimate with Taro," Ishiku cried out. "But that isn't important! We did it for the Kubs to be free, not for the sex!"

"Sure ya did," Aka muttered.

"It's true! Why won't you believe me? It's not Shinobu's fault that she didn't know Fannie's schedule, she wanted to save all of them!"

The Bête Noir had been fuming, breathing hard, when that stopped suddenly. His eyes stared downwards as he went silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled, and burst out laughing. "Oh fucking hell, you gave yourself away, Ishiku! You truly stuck your foot in it by admitting to where you were!"

"Huh? What are you saying?" Odelios argued. "He still sounds credible to me!"

"Oh really now?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Ishiku admitted earlier," Emanuel said, "that he knew that the **Kubs** were of different weight and characteristics, but he knew that only Monotaro was **real**."

"That was Fiora who found out," Anzu pointed out, "according to him."

"Well it's not according to him, because he's a fucking liar. The truth was, he found out that his little fuck buddy was a bear Kub once again, while **Shinobu's** could still be saved."

"That's not true!" Ishiku pleaded. "That's not the truth at all!"

"I can guess that if he found out **Fannie** could never come back to him," Crystal remarked, "he would have been upset."

"He had the **Blue** with him," Saiko said, glancing from side to side, "and he also knew that Shinobu was right **underneath** him, so to speak."

"Wh-what's going on?" Ishiku declared, fearfully gripping his hair. "Why is everyone going with this?"

"So he would have tried to blast the **floor** to have the **ceiling** fall on Shinobu," Aka declared, "and get **revenge**!"

"Are you kidding me with this?" Odelios shouted. "That is so crazy and stupid, and-"

"Then he would have jumped down to see if the deed was done," Emanuel continued. "But he had missed, Shinobu was still **alive** , so he threw the second container of Blue at her."

"Boom goes the wall, Shinobu hits the rebar," Souma said, rubbing his chin, "and then the **shelf** falls with the **power strip** attached to it. Ishiku is standing on one of the large pieces of **rubble** , maybe one of the flatter pieces since it was the floor from above that had rained down."

"Then the power goes out, killing the **electricity** after it kills Shinobu," Emanuel carried on. "Ishiku leaves through the new hole in the wall, and then comes back later with everyone else to hide the fact of what he did **upstairs**."

"Stop it!" Ishiku begged. "I didn't do this! I didn't kill Shinobu! I wouldn't!"

" _Everyone, stop talking right now,_ " Isaac shouted, as he pointed at Emanuel, " _because you've all gone horribly off-track!_ "

* * *

"Oh what is it now, Mr. Reporter?" Emanuel said with a roll of his eyes. "Can you deny anything we've said?"

"What about the fact that according to you, Ishiku went on this rampage when he discovered the difference between the Kubs?" Isaac pointed out. "However, the Kubs were in the weapons testing room, destroyed by the Red blast rigged up to the door."

"Yes, the trap that Ishiku himself set up. So what, he just moved the fake Monokubs into that room to destroy them first, so that it would look like he had gone according to plan."

"Oh so he was morally outraged to the point of murder, but he still helped Shinobu destroy Taro's robotic body? How very thoughtful, during his murderous rage!"

"He probably wanted to make it look as convincing as possible, should his role be revealed," Emanuel shouted, tightening his fist and shaking it at Isaac. "He did need a way to destroy the Monophanie jacket, after all."

"No! No please stop," Ishiku cried out. "I told you all, it was Monokid! He did this!"

"Yeah, I don't think anyone's buying it," Monokid remarked, and added, "Fucker!"

Emanuel groaned, as he tried to grab at his flask from Fiora, but the movie maker wobbled out of range. Losing patience, he announced, "Anyway, this conversation is over."

"What?" Kimiko balked. The biker gang leader glanced between Ishiku and Emanuel. "No it isn't!"

"It really is," Aka said, crossing her arms. "Ishiku lied about his involvement, he had the motive, and the ability to do everything."

"All of the evidence points to him," Souma said in agreement. "And there was no one else there."

"No… no I'm innocent!" Ishiku pleaded. "Fiora! For God's sake, snap out of it! You have to tell them what happened!"

The movie maker glanced around the room, trying to find out where her name was coming from. "Is that my conscience? I won't pick my nose anymore, I promise!"

"Fiora, _please_! WAKE UP!"

"That's enough," Emanuel shouted, glaring vicious at the magician. "You heard them! It's time to vote, here and now!"

"No it isn't," Isaac asserted. "We're not all in agreement!"

"Damn right," Odelios insisted. "I don't think Ishiku did this! Not my friend, not my buddy, not in my house!"

Ignatia glanced up at the bears' platform, and proceeded to place her hands over her ears.

" **I DECLARE THIS SPLIT DECISION MAKING TIME!** "

Monokuma's sharp shouting alerted everyone, as the bear waved the megaphone around in the air. " **I think we can all agree that it'd be so uncool to do a vote when there is still argumentation and debate to have!** "

"No, we don't need this," Emanuel argued. "It's only a couple people who won't see the truth!"

" **Oh really now? Your podium panels have the two choices on them, so I'd like to see how many people vote for each one. So, what do you all think?** "

There was a quick rush of electronic beeps, with only a few people needing a little more time to think about it. Monokuma held up a tablet, surveying the screen.

" **Looks like there is call for a good ol' debate! Let's see if you can convince Mayor Monokuma which side is strongest!** "

"I thought we were the mayors," Monosuke grumbled.

"You got this, Taro," Monophanie called out. "You're the first one of us to take part in this!"

Taro took a deep breath, as he studied everyone in the group. He glanced between Ishiku and Emanuel, and said, "I won't fail Shinobu."

Monokuma lifted a large key, labeled "Key to the City" on the side. A large lock raised up from the floor in front of his garish throne, and he inserted the key into it. With a twist, power could be heard charging up and machinery running throughout the trial room.

The platforms lit up at the base of their stands, and then hovered into the air. Taro had to grip his podium, but he managed the ride alright; Fiora was alright too, but she was now declaring how she could fly. As the podiums lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened up, and moving into the hallway-like room.

This was their third Scrum Debate, and despite how intense the previous two were, this one felt more dire than the others. The emotions were acute, and there was no showing weakness now…

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE!**

 **Team SCP-049** ( _"Ishiku is Shinobu's killer!"_ )

 **Members** : Emanuel, Blake, Crystal, Futaba, Souma, Eisei, Aka, Saiko, Ken, Yitro, Ignatia, Fiora.

…

 **Team Otherworld Nurse** ( _"Ishiku is not her killer!"_ )

 **Members** : Ishiku, Odelios, Taro, Isaac, Hara, Hikari, Anzu, Drake, Yejoon, Pyrrha, Shuuya, Kimiko

* * *

The podiums rose up into the room, with everyone facing each other now on two sides. Monokuma and the Kubs were standing at the end of the room, though Taro was standing prominently at the forefront for the innocent side.

"So tell me why **Ishiku's story** is less believable than Emanuel's?" the newcomer asked, crossing his arms.

"Are you fucking kidding me? **Ishiku's story** is full of holes," Emanuel snapped at him, glaring at the young man. "For starters, how could Monokid survive a **Blue blast** that close?"

"It was said that the Kubs were **blast proof** ," Anzu asserted as she extended a finger towards the detective. "We know those bodies of theirs are **strong**!"

"It's ludicrous to think they are that **strong** ," Saiko said, shaking her head. "If they were that tough, why would Shinobu even attempt to **destroy** them?"

"They were **destroyed** , however," Hara pointed out to her friend, "by the Red explosive. Shinobu knew what would work, and that's why she planned on using **Red** to destroy the Kubs' robotic bodies."

"But there weren't **Red** explosives in the workplace room," Yitro replied. "There were two Blue vials. The only reason they would be there would be **sabotage**."

"If Ishiku really was **sabotaging** Shinobu's plan, how could he do that?" Hikari asked, twirling her parasol on her shoulder. "Think about it, he would have realized the change, gone downstairs to make Blue, come back up and set up all the traps, and bomb the floor. That's **too long**!"

"How could that take **too much time**?" Ken inquired. "If he was instructed to get there at 8:30 AM, then he had had **an hour and a half-hour** to do that. It's plenty of time, for the Ultimate Magician."

"But during that **hour and a half** , Shinobu was downstairs the entire time," Kimiko declared. "Surely she would have noticed if he deviated from her plan to come **downstairs** to make more liquid explosives!"

"If Shinobu was **downstairs** in the containment tank room the whole time," Souma reasoned, "then she wouldn't be able to see to the other side of the building. After all, she had set up a **plan** , thinking they'd fall in order."

"What was her **plan**?" Shuuya asked, raising an eyebrow. "To stand around in that lab room and wait for things to get ready? No, she had to have been doing something! Like preparing the explosives in the **chemistry lab**."

"That's not possible," Futaba said as she corrected her glasses, "because there were notes left in the **chemistry lab** , obvious instructions to someone other than herself because she could speed-read the instructions. She wasn't the one mixing the **liquid explosives** , it was either Ishiku or Fiora."

"The **liquid explosives** couldn't have been made by either," Pyrrha remarked, "because Ishiku was working upstairs all that time, and Fiora was tricked into thinking Blue was the correct explosive. Fiora isn't stupid enough to read **basic instructions** wrong."

Fiora giggled as she stared at the panel on her podium. "I like words that start with **G** more than **I**." She then slumped on the railing of her podium, giggling to herself.

"Is that why you're over there, my little flower?" Yejoon questioned. "Anyway, as Pyrrha said, if Ishiku was the one making explosives, then he would have made Red to begin with, following the **basic instructions** , before going **upstairs**."

"Or maybe he's fucking lying about working **upstairs** ," Blake swore, clenching his hand into a fist, "and he planned to kill Shinobu from the start! She's dead one way or another, and he's the only **suspect**!"

"Except that Monokid is also **suspect** ," Ishiku insisted. "Have you all forgotten that he was set to transfer back into his robot body at 8:30? We didn't know until it was too late, so he came to life while we were organizing things after **9 AM**!"

"I remember the explosions happened after **9 AM** , before 9:30 to be precise," Crystal said. "But what does that prove? Are you implying that Monokid jumped down to the first floor, and hurled the other vial of Blue at Shinobu? Why didn't it blow up when he allegedly **spiked** the first one?"

"You do realize that if Monokid **spiked** the first vial of Blue," Isaac countered, "it doesn't mean he was holding the other one. After the blast, he could have grabbed the other one and **jumped** down to the first floor."

"Monokid **jumped** down to the first floor, and proceeded to kill Shinobu?" Eisei repeated, before shaking his head. "The Kubs are not allowed to kill us, that is against their **rules**."

"It's against their **rules** to directly kill us, but don't you see how it could be considered not direct in this case?" Odelios declared. "Not to mention that the Kubs are shockproof, so the electricity wouldn't kill **Monokid**!"

"Oh, and I guess **Monokid** ," Emanuel snidely remarked, "left the footprints outside, soiled the jackets at the tailor shop, and then joined with **everyone else**? He's not a murderer, he's just a fucking Despair bear!"

"Wait a minute, Monokid wasn't with **everyone else** when we first saw him at the lab," Hara protested. "He was already inside the lab, while the other Kubs were **stuck outside** with us!"

Ignatia mimicked a building with her hands, and then motioned to imply those who were **stuck outside**. She then pointed to the side of this mimicked building, and pantomimed an **explosion at the side**.

"I see what you mean, Ignatia," Drake said, "but the Kubs weren't aware of the **explosion at the side** of the building. They were trying to get in through the **front door**!"

"The Kubs don't need the **front door** ," Aka declared, "they get anywhere they damn well want in this town! They know everything about it! So obviously Monokid came in through that **hole** for the fun of it!"

"Aka, calm down, there's a reason why he couldn't use that **hole** ," Hikari said. "He would have had to wade through the water, but when we saw him, he wasn't **wet**."

"You could have easily missed if he were **wet** or not," Futaba remarked, "because that wasn't where your attention was, for sure. Besides, if he did attack Shinobu like you claim, wouldn't he have gone into the **water**?"

"Go into the **water**? Wait a minute," Odelios said, then he snapped his fingers as he laughed in relief. "What about Ishiku? Shouldn't he be wet to go through that gap underneath the **shelf**?"

Ignatia held out her hand at an angle to mimic the **shelf** , then she tried to crawl under it with her fingers on her other hand. Struggling, she then decided to climb **over** it with her fingers.

"So Monokid pulled himself **over** the shelf," Pyrrha countered, "avoided going through the water entirely, to show up inside of the lab? That's ridiculous behavior, and yet you're claiming to **understand his actions**."

"No one can **understand Monokid's actions** ," Saiko reasoned, "but at the very least, he wouldn't have done things like a human would to frame someone else, or **hide that he was there**."

"Wait, **hide that he was there**?" Taro repeated, scratching the red side of his hair. "Why wouldn't he do that, exactly? Why can't my brother have deviously hid his **involvement** in Shinobu's death?"

"Gah, another word that starts with an **I**!" Fiora shouted. She grabbed the hood of her jacket and pulled it up over her head (and hat). "Protect me from the cursed words, o' beloved **jacket**!"

" **Jacket**? Wait a minute… wait," Taro mumbled, scratching at his head harder. "Hold on!"

"Ignore her, she's not part of this!" Emanuel ordered.

"No, hold on, that's wrong!" The newcomer pointed at Fiora. "The Monokub jackets that everyone on the team had to wear! Ishiku **destroyed** his in the weapons testing room!"

"Yes, I found the pieces there, but what about it?" Eisei inquired for the opposing team. "What does that prove?"

"If Ishiku destroyed his jacket in the weapons testing room, then why sneak out and mess up the jackets at the tailor shop? That would only call attention to the fact that there was someone else on the team, not to mention run the risk of being caught!"

"My God, he's right," Isaac said, grasping at his beanie as he tried to contain his excitement. "But if Ishiku destroyed his jacket, and the tailor shop was a decoy done by someone else… that can only mean one thing!"

"There was a fourth member of Shinobu's team!" Taro specified.

"No!" Emanuel shouted. "No that's all fucking bullshit-"

"THIS IS OUR REASON!" Team Overworld Nurse shouted in unison, boldly asserting themselves in the face of the other team.

" **Holy cow, what a spectacle, what a show** ," Monokuma said. " **And I'm totally not biased because of my lost son, but victory totally goes to his team!** "

* * *

The platforms all came down, slowly but surely, and settled back inside of the trial room. There was a bit of a hush, as everyone from both teams contemplated the possibility of a fourth member of Shinobu's team. The only ones not doing so were Fiora, still loopy, and Emanuel, still enraged.

"No no NO!" The Bête Noir hollered as he kicked at his podium. "We had the killer in our grasp, and we lost some fucking debate!? There is no fourth member, there is no chance… there… there…"

"Thar she blows!" Fiora cheered.

"Oh shut up! This is all your fucking fault, PUTA!"

Emanuel swung at her, and the slap echoed violently across the trial room. Fiora fell to the ground, not even catching herself as she went down. With a heave of frustration, Emanuel ignored the shocked gasps and cries from the others, and moved over to collect his flask from her at long last.

When he bent down to pick it up, he felt a sharp object press up against his neck. "If you lay a hand on her one more time," Yejoon whispered into the detective's ear, "I will perforate you to ensure you take the longest amount of time to bleed to death."

Emanuel froze up, and stared over at Monokuma in the hopes that the bear would stop this bad situation. The Despair bear noticed, and cried out, " **Okay, enough violent fun, people! Go back to your respective podiums, and carry the trial on! Or Daddy Monokuma will get beary beary mad! Phuhuhuhu!** "

"I will not," Yejoon snapped, glancing up at the bear in charge. "You do not intimidate me, I refuse to let this beast continue his violence."

"Oh that's rich, coming from the parent-killing serial murderer," Emanuel said with a bitter laugh. "But hey, I get it, you like her for some reason. Fine, just get away from me, I won't hit her again."

"You'd best not."

Yejoon removed the dagger from its precarious place, and moved over to Fiora. The movie maker hadn't moved since she had collapsed, but she was breathing irregularly.

"Fiora? Please, talk," the artist implored. "Are you alright?"

"…

…

…

…

Ugh… head… face… pain… ow…

D-don't hit me again, Junko… ugh."

Fiora blinked and shook her head, then glanced upwards. When she saw Yejoon's mask, she shrieked and leapt up into the air, but with nothing to grab onto, she came right back down and into his arms.

"Oh put me doo'n," she shouted at him, shaking her fist as she adjusted her fedora back onto her head correctly. "I doo'nt recall saying you could touch me, eh!"

"I apologize, my little flower, but I could not risk you hurting yourself again."

"What do you mean, 'a'geen'? What… wait… where am I?"

The movie maker glanced around, as the scenery was different enough to warrant confusion, but it didn't take her long to realize she was in the trial room. Her eyes widened in shock and terror, as she surveyed the graduates, and saw the memorial stand that she dreaded becoming a reality.

"Shinobu," she whimpered, then sobbed as she covered her face with her free hand. "No! No no no, how did this happen?!"

Yejoon placed her back on her feet, and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know this is hard for you right now, but we're trying to discern who killed Shinobu. You are the witness we have needed for some time."

"Um, okay. How much do you all knoo' already?"

The artist walked over to his own podium, and said, "Why don't you give us your story, but you'll have to make it a little quick. We're running out of time."

Emanuel snorted, as he stared at Fiora. "Like she'll give us anything new."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Alright, let me start at the beginning," Fiora spoke, rubbing her sore face. "Shinobu asked me to join her at the **tailor shop** at **8 AM** , and when I got there, she told me her entire **plan**."

"Her **whole** **plan**?" Hara asked. "Goodness, that's a lot to go over."

"Um, I'll try to give you the abridged version: go upstairs, get the **Monokubs** out of their case, place them in the same location as the files and computers, then help **Ishiku** with setting up the **booby traps** at the doors."

"Wait, did you know what **explosive** you were supposed to use?" Yitro asked.

"Huh? It was a **liquid explosive**. It was left at the foot of the stairs, and we were alerted by a **loud knocking** a'geenst the wall."

"Shinobu was **downstairs** the entire time?" Yejoon inquired. "And you two were **upstairs** the entire time?"

"Y-yes, why do you ask? Is something wrong with that, eh?"

"Oh my God, this is so asinine," Emanuel spat out. "She's lying!"

"Why did you go behind our backs and do this?" Saiko demanded to know, glaring at Fiora. "Why all the **secrecy**?"

"What? Because we knew you people wouldn't understand, eh," Fiora, suddenly quite angry, snapped at her. "And who here could we **trust**?"

"I'm still not fully convinced you're being honest here," Ken said, crossing his arms. "You were babbling udders nonsense just a few minutes ago, up until now."

"I… wait, what? Was I talking in my sleep?"

" _I believe we have more than enough_ ," Isaac interrupted, pointing at Fiora, " _to go to the presses with this one!_ "

* * *

"Everyone, we were just done discussing the possibility of a fourth person being part of Shinobu's team," Isaac said, "and now we know it for a fact thanks to Fiora!"

"Huh? We do?" Fiora asked, staring in utter confusion at Isaac.

"You said that someone left the liquid explosive vials at the base of the stairs, and knocked on the wall to let you know they were ready. Shinobu didn't make the liquid explosives, she left instructions for someone to do so."

"Are you sure," Hara said, staring hopefully at Fiora, "that Ishiku didn't go downstairs at any point?"

"No, I know for a fact he was upstairs with me the whole time, eh."

"FIORA! You wonderful, beautiful woman!"

Ishiku was over to Fiora's podium in a flash, and seized the woman in a tight and grateful hug. He squealed in delight, as he buried his face in her shoulder, and sobbed as well. "They were going to vote for me for a while there! You came just in time! Thank you, thank you thank you thank you, you're my hero!"

"Awk! Errrrgh… friendly… hug… too friendly…"

Emanuel stared at the two with a look of utter disgust, and unscrewed the flask he had finally retrieved. Taking a sip, he coughed and hacked, then said, "Is anyone buying this bullshit?"

Shuuya stared at him, asking, "Are you sure you're not overreacting to your theory, once again, being wrong?"  
"Wrong? Oh please, Fiora could have easily been faking this whole time! You cannot trust her, you cannot trust any of them! Two of them did this to have someone to fuck, and Fiora is the fucking Seed of Despair!

"No one," he snarled, as he pointed at the two, at her in particular, "no one comes out of a Killing Game like the one she did unscathed! You want to know how many Killing Game survivors I found over the years? Every one, every single one, turned into a psychotic killer because they couldn't handle the madness, or killed themselves!

"Despair fucks with your mind in that way, and there is no way that stupid, talentless, waste of a human being Z-grade movie maker just miraculously shrugged it off!"

Fiora, who had finally been put down by Ishiku, stared at the detective in bafflement. "What's he talking a'boot, eh?"  
"We know, Fiora darling," Hikari said sadly. "We know you survived a Killing Game before all of this."

The movie maker flinched, then glanced around at the others. When no one reacted with the least bit of surprise, she knew it to be true.

"… Oh. But what's that got to do with this case?"

Emanuel let out a wail of pure angrish, and covered his face with both hands. Souma monitored this, and then looked towards Fiora. "We're concerned that this previous experience, combined with Ishiku's deviant reasons, are why one of you bombed the second floor to try and kill Shinobu."

"… WHAT?!"

Fiora shrieked so loudly, it made most of the others flinch. Monosuke's glasses shattered, and the orange Kub grumbled as he replaced them.

"I'm guessing you're going to claim that didn't happen?" Eisei remarked. His lollipop had shattered as well, much to his surprise, so he procured another one.

"No, that didn't fucking happen," Fiora hollered, clenching her hands into fists, before pointing over towards the bears' rise. "That stupid fucking blue bear tried to kill us all!"

She was singling out Monokid, who was so startled that he dropped his guitar. "Nani the fuck?!" the blue Kub shouted right back. "Moi? Me? Dude? Fuck what?"

"I told you all," Ishiku added to the chaos with his mixture of relief and outrage. "I told you, Monokid tried to kill us!"

"Wait, everyone calm down please," Crystal implored. "Fiora, yelling about this isn't going to help! Tell us exactly what happened."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So after I got the **explosives** for my room, I was organizing things when I found 'oot that the **Kubs** weighed differently," Fiora explained. "The one of Monotaro was much heavier, and it felt like a real robot compared to the others."

"The fake ones were much more storage for our memory," Taro explained, "they weren't as **strong** or flexible."

"Oh em gee, what is **HE** doing here?!" the movie maker shrieked, pointing at Taro.

"Focus, little flower," Yejoon remarked. "Back to what happened?"

"Um, okay. So anyway, I go down the hallway to tell **Ishiku** , or at least try to bring him over without talking, eh. When we get there and I am showing him, that **blue Kub** just gets up and starts running around!"

Monokid hid his arms behind his back, and tried to whistle innocently. It didn't come off as such.

"He grabbed one of the **vials** , and Ishiku chased him around. Then when he jumped for Monokid and missed, that damn bear started acting like he scored a touchdown, and **spiked** the explosive on the floor!"

"And he **survived** that?" Futaba asked dubiously.

"Yeah! I mean, I kind of was floored by the blast, and when the ringing in my ears had stopped and I was back up, I saw Monokid with the other vial in his paw… **jump** down to the first floor!"

"Holy crap, is that what happened?" Ishiku asked. "I was still on the other side of the **door** , I didn't know."

"Well, I mean, I was so worried a'boot **Shinobu** , I kind of… went after him."

"You jumped down to the **first floor**?" Futaba balked, staring at her with wide eyes. "You just leapt into that dangerous situation?"

"I could hear screaming and shouting and laughing! I was so scared fur Shinobu, and when I could see what was happening, I saw her **chasing** after that stupid bear!"

"I deny all of this!" Monokid shouted. "This is character **assassination**! **Slander**! **Defamation**! It's… it's fucking **trolling**!"

"Shut up, you damn little monster! You knoo' what he did?" Fiora slammed her palm on the podium as she pointed accusingly at Monokid. "When Shinobu picked him up, trying to get him to stop, he whined about not getting to have fun…

"And then he threw the other vial at the **wall**! Then, um, well, I tried to make a run for it, and then suddenly I was airborne… then everything went **black**."

"You cannot prove any of this!" Monokid asserted.

" _I think I can prove something,_ " Pyrrha exclaimed.

* * *

"You know something? I think just pieced something together from all this," the romance writer said, coiling her red hair around in her fingers. "Monokid was very disrespectful to us during the investigation, but he was also hiding something."

"I'm not hiding shit," Monokid shouted.

"Really then? Turn around."

The blue Kub froze up, almost appearing to be like Monodam. He muttered, "Um, no, don't feel like it."

Pyrrha stared him down. "You lay on your back most of the investigation. You walked backwards into the Town Hall. And now Fiora told us that when the explosion went off, you were in her arms. So turn around."

"No! You cannot make-WHOA!"

Monodam walked over to his brother, put his green paw on top of him, and spun him around. Upon his back was a scratch, as well as a slight bloodstain.

"Oh my God," Hara declared in horror. "That… that…"

"That's Shinobu's blood, no doubt about it," Isaac said, shaking his head. "She was holding Monokid in her arms when she was thrown back, and that rebar that penetrated her chest stabbed Monokid as well."

"It's just a scratch," Monokid insisted as he turned around. "I've had worse."

The graduates all exchanged glances as they took this in, though Shuuya seemed more incensed than anyone else. "Monokuma?" he spoke towards the Despair bear. "I hope you realize that this trial is against your rules?"

" **Oh really now? And why is that?** "

"Because if Monokid killed Shinobu, then this trial never should have happened! A trial is for when one of the tourists of Penjar commits a murder, not one of your staff! Not one of your kids!"

The bounty hunter/assassin crossed his arms, and said with a huff, "Those are your own rules, and you cannot make excuses. This trial never should have happened!"

Monokuma cocked his head to the side, then let out a confused grunt before chuckling. " **Eh? Upupu… phuhuhuhuhu! Funny that it still is going on then, huh?** "

"Wait," Shuuya stared at him suspiciously, "what?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"The **bloody scratch** on Monokid's back proves it," Shuuya declared. "He was in Shinobu's arms when he threw the **explosive**!"

"That in turn made the **shelf** fall down and the **power strip** on it drop into the water," Drake recounted. "That's how she died right?"

"But if **Monokid** is responsible for Shinobu's death," Hara asked, "why are we having this trial?"

"Is Monokuma **lying**? Did he **cheat**?" Blake questioned.

"I never **lie**!" Monokuma protested.

"Daddy never **cheats** ," Monophanie retorted.

"I'm just an innocent, harmless Penjar enthusiast," Monokid complained. "I never hurt anyone!"

"No, this doesn't make any sense," Ishiku shouted. "My puzzler is so stumped! I don't know what to believe in anymore!"

"Ishiku!" Odelios called out. "Just believe in the **me** who believed in the **you**!"

"That's so beautiful," Fiora said with a happy sob, " **I'm** so touched by your words!"

"Focus, little flower," Yejoon reminded her. "We have to decide here and now if **Monokuma** is cheating us."

" _No! No no no_ ," Emanuel bellowed, " _you've all, no we all had it wrong since the beginning!_ "

* * *

"You idiots, Monokid cannot be Shinobu's killer, because that's against the rules," Emanuel exacted. "Despair doesn't cheat its own rules, it never has, and it never will!

"So there's only one conclusion we can draw from this, and that is that Monokid did not throw that Blue explosive…"

He took several deep breaths, running a hand through his hair, then he let out a bitter laugh as he turned to stare at the person in the podium next to him. "But Fiora could have."

"Huh?" Fiora balked.

"After you jumped down to the first floor, you could have thrown that explosive at Shinobu and Monokid, and hit the wall! You were the one to kill them, all along!"

"No, you've got it wrong!"

"Then was it Ishiku? Because it's either him or you!" Emanuel shouted, leaning towards her. "One of you had to have done it!"

"It wasn't him either, I swear!"

"Then what the fuck was he doing? Because, if your story is to be believed, you left all those Monokub bodies in the workplace room, yet they were blown up in the weapons testing room!"

Fiora glanced between Emanuel and Ishiku as she stammered. "I… I was unconscious, I doo'nt knoo'-"

"Listen, you stupid, stupid puta, we're going to get the truth from you one way or another, so FUCKING TALK!"

"I AM FUCKING TALKING!"

The movie maker moved in, glaring down Emanuel as a fire raged in her eyes. "But you're the one who's not listening!"

"Oh please, this is such an easy set-up for the two of you," the Bête Noir said with an exasperated groan. "You threw that explosive, made the footprints outside, and then pretended to be unconscious all this time."

"I was knocked out! I had one of those visions that Anzu and Kimiko had, I was at Hope's Peak, kind of, when this crazy woman attacked me!"

"Oh, good God, really now?! That's your story?"

"Yeah, and you know what, buster? I was told that when this happened, that the mists helped 'oot! But there still was… there was…"

Fiora went quiet, as her eyes widened in realization. She thought back, remembering what Mahiru had said, and suddenly it made so much more sense.

" _Fiora, don't let your anger get the best of you. The mists saw what happened, they aided it, but a person is still in control of their actions. Remember that, it was a person!_ "

"A person," she whispered, then shouted it defiantly. "A person was involved! That's what Mahiru told me, that a person was responsible fur this murder, eh!"

"What?!" Anzu shrieked.

"What?!" Kimiko yelped.

"What?" Eisei declared.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Saiko shouted. "The dead girl said the mists helped but a person killed her? You just got done saying Monokid killed her!"

"What is going on?!" Aka wailed in confusion.

The trial room exploded with the most fierce argument yet, with everyone talking and shouting over everyone else. Isaac, Odelios, and Taro tried to get everyone to calm down, but nothing was working.

As the white 'n red-topped young man reached for his air horn, fumbling with the tool, Hara was contemplating everything that had gone on. She noticed her lover was trying so hard to get everyone back on track, and she tried to think of how she could help…

She need to focus. Hara felt if they didn't find the answer to all of this, and fast, they were going to be in a lot of trouble.

* * *

I don't think that Fiora or Ishiku are guilty of this crime. They both felt trapped by circumstances, and neither one would commit a murder. There's just no proof.

…

So wait a minute, if there's no direct proof that says Fiora or Ishiku killed Shinobu, then who could have?

…

It couldn't have been Monokid, then we wouldn't be holding a trial.

…

But if Monokid didn't kill Shinobu by throwing the Blue explosive against the wall, then how could someone else have killed her?

…

Trying to think of who it was is making my head hurt. If it wasn't Ishiku or Fiora, and it wasn't Shinobu herself, then who could have possibly killed her?

…

…

…

Wait, didn't we believe that Shinobu's team had a fourth member? This fourth person could very well be the culprit!

…

Ah, but wait, the fourth person couldn't have thrown the explosive into the room, Fiora would have seen them!

…

If the fourth person came upon the scene after the explosion, then did they do something that caused the fatal electrocution?

…

Yes! That has to be it! Ishiku didn't go outside, Fiora was unconscious, and Shinobu was impaled, so a fourth person had to go outside to leave those footprints and hide that they had a jacket!

…

…

…

Hold on. Why haven't Fiora and Ishiku said anything about this fourth member? Surely they would have said something by now if there was one?

…

Did they even know? Shinobu asked Fiora and Ishiku to come at 8 and 8:30, respectively. Did she ask this person to come help at 9?

…

But why do that? Come to think of it, Shinobu has been highly secretive about this, even to the members of the group. She requested that Fiora and Ishiku stay upstairs the entire time, and not come down…

…

The only reason I can think of why Shinobu kept the fourth member a secret from the other two, and vice versa, is that she knew there would be problems.

…

Shinobu must have trusted this fourth member, but knew Fiora and/or Ishiku would have an issue and thus wouldn't want to work with whoever it was? Maybe it was vice versa, maybe both…

…

Wait, does all this mean what I think it means? Did this fourth person kill Shinobu without Fiora and Ishiku knowing who it was? How, though… how did…

…

…

…

Oh.

OH!

That… that could be it. I remember what she said, or rather what she showed us.

…

But then! Who IS this fourth member? Who were they, and why would Shinobu hide their identity from the rest of the team?

…

Was it Yejoon? I mean, Fiora doesn't trust him at all.

…

…

…

No. No no no, Shinobu had zero reason to trust Yejoon either.

…

Was it Taro? Maybe the other two would have been leery of one of the human Monokubs working with them?

…

…

…

No, that doesn't work either, for a number of reasons, biggest of all that she wouldn't hide him from them; Ishiku was doing this for Fannie, after all.

…

Was it Shuuya? Was it… it…

…

…

…

Oh.

Oh my God!

* * *

"OH MY GOD!"

Hara's scream came right after Taro had finally managed to get the air horn properly in his hands, and pressed the button. Thus, right when everyone went quiet, the explorer's sudden revelation was made quite obvious to everyone.

"Honey?" Isaac spoke, staring at her questioningly and concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I… I know who it is," Hara said, practically breathing out the words. "I know who the fourth person is, and… the one who killed Shinobu."

"Wait, what?" he responded.

"Wait, what?!" Emanuel declared.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Fiora trilled.

"Enough shouting and whining," Taro pleaded, staring hopefully at Hara. "Just tell us, please. Tell us who killed Shinobu?"

Hara had to take a deep breath, shuddering as she tried to summon all of her courage. She raised her hand, and pointed…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… at Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir.

"I believe Emanuel was Shinobu's fourth member, and he possibly killed Shinobu."

The trial room went dead silent, as the detective stared at the explorer with the most incredulous expression. Emanuel eventually unscrewed his flask, and took a long swig of the alcohol.

"Okay, I know I'm a jerk to some of you," he said, "but that's taking it a step way too far."

"Emanuel cannot be the killer," Souma said, shaking his head. "There's no way he would be a part of this."

"I mean, he is a jerk," Ishiku said, "and the jerk is never the killer, he's just being a jerk so people hope he did it. But I mean, in all seriousness, Shinobu wouldn't trust our team."

Hara glanced around at everyone, noticing their dubiousness. She glanced at Isaac, who motioned for her to carry on, showcasing his belief in her.

"Hey! I… I believe I can prove it to you all," Hara announced. "Let me just start by saying-"

" **AHEM!** "

Monokuma leaned forward on his throne, glaring down at the graduates and Taro. " **I should let you all know that your time with the trial is almost over. You really wasted a lot this trial, I blame my good-for-nothing no-longer-mine son!**

" **So guess what! I'm going to allow one more debate amongst you all, and then… it's voting time!** "

Hara flinched, as she realized that the pressure was all on her, and social skills had never been her strong suit. " _This is bad, this is really, really bad_ ," she thought frantically. " _I think I'm the only one who recognizes the truth, and I have to convince them…_

" _Wait, I just have to convince over half of them, which is… thirteen of them, and that includes myself. Okay, Hara, our lives depend on this. I need to do this!_

" _I HAVE to do this!_ "

* * *

 **LEAP OF FAITH PERSUASION!**

 **HARA, BEGIN!**

* * *

Hara took a deep breath, bringing in all of her strength and conviction. The explorer corrected herself, and then stared at the one person she knew she could trust above all.

 **ISAAC!**

"I know I haven't had a chance to explain myself, but do you trust me?"

"You said you'd always be by my side, Hara my love," Isaac said, smiling at her. "You should know that I'll always be by yours. If you have conviction on this, I'll be alongside you."

Hara nodded, smiling sweetly at him; however, before she could speak, Emanuel slammed his fist on the podium.

"Shut the hell up, and stop accusing me because you want to blame someone else other than those two stupid people! There's no evidence that showcases it was me, and in fact, there is evidence against a fourth person to begin with!"

 _SOUMA!_

"Yes, about that," Souma remarked, turning towards the Bête Noir, "that note you found on Shinobu said there were only three people total?"

"Exactly!"

The public speaker shook his head, and stared down Hara. "Honestly, I know you're trying your best, but it makes no sense for him to be the killer. Not to mention we have two far more suspicious people."

"Hey, you haven't given Hara a chance to explain herself," Isaac fired off at Souma. "And also, what are you going to do? Flip a coin on who to vote for between Fiora and Ishiku? You cannot prove it was either of them!"

Souma glanced over at Emanuel, and asked, "Do you have an idea who did it?"

"Well of course it was Fiora," Emanuel said. "Ishiku looks highly suspicious, but she had the motive, the opportunity, and all of the suspicion lands on her as she was the last person to see Shinobu alive."

"No, you cannot do this," Fiora shouted.

"I am afraid I agree with Emanuel," Souma said. "You have been highly suspicious since you were found unconscious, if you even were."

The public speaker turned towards Eisei, and smiled down at his friend.

EISEI!

"Now I know you are a logical person, my friend," he said to the dentist, who stared up at him in regard. "Surely can see how this trial will be ending soon, and we'll need a strong verdict."

Eisei surveyed the trial room, and took a deep breath. "I…"

 _SAIKO!_

"You have to believe it was Fiora at this point by now, Eisei," the forensic investigator said, with a roll of her eyes. "I mean come on, at this point, it has to be her."

"But… but Saiko," Hara stammered, staring at her close friend incredulously. Saiko managed to look her in the eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Look, Hara, I'm really sorry, but I cannot agree with you here. I don't see Emanuel working with Shinobu, this vision stuff is way too crazy for me to grasp at this point, and most of all, I've seen what people who get out of Killing Games alive do too."

She shivered at the memories, then stared at Fiora. "I… I just think she's too far gone, and I saw the fury in her voice when she was arguing."

"I… but I," Fiora stammered, whimpering as she glanced around.

 _AKA!_

"Okay, I don't want to just stand around talking about this anymore," the skier declared. "Yeah, I don't like Emanuel, but you really think we'll take Fiora seriously? After all that bizarre shit she was doing?"

"I doo'nt even remember what I was doing," Fiora pleaded.

"This is just beyond ridiculous, arguing during a trial when someone admitted to being the last person in the room with the dead girl," Aka said. "I'm done, I'm just done with all of it."

"But wait," Hara insisted, "I haven't even-"

 _KEN!_

"Hara, I'm afraid that there's nothing you could to convince me," the cavalryman said, as he hung his head and let out a massive sigh. "This trial, we should have known from the start that there wasn't going to be a clear answer."

"Ken, please," Hara begged him, clasping her hands. "We believed in you when you insisted you were innocent last trial, why are you rushing to conclusions now?"

"Because," Ken stared down Fiora, who shivered at his harsh glare, "I vowed to destroy Despair, at any cost. And it's sadly true, the ones who are immersed in it, even against their will, become part of it."

Fiora shook as if struck, and then sobbed. "No one believes me… I… I doo'nt knoo' what to do! What happened?"

"Wait a minute, please, everyone," Hara spoke up, gripping her podium tightly. "I haven't even tried to explain to you why-"

"We don't want to hear it!" Emanuel shouted, glaring at her. "You just don't want to accept the truth! But your fuzzy little goofball girl is actually a murderer!"

"N-no! Please, stop-"

 _BLAKE!_

"You heard the man, we're not interested," the pyro said, shaking his hand. "Anyway, it should be obvious to everyone here that the little bitch is crazy. I mean, I guess at this point Ishiku was covering for her. He seems to be doing anything for pussy."

"I hate you," Fiora shrieked, the volume of her voice reverberating around the room. She glared at Blake, heaving in exasperation.

 _CRYSTAL!_

"That didn't help your case," the military adviser said, staring at the movie maker. "Please, you haven't been able to put up a decent defense, you just made everything more confusing.

"I'm not letting this madness go on any longer. This fourth member doesn't exist, it's just an attempt to exonerate someone you all pity. I'm sorry, I just cannot go with that."

DRAKE!

The cartoonist raised his hand, wanting to ask a question. He had been doing this for a while, since the beginning of this debate actually. No one had noticed since he was shrinking back as his nervousness made him more and more withdrawn.

It was at this point Ignatia knocked on her podium until people noticed her, and she pointed to Drake. When the discussion came to a pause, the cartoonist glanced up from behind his sketch pad.

"Hara," he whimpered, "I trusted Emanuel during some really bad times, and I feel like it would be betraying his trust to doubt him now…"

Hara swallowed nervously, as her mind was tallying up everyone in her head. Seven people, and it was going to be nine if Drake went with Emanuel's call, because Ignatia would surely follow…

"But I still want to ask you, what is the reason you think he was the fourth person?"

Hara locked up for a moment, incredulous that she finally had a chance to talk. Before she could, Emanuel let out a frustrated growl.

"Really? You are going to listen to her try to set me up? You are going to do that, boy?" the Bête Noir asked.

"I… I just want to hear it. If it can be disproved, we shouldn't mind hearing it out."

The explorer nodded, then pulled herself together and spoke, "Okay, well, Shinobu must have asked Emanuel to help her, but she knew he wouldn't want to work with Fiora and Ishiku, because he hates them, and vice versa. Especially since Emanuel was looking to lock her up after seeing that Killing Game."

"You saw it?!" Fiora shrieked. "Wh-what? What do you mean you saw it-"

"Shut! Up!" Emanuel snarled, glaring down Fiora. "And that's the dumbest reason I've heard in my life! I hate those two, so therefore I did it?!"

 _FUTABA!_

"I'm going to have to go with Emanuel here," the anthropologist said. "That's a very weak reason, that he wouldn't work with Fiora and Ishiku? Then why would Shinobu even ask him for help?

"Face it, she easily could have done everything herself. She had to make the explosives."

"But Shinobu left instructions for them on how to make the explosives," Isaac argued.

"Then Ishiku made the explosives, while Fiora is the killer."

"Then who made the wet footprints outside?"

"That's either Fiora, who faked being unconscious, or Ishiku."

 **ISHIKU!**

"Hey wait a minute! How could I have gone downstairs to try and set up the image that someone left the building?" Ishiku shouted. "I was upstairs, I had to take the Monokub bodies to the weapons testing room to ensure they were destroyed!"

"Why did you do that, anyway?" Eisei asked, staring at the magician.

"Because… after that second explosion, I was frozen in place for a while, I was horrified but I realized that eventually you all would come to the lab, and our chance would be ruined. I had to do something, and I had to set up the trap!

"So I jumped the hole in the workplace room, stuffed the Monokub bodies in a bag, and leapt back to put them in the weapons testing room! Then while people were slowly starting to arrive, I snuck down to make it look like I came back in with you all…"

The magician nervously scratched the back of his head, and muttered, "I… I had a feeling that Shinobu was dead, but I thought the last thing I should do is ensure Taro couldn't be forced back into his robotic body. And those decoys needed to go as well."

"That," Emanuel said as he spit in disgust, "that is the lamest, most pathetic excuse I have ever heard in my life!"

"It's the truth!"

 **ODELIOS!**

"And I believe you!"

The clown placed his clenched fist, holding his rubber chicken's neck in it, against his chest, over his heart. "I believed in you since the beginning, buddy! I thought it was a dangerous and mysterious mission, but I understand why you kept it secret! I would have too!

"With all the shit I've seen, I wouldn't have asked you to risk your life for a favor for me! But you know what? Next time, ask me! Because I would risk my life for you…

"And for the little lady over there as well," Odelios said, pointing Rubarrow at a quite startled Fiora. "The idea that you must be corrupted if you suffered a tragedy from Despair?

"BULLSHIT! All the shit! So much shit, it smells like cleaning up after the elephants! I don't believe it for a second! But there is one thing I have to ask you, Hara…"

Odelios leaned forward, and spoke to her in a more serious tone. "Now you're sure that no one else would have been a mystery fourth person for Shinobu's team? It really is the jerk?"

"It really is," Hara took a deep breath, and said with conviction, "the jerk."

SHUUYA!

"That's a mighty strong accusation you have there, Hara," the bounty hunter said, crossing his arms as he stared at her. "But I have some stronger questions for you.

"Why would Shinobu trust Emanuel in the first place? What has he done to warrant such trust?"

"Emanuel may be a brute, but what he wants more than anything is to stop Despair. Shinobu felt that destroying the Monokubs' robotic bodies would stop Despair's hold over them."

Hara stared at Emanuel, and sighed heavily. "I don't think he was going to betray her at first, or even at all. I think this was an accident of sorts."

"Really now?" Shuuya raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"It's something Ignatia brought up, that someone could go over the shelf instead of under it, to avoid the water."

"Wait a minute," Eisei spoke up, rubbing his chin, "didn't she try to do that at one point? But she stopped when…"

His eyebrows raised, and he glanced over at the Bête Noir. "When you asked her to help with the note."

Emanuel snarled in frustration, hammering his fist on his podium. "I just asked someone at random to help me, she didn't seem like she was doing anything."

Shuuya stared at him. "And where is that note now?"

"I put it on this fucking…"

He stared at the podium, noticing it was bare. Emanuel scanned the area, and spluttered out, "Where'd it go? Where's the note?!"

"How convenient for you to lose it now," Odelios said with a scoff.

"Fuck off, clown, that note proved that Shinobu only had two teammates, not three! I'm standing in-between the two most suspicious people in the trial room right now…"

He pointed towards Fiora and Ishiku, respectively at his right and left. "One of them had to have snatched it to prevent there being proper evidence!"

"About that, why did you ask the mute girl to help you?" Shuuya asked. "You also said it was in Japanese?"

"What's mute got to do with helping to properly read a note? And what's the problem with it being in Japanese? Everyone who studied and graduated properly at Hope's Peak knows how to read, write, and speak in Japanese and English."

There was a brief moment of silence, as Drake audibly gasped. The cartoonist was shaking, and his eyes were misting up. Several of the people noticed, especially Shuuya. "What's wrong, Drake?" he inquired.

"It's… it's just that Ignatia is like me, she didn't study at Hope's Peak like the rest of you, she was part of the art program. She was only there for one year, and you're not obligated to learn both languages."

Shuuya rounded his crimson eyes on Emanuel, and said quietly but with the utmost seriousness, "So the one person you asked to help you recover a vital clue wasn't qualified? You're looking far more suspicious to me now!"

The bounty hunter slammed his fist on the podium, and shouted, "Until you can prove otherwise, I believe you are the killer, Emanuel!"

IGNATIA!

"What the FUCK?! If Ignatia didn't know Japanese, she made no indication while I was trying to transcribe it!"

He pointed furiously at the mime, who merely rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Don't just fucking stand there, say something!" Emanuel hollered. "Write something, I don't care! But you didn't seem to have a problem when I was working with you!"

Ignatia glanced from side to side, then visibly slumped. Gesturing to Drake for his sketchpad, she made a quick message, and handed it back to him.

" 'I'm ashamed to admit I don't know how to read Japanese really well. I just didn't think it was important, since I didn't believe you could be the killer, until now.' Wh-what? Ignatia!"

Drake stared incredulously at the mime, who refused to look back. He then peered at Emanuel, pleading for an answer.

"This is ridiculous," the Bête Noir shouted. "So it's my fault that she actually didn't know what we were doing because of her fucking ego? How does that make me the killer?"

He rounded on Hara, glaring venomously at her. "You haven't put out one bit of proof it was me, that I was even there! You cannot even say how I could have killed her! The room was flooded, and then she was electrocuted!"

Hara took in a deep breath, then stared right back at him. "The room was flooded, but we all assumed that the power strip fell into the water right away. However, if that were the case, then Monokid would be our killer."

"Fiora is the killer, she threw that explosive!"

The explorer shook her head, and pointed at him. "No, because then she would have been shocked when the power strip fell in the water. You're asserting that she faked her unconscious state, that she faked those footprints, all before we showed up…

"The power strip falling into the water was an accident caused by the explosion, and yet you keep acting like it was deliberate!"

YITRO!

"I'd hate to interrupt," the swordsman said, staring questioningly at Hara, "but I do have an important question for you."

"Oh, um, yes?"

"If the power strip didn't fall into the water because of the explosion, how did it fall in?"

Hara felt panic begin to rise up in her. She blurted out, "It must have fallen in when Emanuel climbed over it, rather than under."

"How would that make it fall in when the explosion didn't cause it to? And also, why wasn't he electrocuted, those shelves are metal and would conduct a fatal shock."

The explorer tried to speak, but words were beginning to fail her. As she desperately tried to remember details about the shelf and the power strip, Isaac spoke up.

"The zip tie is on the back, left bar of the shelf," the reporter said. "If you were to stand on it, and twist your foot, the zip tie could break."

"'Could'? COULD?!" Emanuel exploded. "You're setting me up over a 'could'?!"

"It's the exact movement one would make when jumping off the shelf," Isaac countered, glaring at the Bête Noir. "You climbed over the shelf, stepped on that zip tie, and broke it when you exited the building…"

"Thus, the power strip fell into the water and electrocuted poor Shinobu, killing her!" Hara finished, pointing accusingly at Emanuel. "That's why Monokid isn't responsible for her death, you are!"

Emanuel bristled and was about to shout, when the sound of a slap echoed around the room. Ignatia, her eyes wide in shock, had covered her mouth as if to stop herself from screaming. She yanked Drake's sketchpad from him, and started writing furiously.

"Um, 'I inspected the zip tie, and I thought it was damaged more beyond a simple snap. Again, I didn't think much of it because of the situation, but those black smudges…' I-Ignatia!"

The mime lifted up her foot to point at the sole of her boot, then stamped down on the floor, and twisted her ankle. She glared at Emanuel, her conviction evident.

The same could be said for Yitro. He narrowed his eyes at the detective, and said, "I may have believed it when you described how Ishiku was the killer, but I'm not blind. And I can see how you're deflecting on Fiora, once more, to hide your involvement."

HIKARI!

"Could we all take one second, please?" Hikari asked, glancing frantically around the room. "This trial has been accusing people left, right, and center. I'm having a hard time following."

"Hikari, Monokuma is going to wrap the damn trial up in a few minutes," Aka declared. "And the case against Fiora is far more solid than the one against Emanuel!"

"But what about the fourth person? We won the Scrum Debate over that being a real possibility… and also! Someone had to smudge up those jackets in the tailor shop! It couldn't be Fiora, who we found inside the lab!"

Emanuel slapped his hand against his face, cursing under his breath. "That was Ishiku! He was trying to hide his involvement!"

"But he blew up his jacket," the steampunk model countered, staring suspiciously at him. "And so the only one who'd need to discard it is you!"

The detective heaved in exasperation. "What possible reason would I have for killing her, or leaving her for dead? I didn't know she was sleeping with Taro until now, so if I had seen her, I would have tried to help her, not leave her!

"I'm not that callous of a person," he glared around at the graduates, then specifically at the bears. "I fucking hate their kind, I hate Despair! I don't leave people to die!"

"It was the mists, wasn't it?"

 **FIORA!**

"Monokid blew open that wall, and the mists came in," Fiora said, as she clenched her hands into fists nervously. "When I first saw Shinobu that morning, she had to walk throo' the mists, and she was speaking the truth against her will.

"I asked her why she was doing this, and she honestly replied she wanted to save Taro, as well as the other Kubs. She said she felt so bad for Taro, that he was special and a good person who had just bin created by awful circumstances. She spoke with such affection…"

The movie maker sniffled, then pulled herself together. "I knew then and there that she was attracted to him, and I accepted that. She was doing the right thing. But impaled on that rebar, helped, shocked… with the mists coming in and affecting her, she couldn't help herself, could she?"

Fiora shot a fierce glare at Emanuel. "You must have lost it if she confessed. You lost it over Ishiku and Fannie, imagine finding out your mission was over something like that! So you just ditched her, and made your exit in secret so people woo'dent knoo' it was you!

"You left her to DIE! And you killed her in the process, you evil, scummy, two-faced bastard!"

YEJOON!

"That's incredible conviction of yours, my dear little flower," Yejoon said. He pulled his mask up, and smiled at the movie maker. "But the pressure is on you, as it is on you, Hara, to lead this discussion. What proof do you have that it was Emanuel, and not someone else?"

Fiora glanced over at Hara, who stroked her chin. The explorer stared inquisitively at Yejoon, and asked, "He didn't exactly leave a trail, it's all circumstantial. Though there is one witness to this whole ordeal that has been rather silent…"

"Who would that be?"

"Monokid. He has that bloody scratch on his back as proof he was there, and he's not saying anything about his involvement. He's clearly involved, but he's not saying anything."

"That's just a fucking red herring," Emanuel spat out. "You cannot use the Kubs as proof! Or as witnesses!"

"I can use them if they willingly give information, as they have in the past. But when he's not saying something, and that's because, as it has been, because he knows too much."

Monokid glanced around the room, and nervously, wriggling his paws together. "Okay, let's all take a fucking step back. Dad'll be upset if I get this directly involved… and I don't know if he'll blame Monodam like he really should-"

TARO!

"Brother, please."

Taro placed his hands over his heart, as he stared up at Monokid. "When I was a robot, like you are now, you wouldn't believe how much the memory loss drove me crazy. I couldn't remember those I cared about, I couldn't recall those I should have.

"Takeo, Angelique, I had forgotten their names even during the trial. Now that I'm human, it hurts to think that I forgot about others so casually, so easily. You don't understand just how much I cared about Shinobu, and never, ever wanted to forget about her.

"So please, if you know something, tell us. Could you find it within yourself to care about someone else, just for this?"

Taro stared pitifully at Monokid, who slouched as he stared back. The blue Kub glanced side to side, and muttered, "Thought you were supposed to stand for determination and leadership, bro, not fucking pushover wussy boy!"

"It's not weak to care about others!" Taro shouted, his face hardening with his resolve. "I will never forget someone else in a case like this ever again! I wouldn't even forget about you! That's what Shinobu taught me, and that's far greater than any other feeling!"

PYRRHA!

There was a soft sob, interrupting Taro's speech. He glanced over at the one who had done it, who was wiping her eyes.

"You… you really did care about her," Pyrrha whimpered as she cleaned herself up. "Against everything, you felt that love in your heart, and it changed you. It's so beautiful… it's so right…"

"It's all fake!" Emanuel hollered.

"NO! It is NOT FAKE! YOU ARE FAKE!"

The romantic writer's shrieking was so sudden and emotional, even Emanuel flinched. She heaved in fury, as she continued. "I can tell, I know you all think I'm just a hopeless romantic, but I see it in the way people act towards each other!

"Whether it is budding romance between two people like Angelique and Kimiko, the long-standing love between Hara and Isaac, or the feelings that it brought to Taro and Shinobu, I know when there are those feelings of care and desire!

"And I see it in Fiora too," Pyrrha smiled through her tears at the movie maker. "There is concern in your eyes, in your tone. It's in you too, Ishiku. Your friendship with Odelios, how you two care about each other, despite how everyone probably sees it as two dudes goofing around…

"But what do _you_ care about?" she pointed at Emanuel, frowning with a special kind of fury. "You've lost all of that care, all of that regard! That's been your problem since the beginning, and you've done everything you can to dismiss it!

"Even as you say you want to stop Despair, I can tell it's not because of care about others! You stopped caring for others a long time ago, didn't you?

"There's your proof right there, you didn't care about Shinobu. Only someone like that would leave that sweet, caring woman impaled there, bleeding to death, because she wasn't your problem anymore!"

DRAKE!

"Emanuel…"

The cartoonist spoke, slowly lifting his head to look at the detective. Their eyes met, and though he was intimidated and scared, the young man spoke to him.

"I… I didn't want to believe it was you, because you don't like the Kubs or Monokuma or anything dealing with Despair at all. But someone tried to hide what jacket they were wearing, and it just dawned on me…

"The reason for that would be revealing why, because of which Kub it would be. If it were Monodam, everyone would believe Shinobu picked that for me. But…

"But if it were Monokid, who is the only person with a strong connection with him? That would be you, he provides you drinks during these trials."

"Drake…" Emanuel started to speak, but uncharacteristically lost his voice.

"And why would she ask her teammates to wear them, to show they were in? Because she had to be able to trust that they'd do it even if they didn't like something about it, and why would she do that when she knew Fiora and Ishiku were so readily on board?  
"Because she had to be worried her final teammate was going to work alongside her, and help her through it all."

Drake sobbed, and rubbed at his wet eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry, I really am sorry, but if isn't you, then why does everything about this case sound like something you would do?!"

 **KIMIKO! ANZU!**

"My cinnamon bun, please doo'nt cry," the biker gang leader pleaded. "I knoo' this is hard for you, but not every killer is as easy to go up a'geenst as Jin or Samson."

"Even if he is a gigantic jerk," Anzu grumbled, "that threaten to face-fuck me."

"Y-yeah, besides that," Kimiko stammered, then sighed as she shook her head. "But I remember what Fiora said, that a human being did this."

"I remember that too, but I also remember Emanuel fighting tooth and nail to deny everything that pointed to a fourth member, to himself," the actress added, glaring at the detective. "It stinks to high heaven of someone who thought amping their aggressive personality up to steer the conversation."

"Hara put up a good argument, and we're going to back her up!"

"Indeed!"

 **EISEI!**

"I agree," the short dentist said.

"What?" Souma balked. "You… you agree with all of this?"

Eisei regarded his friend, and nodded. "It makes more sense to me. When you argue what is more logical, in either case, there is a lack of proof but there is a running theme of consistency. And I'm not ignoring that."

 **HIKARI! YEJOON!**

"I believe this conversation is over," Hikari said, as she tapped the tip of her parasol on the floor. "Like what was said many times, the trial wasn't going to last long, and we seem to have a majority decision."

"That's quite correct," Yejoon said, shaking his head. "I do believe we have a much more realistic answer to the crime than the other side."

"This," Taro shouted, pounding his fist into the air, "is the truth behind Shinobu's murder!"

He, with Hara leading the charge, pointed defiantly and shouted in unison with all those by their side, "THIS IS OUR ANSWER!"

The trial room felt like it had been struck by lightning, with how impactful that statement was. There was no one speaking, no one murmuring, just the intense feel of an argument that was completed. Even the bears were quiet.

Emanuel took a deep breath, as he regarded his flask. He slowly sipped from it, and muttered, "Probably shouldn't have made that Blue shit, since it didn't kill anyone; what a worthless explosive. Hey, Drake?"

"Y-yes?" the cartoonist asked, as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Show the people how it happened, like you've done in the previous trials. If you're going to stand with your resolve, you should do it all the way. Otherwise, this world will eat you up and spit out your bones."

"O… okay."

* * *

 ** _CLOSING ARGUMENT_**

* * *

Shinobu Takahashi had a plan to try and save the Kubs from their robotic forms, preventing them from being enslaved to Despair. She kept Taro out in the truth serum infused mists to learn of how the transfer would work, as well as the security systems the Science Lab had.

…

Shinobu enlisted the help of three people: Fiora, Ishiku, and our culprit. The first two had such bad history with the culprit, that she kept his identity a secret by setting up certain times. Fiora and Shinobu would prepare at 8 AM, by writing down instructions and slipping them into Monokub jackets. Shinobu wore a Monotaro jacket, and Fiora wore a Monosuke one.

…

When they went inside the lab, Fiora was to prepare the Kubs' robotic bodies for destruction. They had to be set up so that Monokuma would open the doors and blow them up, making him at fault rather than one of us. Therefore, no one would die for this cause, and Monokuma would suffer from his own cruel rules.

Fiora started to set things up in the workplace room, as Shinobu went to work in the chemistry lab to prepare for some of the essential items: the explosives. It wouldn't be long before Ishiku would show up at 8:30 AM.

When he did, he started setting up the weapons testing room for the destruction of the weapons testing room. Shinobu had prepared him Red explosive to destroy the weapons before his arrival. She was setting up the containment tank room for a trap as well, having prepared Yellow explosives to fry the equipment.

…

At 9 AM, our culprit arrived at the Science Lab, and went to the chemistry room. He started to make some of the explosives, but, because he wanted to be more destructive than Shinobu desired, made Blue instead of Red.

When he left the Blue explosives for the upstairs crew, as were his instructions, Fiora took them to the workplace room. However it was around this time that she noticed that the Monotaro body was the only one that weighed differently.

Concerned about the weight difference, she went to inquire Ishiku for advice. When they returned, Monokid was active because he had just finished his transfer.

Unbeknownst to the team, the Kubs had different times for their transfer, and only Taro hadn't been moved back. Kidd had been, and was now enjoying his robotic body by taking the Blue explosives and horsing around with it.

Ishiku tried to stop the out-of-control Kub, but when he jumped for him, Monokid dodged him. This led to him preparing to spike the explosive, and Ishiku had to shut the door to save his own life. Fiora was floored, and Monokid dropped down to the first floor where Shinobu was.

…

Monokid ran around the containment tank room with the other Blue explosive, as Shinobu desperately tried to chase him down; she had narrowly avoided being hit by the falling debris, and was now trying to stop his shenanigans.

Fiora jumped down to the first floor through the new hole to help Shinobu, and it was then that the historian managed to pick up the Kub. Then Monokid hurled the Blue explosive at the far wall, causing a horrific blast near them.

The containment tanks shattered and water flooded the room. Shinobu was thrown backwards, impaled on a piece of rebar that also stabbed and stained Monokid. Fiora was thrown out of the room, landing in the hallway and knocked out from a blow to the head.

…

It was around then that our culprit came running in from the chemistry lab, and saw the carnage that had been wrought. Maybe he initially thought it was the unconscious Fiora, maybe he thought the plan had failed. But when he saw Shinobu pinned to the rubble, he had to leave in secret so no one would know he was there.

Maybe the reason for that was because someone talked during this madness, and the security system had activated. The hole in the wall was the perfect way to get out, so he climbed over a shelf that had fallen over due to the blast.

The culprit placed his foot on one of the zip ties holding up a lengthy power strip, and when he pushed off of the shelf, he broke the zip tie. The power strip fell down into the water, and Shinobu, who was pinned down in the water, was fatally electrocuted.

…

The culprit was leaving wet footprints around the dusty wreck, so he scrapped his feet around to ensure that they weren't identifiable. He then snuck towards the tailor shop, and took off the Monokid jacket he had been wearing. Rubbing some of the other jackets on the ground, he made sure that people wouldn't know which jacket he was wearing.

Then the culprit left the tailor shop, and joined the others as subtle as possible so that people would think he was joining them normally. His involvement with the case was to take the note Shinobu kept on herself, and lie about what was on it in case it had anything implying he was part of the team.

…

At the same time, Ishiku had recovered, and collected the Monokub bodies to take them to the weapons testing room. He set up the booby trap, which eventually would ensure Shinobu's plan to save Taro happened.

I cannot claim to know how everything happened, why it happened, or that this was all his fault. But we know of his involvement, and his actions that led to the death of Shinobu Takahashi… that's right, isn't it…

 **Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir**!

* * *

Drake closed his sketchpad, taking several deep breaths. He covered his face with his hand, and muttered, "How… no, why? Why would you do such an awful thing like leave her for dead? Did your compassion truly run out?"

"I'm sorry, Drake," Hara apologized, staring sympathetically. "I know this isn't easy for you, but it is the truth."

"Yeah, looks that way," Saiko said, shaking her head. She took a deep breath, and added, "I think, especially with his reaction, we can all see the truth now."

"Unbelievable," Souma muttered.

* * *

" **Now hear this, now hear this,** " Monokuma declared. " **The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podium!**

" **You will see pictures of every graduate here in Penjar! Poke the one you believe to be the Deviant Tourist, and select the Confirm button!**

" **Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully wrong one? Let's find out!** "

* * *

Twenty-four fingers poked the touch screens on their podium, and the Confirm button was selected by all of them. Digital sounds echoed around the room, then the gigantic screen came down from the ceiling above Monokuma's throne.

The blackboard-like screen turned on, with the chalk drawings of their pixel art representations for each person. Taro had been added, as his human form, to the pixel bunch.

" **And the votes,** " Monokuma cheerfully announced, " **are in! Let's see what the results are, shall we everyone?** "

Tally marks drawn by an invisible chalk were made in front of one of the pixel drawings, like if someone was tapping a screen to add strokes to a blackboard app. They came relatively fast, as it was quite one-sided.

 **Emanuel Salmuera** \- 23 votes.

 **Fiora R. Stenton** \- 1 vote.

" **And with that, let's see if you were correct!** " the despair bear host carried on.

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced by the digital roulette wheel. On each portion of the wheel was the pixel picture of the Penjar visitors, and the wheel was spinning with slot machine-styled sound effects.

The wheel spun around, highlighting the one at the top, until it started to slow down, and coming to a stop rather suddenly, it rested upon Emanuel's portrait.

Unlike last time, the results came blaring in. It was so sudden that the answer was like a punch to the face, even if it was something they could see coming.

…

…

…

…

…

…

The machine lit up with tons of lights, confetti spraying out the top. The bright neon sign showcasing "WINNER!" turned on overhead, and millions of Monocoins spilled out from the slot.

* * *

The trial room echoed excruciatingly with the erratic noise. When the screen turned off, and retracted back up into the ceiling, Monokuma bounced up and pumped his fist into the air.

" **Wahoo-hoohoohoooooooo! Well then, we found out who done did it! Monokid, that little explosive scamp, destroyed my lab and broke most everything there! And Ishiku Shyre was the one who BLEW ME UP!**

" **Oh, and also, the Deviant Tourist in this murder was Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir!** "

The Deviant Tourist let out a long sigh, and muttered, "Well, this sucks. This really fucking sucks."

He took the flask and whipped his head back, chugging the hard drink down as fast as he could. Coughing, hacking, he winced as he took more than he could handle at first.

"You still voted for me, eh?" Fiora said, scowling at him. "You joo'st couldn't resist, could you?"

"What can I say?" he said after the coughing stopped. "It was my last 'fuck you' to you, puta."

"How could you!"

Taro sobbed, trying to keep himself together, but his emotions spilling out. "You left Shinobu to die? You could have helped her! You claim to be against Despair, but aren't you just as cruel?"

Emanuel stared down Taro, and then sighed as he wiped his forehead. "Yeah, maybe at this point, I am a real son of a bitch. But I just don't care anymore, I really, really don't…"

The detective rummaged around in one of his pockets, as he continued to say, "That's why I'm the Black Beast, the Bête Noir…"

He then pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket, and unfolded it. There were two vials of Red explosive in that bundled cloth, and now he had both in his hand.

"And that's why I won't care who gets hurt in my last stand."

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL HAS CONCLUDED! STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL RESULTS!**


	24. Chapter 3-7: Case 3 Trial, Conclusion

**Chapter 3-7**

 **The Surge of a Purge**

* * *

Everyone was deathly silent in the trial room, staring at Emanuel. The Bête Noir was standing at his podium, holding the two vials of Red explosive in his hand, staring at them intensively. They were trying to discern what he was thinking, what he was going to do.

"You know," Odelios said as he folded his arms and huffed, "maybe we consider frisking people before these trials. This really seems like a reoccurring problem."

"Shut up, clown," Emanuel snapped, his eyes never leaving the explosives in his hand.

"Don't antagonize him," Pyrrha pleaded to Odelios.

"Right, you're right, shutting up," the clown replied, covering his mouth with both hands.

With Odelios closing his mouth, the trial room went back to tense silence again. No one dared to ask what Emanuel was thinking, though eventually someone did dare to speak.

" **So, are you, like** ," Monokuma called out, " **gonna do anything with that, my Deviant Tourist? Or you gonna stare at how pretty it is?** "

"I could always throw them at you, Monokuma," the Bête Noir replied.

" **I don't know how you managed to miss this by now, chief, but it doesn't exactly stick.** "

"But it would kill your kids."

The four Monokubs all reacted in shock, even Monodam, flinching and posing in fright. Monokuma tilted his head to the side, and responded, " **You can try, but the punishment will increase tenfold with no chance of survival if you do.** "

"I'm ready to die, you son of a bitch bear," Emanuel said, glancing over at Monokuma. "But you might want to hold off on punishment, because I may just see who I can kill here before I die."

The detective grinned maliciously at Fiora, as he held up the Red explosives closer to her. "You want to know just what would happen if I let go of these? Oh, and don't," he glanced over at Yejoon, who was moving his hand into his jacket, "throw anything at me, Mr. Murderer. If I drop it, the fall from my hand is more than enough to make it explode, and the blast radius is about twenty feet.

"You will be picking up pieces of this bitch all over this damn room, so don't try me."

Yejoon held his hands up in surrender, and said, "Very well. Just please, do not harm anyone."

Emanuel snickered, as his eyes seemed to bore holes into Fiora. The movie maker swallowed nervously, but stared back.

"Wait, please," Drake called out, reaching out to the Bête Noir, "please don't do this, Emanuel! This isn't you, I know that!"

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but I haven't got anything to lose. Monokuma's said that if you survive the execution, you become part of Despair, 'worthy' of his cause. I'd sooner die a long, painful death, gargling on my blood and pissing myself, than EVER let Despair win."

He glared at Fiora, and added, "I know this bitch is part of Despair, she has to be. And even if I'm somehow wrong, well, the world is better off without trash like her."

"Why do you hate her so much?" the cartoonist asked, clenching his sketchpad as he started to approach them. "Please, please just talk to me-"

"STAND BACK!"

Emanuel's bellowing startled Drake, and he scurried back. The next words from Emanuel came out more ragged. "Do not get close to us, that's an order. You can keep talking to me, but don't you get within the blast radius."

"Okay, okay, I'm listening to you, just please talk to me," Drake pleaded. "Please, just hear me out, okay?"

"I'm listening, kid."

"I remember you telling me about your classmates at Hope's Peak, how you lost all of them; but that's not Fiora's fault. You made her your source of frustration and ire, someone to blame over all that loss.

"Can't you see that? If you try to hurt her or kill her, then you've really let Despair win, because that's what it is: violence to resolve whatever turmoil is brewing in them!"

The cartoonist braved a step forward, and Ignatia grabbed his shoulder to hold him back. Emanuel glanced at him, noticing her as well. He let out a humorless laugh, and said, "Every single one of my classmates died over the time of the Tragedy. None of them were ever showed mercy, some of them fell into despair and killed themselves in the process. You wouldn't believe how many times I considered it too.

"But I just kept telling myself, after all these years, ever since I was kid and left my piece of shit home, that I could find something worth it. Hope's Peak gave that to me, gave me people I could care about, a purpose…

"And then the damn Tragedy took it all away from me. Everything that Goddamn bear represents," he glared at Monokuma for a moment, "destroyed my world, my life. All of my classmates and friends gone, civilization ruined, and so much horror and savagery that I end up with a drinking habit."

Emanuel let out a frustrated sigh, before staring at Fiora as he spoke. "You think she's innocent, Drake? That I'm projecting all of my hatred and history of pain onto her? Well I cannot trust her; she even worked with Shinobu on that fucking plan!"

Drake flinched, but that was when Hara spoke up. "You helped Shinobu on that plan, Emanuel. You knew she wasn't the violent type, so what did you think she was going to do?"

"You know she overheard you when you had that conversation with me yesterday," Futaba said, crossing her arms as she stared at him. "She heard you lamenting that no one listened to you to make a stand against Despair. That's why she asked you for help."

"Why did you leave her to die?" Drake asked desperately. "I'm begging you, please talk to us!"

Emanuel's eyes darted around the room, then he sighed and muttered. "Oh, I had no intention of killing her, believe it or not. I just lost it when I heard what she said."

* * *

 _Emanuel finished with the extra batches of Red explosive, and marveled at how simple they were to make. He knew he was supposed to have given the upstairs team that kind of explosive; however, he just didn't see the point in using Red when Blue would blow this evil place to hell._

 _The first explosion that rocked the entire building was unnerving, but he figured that one of the team members knew what they were doing. This wasn't exactly a mission that Shinobu would ask someone who couldn't be trusted to handle explosives, right?_

 _He was starting to feel uneasy, and was considering going to see what exactly had happened. At the very least, the others would be wakening up to the sound of an explosion._

 _The Bête Noir took a piece of cloth from his pocket, curtsey of the tailor shop, and bundled the two vials of Red explosive up nice and tight. So long as they were wrapped like that, the jostling of basic movement wouldn't set them off._

 _After he tucked them back into his pocket, he decided now would be a good time to leave the rest to Shinobu and her team. Just as he was about to leave the chemistry lab, the building shook even more violently with another explosion._

 _He almost cursed out loud, having almost been knocked off of his feet. If he had fallen at that angle, he would have landed on the explosives, and that would definitely set them off!_

 _"_ What the fuck! _" he thought furiously, as he left the chemistry lab. He glanced around the lobby, and then started to the other side of the Science Lab, to the containment tank area._

 _Before he was there, he could see a horrible amount of destruction inside of that room. There was also someone sprawled out in the hallway, face down, with a small puddle of blood already forming at their head. Emanuel started to move over to help them, but then he noticed who it was._

 _His blood felt like it was instantly boiling as he observed the unconscious Fiora. "_ Shinobu asked HER for help? HER?! What the fuck was she thinking!? What- _"_

 _A pitiful, pained cry came from the containment tank room, snapping Emanuel out of his outrage. He made his way into the room, his feet treading on the wet floor. That's when he saw Shinobu, impaled on a piece of rebar that was protruding from her chest. In her arms was Monokid, who was standing on her legs._

 _"_ _Hey there, big guy," Monokid said with a wave. "You kind of caught me in a bad situation here."_

 _"_ _H-help," Shinobu said, straining to lift her head up to who was there. "E-Emanuel? Help…"_

 _There was a sharp, alarm-like noise from the overhead speakers. Emanuel realized that the doors were all locked now, and he felt dread over the possibility of being caught. "Monokid, any chance you can turn off the security systems?"_

 _"_ _Sure thing, buddy, anything for you! Just pick me up and throw me over to the hallway, I don't want to get wet; water's not my thing. Don't worry, it won't count as attacking me."_

 _Emanuel picked the blue Kub, and chucked him over to the hallway. Monokid cheered all the way, except for when he landed on his face. The detective then observed Shinobu, who was hacking and coughing, the mists collection around her._

 _Wait, the mists? The Bête Noir turned towards the far wall, noticing that as the dust was clearing, there had been a hole blown through, and a shelf had fallen down in front of it. He felt stupid for having asked Monokid that favor now, but no use crying over spilled milk._

 _"_ _Okay, Shinobu, do you think it'll be safe to pull you off that?" he asked, inspecting the wound. "Wouldn't that make you bleed out faster?"_

 _"I'm… not sure," she admitted. "I'm not bleeding that hard, am I?"_

 _"_ _I cannot really tell…"_

 _"_ _Look, just make sure the others are okay, please?" she pleaded, staring up at him. She was definitely being brave, despite the fear and dread in her eyes. "I don't want any of you getting in trouble if we're caught."_

 _"_ _You aren't going to convince me of that when you're bleeding to death, chica. Besides, I'm not leaving you to save Fiora."_

 _"_ _G-give her a chance, please, Emanuel. She wanted to help me, especially," she hacked and coughed, the mist getting in her face, "when I told her how I felt about Taro."_

 _Emanuel felt something masterless seize him, like if his body and mind locked up at hear those words. He stared down at the historian, and spoke with a calm fury, "What."_

 _Shinobu let out a weak chuckle, and stared up at him. "We're here to help the Kubs from being enslaved, you know? I just was a little biased, but I didn't want to admit it to you since I thought-"_

 _"_ _YOU BITCH," Emanuel screamed. He kicked at the water, splashing her. "You stupid, fucking puta, you did this all for a boyfriend of Despair?"_

 _"_ _He's not a member of Despair, he's a victim of it!"_

 _"_ _Oh, screw you. I'm not taking the fall for you, or Fiora, or anyone who's going to help Despair! Let someone else more gullible help you off of that, puta."_

 _Emanuel walked over to the hole in the wall, and studied how to get around the shelf blocking the way. Squeezing under it with his stature would soak his clothing, and he couldn't have that._

 _"_ _I'm trying to help people from being controlled by Despair, Emanuel," Shinobu called out to him, as she watched his attempt at escape. "I thought that was what you believed in too."_

 _"_ _Fuck you, I don't have to listen to you. Just go to hell."_

 _Emanuel lifted himself up on the shelf, and moved towards the hole in the wall. He didn't hear Shinobu's last words, as she dropped her voice._

 _"_ _I'm trying to help people… maybe that's why a beast doesn't understand."_

 _The Bête Noir stepped on the zip tie as he moved to the other side of the shelf, and then pushed off. Unbeknownst to him, his boot sole twisted right on the tie, snapping the weakened plastic. The power strip fell down into the water, and the awful snap of electricity unloading into the water was audible to Emanuel._

 _He turned around, peering into the lab. It was pitch black for a moment, then the emergency lights came on. He could see Shinobu twitch once, and slump lifelessly on the rebar she was impaled on. There was no doubt that she was dead._

 _The coldest of chills coursed through Emanuel. He wasn't entirely sure if that had been his doing, it could have been coincidence. All the more reason, he thought to himself, why he'll need to cover up he was there._

* * *

The graduates, bears, and Taro were all silent as they heard Emanuel explain himself. The first sound to follow was Hara, who covered her face as she sobbed.

"Shinobu, oh that poor woman," she cried out. "How could you? How could you do something so _awful_?"

Taro was also sobbing, covering his face as he tried to hide it but failing with the noise he was making. The Bête Noir glared at him, despite him not being able to see it.

"She would have been dead either way," Emanuel snapped. "It was an accident!"

"You left her to die to save your own ass," Saiko hollered. "There's no excuse for that!"

Emanuel snorted, then glared at Fiora. "This puta knew too, that Shinobu was doing it just so she could get a boyfriend. It's something Despair would do, ruin others' lives to make theirs own better. It's one of the many reasons why I hate you so much."

"Wait, Emanuel, please," Drake begged. "Why are you so sure that Shinobu was doing it just for a relationship? Hasn't it been proven that people infected by Despair can be cured? She was trying to help save the Kubs from such a fate."

"Kid, the Kubs were born into it, made by it, and were given a human body for a couple days. The sooner you learn that some people are only in it for themselves, the better."

"Oh, you're claiming Shinobu was purely selfish?" Hikari shouted, glaring at Emanuel. "Where do _you_ come off saying that? After everything you've done here, after all the false claims and aggressive actions, you've been nothing but selfish!"

Emanuel glanced over at the steampunk model, and rolled his eyes. "Please, I gave years of my life trying to stop Despair, and in the end, when things were most dire, no one fucking listened to me. Everyone thought they were so much more important than the truth, so I just had to make someone listen."

"Shinobu listened to you," Futaba grumbled. "If she was only in it for herself, why would she take a chance on asking you of all people for help? She obviously trusted you enough that she made her plan more complex just to add you."

"She asked Fiora and Ishiku, two people who were in it all for themselves! Shinobu just wanted to use me!"

"How could she have just used you when she wanted you on her team that bad?" the anthropologist replied. "She wanted to trust you, she wanted to! God damn it, that woman survived the Tragedy in Paris, fighting off against people in life-or-death conflicts…

"When it came to who to trust when your life depended on it, that was something she had to consider amongst all of us. Out of all of us, she choose you! And you killed her…"

Futaba slammed her walking cane's tip down on the floor, spitting out the sentence again. "You killed her."

Emanuel snarled angrily, and said, "She was the problem, she… no wait, you all are. We are in this God-forsaken town, this evil place of Despair, and what do you all do? What do you do?!

"You spend more time on your relationships and fucking! You play around and have parties, fondling a porn star and goofing around with clowns! I never should have stayed in this town, with how all of you fuckers waste your time instead of trying to solve the problems of this place!"

There was a pause in the conversation, as Emanuel's words sunk in to everyone. No one knew what to say, especially since they were worried about antagonizing him. Though when Isaac spoke, he didn't appear as concerned.

"I always wondered why you called yourself the Bête Noir, Emanuel. It's French, but I haven't heard you speak it ever. You do know what Bête Noir means, because I cannot imagine you'd ask to be called that title otherwise."

Isaac crossed his arms and continued. "Bête Noir refers to a person or something that one particularly despises. You picked that title for a reason, and I've always wondered why. Is it because you want us to hate you, or that you hate yourself? Both?

"Which is it?" the reporter slammed his hand on his podium and leaned forward. "Is that who you really want to be? Someone who continuously has to make himself an awful person so people will hate him?"

Emanuel froze up, his eyes glancing around the trial room. He was visibly sweating now, as if his racing mind was causing him physical strain.

"Please, Emanuel," Taro spoke up, staring pleadingly at the detective. "I'll do anything to prove to you that I'm not the monster you think I am. I'm determined to show you I was worth Shinobu's sacrifice, that I'm a good human."

"It's not too late to make a stand against Despair, but the right way," Anzu said, clasping her hands together. "You don't have to hurt anyone."

"Think about why you've been fighting all this time," Souma pleaded. "Think about your family, your friends, all the reasons you became a Hope's Peak graduate."

"You don't want to do this, Emanuel," Drake implored. "Please, I know you're a better person than this."

"You knoo', I never did hate you," Fiora said, as Emanuel's wild eyes rounded on her. He was panting, gripping his head with his free hand. "I knoo' you hate me, but I never felt the same, because you've seen a lot, haven't you? You probably saw so many versions of Killing Games, like the one I went through.

"I can only imagine the strain it puts on your soul, but don't lose yours. You can beat Despair, Emanuel, I believe you can…"

Emanuel wiped his brow, as he stuttered, "D-Despair… that fucking awful disease… that…"

He heaved as he leaned against his podium, and reached down to his waistline. The ring of keys that he kept there, he snatched them off of his belt line and stared at it. The keys jingled around, and then he glanced up at Drake.

"Hey, kid, take this for me, will you?"

He tossed that keyring to the cartoonist, who managed to catch them with one hand. "What… what exactly are these for?"

"Oh, hell if I know, kid. I collected them for years, because I felt that at one point in my life, every locked door could be opened. I started when I was the Ultimate Private Investigator, something I was very proud of then. Thanks, all of you, for reminding me of everything, for who I was, who I am, the one who stood against Despair…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

" **Because I don't fucking care about anything except Despair now.** "

The spirals of despair appeared in Emanuel, as he burst out laughing. He took one of the vials of Red, and chucked it at the bears' podium.

The Kubs had scattered the moment the laughter started from the fallen detective. Monokuma could only scream as the Red explosive impacted that rise, and turned him and his throne into shredded cloth, metal, and stuffing.

Emanuel moved with a kind of demonic speed, his eyes glaring with those spirals as he rounded on the object of his ire: Fiora. Her eyes were wide with terror, and she tried to move back, while he swung at her.

The blow glanced her face, knocking her to the floor. Emanuel raised his arm, showcasing he was about to throw the last explosive down at her, point-blank range of him.

" **Now you will _finally_ DIE, puta!**"

He started to swing downwards, but someone had made it over to them before he hurl it down. A pair of hands clasped around Emanuel's hand, keeping it closed. The Bête Noir struggled, but the other person was determined to stop him.

"You," Taro growled as he kept Emanuel's hand closed, "aren't going to hurt anyone else!"

Emanuel swung his free hand, punching at Taro's face. Blood spurted from the young man's nose and lip, but he didn't let go. The others moved to help…

Though before anyone else could reach the fight, a metal clamp lashed out and clenched around Emanuel's neck. The Bête Noir strained, but managed to resist the cable's pull.

"Someone stop him," Monophanie shrieked, standing on the floor nearby Ishiku. She had a scrap of white 'n black on her head. "We need Daddy to get the execution going!"

"Gah! I'm doing what I can," Monosuke hollered, rummaging through the remains of the throne. "Youse try to find complicated machinery in complicated wreckage!"

Emanuel struggled harder against the clamp around his neck, the sound of the metal straining. Shuuya sprinted towards him, eyes focused on the hand that had the vial clutched inside.

There was an inhuman scream, as the Bête Noir's spiraling eyes flared up and he yanked his head forward. The metal cable snapped, lashing out like the most lethal of bullwhips.

Shuuya had less than a second to react, and he moved back as fast as he could. The sound of metal whiplash striking skin and muscle could be heard, as blood shot out from his face. He cried out in pain, yet tried to move in towards Emanuel and Taro.

The Despair-addled detective swung his head around, and the broken cable that was still part of the clamp around his neck whipped like a violent snake. Shuuya couldn't get close, no one could.

"Look at my buddy go," Monokid said with a laugh, dining on popcorn. "Careful there, buddy, they're closing in on you!"

Monodam was one of those, who came running in, jumping through the air and slamming into Emanuel's side. Straining, the Bête Noir grabbed at the clamp and pried it open. He swung it around frenetically, fending off Shuuya and swatting Monodam.

"OW."

Yejoon hurled one of his daggers at Emanuel, but whether it was by luck or skill, it imbedded in the clamp the Bête Noir was swinging around. In the split second he noticed how deadly it was, he lashed it towards Taro.

The dagger stabbed into Taro's shoulder, and he screamed in pain; however, not even this would get him to let go of Emanuel's hand.

Monodam started slugging at Emanuel's legs, and Shuuya moved in to grab at the Bête Noir's other arm. The furious heaving from Emanuel sounded like a raging animal.

" **Okay, that's enough fun!** "

Another metal clamp shot out, clipping Shuuya's shoulder and knocking him away from the intended target. The clamp wrapped around Emanuel, as he struggled and heaved.

Monokuma stood on the wreckage of his throne, as well as bits of his previous body. He was rubbing his chin, chuckling deviously as he said, " **I must thank you all for bringing him over to my side, which I didn't even think was possible with how stubborn he was! Now then…** "

Emanuel punted Monodam away from him, and reached out with his free hand to grab at Taro's jacket. "If I **go** ," he snarled, the spirals of despair flickering on and off in his eyes, "I'm taking **one of you** with me!"

" **I've prepared a VERY special punishment for Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir,** " Monokuma declared. " **Let's give it everything we've got…**

" **IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!** "

The cable attached to the clamp collar, thicker and stronger, pulled at Emanuel. He fought back, but he was no match against this one. He was being pulled off of his feet, and had a very grasp on Taro's clothing to take him with him.

In one desperate moment, Fiora moved up to grab Taro, and pull back on him. However, whether it was Emanuel's grip on Taro, or Taro's grip on Emanuel, or both, she wasn't anywhere near strong enough.

Emanuel was yanked through the air, Taro in tow, and pulled through a gap made in the wall. Fiora reached out and screamed for Taro, but the gap closed before she could reach it.

* * *

Monokuma, still standing over the wreckage of his formally regal podium, pulled a primitive gavel from out of nowhere, as a screen with a rusty bell atop of it popped up in front of him. He leapt up and swung horizontally, clanging the bell with that old-school sound. The moment he struck the bell, the screen lit up.

An 8-bit ghost town showed up on the screen, with black bars at the top or bottom. Emanuel's pixel art version was standing in the center, as a pixel version of Monokuma came walking up.

 **EMANUEL HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

Emanuel was hoisted above Monokuma, and started walking off with the fretting pixel-art detective. All five Monokubs followed behind him, celebratory animations from them.

 **TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

Inside of the trial room, five large screens came down from the ceiling, so that everyone from any point in the circle could see what was being broadcasted on the screens.

* * *

There was a rushing of movement, as Emanuel and Taro slid into a dirty, disgusting arena of sorts. It appeared to be a circular, concrete building, with a ceiling consisting of overbearing floodlights. They showcased the dirty floor of the arena, at the unwashed bloodstains all over the place.

There was a wire fence blocking the area from the stands, the latter of which had an audience of Monokuma and the Monokubs. Monokid still had popcorn, and Monosuke had a hot dog.

Whatever entrance Emanuel and Taro had been dragged in through was closed off now. The floodlights tuned down, as the Bête Noir stood up, gripping at his forehead. The spirals in his eyes flickered once again, as he growled and strained.

There were TV screens hanging in the middle of the area, much like a basketball stadium. They too flickered, as a slight tremor that ran through the building, and then a message was broadcast:

 _Ultimate Bête Noir_

 _Emanuel Salmuera's_

 _Execution: Commenced_

 **The True Black Beast Contest**

Monokuma lifted a microphone to his mouth, and cleared his throat loudly. " **Ahem! Hey son, you okay down there?** "

Taro struggled up to his feet, as he placed a hand on his bloodied shoulder. "I'm fine, I think," he called out.

" **Oh, I didn't actually mean you, I meant Emanuel. Looks like he's still fighting that sweet, sweet feeling of true despair! Come on, let it all in!** "

Emanuel fell to one knee, heaving and gasping. He still had the Red explosive in one hand, but he was more focused on whatever war was raging inside of his head. "Nnnngh… grrrrgh… I'll… I won't… let you… win…"

Taro stared at him, then up at Monokuma. "Father, wait, can I make a request?"

" **If it's about getting out of our cage match, forget it, Taro; you kind of brought it upon yourself!** "

"I'm not afraid of any punishment or execution," the young man shouted back. "I don't want that kind of favor from you!"

" **My my my, where did this determination come from? But you know, we really don't want to spend the entire punishment time talking, do we?** "

Taro huffed, while at the same time he noticed that at the opposite side of the arena were iron bars. Something was behind those bars, something growling, something fierce…

" **Anyway, what was that favor about, real quick?** "

"Oh, um," Taro glanced around the arena, as if searching for anyone else. When he didn't spy any others, he smiled and said, "It looks like it's fine. Thanks anyway!"

"What's he talking about?" Monokid grumbled, glancing at his siblings.

"Anyone who messed with the Science Lab would go in the cage too," Monosuke explained. "Guess Pops figured it was superfluous."

"Or maybe," Monophanie whimpered, "he just wants to punish Taro."

Monokuma chuckled deviously, and then went back to talking. " **So, Emanuel, you like to call yourself the Bête Noir, or the Black Beast? Well, I'm half black and full beast, but I kind of have a request from you…** "

The arena shook with a tremor again, and now Taro and Emanuel could see what was causing it. Something within the darkness of the hallway that was behind those iron bars was slamming up against the walls. Something big, something heavy…

With claws that catch and jaws that bite…

What appeared to be a panther walked towards the light, right up against the bars. This panther was the size of a lion, and it was half-black, split down the middle in color with the other side being white.

This massive cat clawed at the bars, even biting at them, in an attempt to get through. There was blood around its muzzle.

" **That Science Lab of mine wasn't just for making bodies and explosives, and weapon testing,** " Monokuma boasted. " **That is what is known as a displacer beast, according to the fantasy and D &D nerds out there.**"

"Huh?" Monosuke remarked. "It looks like a big cat…"

That was when something started striking at the iron bars, and it wasn't the cat's jaws and claws. As it moved in closer, one could see that there were tendrils coming from its back, four of them to be precise.

At the end of each tendril was a set of long, vicious spikes, like a flaying whip of the worst kind. The cat was slapping at the bars with these violent tendrils, trying to break through.

" **The displacer beast is one of our experiments to make the perfect attack beasts for Despair! Phuhuhuhu! Sadly, it seems that not only is feeding them so very pricy, but they tend to flay anyone who dares try to tame them.**

" **I went through so many bodies to try and tame this one beast! This Mono-Displacer Beast is such a letdown, but it still could be useful.**

 **"** **In about a half of a minute, I'm going to unleash the Mono-Displacer Beast from its cage. Then in another half-minute, I will open the bars back up as a means of escape. Your goal is to survive for half of a minute with this beast coming at you!** "

"Pops, that's not fair," Monosuke shouted. "He's still got that Red explosive!"

The bears stared down at Emanuel, who also glanced down at his weapon. Monokuma tapped his chin with his claw, and muttered, " **Oh, oh yeah. Well, sadly, the rules were made with everything set, so there's nothing I can do. Let's just see what happens…** "

Emanuel regarded Monokuma, his explosion, and the displacer beast clawing at the iron bars. It truly looked like the stuff of nightmares, with the bloody drool dripping from its maw. The Bête Noir felt sweat running down his forehead.

He heard nervous breathing nearby, and he turned to stare at Taro. The young man noticed this, and they made eye contact. Taro was regarding the beast and Emanuel, clasping his hands together.

"This… this is your fault," Emanuel spat out, glaring at Taro. "The whole plan… was just for you. If you hadn't been involved, Shinobu wouldn't have done something so stupid!"

"Shinobu did what she felt was right," Taro asserted, frowning at him. "And if there is a good man in you still, you should be able to fight against Despair, like you keep saying you do!"

Emanuel stared back at him, then was startled by a roar from the beast. The detective took deep breaths, realizing his time was limited.

There was a choice to be made, but was it by Emanuel Salmuera, or the Bête Noir? The displacer beast roared again, fighting against the bars, increasing the tension. Taro watched hopefully, as a beeping noise came from the speakers around the TV screens.

Emanuel took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "I guess what I want more than anything, at this particular point…"

…

…

…

…

…

"… **is to see everything that Shinobu died for perish as well!** "

Emanuel's eyes opened with the violent swirls of despair in them. He raised his arm, and intentionally waited a few seconds so he could savor Taro fleeing for his life. With a most malicious laugh, he chucked the Red explosive at Taro.

There wasn't much room for Taro to get away when the liquid explosive hit the arena floor. The ground itself was carved into by the explosive, sending grounded concrete into the air.

Taro fell to the floor, blood seeping from several terrible wounds on his chest, arms, and legs. He struggled to stand up, one of his hamstrings had been severed.

Emanuel laughed, shrieking with sadistic pride and joy. He didn't even notice when the bars blocking the monster from the arena started to raise. The displacer beast clawed underneath the moving bars, struggling to get in as soon as possible.

When the Mono-Displacer Beast managed to crawl into the arena, the cackling madman turned to face it. There was a moment of silence as they sized each other up, and then both lunged.

The displacer beast bit and clawed, while Emanuel punched and kicked. The spiked tendrils lashed out at him, tearing at his skin and clothing. Pain and blood didn't deter Emanuel, he was attacking like a feral beast as well.

Emanuel, bleeding from a great many slashes and claw wounds, grappled the monster's head and pounded it down into the ground. With unbridled fury and energy, he punched at the beast's head, over and over and over and over.

He stopped after he lost feeling in his fist. The Mono-Displacer Beast lay twitching on the ground, blood covering its face. Emanuel stood up and backed off, then started to kick at its body.

" **Whoa whoa whoa, enough fun there, champ!** " Monokuma declared. Emanuel glanced up to the stands, where the bear was. Monokid was wearing a flag stating "Bête Noir" on it, cheering loudly. " **You passed, you just have to do one last thing!** "

The despair bear pointed at the iron bars, where the beast had come from, and said, " **There's actually a switch inside there that you can press to lift up the bars. Just go over there, and flip it to get out of that there arena!** "

Emanuel chuckled, and limped over to the iron bars. He saw the switch upon the wall, and flipped it. The bars shot upwards, much faster than before, which startled the Bête Noir for a second; however, he didn't feel much regard for it, and walked into the hallway.

It was then that he heard noise coming from behind him. He turned to see that the displacer beast was slowly but surely getting back up. Emanuel had damaged its eye and, so it was off-balance in several ways, but there was a primal, almost diabolical way to its movement.

Emanuel could recognize it, it was revenge. This beast may be a scientific monstrosity, but it was beyond normal animal instincts. It wanted to harm who harmed it, or whoever was in the way.

That was when Emanuel noticed Taro limping slowly to the hallway. He hadn't given up, but with blood leaking from his wounds, and a leg that wasn't working properly, he wasn't getting very far fast.

Emanuel grinned maliciously at Taro, and then moved over to the switch. When he flicked it down, the bars slammed down in an instant. Taro winced, and moved over the bars, straining through the agony.

"P-please," he said, staring pitifully at Emanuel. "I… I don't want to die here."

" **Well, that's too bad for you,** " Emanuel said, reaching through the bars and grabbing Taro's jacket, yanking him up against the bars. " **Because that's exactly what's going to happen to you. And you want to know what else is going to happen?** "

Emanuel's despair-infected eyes were practically burning with venom. " **I'm going to leave Penjar, and I'm going to find out everyone that Shinobu survived the Tragedy with, and kill them. Then I'm going to spark a new wave of Despair in France, in Japan, in America, everywhere I can!**

" **Every place in the world is going to feel like where I came from, everyone is going to feel that helplessness that I felt when I tried to help people. And when they ask why this is happening…**

" **I will make sure to let them know that it was because of Shinobu Takahashi. The historian will go down in history as the reason for the second coming. How's THAT for honoring her?** "

Taro shook in fear, struggling but failing to get out of his grasp. The Bête Noir chuckled as he clutched Taro's clothing, noticing over the young man's shoulder that the displacer beast was getting back to its feet.

" **And you'll be my first victim, you pathetic piece of shit. How's that for being human, you'll get to feel what it is like to truly die.** "

Taro took a deep breath, and he composed himself. He could hear the thudding footsteps of the displacer beast stalking towards him.

"I've felt so much determination since I became human, I no longer suffer from forgetfulness," he said, as a pained smirk came to his face. "What does it means to be human? Shinobu told me, it means that I have to make hard choices, to feel the consequences. She made such choices, and now I'll follow in her footsteps…

"For you, Shinobu."

Everything that happened took place in a manner of seconds. The displacer beast reared back and then lunged, sighed as Taro moved his hand towards the switch behind the bars. He flipped it, and the bars shot up, right as the beast pounced.

Emanuel was knocked onto his back, and he hit the ground rather hard. Dazed, he pulled himself up, and saw the Mono-Displacer Beast had Taro's neck in its mouth. The beast viciously shook him, the blood and savagery a horrendous sight.

The Mono-Displacer Beast stopped shaking its limp prey, and then eyed up Emanuel. It snarled, and started to step forward. Dragging Taro's body, the recognition was in its one good eye.

Emanuel scrambled to get to his feet, stammering in fear as the sight of death unnerved him. He managed to get back to his feet, and he started sprinting down the hallway.

The displacer beast dragged Taro's body, before dropping and thus trampling it. The two ran into the darkness, where Emanuel had no way of knowing where to go…

The displacer beast, being part cat, had nocturnal vision.

Inside of the arena, the Monokubs nervously peered into the hallway. They gathered at the edge, peering into the darkness. They exchanged glances, wondering what was happening.

Then there were blood-curdling shrieks, ones of agony and desperation. The Kubs flinched, as saw Taro's body at the very edge of the darkness.

Monodam, Monophanie, and Monosuke rushed over to try and grab his body. They were pulling him back, when they felt a menacing presence loom over them. They glanced up…

To see the displacer beast, with Emanuel's head, clutched in its maw. It opened up its mouth, dropping the horrendously mauled noggin, and roared. The Kubs shrieked in terror, Monokid ate more popcorn…

A shot rang out around the arena, and the displacer beast earned a bloody hole in its head. Slumping over, dead before it hit the floor, the Mono-Displacer Beast had killed its last.

Monodam checked for Taro's pulse, desperate, hoping. Back in the arena, Monokuma, wearing an outdoors hat and holding a smoking hunting rifle, chuckled at a job well done.

* * *

The TV screens in the trial room blinked off, and retracted back into the ceiling. The graduates stood, thunderstruck in horror. No one said anything, until Monokuma came bouncing back on his ravaged podium.

" **BOOM, HEADSHOT!** " Monokuma whooped as he twirled his hat around in one paw, and lifted his hunting rifle in delight. " **Now how was that for extreme, ladies and gentlemen! No one survived, so you got all of the blood and death you could have wanted from a cage match! How's that for a twist!** "

Several sobs came from the graduates. Fiora was crying as she stood up, covering her eyes. "Taro," she sobbed, "no… no, why? He saved my life. I couldn't save him."

"You killed your son," Ken bellowed in outrage, pointing at Monokuma as he shook in fury. "You claimed the Kubs are your children, and you allowed your son to die! For no reason!"

"For no purpose," Hikari shrieked, then she placed her hand on her face. "Oh my God, that poor boy… he…"

"Shuuya, please hold still," Pyrrha pleaded, as she was trying to inspect his face.

"I'm fine, really."

"You're not fine! That metal wire cut your face!"

"It didn't hit my eye, so it's fine."

"You'll probably need stitches…"

As the graduates spoke, some of them hollering accusations and verbal lashings at Monokuma, the Monokubs showed up again. They all appeared very morbid, and Monodam had blood on his paws.

"Fannie?" Ishiku said, approaching the pink bear cub. "Is… is he really…"

Monophanie sobbed, covering her face. Though there were no tears, the action was just the same. Monosuke hung his head, uncharacteristically quiet. Monodam stared down at the floor.

"Motherfucker's dead kitty chow, haw haw haw!"

Monokid shouted as he raised his guitar into the air, and slammed it down onto the floor, bashing it to pieces. "That's how it should be! That bastard totally betrayed us, and ruined everything! We finally had a new ally, and he destroyed that chance!

"Word of Penjar could have spread across the country, the world! Fuck that betrayer, we don't need him!"

" **Well said, my handsome son, my very best oldest son,** " Monokuma said, tipping his hat towards Monokid. " **Never forget that Taro ruined everything, and Emanuel was not given a fair execution! But it was fun, now wasn't it?** "

He stared at his Kubs, and the red glare of his eye intensified. " **Right, my adorable widdle precious Kubs?!** "

"Yep, youse said it," Monosuke said, pulling out a wad of cash to fan himself.

"We'll be able to move on and have more chances," Monophanie said, clasping her paws together.

"MAYBE-NOW-WITHOUT-SUCH-HOSTILITY," Monodam said, "WE-CAN-ALL-GET-ALONG."

The graduates stared incredulously at the bears, and Blake spoke up angrily. "So that's it then, that's who Shinobu tried to save. A bunch of fanatics who change their opinions in the blink of an eye. What a waste."

"What a tragic loss of life," Souma said, shaking his head. "I feel like we should get out of here now, this place just feels… cold and awful right now."

"Yeah," Anzu said, her voice ragged from all the emotion. "I just want to go to bed."

"It's probably only the middle of the afternoon," Yitro commented, crossing his arms as he glared one more time at the Kubs.

"Let's just go," Isaac said, taking Hara's hand. "I think after what we just experienced, we don't need to be here any more."

The twenty-two humans moved towards the elevator, most of them not even looking back. Monokid was smashing the rest of his guitar, Monosuke fanning himself as he discussed ideas with his brother.

Monophanie and Monodam stared down at the ground, unable to think about what to say or do. They knew what they were supposed to, they knew how they had to feel about this.

And yet, there was no denying that all of their feelings weren't entirely what they were meant to feel.

"Taro," Monophanie whispered.

"THIS," Monodam muttered, "FEELS-LIKE-MY-FAULT."

* * *

 **Day 10, 3:11 PM**

 **Main Plaza**

The graduates were mostly silent as they rode back up the elevator. The walk through the town hall building was equally quiet, and when they stepped outside, Penjar was the same condition as they left it.

"Weird," Odelios said as he stared up at the overcast sky.

"What's weird?" Ishiku asked him.

"Oh, just that, I look at this place, and think it's the norm now. I've grown so adjusted to this stupid town, going outside feels like a breath of fresh air."

"Anywhere is better than in the trial room," Anzu remarked.

"Yeah, I second that," Ishiku said, shaking his head. "Especially after that one, it was… awful, in so many ways."

"You need to talk about it, bro?" Odelios asked him.

As the clown and magician began to speak quietly to each other, Isaac and Hara were having a conversation between each other. He was hugging her, saying, "You were amazing, you saved the day down there."

"I… I didn't do all that much," she protested.

"Oh come on, Hara," Saiko said, approaching the two. "I'll be tasting crow for a long time, after what you just served us."

"Saiko…"

"I'm not gonna hide the fact that I was no help, I was actually a deterrent," the forensic investigator said. "I should really learn by now, huh?"

"You have a career, a life that relies on leading with the facts," Hara said, "with the obvious conclusion. This place, it just isn't like that at all."

Saiko shook her head, as she tried to collect herself. Thus she ended up staring at Drake and Ignatia. The cartoonist was staring at the key ring that Emanuel had given him, wordlessly examining it as Ignatia watched with concern on her face.

"You think the kid's going to be okay?" Saiko asked her friends.

"It's hard to say," Isaac said. "For whatever reason, he trusted Emanuel, and that betrayal stung in a lot of directions. As much of a bastard he could be, even I didn't see him turning to Despair."

"It was so shocking," Hara said, nodding. "Maybe it was the guilt of accidentally killing Shinobu, maybe it was how much he felt betrayed. I just wish… we could have done something different."

Hara sighed in regret, and Isaac pulled her back into a hug. Saiko stared at her big-hearted friend, wondering how someone could be so kind and forgiving.

The touching moment was interrupted when Ishiku started yelling furiously. "I heard that, you bitch," the magician was pointed at Aka, who stared back at him with contempt. "You're still intend to slander me?"

"Oh, please, it doesn't matter if you weren't guilty of Shinobu's death," the skier retorted, "we all know you followed her plan simply to get laid."

"Is this necessary?" Eisei spoke up, staring at the arguing duo. "Haven't we all been through enough after that trial?"

"No, I'm sorry," Ishiku barked out, glaring furiously at Aka. "I'm not going to just going to be labeled like that! It's not only insulting to me, but to Shinobu! We didn't do it just for sex!"

"Of course you did it for that," Aka replied. "You're a guy."

"You're going to use that stereotype?"

Kimiko stomped over to Aka, getting right up in her face. "You've bin all over Hikari since we got here, and you keep bragging a'boot it! You have no room to judge Ishiku!"

"I can judge whoever I want, especially after the shit I saw," Aka shouted. "That jackass turning to Despair, the secret plan Shinobu pulled off behind our back, the Kubs getting over one of their own's death in a heartbeat… this town is fucked up, and so are most of you! At least I'm honest about what I want."

"What you should want," Kimiko said with a snarl, "is someone to hold me back before I flatten you, bitch!"

Kimiko went for Aka, but Hikari and Crystal came in-between the two tomboys before anyone could hit anyone else. Ishiku stood there fuming, Odelios staying close to his friend.

"Oh let them slug it out a little," Blake suggested. "It might be good to see you all vent some of that heat."

"Fighting amongst ourselves," Souma said to him, "is the last thing we need right now. Things are more dire than ever."

"Man, all I see is a bunch of idiots lining up to die, but at least this last trial wasn't a total loss," the pyro said with a lazy shrug and smile. "I mean, did any of us like Emanuel? Are any of us going to miss Taro except his dead girlfriend?"

Anzu sniffed, then spat at Blake. He managed to dodge it, and laughed at the actress. "Guess we know you don't swallow then?"

"Oh go to hell, you're such an awful person," she replied, instead turning towards the fighting that was being prevented by Crystal and Hikari. Aka and Kimiko were being held back, glaring daggers at each other.

"Please, for the love of God," Hikari begged, "calm down, both of you! After everything we just went through, we don't need any more fighting!"

"Do you need me to order you two?" Crystal barked, glancing between the two of them. "Do I have to have people follow you around to make sure you won't do anything? Because I will, at this point, I won't have any more fighting."

Aka scoffed, and brushed herself off before glancing at Hikari. "You really seem to like this bossy bitch, honey. I mean, why did you wake up early to see her anyway?"

"Getting on her case about that too?" Kimiko grumbled, but Hikari desperately motioned for her to shush.

"You know, I really don't need to justify myself," Crystal said with a shake of her head. "After this trial, we've seen how dangerous it is for us to keep such hostile emotions. If we're going to stay in this town, we'd best not tear each other apart!"

Aka rolled her eyes, then said, "Yeah, well, you didn't exactly lead the trial in the right direction, so maybe I don't want you or those I care about hanging out with you!"

Crystal glared at her, then noticed Hikari's pleading look for peace. It was hard to deny the beautiful model, and so the military advisor let out a defeated sigh. "I admit, I haven't been at my best, but I'll trust Hikari. She has been a reliable person, even after this frustrating morning…"

The military adviser froze up, and stared at the steampunk model. "Wait, what we were talking about this morning, before all of the chaos, remember what we were discussing?"

Hikari swallowed nervously, then noticed a lot of the graduates were staring at them. She stared pleadingly at Crystal, and whispered, "You should tell them what happened."

Crystal sighed, and braced herself. She turned to face everyone, and brought their attention to her. "Everyone, I had Samson's gun at my place since his death, but ever since this morning, it's gone missing."

"What?!" Isaac declared. "Why weren't we told about this?"

"Mostly because Shinobu's death was so sudden and awful," Crystal said, "and yes, maybe I should have told you all, but I was distracted and forgot about it."

Yitro stepped forward, and said, "But isn't that curious? If anyone was going to steal it, it surely would have been Emanuel."

"Or one of the Kubs," Ken remarked. "But none of them had it."

"So did someone randomly steal the gun?" Souma inquired. "That's not good, but if we conduct a search, we might find out who took it."

…

…

…

…

…

…

 _Ca-click._

The graduates froze, and turned slowly to the sound of the gun cocking. They were shocked to see who it was, but that shock and horror didn't diminish the violent, determined look in their eyes.

"Little flower," Yejoon started to say.

"Back off, Yeou," Fiora snarled, glancing over at him for a second. "Don't get in my way, or I will shoot you too."

The movie maker stared at the group, and spat out as she clenched both of her hands around the gun, "No one else needs to get hurt. Just get Blake to step forward, now!"

The pyro flinched, but stepped forward. "What the fuck is going on, Fiora? What do you want from me?"

"Figures you woo'dent knoo', you craven murderer."

"What?! Did you miss the entire trial or something? Emanuel was the killer, not me!"

"I overheard you, when you were talking to Futaba yesterday," Fiora said, taking deep breaths as she stared him down.

* * *

 _There was silence in the area. Futaba had been gripping her pencil and pad, but dropped them when she heard this. When she knelt down to pick them up, she kept her eyes firmly on Blake, thinking he might lunge at her to silence her after overhearing this._

 _"_ _You," she stammered slightly, gripping her pad and reaching for her pencil. There was a_ _wooden snapping sound_ _, and she gave up on trying to find it. "You caused that horrible fire?"_

 _Unbeknownst to the two, that was not a pencil breaking, but a twig that Fiora had stepped on when she inched closer to overhear the conversation._

* * *

"You were responsible for the Melbourne's Great Fire!"

Blake took a deep breath, feeling the glares and stunned stares from everyone else on him for a moment. He crossed his arms, and said, "It wasn't entirely my fault, but what's that got to do with any of this?"

"What does… what does it…"

Fiora shivered in outrage, then shrieked at him…

"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"

The movie maker had advanced closer to the pyro, the gun leveled at his head. Her furious heaving was picking up, as if trying to reach a pitch.

Blake, startled and afraid for his life, was so confused that he started stammering. "Wh-wh-what? I… I don't… wait, what the hell are you talking about? You're Canadian! That fire was in Australia! How could it have killed your parents?"

Fiora was breathing so hard that she couldn't answer, so Yejoon did for her. "Fiora's family traveled a lot when she was younger," the artist explained. "She told me about the places they had been, but she never told me of the last place they traveled to…"

* * *

 _"_ _Oh… they were very nice, a little strict, but passionate about their pastimes. Dad didn't think I should go into the movies, he kept saying that it wasn't a place for a girl like me, even if I wasn't an actress. Mom was okay with it, especially because I would film when we traveled…"_

 _She sighed, as she reminisced. "We traveled a lot, they loved seeing other countries. I think that's supposed to be stereotypical of Canadians, but they didn't care. I loved it, and I saw so many amazing places with them. They died doing what they loved."_

 _Fiora adjusted her fedora, and muttered, "They, um, they_ _died on one of our vacation s_ _. It's just one of those things, it cannot be helped. I got into Hope's Peak Academy shortly after that, so I still had drive to continue after they were gone."_

* * *

"That last place," Fiora said, most bitterly, "was Australia. My parents were at a nice hotel for the day, as I went on a tour alone. The Melbourne's Great Fire consumed that hotel, the people inside had no chance of getting 'oot…

"I never got to say good-bye. I never… got…"

Fiora sobbed, but the tears rolling down her face didn't deter her from what she was doing. Her hands were still tightly clenching the pistol, finger at the trigger.

"And you don't care. You don't care at all that you took them from me."

"Wait, Fiora," Futaba said, walking slowly up to her, "you don't know that. You heard him during that conversation, he wasn't happy about it! And it wasn't his fault, someone else started that fire."

"He provided all the necessary materials to make that fire possible, all for an experiment!" Fiora hollered. "I could have forgiven that, if it wasn't for what else he said…"

* * *

 _"_ _So… yeah, I'm responsible for Melbourne's Great Fire, in a way. I don't like to say it, because I don't think those deaths were entirely on me. But maybe I don't like admitting to everyone that happened."_

 _Futaba rubbed her forehead, and then let out a long, heavy sigh. "Well, you did your time, and you're trying to help us. I guess I shouldn't try to shame you."_

 _"_ _Shame don't work on me. I'm going to do what I can to get us closer to the truth."_

* * *

"You don't care! You won't admit to it unless it's dragged out of you, and you think the end justifies the means! All those people who died, my… my parents…"

"They died just so you could conduct experiments! And you got into fucking Hope's Peak because of it?!"

Fiora was now only a few feet from Blake, and she closed the distance faster than anyone could follow. She had the barrel of the gun pressed against Blake's forehead, as the pyro shivered in fear.

"Why should someone like you be rewarded for your awful crimes? Why should you live?! YOU'RE NOT EVEN SOO'RY!"

She clutched his shirt, and stared into his eyes as she pressed that barrel against him harder. "Go on, try to lie to me that you're soo'ry. Because I knoo' you're not, you casually dismissed the blame and went right on talking a'boot how you wanted to screw Fannie."

Blake sucked in several deep breaths, as he contemplated his possibilities. "You know what? I won't lie then," he said, as he took what he felt like could be his last breath. "I'm not sorry. My successful experiments helped saved lives, many more, down the line.

"You want to kill me? It'll just get you killed too, Fiora. But it won't bring your parents back, and it won't do anyone any good; I'm not a murderer, I don't want to kill anyone."

"So you say," Fiora snarled.

There was a tense moment, then she pulled the gun away from his head…

Only to jam it up against his chest, right up against his heart.

"Want to know what it feels like to truly have your heart broken, then? Want to feel that kind of pain that a monster like you probably cannot feel?!"

Blake closed his eyes, bracing himself. Fiora stared at him, as her hand shook slightly, her finger resting on the trigger but not pulling just yet.

"Fiora, please!"

Anzu took a step forward, holding her hands up to signal surrender. "I… I know you're mad, sweetheart, but if you kill him, it won't make you feel better. And you'll just have to be executed by Monokuma."

"I doo'nt care anymore," she admitted. "What else have I got to live fur?"

"But you've been one of the most positive people when it comes to the future," Eisei spoke up. "You have your career, your passions, and nothing has ever diminished that."

Fiora said nothing, she controlled her breathing as she stared down Blake. The pyro didn't dare speak again, he could just feel his heart hammering up against the gun's barrel.

"Fiora, I beg you," Yitro said, speaking as he stepped forward, getting a little closer to her. "Don't do this. You don't have to turn into a murderer because you're angry and confused. Trust me when I say, there's so much more for you to look forward to."

"Like what?" she replied, her tone much calmer, but still carrying a bitter aftertaste. "I thought I could be a better person when I wanted to help Shinobu. She was doing the right thing, and she trusted me…

"And I got her killed," Fiora sobbed, but managed to keep her grasp on the gun and Blake's shirt firm. "She's dead because of me!"

"How do you figure that?" Kimiko asked. "It was Emanuel's doing, it was Monokid's fault, it was because of them, not you!"

"Shinobu asked me to help her, and the whole plan got fucked up. It's as simple as that, everything I get involved in just fails, my movies, my friends, everything…

"If I hadn't bin part of that mission, Emanuel wouldn't have bin so furious, felt like he had bin betrayed. My very involvement turned him a'geenst Shinobu! I even tried to help him after the trial, but what happened? I spoke to him, and then he turned to Despair!

"So how is that not my fault?" Fiora cried out. "Shinobu's dead, Emanuel's dead, Taro's dead… and it all could have bin avoided if I had joo'st left it all alone! The only thing I can do right… is to kill this bastard who took my family away from me!"

She pressed the gun up against Blake's chest harder, and he flinched. Time seemed to freeze for everyone there.

Shuuya stepped forward, with blood slowly leaking from the whiplash cut on his cheek. "You don't want to do it, Fiora. Please, just give me the gun."

"What? You, of all people, are telling me not to do it?" she asked, glancing at him incredulously for a second. "You kill people for a living! Your whole livelihood is to kill the killers! What's the difference between you and me, eh?"

"It's true, as an assassin, I excel at killing people. But the difference here is, I do not throw my life away when I do it, like you are doing.

"Blake may appear like a monster to you, but if he truly was, if you truly had the same mentality as me, you wouldn't do it like this. You wouldn't have us around when you decided to kill him. And I think that's because you want one of us to stop you."

Fiora scoffed. "Maybe I joo'st want you all to know what a monster he is befur I pull the trigger."

"If you were going to do it, you would have done it by now."

The movie maker glared at him for one more second, then focused on Blake. Her hand on the gun was shaking now, and she was sweating as much as he was.

"Little flower."

Yejoon walked over to her side, undaunted by the strained feeling in the air. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "If it will help, I will leave you alone after today. You won't ever have to worry about me again."

"H-huh?"

"Is that why you're content to throw your life away? Because you dread my continued interaction with you, the only thing you perceive as your future? Revenge, murder, killing, these are not things you should delve into, and I speak from great experience…

"Though you should not listen to me. Do you notice how many people want you to stay alive here? You have people who care, and yet you haven't noticed, because of me."

Fiora shook a little more, and glanced around. So many of the others were staring at her, but most of them appeared concerned and worried. She stammered out as she stared at Yejoon, "You… you promise? Tomoo'row, you will leave me alone? B-but, how can I trust you?"

"Haven't I told you before that I only find death beautiful if it is done perfectly?"

Yejoon reached down to her hand, and pulled the gun from her trembling hands. Handing it over to Shuuya, who expertly disabled the prepared shot, the artist placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're already beautiful, without blood on your hands."

Fiora let out a defeated sob, and pounded on his chest in frustration. He pulled her close into a hug, in which she continued to cry but stopped hitting him eventually. The others all let out sighs of relief, except for Blake, who quickly stepped away from the scene.

"Fucking fuck," the pyro cursed, and back away from everyone before he made a beeline to the housing area.

Shuuya put the safety back on the pistol, then held it towards Crystal. "Would you like it back?" he asked.

"Sure, I think I know where to store it where it won't be stolen again," she said as she took the gun. Glaring at Yejoon, who continued to comfort Fiora, she asked, "I thought you said you searched her!"

"I did, I just left out the fact that she had the gun in that hidden pocket those jackets had," the artist replied simply.

"You knew, all this time, that she was considering murdering Blake. You…"

Crystal, fed up with all that had gone on, stormed off. A lot of the graduates departed at this point, wanting to find something, anything, to distract them from all of the hell they had just been through.

Yitro, Kimiko, Eisei, and Anzu stayed around for a little bit longer, offering what comfort they could to the distraught Fiora. Futaba watched from a short distance, her interest growing as she observed all that was happening.

She was going to need some time, and even though none of them liked having to leave her with Yejoon, it appeared that he would be best for her in the last day he promised to spend with her.

* * *

 **Day 10, 3:59 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

 **The Bar**

Ishiku slumped at the counter, trying hard to finish the shot he had in front of him. Putting it to his lips, he prepared to pull it upwards and send the drink down his throat, but his lips refused to open. His body was betraying him, not allowing any more alcohol into his system.

"I didn't think you were the kind to drink."

Odelios had walked into the tavern, staring at his friend with concern. The magician shrugged, and muttered, "It's only my second; though it seems my body refuses to play along."

"Yeah, that's what happens when non-drinkers try to drink their problems away. Or maybe not, I thought I'd try to sound thoughtful and smart."

Ishiku let out a humorless laugh, and rubbed his forehead. "Thanks, buddy, but I don't think I got a lot of room for humor right now."

Odelios walked behind the bar, and stood as if he were the bartender. What he was offering was obvious to Ishiku, who sighed and muttered, "You don't need to hear me whine about my problems, dude."

"Not talking is what is causing a lot of problems here. Let it out."

The magician stared at the bartender clown, and sighed heavily. "It's just that, I still kind of feel bad for Emanuel, despite what a violent son of a bitch he was. He lost his country, his home, and all of his friends. The Tragedy ripped everything away from him, and it left him that resentful guy he was… am I stupid for pitying him?"

"I think it proves you're a good guy. It's not like pitying him is going to harm anyone or anything. In fact, let's toast one for him…"

Odelios grabbed one of the bottles of liquor, just one that looked gross to him. "To you, Emanuel, may you rest in peace after all the hell you went through, and may the shots go down smooth."

The clown then tossed the bottle across the building, it shattering and splashing all over the dance floor. "He would have wanted it that way," the clown said with the utmost sincerity, "and the Kubs will clean it up."

"The Kubs, yeah," Ishiku muttered. "Yeah, it's nice to know everyone but you thinks I tried to save the Kubs for sex. Shinobu gets remembered as a hero, I get people talking about what a pervert I am."

"Hey, you destroyed Taro's robotic body, you stopped him from being turned back! If he hadn't sacrificed himself," Odelios paused, considering where that was going, and shifted the conversation abruptly. "You gave Taro a chance to be human, to do the right thing, and he did.

"So what if Aka and some of the others think you're a pervert? You're a guy, we're guys! We're always considered perverts by some people! We just gotta bear that stigma and find someone who doesn't think like that!"

Odelios grabbed another shot glass, and poured himself a drink. He knocked it back, gasped horribly, then rubbed his temples. "Oh, that one was Shinobu. I figured she deserved a more respectful toast, as one of the more respectful people we've known."

Ishiku sighed, and muttered, "I still remember when she thought I was the killer during the second trial, but at least she had good reason. I am going to miss her."

* * *

 **Day 10, 4:09 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Pyrrha walked over to Shuuya, and placed a first-aid kit down on the table in front of him. "Now we're going to properly bandage that wound, or you'll pick at it until you make what you think is a handsome scar."

"Historically, scars have been a prominent source of pride, unless they were earned dishonorably," Eisei said, as he prepared plastic gloves on his hands (they were rather big for his small mitts). "I believe you should be honored that you did the right thing to earn this scar."

"I aim to not get scars, thank you very much," Shuuya said. "And why is the medical treatment coming from the dentist?"

"Because the Ultimate Doctor and Ultimate Triage Nurse didn't want to come to Penjar," Pyrrha snarked, giggling as she sat across the table to observe.

"Very well, but at the risk of upsetting my current doctor, there is something I wanted to ask you, Eisei," Shuuya said, as the dentist cleaned the area around the wound.

"And that would be?"

"You really seemed to be affected when Mahiru was brought up during the trial. Is there something about her that you know that you're not telling us?"

Eisei paused for a second, then replied, "No. Just curious why everyone else has seen her besides me. Maybe she only visits females in this vision world that we seem to experiencing."

Pyrrha drummed her fingers on the table, as he glanced around in thought. "Kimiko, Anzu, and now Fiora have had visions, and they all saw Mahiru. We might want to ask them more when we have a chance… poor Fiora, she's been through so damn much."

Shuuya was about to comment, then Eisei gently pushed a lollipop into his mouth. "Quiet, no more talking while I take care of your face wound," the dentist chided him. "Just be grateful I'm giving you before the operation is done."

Shuuya Yukimura, a bounty hunter and assassin, slayer of serial killers and human traffickers and drug lords, had to endure having a candy placed in his mouth as a way to shush him. It was the most difficult task he had ever been assigned. He tried to keep busy by glancing around the cafeteria at the others there.

Isaac, Hara, and Saiko were having a light, early dinner, trying to discuss what they could think of. Isaac was still congratulating Hara on a job well done, her blushing returning every time he did so.

Drake and Ignatia were seated together, and the cartoonist was trying to get the mime to open up. She appeared to be rather distant again, barely using his sketchpad or her phone to communicate. Shuuya theorized she was embarrassed over being used by Emanuel, that her pride at having to admit she wasn't helping but pretending she was had been damaged.

Ken and Souma were having a conversation as well, both of them appearing to want to keep it relatively private. Futaba sat relatively near them, but not close enough to overhear what they were saying.

The calm that was in the cafeteria was broken when Blake walked in. He stormed into the kitchen, grabbing a bunch of snacks, and then marched right out. Souma called out to him, and then followed after.

When the public speaker went outside, the pyro turned abruptly and shouted, "What! What do you want?"

"Listen, Blake, there's something we need to discuss," Souma implored.

"I don't gotta explain shit, mate. I've had enough for one fucking day, I'm done."

He was about to leave, when Futaba exited the cafeteria and walked up to them. "Blake," she said, approaching him with a narrowed stare, "we're not going to play the avoiding game. You either talk to us, or you leave Penjar."

"Oh, so suddenly you guys are in control now?" Blake said with an angry scoff. "I didn't realize that we had rules set."

"Listen, no one wants you to leave Penjar, we want to find the answers to this place," Souma insisted, "and now more than ever. You do realize that this place might be where the agents of Despair learned how to create clones?"

"Oh, please, that shit probably happened at Hope's Peak. That's where all of this shit started, isn't it?"

Futaba raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you figure that?"

"It was where the first Killing Game ever took place, it was where the wave of Despair that washed over the world begun, it was Ground Zero for everything! How do we know that all this Despair shit didn't begin there?"

Souma rubbed his forehead, and muttered, "As a member of the Future Foundation, I am going to tell you here and now, that's just a wild theory. Whatever started the Tragedy, Hope's Peak wasn't the cause."

"Really now? Because after all I've fucking seen, I'd say differently. And I'm sure you, Miss Anthropologist, would agree with me after all we've seen from the Killing Games, and this place!"

Futaba rubbed her chin, and said, "Is this a case of a 'takes one to know one,' Blake?"

"Yeah, listen, I know I'm a bastard, maybe Fiora was justified in taking my damn head off. But I'm a bastard with purpose, and I want to know just what caused the Tragedy, that wave of Despair that killed my brother, and I know it had to have started at Hope's Peak."

Souma sighed, and asked, "And how do you figure that?"

"Have you seen their track record of late? How many murderers, killers, assassins, and freaks that have been accepted or part of Hope's Peak?"

He glanced at Futaba, and the anthropologist nodded, whilst saying, "Shinobu might have been better to note all of this, but consider the following: Toko Fukawa, serial murderer; Korekiyo Shinguji, serial murderer; Maki Harukawa, assassin; Shuuya Yukimura, assassin…

"Dolly Dewitt, mastermind of the Kuma-Kuma Land Killing Game; Giselly Lutzen, global threat level hacker; Dylan Rufheiser, serial killer with diplomatic access…"

"Not to mention the brother and sister psycho killers we have here, the soldier who burned a woman for Chaos, and," Blake paused as he cast an unfriendly glance at Souma, "what about those rumors that one of the leading members of the Future Foundation went on such a murderous crusade that he had to be arrested by his own men?"

Souma frowned as he crossed his arms. "And you think this proves something?"

"If I am any indication, I think it proves that Hope's Peak was up to no good," Blake responded. "Maybe one bad apple in a barrel is to be expected, maybe you lock up any group of people some of them will kill each other, but a whole history of murdering psychopaths and more on the way?"

"We're not asking you to lose faith in your Foundation, Souma," Futaba remarked. "And Blake, we're not going to lock you up or treat you badly, but the group here is going to want your cooperation. Both of you, mine included, because I think Penjar is connected to Hope's Peak.

"I believe we're dealing with an extension of it, because, as you brought up apples, Blake, they don't fall far from the tree. And now we're seeing everything that went on at Hope's Peak, and then some, along with this cloning madness and mysterious visions.

"If this is not the past coming to haunt us, it may be the future if we are not careful. So stay alert."

* * *

 **Day 10, 4:34 PM**

 **Ye Olde Tailor Shop**

"Are you still going to be avoiding me?" Aka asked Hikari, as the steampunk model was looking at the jackets left behind. They weren't the only ones in the store, but Kimiko and Ken were giving them some distance.

"Aka, I don't think you understand, I still think you're just after me for sex," the model said, glancing at her before inspecting one of the Monotaro jackets. "And after everything that happened today, I don't want to go through any more feelings of betrayal."

"I never betrayed you! I thought we had a good thing going," Aka said. "Look, you want to know about me? Want me to lay it out? I'm a simple girl, I don't mind being open about it!"

Hikari sighed, and turned towards the skier. "Okay, what makes you so simple?"

"I love thrills. I love them. I started skiing before I was ten, and I found out how much I loved the rush. You see, my parents owned a cabin up on a snowy mountain, so I had ski slopes for days… but when the kids' slopes weren't good enough, I went behind their back and went down the more dangerous ones.

"I started to feel alive when I was rushing down a hill, going so fast that a crash into a tree would be the end. I wanted that thrill, so freaking bad, that I kept going on the most dangerous slopes there were.

"Then, one day, there was an avalanche on the mountain my parents' cabin was on. They were snowed in, and the rescue crew was going to take too long. So I managed to hike up that mountain, and then I skied down to my parents!"

Aka pumped her fists, as her eyes buzzed with energy at recalling that day. "I dug at that snow until I couldn't feel my hands, and I got my parents out! Hehe, now I'm a thrill seeking adrenaline junkie, and I fucking love it! But it did teach me one thing, Hikari…

"And that is that risking your life for a thrill is only good if your life is worth living! So I'm making sure my life is worth it every time I do something stupid-crazy-fun! As I am an adventurous lezbo-bitch too, I want to have sex with beautiful women, which, yes, is why I hit on you.

"But this place, Penjar, it's fucking dangerous too. It's a thrill, every day could be our last, and that excites me. That's why I like being with you, because you make it all worth it, you make the fear of death worth it. As the Ultimate Skier, you are the mountain slopes that make me what I am."

Hikari stared at her for a few seconds, then dryly chuckled. "Comparing a woman to a mountain isn't exactly romantic, Aka."

"I'm not romantic, I don't know how to do it. But I do know physical, and thrills, and I know you know that. So I'm asking you, why ruin the good thing we're having? If you want me to leave you alone, just say so, I'll do it. But wishy-washy sleep with me one day and be ashamed about it the next is driving me crazy."

The steampunk model sighed, and muttered, "It's strange, I've always wanted to have beautiful women flirt back with me. I wondered what I was doing wrong all this time."

"My guess is you may have hit on too many straight chicks?"

Hikari let out a chuckle, and said, "Okay, Aka, I'll give you more of a chance."

In the background, Kimiko's jaw dropped. She had to grab ahold of something, as her hands were trembling emotionally. Hikari didn't notice this, because she was saying to Aka, "Why don't we go somewhere else, more private, where we can talk about this?"

"Sounds fine to me!"

The two left the shop, leaving Ken and Kimiko there alone. The cavalryman pretended not to overheard most of that, and checked out a leather jacket that had Monokid's design on it.

"No, definitely not him," he said as he put it back. "As much as I hate to admit it, I would rather have one of those Monotaro jackets, to honor his sacrifice. What do you think, Kimi-"

 **CRASH!**

Ken turned around to see Kimiko had violently kicked over a few displays, sending the clothes scattering on the floor. She lifted her foot and stomped on the bear-themed clothing, ruining the fabric. After a few seconds, she stopped, and let out a long, heavy growl.

"Something bothering you?" Ken dared to ask.

"Oh, it's nothing much, handsome," she responded. "It's just that another good person is dead, we haven't got a clue what's going on in this fucking town, we cannot work together as a group worth shit, one of the most energetic and friendly girls I've met almost blew someone's brains out an hour ago, and to top it all off…

"My stupid fucking mind keeps thinking a'boot why Hikari is interested in that slut, and how I just lost Angelique only a few days ago. I doo'nt knoo' what I'm supposed to do!"

She unleashed one more stomp on the clothing, and sighed heavily. "And I cannot even blame PMS on this shit, because it's not that time of the month yet! I'm actually wishing I was on my fucking period so I would have an excuse to knock shit over and scream!"

Kimiko crossed her arms and sighed. There were a few tense seconds, then there was a very loud slicing sound behind her. She turned to see a great deal of the Monokid jackets had been cut in half, ruined with a perfect blade swing.

Ken sheathed his sword, and said to her, "I do not have a period, but as you can see, I didn't need that excuse either."

The biker gang leader blinked in astonishment, then grinned. "Wanna get Yitro and carve some of this shit up?"

"I'm up with that, yo."

* * *

 **Day 10, 9:21 PM**

 **Housing District**

When the evening started to come around, the graduates were more than willing to call it an early day. They hadn't seen the Kubs or Monokuma all day, and it was starting to feel like they weren't going to get any more information. Most of them had been scattered throughout Penjar for most of the day, so they were returning home at random points.

Crystal made it to her place, and opened the door, only to discover Anzu lying on her bed! The military advisor stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"I've heard through the grapevine you have been seduced to the other side as well," the actress purred. "And you seem so stressed out after that trial. Would you like a little help de-stressing?"

"I'm not the kind of person who has sex to distract myself," Crystal responded. "Anzu, that's not appropriate."

"Well, maybe you can talk about your problems and such to me then. I've heard people tend to blurt that stuff to prostitutes, and you don't have to pay me."

"That's even less appropriate!"

"I'm not an appropriate girl."

"Anzu, please…"

"Listen, we've all had a ton of stress in our lives, especially all the shit going on with that trial. So you need to destress, at the very least."

Crystal crossed her arms, and said, "And you think I should just trust what is on my mind to anyone, after all the betrayal going on?"

Anzu smirked, and splayed out on the bed, signaling she wasn't taking "no" for an answer. "It's that or you yell at your video game console some more for another evening."

"Okay, let me lay it all on you then…"

"Ooo~"

"Stop that! What I was going to say is that I am trying to find out the truth behind this Penjar, and there are a lot of people trusting me to find out what is going on. You have no idea how devastating Despair has been to America, how we lost Las Vegas when trying to stop that floating island…"

She squeezed her hands into fists, and cried out, "And somehow, every time we've been going to trial, I've gotten everything wrong! I couldn't see Jin for the killer she was, I trusted Samson, I honestly thought Fiora was guilty, so what kind of military advisor am I?

"What _have_ I done? Oh, that's right, go down the wrong path multiple times, explore my sexual preferences, and made death threats at someone over a Goddamn video game! I haven't found out anything!"

She heaved in frustration, and caressed her ring in an effort to calm down. "I even lost my jacket, and I'm wearing something that was made by one of those Kubs. Who was a human at one point, and now they're back to… normal?

"So now you can see how trying to get laid is the last thing on my mind. I cannot let the Lions down, my country, or… or any of you. Especially after… what I did… this trial…"

Anzu listened intensively, then she stood up and walked over to Crystal. She curled one of her blue bangs around her fingers, then she leaned in to whisper to the lady. "See, I didn't know a lot of that, but I'll bet it was good to get off of your shoulders. I actually had one theory, and it still may be true."

"And what would that be?"

Anzu leaned against the front door's frame, popping her foot up as she spoke. "I saw Fiora kissing you during the trial when she was in that post-concussion goofy state. You kind of went after her fast when Emanuel pointed to her as the culprit. Then you find out she was the one who stole your gun, but it was because of someone who I have seen you give the stink eye since we got here…

"Fiora has, quite unintentionally, put you through a roller coaster, and you have no control over any of it. And as a military adviser, you really don't like things being out of your control. So maybe it's time you take a step back, and focus on the big picture tomorrow, when things haven't been so awful."

Crystal heard her out, and then let out a big sigh. "I suppose I should. I… still think one thing we need to do is pay service to Shinobu, and her loss. And, quite possibly, Taro as well, it is what she would have wanted."

"There you go, you got a heart in there after all, don't cha~?"

As they spoke, the familiar trio of Isaac, Hara, and Saiko came walking through the housing area, heading to their respective homes. They stopped to say good night to Yitro, who was turning in early for the night. The swordsman congratulated Hara on her incredible deductions in the trial, which made the explorer blush and slightly hide behind her tall fiancé.

"She's still not the most social of people," Saiko commented, as Yitro chuckled.

"You can be the world's biggest introvert, but that doesn't stop you from being a good person. Helping us out has been highly beneficial, and I would never ask someone to change."

As he said this, Yejoon and Fiora walked in through the opposite side of the housing district. The artist was leading the movie maker to her house, and the others were trying hard not to stare.

"Even if," Yitro said quietly to the others, "they are a terrible person, if they're doing something right… I have to respect that. I just hate to admit it."

"Hard to believe we keep relying on the serial killer," Isaac grumbled, with quite the bitter tone, "to help us out here."

Yejoon led Fiora to her house, which was next to Crystal's; the military adviser had begun to turn to see who was there, but Anzu distracted her in a way. The artist turned to Fiora, and said, "Thank you for keeping this side of the bargain, little flower. You won't have to deal with me after tonight."

"Al… alright," she said, staring down at the floor. The movie maker appeared deflated, with that energy and gusto she was known for gone. She reached up and pulled her fedora off, caressing her ahoge, which appeared wilted. "Hey, Yejoon…"

"Yes?"

"If… if I talk to you in the future, you and I can talk. But only if I approach, okay?"

"Very well, that sounds fair."

He bowed respectively, then pulled his mask down over his face. Yejoon started to walk away, then he paused. "By the way, Fiora, may I ask you something?"  
"Um, sure, I got nothing more to hide."

"When you were waking up at the trial, you said the name 'Junko.' Who is this Junko?"

Fiora's eyes went wide, and then placed her hat back on her head. She took a deep breath, and her tired state instantly returned. "Joo'st… someone I saw in that damn vision, but it's not really important. She didn't have anything helpful to tell me, joo'st another person who appeared to have gone insane during some fictional Killing Game, eh."

"I see," Yejoon said, though he tapped his chin. "Very well, have a good night, little flower."

Fiora nodded, then walked into her house. She closed the door, and Yejoon watched her go. Then he turned to the four people in the street who were watching.

"Perfect," he said, as he swiftly approached them. Isaac protectively stood in front of Hara, and Yitro gripped his sword in preparation. "I need you all to think back, this may be of vital importance."

"What do you want?" Saiko asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I am afraid that I do not remember where exactly, but I do recall the name of Junko being mentioned by someone in Penjar. Can any of you recall when it was said?"

The five of them exchanged confused glances. Crystal and Anzu, still in the doorway to the former's place, had listened in and were also trying to remember when the name was said. Before any of them could speak up, the TV in Crystal's place turned on.

* * *

( **Day 10 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma is standing in front of the Science Lab, adopting a prominent pose. He is still wearing his hunting cap, and holding a hunting rifle._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "You know, sometimes it is difficult to maintain a neat and clean lifestyle when you have to deal with destructive tourists, rebellious children, and collapsing buildings. My beloved Science Lab back there is such a shining example of how things should be neater and cleaner. To give you an example of neat and clean, I present my lovely daughter…"

* _He gestures to the side, where Monophanie is standing and clasping her hands together._ *

 **Monophanie** \- "Aw, thank you, Daddy!"

 **Monokuma** \- "As an example of how to do everything wrong!"

 **Monophanie** \- "Wait, what?"

 **Monokuma** \- "It's summer in Penjar, or at least I think it is, it's hard to tell. Anyway! Filthy, shameful whatever-season, and you're wearing a bikini! How could you be shameful, you aren't dressed appropriately!"

 **Monophanie** \- "I like how I look…"

 **Monokuma** \- "You aren't being a proper example of how to look neat and clean! No one wants to grope you, and paw at you, when you go trollop'ing yourself like that! Look the part! Pick up a rifle! Or a pickaxe!"

* _Monokuma reaches to the side, and hurls a pickaxe into the air towards Monophanie. She shrieks in horror and dodges, narrowing avoiding the deadly tool._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Why are you dressed like a proper bear, my favorite daughter?! You're disappointing my like my late favorite oldest son! Didn't you used to have skin? Well, skin sucks! Go metal! Metal lifestyle!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _rather distraught now_ * "This isn't fun, I'm leaving."

 **Monokuma** \- * _yelling at her_ * "Go on and leave, just like my now least favorite oldest late son did! You're just like your mother, whoever she was!"

* _Monophanie walks off, and Monokuma tips his hat to the camera, before he starts to head towards the front doors of the Science Lab._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "I think I may have digressed from the point, but you all had to see that happen. If you don't rear your children properly, teach them how to live a proper life that is neat and clean, they could end up disappointing you and make you want to leave to be professional gold diggers! And the same goes for dogs!

"Anyway, I have things to do, things to fix, and preparations to make for tomorrow. You're all going to like the new expansions to our lovely town here in Penjar. Call it home now, phuhuhuhuh~"

* _Monokuma walks up to the front doors, and pushes them open._ *

* * *

…

…

…

…

 ** _BA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_**

The entire ground shook as if there was a powerful earthquake. A shockwave raced through the city, shattering many windows as well as damaging and knocking over many objects, even those set in stone; the Monokuma statue in the Eastern Plaza was obliterated.

The shockwave and vibrations traveled to the housing district, and was strong enough to knock people off of their feet. Everyone fell down, practically thrown from their feet. Ears were ringing, hearts were pounding, minds were racing.

Only Yejoon managed to stay standing, his footing firm on the ground, as he glanced to the east. "What the hell was that?" he asked calmly.

Isaac helped Hara and Saiko up, as Yitro quickly got to his feet. No one was talking, they were all very baffled, and definitely worried. Some of the graduates raced out of their houses, shouting questions about what that was.

It was at this moment that Yejoon heard a thunking sound come from inside Fiora's house. There was a slight creak as well, nothing that sounded out of the ordinary. Though when the artist heard them, something made him tense up.

He raced over to Fiora's house, and tried to open the door. It was locked. Yejoon knocked on it, and called out, "Fiora? Fiora, open the door. Little flower, open this door!"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Isaac demanded to know.

"Something's wrong, Fiora's not answering the door!"

"There was a gigantic explosion in the city," Crystal shouted as she stepped out from her house. "Whatever that was, we should investigate. You should leave her-"

Yejoon kicked at the door, trying to force it open. He did it once, twice, and then hobbled back after a third time. Straining, the artist growled as he declared, "I'm not leaving until I find out she's okay!"

Isaac glanced down at Yejoon, regarded the door, and then he too started to get a sense of dread. The larger man walked towards the door to Fiora's house, and bashed his shoulder up against it.

The wood splintered as Isaac cleared through into the house. He took a moment to balance himself, then peered inside.

…

…

…

…

…

…

Fiora R. Stenton was swinging, and hanging, from a rope tied around the ceiling fan, a chair tilted over underneath her.

* * *

" _I gotta say, this is such an honor, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I had always thought my stubbornness would get me killed or in jail, not graduating from a prestigious academy like Hope's Peak. I'm not the crying type, but I'm not so proud that I won't show my gratitude._

" _When I leave Hope's Peak, I hope to do what this academy has always been doing: encouraging the future to be a better place. I foresee a lot of work for me in the future, and I might even take up the job offering of being a scout for Hope's Peak in a few years. I'd love to investigate who else out there deserves a shot at a better life._

" _So that's my goal, and hopefully the goal of everyone leaving this academy, to make the world a better place for others in the future. The world is going to hear our voices, so let's go out there and make a difference, putas!_ "

-Emanuel Salmuera's, the Ultimate Private Investigator, graduation speech

* * *

 **Chapter 3, The Growth of Penjar, is now over.**

…

 **The Entity of Chaos strengthens in Penjar.**

 **The Seed of Despair grows in Penjar.**

 **There is a trapped soul within Penjar…**

 **There is an evil presence within Penjar…**

…

 **Monotaro, the Ultimate Determination/Forgetfulness, has died.**

…

 **? Graduates remain in Penjar.**

…

 **TO BE CONTINUED.**


	25. Chapter 4-1: The Rust on Penjar

**Chapter 4-1**

 **Ironman and Ironwoman**

* * *

 _There was a great deal of commotion going on when Fiora's eyes opened. She found herself sitting up on a cot of sorts, as someone commented on her waking up. The movie maker was inside of what appeared to be an office? No, it was a police station._

 _She was lifted up by a hand on her arm, and escorted into another room. It was an interrogation room. Fiora didn't know exactly what was going on, she still felt half awake._

 _Someone sat across the table from her. She stared at her, the detective regarding her with a highly keen stare. Fiora shrank in her seat, highly uncomfortable and confused._

 _"_ _I must apologize for your treatment, Miss Stenton," the detective said. "I just hope you can forgive the officers at the scene."_

 _Fiora shook her head, and rubbed her temples. "Yeah, well, it's not often you get threatened to have your head blown off by the police for being a victim, eh."_

 _The detective sighed, but spoke with a firm but fair tone. "You have a lawyer coming to talk to you soon, so as you knoo', you do not have to say anything if you do to want it."_

 _"_ _I joo'st want to knoo' why I'm being treated like a criminal!" Fiora shouted furiously. "I was kidnapped off of the street, imprisoned in that parking garage, and almost murdered! I didn't hurt anyone! Why…"_

 _She pounded the table, hissing in air as she tried to keep her emotions under control. "Why am I being treated like this?"_

 _The detective gave her a moment before speaking. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves furst, Miss Stenton. My name is Detective Carol Chrome. I have bin put on cases involving Despair, including and especially regarding Killing Games. This Killing Game that you were in, it is one of many that has been happening in our country._

 _"_ _This is happening all over Canada, not just in our city. The reason why you are under suspicion is because of an unfortunate amount of involvement with those who host these games, and what has happened to survivors of these games. We're trying to see where you might fall, based off of your file."_

 _Detective Carol pat a vanilla envelope on the table, and Fiora stared at it incredulously. "My… my file?" the movie maker stammered. "But I doo'nt have a file! I've never bin in trouble with the law befur!"_

 _"_ _Ah yes, maybe calling it a file is a bit unfair, it should be much more of a profile than anything else."_

 _The detective tucked her blonde hair behind her ears as she opened the envelope, and started reading through it. "Fiora Rhonda Stenton, age twenty-one, born to Peter and Rwanda Stenton. It says here that they passed away when you were fifteen?"_

 _Fiora nodded, her breathing hitching for a moment. "Melbourne's Great Fire, in Australia; we were on vacation."_

 _"_ _You have my sympathies, that must have bin hard fur you."_

 _"_ _I've managed, mostly due to my career…"_

 _"_ _Yes, a'boot that, your profile says you are a graduate of Hope's Peak Academy."_

 _Carol closed the profile envelope, and continued, "You have heard the rumors, that Hope's Peak Academy is where it all started in Japan?"_

 _Fiora bristled as she crossed her arms. "I refuse to believe that. Besides, it wasn't the Hope's Peak Killing Game that was broadcasted to our country, how all this madness started."_

 _"_ _I agree with that, but you see, that has set a great deal of people on the edge about Hope's Peak graduates. While there is no exact proof, there are many who believe that where there is smoke, there is fire, when it comes to that school._

 _"_ _And here you are, a Hope's Peak graduate, who survived a Killing Game. There are those concerned you could be more involved that you let on, Miss Stenton."_

 _Fiora swallowed nervously, and muttered, "Is that how it is, then? That I'm guilty in some way because of my Hope's Peak history?"_

 _"_ _That's something that a lot of people have started saying, and that's why it's important to seek 'oot the truth, no matter how much it hurts. Joo'st remember, if you are proud of your history with Hope's Peak, recall those you cared a'boot, think a'boot why you received your Ultimate title, Fiora Stenton…"_

 _Detective Carol reached up and rubbed her collar, where Fiora saw a pin attached to it. It was a Hope's Peak Academy crest, the kind of pin that Hope's Peak graduates were given._

 _"_ _One doesn't have to be an Ultimate Detective to piece together the truth," Carol said. "Because if the Ultimate Movie Maker was truly involved in this Killing Game, then why was the camerawork so terribly shot? Surely, she woo'd put her incredible skills to do a better job…_

 _"_ _And if she can find a future for herself after losing her parents to an unexpected tragedy, then surely she can find the strength inside of herself to carry on, eh."_

 _Fiora stared at Carol, and then there was a knock at the door. It opened up, and a professionally dressed woman entered the room. She glanced between the detective and Fiora, and let out an aggravated sigh._

 _"_ _Seriously? You are questioning my client before I can show up?" she snapped. "How dare you!"_

 _"It's alright, Miss Salihan, I do not believe there will be much need for professional defense here. Still, thank you fur showing up."_

 _"_ _What is that supposed to mean… wait. How'd you know my name?"_

 _Detective Carol chuckled as she stood up. "Your reputation preceded you, and I wanted to make sure Miss Stenton had the correct representation should someone wish to try and charge her. I should give you some time with her."_

 _The detective walked out of the interrogation room, much to the confusion of the two ladies there. Miss Salihan shrugged, and reached over to shake Fiora's hand. "My name is Moji Salihan, and I'll be your defense in case they try to throw any charges at you."_

 _"_ _Um, okay, you really think they'll do that?"_

 _"_ _Honey, the carnage and savagery this global event is causing us is so intense, the law is trying to arrest anyone who so much as sniffs in the wrong direction. I'm going to ensure that they don't charge you without proof."_

 _"_ _Oh. Well, good, because I am innocent. Though I think that detective knows too."_

 _"_ _What makes you think that?"_

 _"_ _Because," Fiora managed to smile, as she ran a hand through her hair, making her ahoge bounce, "we have hope."_

* * *

 **Day 10, ? PM**

 **?'s House**

The room was completely silent, except for gentle breathing. The person laying on the bed stirred slightly, and then went back to the shallow breathing that had consisted for some time. The one watching over them noticed this, and let out a sad sigh.

"I doo'nt knoo' why you did it, honey," Kimiko said, shaking her head as she watched Fiora, "and I'm not really the right person to say this, but you truly shouldn't have."

The biker gang leader shifted her shoulders, trying to get comfortable as she continued to talk to the unconscious Fiora. "I mean, you're such an excitable girl, but you've had it rough since we got here. It got serious fast, didn't it? Way too serious, and I kind of thought you were goofy when I furst met you. But…"

She chuckled a little, and said, "Maybe excitable and a little silly aren't so bad. I wish I knew what to say to you to help… maybe I should joke? Be serious? Would that help?"

Kimiko sighed, then muttered, "We're really making Canadians look suicidal, girl. Joo'st… whatever's going on in that mind of yours, Fiora, we'll help you when if you… no, when you come back to us."

* * *

 **Day 10, ? PM**

 **Eastern Plaza**

 **Outside of the former Science Lab**

There were twenty humans and four Monokubs at the plaza, staring at the gigantic pile of rubble that used to be the Science Lab. A thick cloud of dust was in the air, though only over the remains of the building; it was as if the mists had control what would move through the city, and the dust had no such permission.

"Someone really hated science class," Odelios remarked.

"Haw haw haw, this is awesome extreme," Monokid cheered. "Dad's gonna be so pissed! Hell yeah!"

"Oh dear, Daddy will be pissed," Monophanie fretted. "Even his statue got destroyed, and I have no idea where the pieces of him were."

Crystal stepped forward, and turned towards the graduates. "Alright, who did this? Please, step forward."

"You seriously think someone's going to admit to doing this?!" Blake declared. "Monokuma will nail their ass to the wall, as a start!"

The military adviser glared at him, then attempted to keep her calm demeanor. "If Monokuma opened the door and triggered the explosion, then he can only accuse himself."

"Someone destroyed an entire building in Penjar," Pyrrha spoke up. "Do we really think he'll be so forgiving towards whomever did this?"

Souma walked over to Crystal, and said, "Maybe it wouldn't be the best approach to have someone out themselves."

The military adviser growled as she rubbed her forehead in frustration. "We cannot just do this, people! We cannot have secret missions and destroying buildings! We cannot work like this!"

"I don't see why not," Saiko remarked, much to the group's surprise. "It seems to be the only way this group knows how to work together."

She huffed as she crossed her arms, adding, "Considering every case has been serious cases of betrayal and monstrous behavior, do you really think we can trust each other at this point? I only trust those I knew before we all got in this mess."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Souma implored, staring questioningly at the forensic investigator. "Are you implying that we cannot work together at all?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not make myself clear?!"

"Saiko, please," Hara pleaded, but the shorter woman shook her head defiantly.

"No! No I'm sorry, Hara, but this merely proves once and for all that we cannot work together! Someone blew up a fucking building in this town where we need answers, not destruction! How do we know that the Science Lab wasn't obliterated to prevent us from finding answers?"

There was a silence in the group, as they took this into account. Shuuya, who gently caressed the bandage over his cut, spoke out, "What would your recommendation be, Saiko?"

"I'm not your leader, I'm not anyone's boss here! I know for a fact that none of you would listen to me, or Hara, or Isaac, if any of us tried to organize this group!"

Aka stepped forward, appearing just as frustrated as Saiko. "She's right, you know? All the trials have taught us is that we cannot trust anyone here!"

"Aka," Hikari spoke up as she approached her, "that's quite the thing to say."

"Really? Takeo betrayed us, Jin was a serial killer, Samson an agent of Chaos, Emanuel turned to Despair, and Shinobu had that secret plan behind our backs! Only Angelique was innocent, as far as we know. And that's not including the other troubles we have here!"

Her glare turned first to Ishiku, then towards Yejoon. The magician couldn't look her or anyone else in the eye, and the artist was busy studying the ruined lab; however, as if he knew he was being subtly addressed, he looked over his shoulder towards the group.

"I've been nothing but cooperative with you all this entire time. I even had to leave my flower in the care of someone else to help investigate this devastation. Maybe you should all be asking yourselves more important questions than arguing about trust issues."

"Trust issues are the reason all this shit keeps happening," Yitro barked, gripping his sword's handle in outrage. "I lost one of my closest friends to the animosity this town brought in. It's like all of you were drawn here, and it's been nothing but chaos!"

"Maybe Emanuel was right," Futaba remarked bitterly. "Maybe we've all been so wrapped up in our own personal issues, we cannot solve anything."

"We really going to heed the words of that bastard?" Ishiku replied with as much bitterness in his words.

There was another pause, then the most frustrated of sighs, which sounded like a steam whistle, came from Hikari. The beautiful model stomped her foot, and shouted, "What does it matter? Investigating, trying to find the answers, you really think we'll find the answers by working together, by searching and studying the places in this God-forsaken town?!"

She slammed the tip of her parasol on the floor, and then pointed it at the Monokubs. "You think they'd surrender the answers to us if we all worked together perfectly, all cogs and gears spinning as they were supposed to? No! That's not how Killing Games work, that's not how Despair works! Whoever is behind all of this is going to hide the answers, until enough of us die."

She spat out the last word with such fury, it startled everyone there. Hikari reached up and rubbed at her eyes, and continued, "That's how it has been, every time, no deviation. When we get up tomorrow, there will be more buildings for us to explore, more questions for us to ask, but there will never be the answers. We can look and search and ask all we want, but it doesn't matter.

"And that's because whatever Mastermind is in power won't give us those answers until he or she bores of us murdering each other. We've given them what they wanted, and I doubt it's going to stop anytime soon. Why would it? We came here willingly, we stay here willingly, because we want those answers…

"And that means that good people like Angelique and Takeo and Shinobu will have to die, entertaining whatever Mastermind is here, dying for us to get the answers we want. That's why Kimiko and Fiora tried to… tried to kill themselves, because whatever evil is here messes with our minds that terribly.

"What makes you all think this'll be any different if we work together or not? Amongst a serial killer, an assassin, people who work behind our backs, the Entity of Chaos, the Seed of Despair, and whatever else is lurking here, why don't you all stop deluding yourselves into thinking there's any shot at solving this while there's still so many ways that Monokuma and his wretched children can hurt us?

"Just do whatever you want now. If we're here to stay, then stop expecting others to follow any lead. We have to watch out for ourselves, and do what we want, until we finally get what we need."

After that, Hikari turned on her heel and walked off. She didn't look back, didn't slow down, until she was out of sight. The steampunk model left the group in silence, until Aka spoke up.

"You know what? She's right, I have no reason to trust any of you unless I feel like it, so don't ask me to work alongside you. And I especially don't like how many of the men here are trouble makers."

"Wait, what?" Souma blurted out. "When did this become a gender thing?"

"You're kidding, right? The serial killer, the arsonist, the assassin, the dishonored foreign knight, the convicted swordsman, the traitor who almost got us all killed for sex, and more? All men."

"Oh, like the women are any fucking help," Blake shouted at her. "You whine and get all emotional, being so fucking useless most of the time, and then get in our faces and say our gender is the problem! Maybe if the women here weren't so busy caring about feelings or trying to kill themselves, we would have had more progress!"

Aka scoffed, and added, "And my parents wondered why I am a lesbian. Maybe the women should just stay the hell away from the men, we could actually get some shit done without you. It's not like you're going to find out who or why this fucking building got blown up…

"I'm just going to head off then, because today has been the abso-fucking-lutely worst. I doubt Shinobu's body was even cold before whichever one of you guys caved the building down on her. Good night."

She stormed off, in the same direction that Hikari went. The group was once again met with silence, but only for a minute.

"Maybe if there is going to be so much distrust," Ken remarked, as he started to walk off, "it would be best for me to not work with any of you."

"Oh sure, Mister Higher and Holier Than Us," Blake snapped, "act like you're not any better than us still! Fucking arrogant douchebag!"

"Like you're any better," Anzu hollered.

The three of them walked away, and then Crystal, rubbing at her head as she felt a migraine coming on, stormed off as well. Pyrrha glanced around at the group, regarding some of them, then hurried away without saying anything.

Ignatia turned and left too, silent as ever but with far more attitude. Drake followed after her, but she didn't seem to acknowledge him at this point. Shuuya left without a word as well.

"I'm so tired of that accusation," Ishiku spat out. "I was trying to help! I was… God damn it, I hate this place, I hate it so much."

He glanced at Monophanie, who stared down at the dusty ground to avoid his look. With that, the magician left the scene, trembling in his outrage. Odelios hurried after him.

Yitro sighed heavily. "In every Killing Game that was broadcasted, people would try their best to work together. There was still death, there were still murders, no matter how hard they tried to unite. Though they felt forced to in so many cases, we don't have that luxury, if one could call it that.

"All I want is to find out why Angelique had to die now. Is it truly just a waiting game, where we're at each other's throats over history, suspicion, and even gender?"

"Hate to break it to you, handsome," Futaba said with a dismissive shrug, "but if my years in anthropology have taught me anything, it is that when the blame starts to stain, it's very difficult to get it out. We might as well accept that."

Both the swordsman and anthropologist left after that, both deep in thought. Eisei watched them go, then started on a new lollipop as he glanced up at Souma.

"Maybe you should give a speech tomorrow, my friend?" the dentist replied. "I think what we need is for the Ultimate Public Speaker to give us the proper motivation, with morale and trust so very low."

"I'm afraid if the distrust has gone so deep as to warrant a war of genders, I don't know what words can be said from me," Souma replied with a sad shake of his head. "Aka and Blake truly opened, as they say, a can of worms with their comments."

Eisei tilted his head to the side, staring up at Souma in confusion. "Is that something fishermen say? Why would the common folk have a can full of worms? What's the point of that, and why is opening it up an expression?"

The humans remaining at the Eastern plaza all had a small laugh at Eisei's expense, which made him even more confused. Then the dentist chuckled lightly and shrugged, saying, "Alleviating the tension with humor is a good distraction, but I doubt it will be enough."

"We should probably get some sleep, my friend," Souma said, patting Eisei's shoulder. "Tomorrow, I will do what I can to try and mend the wounds our group has suffered. Can I count on your support?"

"Yes. About assisting you with helping the group, not about the sleeping, I need no assistance with that."

Saiko audibly chuckled, which truly confused everyone there. They all stared at her, and then she replied, "What?"

"What?" Hara asked, glancing between her and Eisei.

"What?" Eisei inquired, staring at Saiko. "Are you referring to our night of-"

"There's no need to go into details about that!" the forensic investigator blurted out.

"What?!" Hara squeaked, a smile quivering on her lips. "Wait a minute, what's this about-"

"No need! For details! We're all going to bed, now!"

Eisei scratched his head, and remarked, "I don't think any of us have a bed big enough for all present…"

"Eisei! Please… honey… stop talking."

"Okay."

"'Honey'?!"

"You stop talking too, Hara!"

The group was about to leave, when Yejoon's voice called out, "Isaac? Could I speak to you in private for a minute?"

The reporter regarded him, and visibly moved away. He glanced at Hara, Saiko, Eisei and Souma, and grumbled, "I don't really want to talk to you, Yejoon."

"It is very important, but for your ears only as of now. I insist… please?"

The masked artist saying 'please' was an oddity of itself, but the way he said it sounded so very genuine. Or, at least to Isaac, it made him sound human. The reporter didn't like to think of Yejoon as a human, but there was something nagging at him to hear him out.

" _Curse my reporter instincts,_ " he thought, then turned to Hara. "I'll be just a minute."

"Are… are you sure?"

"I don't think he'll hurt me, honey. Don't worry about me, I'll be back home soon."

He leaned in and kissed her, and she managed a brave smile for him. She, along with Saiko, Eisei, and Souma, walked off together, though Isaac could hear a bit of their conversation.

"So, Eisei," Hara asked, shy as ever but her curiosity winning over, "why is Saiko calling you the same thing my fiancé just called me?"

"Hara, it's not important," Saiko hollered.

"Why are you hiding the fact that we-"

"NOT IMPORTANT!"

They were eventually out of hearing range, so Isaac had to summon his courage and approach Yejoon. The two of them stood side-by-side, staring at the wreckage of the Science Lab. No words were said at first, and Isaac took a moment to see if the Kubs were still around; they were not.

"Most everyone here fears me, though some simply hate me," Yejoon said, continuing his observation of the destruction behind his mask. "You are the oddity amongst them, the combination of both that confused me at first. I thought it could be something personal, but I know I could never have killed someone you know."

"Get to the point, Yejoon," Isaac grumbled.

"I assure you, this is part of it. I have theorized that the reason for your feelings towards me must be because of something involving either artists or serial killers, and there's a high probability it is the latter. You need not say anything, I am certain I am right."

Isaac took several deep breaths as he crossed his arms, so very tempted to up and leave right now. If it wasn't for his insatiable curiosity, he truly would have hiked off.

"If you have a personal reason to hate serial killers, it stands to reason that your career as a reporter has led you down their paths before. And you also were highly involved with the Tragedy, so you have more of an understanding how someone like me works."

"I loathe the idea of being told I can understand how a bloodthirsty murderer works."

"Have no fear, it is not because, as pop culture would have you believe, it means you are like me. No, you are quite different, but you and I still can consider what is in front of us, as well as the big picture, on the same level. This…"

Yejoon extended his hand and gestured to the rubble. "This was done by someone who wishes to hinder the progress of those like you. Someone wants to annihilate leads and possible answers, to extend the Killing Game's time."

"The others think Monokuma is outraged about something like this, that the rule was meant to be an aggressive stance against it," Isaac said, "but if it were, the Mastermind wouldn't let that loophole work against them so effectively, like this."

"Hikari is not far off when she says we're here at the desire for the Mastermind to see us kill each other. The lab being destroyed makes it more interesting, lengthens the time it'll take for whoever is behind this to get to their own point. That begs the question, however…

"What is the point of this voluntary Killing Game?"

Isaac took a deep breath. The smell of concrete and metal, so much of it, was in the air. It reminded him that this building had somehow appeared out of nowhere only a few days ago, and now it was gone.

"Revenge? Despair? A new world order?" the reporter listed off. "It is like there are a hundred pictures overlapping, and we have to pull off the wrong ones to find the correct one."

"I may have to borrow that descriptive analogy, if I can," Yejoon said with a small chuckle. "There may also be more than one picture in mind here."

"There's obviously something sinister and even supernatural behind all of this," Isaac said. "The nightmares, the visions, the messages and warnings, they make me think there is another angle to all of this."

"Kimiko and Fiora both tried to kill themselves after these visions, and a name came up in both of their cases: Junko," the serial killer commented as he tapped his chin in thought. "That was where I heard that name beforehand, Kimiko brought it up before she tried to shoot herself."

Yejoon clenched one of his hands rather tightly. "I do not consider it a coincidence that this name is connected with those that tried to end their lives. Does the name Junko ring any bells with you in the history of the Tragedy?"

"There is this rumor about someone at Hope's Peak Academy, called Junko Enoshima. Someone pretended to be her during that first Killing Game, her sister, I believe. It begs the question, if Junko was supposed to be in that Killing Game but someone pretended to be her, whatever happened to her?"

"Ever follow up on that rumor?"

"All roads about Junko Enoshima seem to dry up before they are even traveled down. Her involvement with Hope's Peak has been redacted and denied, but then again, so have many others who were exposed during the Killing Game."

Yejoon nodded, and remarked, "All roads, except for the ones that led us to Penjar, to this town where people who see her in visions try to kill themselves."

The two men exchanged a meaningful glance. Isaac gave him a shadow of a nod, and remarked, "Not to mention the items in relation to those who died during that Killing Game."

"Keep your friends and loved ones close to you, Isaac, because this game has truly started, and we don't know the Mastermind's own motive. I predict that tomorrow, we will have to handle a motive to further drive the group apart.

"I'm not about to have you all tear each other part when Fiora is in the crossfire. She's far too stubborn to leave this town, no matter what, and I may lose my restraints if someone else were to happen to her."

Isaac nodded again, and then turned around to leave. He started to walk away, then paused and turned back to ask, "Do you genuinely care about her, Yejoon?"

"Why do you think I promised to stay away from her from here on?"

The reporter, realizing this was the only answer he was going to get, walked away. Yejoon stared at the Science Lab's remains some more, and then realized he still was clenching his fist.

Staring down at his hand, he cursed it mentally, as it had failed him. For the first time in his long history of violence and artistry, the hands he relied on for these hobbies had failed him.

* * *

 _When the door was kicked down to Fiora's house, Yejoon could see her swinging from the noose, swaying back and forth. He moved, faster than most could follow, into the house as he pushed past Isaac._

 _There was a flash of steel as he threw a dagger at the rope, slicing through it. Yejoon caught Fiora before she hit the ground, and he laid her out on the floor._

 _"_ _No no no," he mumbled, moving swiftly to loosen the noose around her neck. "You stupid girl, you stupid, stupid girl! Come on…"_

 _He pulled the rope off, and checked for a pulse. Yejoon had never done so before, he never cared about the survival of someone enough to know how to properly check for it. The beating of the heart was something he stopped, and thus he felt panic when he could not locate it._

 _"_ _Fiora, Fiora wake up," he commanded, patting her face. "No no, you couldn't have been hanging for that long! Get up!"_

 _"_ _Move."_

 _The normally effeminate voice of the dentist had a sense of command that couldn't be ignored. Yejoon turned, seeing Eisei move through the crowd of people trying to figure out what was going on, and got to Fiora's side. He checked for a pulse, and began the proper steps to resuscitate her._

 _After a minute, Fiora let out a heaving gasp, before collapsing again. Her breath was shallow, and she lay very still._

 _Eisei wiped her forehead, and let out a sigh of relief. "She might be alright, it's too early to tell. I don't know how long she was hanging there, but if we're lucky, she didn't suffer brain damage. We're just very lucky she didn't break her neck when she fell with that around her neck."_

 _The dentist stood up, and regarded the room. "Did she do this herself?" he asked._

 _"_ _Yes," Yejoon mumbled. "She was only one in here, and the door was locked."_

 _Isaac moved into the house, checking the bathroom and closet, and came back. "He's right, there's no way anyone was in here."_

 _"_ _If you gentlemen could help her up onto her bed so she can be comfortable, we do have other issues as well," Eisei commented. "That explosion that shook the entire town, we should investigate, pronto."_

 _"_ _But we cannot just leave her here," Isaac said, as he lifted Fiora up along with Yejoon helping._

 _"_ _I'll watch her."_

 _Kimiko was inside the house, and assisted in moving Fiora gently onto the bed. The biker gang leader moved her fellow Canadian to its center, and then picked up her fedora from the floor. "Everyone needs to check 'oot that explosion, I'll watch over our movie maker."_

* * *

Yejoon sighed, kicking at a stray piece of concrete. "And now, we play the waiting game, my little flower. I wonder if my sister is laughing at me from Hell right now, at how much I've failed thus far."

* * *

 **Day 10, ? PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Hikari Tetsuhime's House**

Aka walked into Hikari's house, relieved that the front door was unlocked. The steampunk model wasn't in the bedroom, so the skier called out, "Hey, sexy, are you in here?"

"In the bathroom, Aka."

The skier wandered towards the bathroom, and then noticed that Hikari was in the tub. Aka, despite having seen Hikari naked, been intimate with her when she was naked, still felt an incredible rush at the fact of the model being nude with no clothes on.

Hikari glanced over the edge of the bathtub, wiggling her fingers at the skier. "Howdy honey, thought you might want to check up on me. Seems I guessed correctly, but I have to ask, do you really think I'm up for sex? After what happened?"

Aka chuckled and leaned against the bathroom door frame. "I gotta admit, yeah. But you know what? I was rather concerned about you. You laid it on thick to the group, though you kind of missed my follow-up."

"I could hear you shouting, Aka-honey. You really think the men are the problem?"

"I'm not a man-hating lesbian, but I'm concerned with how dangerous the ones here are. And they seem to keep getting you in trouble. Ken and his honor, Ishiku with his lies, and yet, you're usually defending them…

"I told you all about the thrills and such I'm into, but I don't like putting others' lives in danger for thrills. I wouldn't like seeing you get hurt or killed."

Hikari sighed, as she ran a hand through her raven hair. "Aka, I know our relationship is a little odd, it's not romantic but it's not one-night stand. But it's like you're concerned about me as if we were dating one minute, and then the next you just want to have sex with me."

Aka pulled her goggles off of her purple hair, and set it down on one of the counters nearby. "Hikari, you said to everyone that the Killing Game is more like a waiting game right now, so I want to know what you'd like. Should I stay or should I go, give it to me straight?"

"I didn't have the door unlocked because I wanted you to stay away from me, Aka-honey."

Hikari washed her hair some more, and the gentle splashing of water covered up some other movement noise. There was some light thuds, the kind that clothing made when it fell on the ground. The steampunk model turned to hear it, only to see someone climbing into the bathtub with her.

Aka had slipped in with ease, and then her arms wrapped around Hikari's shoulders, acting as a cushion for the model's noggin. Pressing up against Hikari in the tub, that rush of sexual delight raced through them both.

"Tell you what, Hikari-sexy," Aka purred as she touched her forehead up against Hikari's. "You know what I think? You want to be that adventurous soul that I saw when I first got here, flirting with all the other girls. You want that, but you don't want to come off as desperate or as a slut; I know, I've been there many times before."

"And yet you seem to have," Hikari spoke, shivering as she felt Aka's hands on her, "no problems. Are you saying I need to get it on with other ladies here?"

"How about this: we spent tonight together, and tomorrow, we both try and seduce another lady! You finally open up some, we get the women in this group to work together!"

"Alliances through seduction and sex?"

Aka moved in and kissed her, running her fingers through the model's raven hair. She moved in, their breasts and stomachs pushing up together. Her hands trailed down and felt up her curves, her thighs.

"You seem to resemble a steampunk Jamie Bond," Aka whispered. "I know that you want to do this, and I think you need a new flavor of female if I'm getting too spicy for you."

"Hmm, but you are in the bathtub, so it appears you can cool down with me."

The two snuggled up closer, and continued to kiss and touch each other. Heavier, churning splashing would soon follow.

* * *

 **Day 10, ? PM**

 **Housing District**

 **Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik's House**

Hara drummed her fingers together, as she heard Isaac explain everything he and Yejoon discussed. The explorer heard everything, and then sighed heavily.

"Isaac, do you remember when we got to interview the people who were saved from the moon?" she asked him.

"Yes, why?"

"They went through hell, and it was all at the delight of two terrible people. One who wanted to just murder people, and one who wanted to corrupt others as well as prove how much more smarter they were. Those poor people who had to die on the moon, that was for their entertainment.

"Yejoon is a combination of those two villains. He wants to kill, he wants to corrupt. No matter how much concern he shows for Fiora, how he works with us during the trials, his motivations are quite sinister."

Isaac sighed too, and said, "I considered all that, but at the same time, can we deny he's right? That Hope's Peak Academy, this Junko Enoshima, the supernatural events, they're all connected here."

"It definitely feels like the kind of scoop you'd chase after. Funny how what sounds like conspiracy theories are now more part of our reality."

"All too true." The reporter flopped on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm just concerned about you, Saiko, and maybe some of the others here. The death and corruption here is getting out of hand… and I feel like we're going in circles."

He groaned in frustration, then someone flopped on the bed too, but more so on him. Hara smiled down at him, and said, "Nothing difficult is ever easy, this is worth investigating, and we're not going anywhere.

"Now I know that you can stay up all night going over your ideas and theories, but we're going to tackle the problem after getting a good night sleep. So you calm down, and we'll gather up our forces and resources and troops tomorrow!"

Isaac chuckled and caressed her face. "Yes, Drill Sergeant Pathik."

"At ease, my love."

* * *

 **Day 11, 9:25 AM**

 **Housing District**

 **Ishiku Shyre's House**

Finished with a shower and changing into his clothes, the magician tried to hum a tune to keep his mind off of his worries; however, it wasn't working. No matter how much he tried to get his mind off of everything that happened yesterday, he wasn't able to pull himself out of the horrible depression threatening to overwhelm him.

"Don't be a whiny pop song about heartbreak," he tried to joke as he tightened his gloves. "Everyone goes through bad times. Sure, those bad times don't involve falling for a girl who turns back into an unfeeling, robotic bear cub after midnight… and an entire group of your peers blaming you for everything."

Smacking his forehead, he tried to figure out what he should do next. That's when his eyes rested on something that he had still kept secret from everyone else.

Peko Pekoyama's sword, the one that had been showcased at the Science Lab's weapons testing room, was now kept inside of his closet. He had figured that although the weapons needed to be destroyed, this sword meant something to someone. Plus, it was a really cool sword.

It had been a miracle that no one had noticed he had kept it hidden on his person, but that was exactly what a magician was good at. Though he couldn't reveal he had it now, because he could only imagine the questions to follow.

" _So does that make you a total hypocrite now?_ "

" _Why didn't you use that when Emanuel went crazy?!_ "

" _You're not a man at all, are you?_ "

The second question was the one he was actually ashamed of, because thinking back, he really should have pulled it out when Emanuel turned to Despair in the trial room. The truth was, he was scared out of his mind, and didn't even consider it until the horrible event was over.

The shame he felt, the secret he was keeping, they were both eating at him. This town was definitely putting him through stress, but he had vowed to not let it get the best of him. So when he picked up his staff, staring at that emerald clasped by the faux skeleton hands, he felt quite better.

As he was about to head outside, the TV turned on. The magician pursed his lips as he prepared for more insanity.

* * *

( **Day 11 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _The four Monokubs are standing at the front steps of Town Hall. The lack of Monotaro there throws off their line-up noticeably._ *

 **Monokubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~"

 **Monokid** \- "Just to let you dumb bastards know, there is a lot of new stuff for us to go over, as the rules of Penjar have changed drastically."

 **Monophanie** \- "If you could all collect at the cafeteria, have breakfast, we'll be making our announcement after you've all had a chance to eat."

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monosuke** \- "Hey, it was youse's line next, Monodam. What's the matter?"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monophanie** \- "Leave him alone, he's been very quiet since Taro died."

 **Monosuke** \- "Youse think that's the reason? He's usually quiet, ain't he? But then again, he did take it hard when Monotaro died."

 **Monokid** \- "Which do we call him by now, Taro or Monotaro?"

 **Monophanie** \- "Well, he was our brother, but he was human when he died… so I'm kind of confused."

 **Monokid** \- "Here, I have a way to decide which to call him."

* _Monokid pulls out his guitar, and smashes it on Monodam's head. The green Kub falls onto his back, with, quite unusually, a large lump growing from the top of his head._ *

 **Monodam** \- "OW."

 **Monophanie** \- "Eeek! Monokid, why'd you do that? How's that decide anything?!"

 **Monokid** \- "We were deciding on something? I kind of forgot what we were talking about."

 **Monosuke** \- "Ugh, let's just see all of youse at the cafeteria this morning, because youse are gonna need to hear what the rules are."

 **Monokubs** \- "So long, bear well~"

* * *

Ishiku rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Try not to think of her as a person anymore, Mason. She's gone… the lab is gone… there's absolutely nothing you can do about it."

* * *

 **Day 11, 10:00 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

This morning, in the cafeteria, everything seemed different. The group was mostly quiet, dividing up into smaller groups, with Pyrrha and Odelios working on the breakfast as usual.

The clown and the romance writer were probably the least tense people in the building. Pyrrha inquired about Ishiku, and her concern for him seemed quite genuine to Odelios; it was like she could sense the heartache, and wanted to help out.

In the cafeteria, many were seated alone: Yejoon, Blake, Yitro, Ken, Ishiku, Crystal, and Hikari. Aka was trying some moves on Anzu, but the actress didn't appear all that interested.

Drake and Ignatia were seated together, but she was still giving him the silent treatment in terms of text. Isaac, Hara, and Saiko were together as usual, with Souma and Eisei seated across from them at the same table.

Shuuya and Futaba were seated close to the door, quietly discussing what they could. Last night had made both of them leery of the others, and yet despite a desire to work alone, they found the other good to bounce ideas off of.

The cafeteria was mostly quiet, but then the last two graduates walked in. Fiora, wearing her fedora down so far that it almost covered her eyes, walked inside with Kimiko. The biker gang leader was close to her, but the movie maker appeared ready to break away.

She was trying so very hard to play it cool, but Fiora had indeed pulled her hat down too far, and ran into a table because she hadn't seen it. As she stumbled to regain her balance, Kimiko rushed over to help.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Fiora said to her, then noticed that the graduates were staring at her. Some of them appeared highly concerned, some confused; it was hard to tell with Yejoon when he had his mask on.

"Hey, um, everyone," the movie maker said, tugging her hat up a little, "I joo'st wanted to say… soo'ry. It was a stupid thing that I did. Really, really stupid…"

Yitro walked over to her, and pulled her into a firm hug. Fiora hugged him back, and let out a sigh of relief. "I… I doo'nt knoo' what came over me."

"Just remember, you're not alone here," the swordsman said. "I think all of us were highly worried about you, but you don't have to go into details."

"But shouldn't I?" Fiora turned to address everyone in the cafeteria. "I mean, we're having such trouble with information, maybe I should tell you all what I saw in my vision, about Shinobu, about the lab."

"Oh, really? We're not going to talk about you trying to put a bullet in my brain?"

Blake stood up, furiously crossing his arms. He glared with the utmost contempt at Fiora, who withered slightly at the ferocity of the stare. "You were ready to murder me in front of everyone, and I'm supposed to just say, 'that's alright, mate, water under the bridge'?! That ain't gonna fly, you-"

"Did any of us ask for your opinion?" Anzu snapped.

"He does have a point," Futaba spoke up. "After everything that has happened, are we really going to readily accept Fiora?"

"Wait, let's not jump to conclusions of distrust so quickly," Ken pleaded, holding his hands up. "How has she betrayed this group's trust? It's not like she could have blown up the lab."

Fiora's eyes widened, then she looked to Yitro and Kimiko. "The lab's bin blown up? Wait, which part, eh?"  
"All of it," Yitro said.

"ALL of it?!"

"Someone set up a trap at the front door, and when Monokuma opened it," Kimiko explained, "the entire building went doo'n."

Fiora stared in surprise, then chuckled a little. "That kind of explains some things. Wish we could have gotten Monokuma blown to bits on film."

She would have said more, but someone slammed their fist down on a table, causing her and the other two to flinch. The three turned to see that the graduates had broken down into a furious argument, with no one's point able to be heard over the shouting and furious clamor. Kimiko let out a defeated sigh, and took Fiora's hand.

"Come on, let's get you some breakfast," she said over the shouting to her. "It's bin like this since last night, eh; they're really at each other's throats."

Despite the rather intense arguments happening in the cafeteria, Fiora was greeted with a rather lovely surprise when she walked over to the kitchen. Pyrrha had prepared a stack of pancakes with chocolate chips, butter and syrup nearby.

"Hey honey, please don't ever hurt yourself again," the romance writer said, as she hugged Fiora. "We're here for you!"

"Yeah, I mean, you wanna know something?" Odelios said with a big grin on his face. "I have some of your movies at home, I want you to autograph them when we're done here."

Fiora stared at them incredulously, to Yitro and Kimiko, and sniffled. "You… you really do care. I'm soo'ry, I'm so very soo'ry, I doo'nt knoo' why I did it, I joo'st…"

As the four of them tried to calm her down, the cafeteria was starting to get ugly with the argument. It wasn't until Isaac let out one of his high-pitched whistles, and Souma stood up on the seat of the table.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention? Please? Thank you," the public speaker said, and then he cleared his throat. Eisei clapped lightly, a combination of pride and excitement to see his friend at work.

"Listen, we're tearing this group apart with the fighting, the arguing, the grudges. I know some of you are very conflicted with trust and safety. I must ask you all, remember why you are here.

"Someone drew us all here, someone is putting our lives at risk, but we all have our reasons to stay. If you look deep into yourselves, you'll know the answer why. You cannot deny that what is here, what we will discover, is of the utmost importance.

"That is the key here, and though the circumstances are grim, think to yourselves: what does one want in life most of all? To have left an impact, to have brought change, to do something good that'll last long after we are gone.

"So please, do not let the tension and worry get the better of you. We need to discuss our problems, here and now, and settle them before our group splinters and fractures more. It's time to talk now, it is time to have order amongst us."

Souma took a deep breath, and then smiled as he added, "Who'd like to speak first? Let us begin."

The graduates exchanged glances, quiet for the most part except for another round of light clapping from Eisei. The dentist stood up, and opened his mouth to speak.

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~** "

The four Kubs leapt up into the air, landing at the table that Souma had given his speech from. Monokid landed in the rest of Saiko's breakfast, and the forensic investigator glared at him.

"You mess with my food? You are so damn luck I cannot hit you," Saiko remarked. "Hope you enjoy syrup on your dumb butt."

"Rock on, short stuff!" Monokid declared, then kicked the plate onto the floor. "Don't worry, Monodam will clean it up."

"…" Monodam remonstrated.

Souma groaned as he stepped off of the seat, staring at the Kubs. "What is it? Couldn't you have waited a bit longer?"

"Longer? But youse was done with youse's speech," Monosuke argued. "We gave youse that, so don't youse be critical of us."

"Though it was a very nice speech, Souma," Monophanie said, clapping her hands together.

"It was indeed," Eisei said, clapping as well.

The small pitter-patter of small hands lightly applauding filled the cafeteria for an unusual pause. Souma stared at the Kubs, then said bluntly, "So what do you want."

"Well, Mr. Future Foundation member, we've come to give you all the news on what's gonna happen next," Monokid said, strumming on a new guitar. "The northern plaza is open, as well as several fucking rockin' new buildings and a field!"

"Though there are going to be, ah, limitations," Monophanie said, "to what you can do. You see, we've noticed a great deal of hostility in this group, especially last night."

"Yeah, youse is really dividing up Penjar," Monosuke said with a shake of his head. "And we're not going to get a good rating if youse is gonna fight like cats and dogs."

"Or rather, men and women," Monokid said. "Because after what we saw last night, the real problem is about boys and girls! Guys and dolls! Bastards and bitches! Dicks and cu-"

"What?! Why is this a gender thing?" Souma exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why are you making this a gender thing?"

"Oh, maybe," Aka said with a flip of her purple bangs, "he can see the truth too."

"Heh, really now?" Blake snorted. "Because all I see are dumb women ruining everything."

"Do you practice trying to be an asshole?"

"I don't need to, because I don't sugarcoat the truth. The women here have contributed zero, less than zero!"

Souma groaned loudly, slapping his palm against his forehead. "Where did all of this come from? When did gender become a focus in all of this?!"

"Youse cannot deny," Monosuke said, "that it's really becoming an issue, and we're going to step out in front of it!"

"I mean, look at Monokid," Monophanie said, "he's quite the version of toxic masculinity."

"Hells yeah!"

"So we're really wondering if we're dealing with dangerously violent men and unreasonably emotional women here. Maybe it is time we had a split."

"Hells yeah!"

"Youse all are going to have a few rules to follow, okie-day?" Monosuke remarked. "Because when we take youse to the northern plaza, we're going to split up the group into two groups: men and women."

"Hells yeah!"

"They got it, Monokid."

"Hells yeah!"

"Is… is he stuck?"

Monophanie walked up behind Monokid and swat him in the back of the head. The blue Kub fell on his face, and yelled into the table, "I got a rock-hard rager!"

"I think he's a little too excited," Monophanie remarked. "He's starting to say things like if they were sound bytes."

"How weird. Monodam, you take care of him, I'll handle the guys when breakfast is over."

"BREAKFAST-IS-RUINED."

"Thatta boy, Monodam, let it all out."

" **SO LONG, BEAR WELL~** "

As the four Kubs hopped off the table (three hopped, one was dragged off), the graduates exchanged confused glances.

"They're really going to do this?" Hikari asked. "They're going to try and split us up?"

"About damn time," Aka remarked.

"I could definitely give this a try," Futaba added.

"If you all are going to salute this notion," Ken said as he shook his head, "then fine, I am willing to try it out."

"Wait a minute, what?" Fiora exclaimed, staring at everyone from the kitchen. "You all want this? You want the Kubs to divide us?"

"Anything to keep you," Blake snapped, "the hell away from me."

* * *

 **Day 11, 10:31 AM**

 **Penjar (General)**

 **Behind Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

After everyone finished up her breakfast, the Kubs escorted them all out through the back door of the cafeteria. There was a pathway, leading across a couple streets and between two rows of buildings. Then the group was introduced to quite the extraordinary sight.

With a short hill downwards, two concrete paths curving towards the buildings down in this plaza and a third one in the middle leading to a larger Monokuma statue, a grassy area that was like a well-maintained district greeted them.

On the leftmost side of the district was a tall, lengthy building that had two large doors apart from each other. Next to it, in the northwest corner, was a baseball field with home plate and the chainlink backing right at that corner. Next to that was what appeared to be a bowling alley, but most of the neon lights were burned out.

On the rightmost side of the district was what appeared to be a spa and beauty parlor. At the northeast corner was what appeared to be a stables and free-range area for horses. Finally, on the eastern side of the top road was a clothing store, far greater than the tailor shop that had been near the Science Lab.

The observant graduates noticed that while all these buildings were new, they still had that faded, time-worn look in its entirety. Glass windows were crusty, metal was rusted, and all of the plants and grass were dead. This was most noticeable with the most prominent place of them all, right at the middle of the far road, between the bowling alley and the clothing shop.

The biggest, grandest of them all was the gigantic, three-story building that appeared to be a hotel. The graduates stared at it, and, as if on cue, the neon lights at the front buzzed to life briefly.

"A love hotel?" Shuuya inquired, raising a hotel. "Okay, there's no way a ghost town had a giant love hotel."

"Not to mention a baseball court, not exactly a Japanese staple for a small town," Eisei commented. "This is quite ridiculous."

"Your face is ridiculous," Monokid shouted. "We worked really hard on all of this, and this is the thanks we get!"

Isaac rubbed his temples, and muttered, "You have to be kidding me. I went through this area so many times with Hara and Saiko, how did you turn time-ravaged buildings into this? Over night!?"

"IT'S-MAGIC," Monodam suggested.

"Magic doesn't exist," Ken snapped at the green Kub.

Monodam slouched, muttered something under his breath that sounded like a defeated sigh, and started to wander off. The other Kubs observed the graduates, and then began to speak.

"So here's the deal," Monosuke announced, "youse all are gonna hafta work on exploring this area of Penjar split up, because we cannot trust the genders to work together anymore!"

"Oh come on, seriously?" Souma balked. "Why are you pushing that?"

"Don't argue with the new rules, fancy pants," Monokid shouted. "And there's gonna be some real strict ones, so we ain't got time to fuck around!"

"Okay then, just say what they are," Saiko muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Youse see, the left side of the northern district, the hall of fame building, the baseball field, the bowling alley," Monosuke explained, "that's for men only. Only men are allowed on that side, because it's for manly men and their manly desires!"

"I don't bowl," Blake muttered.

"I don't play baseball," Shuuya remarked.

"There's beer at the bowling alley," Monokid shouted.

"I'm more interested," the pyro said with a grin.

"There's actually a lot of really fun little things you can find around there, and it'll be all away," Monosuke said with a chuckle, "from the whiny, emotional females who keep dragging youse all down!"

There were a lot of dirty glares at him, but he merely laughed again and fanned himself with money. "Maybe youse can get some things done without them screwing things up left and right, whether it is doing secret missions behind your back, carving up mercenaries, or wanting to stop all progress because of 'feelings.' Upupupupu!"

"I feel like he's just trying to be offensive at this point," Crystal remarked.

Monophanie cleared her throat, and turned towards the ladies. "Okay, girls, you'll have next-to-full access to the spa, the stables, and the clothing store! There's loads of fun stuff to do, we're going to have a blast!"

"Clothing? Spa? What the hell!" Kimiko shouted indignantly. "We're not on vacation, and we're not fucking shopping! And… wait a minute, do you have horses at the stables?"

"No, we cannot bring animals into Penjar," Monophanie admitted sadly. "Sorry."

"You're soo'ry, eh? Stables with no horses, how wonderful," the biker gang leader grumbled. "What, you think because girls like ponies, we would like an empty stable?"

"See what I mean, guys?" Monosuke said, laughing once more. "Whiny, emotional dames! Upupupupu!"

"Haw haw haw!" Monokid shouted. "Let's make armpit noises at them to gross them out!"

The blue Kub tried, but metal armpits don't really make gross noises. As he clinked and clanked, trying to gross out the women, the humans stared at the Kubs in utter bafflement.

"Okay, what about that large hotel you have at the center?" Yitro asked. "Who gets to go in there?"

"Why, you all do, of course," Monophanie said, clapping her paws together. "You see, those are your new homes for your stay here during this social experiment of Penjar!"

"What!" Odelios declared, gripping at his orange hair and wild hat. "We're staying in a love hotel? But this is so sudden! I didn't bring my red lingerie, or extra batteries for my-"

"You're seriously going to make us stay at a love hotel?" Fiora asked, then she tapped her chin. "Huh. Interesting premise for a movie, I gotta say."

There was a rude snort, and Blake said, "Only someone who cut off oxygen to their brain would think so. Oh wait, that's right…"

Fiora moved over to hit him, but Ishiku and Yitro held her back. The movie maker wasn't energetic enough to truly struggle, and gave up just to stomp away from the group for a little while.

"Feisty emotional beings, aren't they," Monosuke said, then laughed. "Youse see, the love hotel is divided up. Mens' rooms are on the left side, women's on the right, and there is a kitchen and a gym on both sides. However, there are rooms, and an open cafeteria in the center…"

"Yes, because that will be the only place you can meet up," Monophanie explained. "If you choose to venture into the center portion of the love hotel, well… heeheehee!"

"She's giggling," Futaba said matter-of-factly, then peered around at the others. "Why is she giggling?"

"It's because we set up a chapel in the center of the love hotel for youse all," Monosuke proudly declared. "And if you venture into the center of the love hotel, then you volunteer yourself to be married to someone from the other side!"

The amount of "WHAT!" that came from the group was quite impressive in sync. The Kubs all giggled impishly, except for Monodam who returned to explain more.

"ONCE-A-MALE-OR-FEMALE-ENTERS-THE-CENTER-PORTION-OF-THE-HOTEL," he explained, "THEY-HAVE BEEN-REGISTERED-ON-OUR-SPECIAL-GUEST-LIST. ONCE-SOMEONE-OF-THE-OPPOSITE-GENDER-ENTERS-THE-CENTER, THE-TWO-ARE-DECLARED-MARRIED."

"You know, some of us aren't straight," Hikari remarked.

"THOSE-ARE-THE-RULES," Monodam elucidated.

"But Monodam, sweetheart," the steampunk model pleaded, kneeling down in front of the green bear, "it's not right to do something like that. That won't help us get along."

"PERHAPS-WE-CAN-CHANGE-THE-RULES-IF-YOU-ALL-GET-ALONG-FOR-ONE-DAY. WHO-DO-YOU-WISH-TO-MARRY?"

The steampunk model blushed, and stood up, muttering, "Um, n-never mind, I'm not in a rush to get married."

Aka chuckled and blew the model a kiss, before Hikari rushed over to get her to stop. As the two held a short, quiet conversation between the two of them, Monodam continued.

"A-MARRIED-COUPLE-WILL-FIND-ALL-OF-THEIR-THINGS-PLACED-IN-ONE-OF-THE-CENTER-ROOMS."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Hara said with a smile.

"Did we mention that these center rooms," Monosuke said, "are what we like to call the Fancy Orgy Raunchy NC-17 Intense Kinky Advanced Tantalizing Excess rooms?"

Hara's smile disappeared fast, and she whimpered, "That doesn't sound pleasant at all!"

Odelios mouthed letters as he tried to spell out the room's lengthy room, and declared, "Hey, that spells out-"

"In these rooms, youse will find," Monosuke continued again, "some of the best hentai and porn on the TV and magazines, all sorts of kinky toys and gadgets, props, costumes, and the biggest, most comfortable bed you've ever seen! Upupupupu! Plenty of lube and other tools in the room too!"

"We plan to wash the sheets every morning," Monophanie squeaked out.

"This is the most depraved thing," Shuuya remarked, "I've ever heard in my life."

"I could get used to it," Anzu said with a naughty titter in her voice.

"So can I," Blake said with an equally naughty laugh.

"Oh, what a shame, I'm no longer interested."

"Bite me, bitch!"

"NOW-NOW-NOW," Monodam interrupted the fight. "THAT-IS-NOT-GETTING-ALONG."

"So, what exactly are the benefits to this?" Crystal asked, rolling her eyes. "There has to be something other than a set-up that sounds like it comes from some erotic video game."

"Will we even know who is next on this list?" Eisei inquired.

"One at a time, please," Monophanie pleaded. "Okay, so, besides having a room together where you can enjoy yourselves and really get along, vowing to officially work together as man and woman, you will be allowed to the other side of this plaza!"

"So you cannot visit the other side unless you're married and are going over with your partner?" Drake asked, red in the face just by saying it out loud.

"Yes, and there is a good reason for that. You see, some of the places on each side cannot be entered unless someone of the other gender is with you. So if you want to find out all of the mysteries of this plaza and the buildings, you're going to have to find a married partner!"

"A partner you have to sleep with in the same bed within a glorified sex dungeon," Crystal muttered. "Wait, we're not expected to have sex with our married partner, are we?"

"No, you don't have to," Monophanie said comfortingly.

"What a relief."

"But the marriage isn't official until you do, bitches," Monokid shouted with all the over-the-top gusto that a rock star would make an announcement over. "There's no going over to the other side of the plaza until you make that marriage official!"

"Okay, this is getting gross," Futaba remarked.

"You really are going to push this on us?" Souma balked, gripping his head. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

"Sheesh, youse was all humping each other a few days ago," Monosuke complained. "What, did you all dry up or something?! This is what we're talking about, youse all are just so emotional and whiny, youse gotta work together!"

"I don't know why you all are complaining so much," Saiko remarked. "We already have a couple here ready to get married, it's not like we have to look hard to find a man and woman who don't hate each other."

"Saiko," Isaac and Hara shouted, both red in the face.

"What? It's true!"

"Oh, um, about that," Monophanie said, nervously scratching the back of her little head. "We had to make an exception for the two of you, since you already have an official engagement, and we're not legally allowed to override that."

Saiko glared at the Kubs. "What's this now?"

"Isaac and Hara are already registered as married, and they have one of the best center rooms already," Monosuke explained.

"Have fun banging your butts in that bitching bed," Monokid guffawed.

"But since youse two cannot get married in our chapel," the orange Kub continued his explanation, "youse don't get the benefits of our form of marriage. So youse two are exempt from being able to visit the other side, even with each other, for today at least."

Hara and Isaac exchanged glances, confused and embarrassed about all of this attention. Hara sighed, and muttered, "Okay, so we cannot help with these gender-specific doors. Sorry, everyone."

"You really don't have to apologize," Saiko remarked, glaring at the Kubs some more. "We all know they prevented your help because you were the easy answer to this."

"Oh, my poor breaking heart," Monosuke said with a guffaw and a half. "Youse gonna wanna hear more of our explanation before you insult me more, toots!"

"What my brother means is," Monophanie said, "that one of you asked if you'll know who is registered as the next potential spouse for the other side. The answer is no."

"Wait, what?" Kimiko said, staring incredulously at the Kubs. "We can get a spouse at random? But how will we know who it is?"

"Oh, we'll tell you that, fo' sho," Monokid declared. "Once the two have been picked, you'll be informed who your spouse is, and if you wanna consume the marriage!"

"'Consumate,' Monokid," Monophanie corrected him.

"It's right either way, haw haw haw!"

"This is ridiculous," Blake shouted. "You only get the benefits if you have sex with this so-called spouse, but we cannot expect any of those women to comply to this."

"Oh, suddenly we're the problem," Aka shouted. "You're a bunch of violent bastards and untrustworthy cads!"

"You're just unreliable and stupid, you collective pack of carpet-munching lezbos!"

"Will someone shut these two up," Ken remarked, rubbing his forehead. "Everything gets heated up every time they open their mouths!"

"Yeah, just can it, you two," Saiko declared. "You're not making things easier! We need to find a solution for this!"

"I have a question," Eisei spoke up, raising a hand with a lollipop stick in-between his fingers. "You say we're only allowed on our side, but what happens if someone violates those rules?"

Monokid chuckled deviously, then laughed diabolically. "Then you're at my mercy, little fucker!"

"Oh God, not you," Ishiku complained, staring furiously at the blue Kub. "You tried to kill us in the Science Lab! You're the reason Shinobu was impaled on that rebar!"

"But I didn't kill her, so it's all water under the fucking bridge," the rocking Kub responded. He chuckled, then he started to wander off. "Hold on a second, I need to get something for my new job."

As he waddled away, Monophanie clapped her paws together. "It's so wonderful he's taking on new responsibilities! It's like he's growing up as a bear."

"He's so much better at being in control than Monotaro ever was," Monosuke agreed.

"…" Monodam negotiated.

The blue Kub was only gone for a minute, and when he came back, he had what appeared to be a sniper rifle in his hands. He was also wearing a military helmet, and hi-tech goggles over his eyes.

"Haw haw haw, I'm the new hall monitor here," Monokid shouted. "We got sensors outside this plaza, and inside the love hotel, so trust me when I say, I'll know! And I gotta fucking shoot someone now, this feels so fucking good in my hands!"

"Dear God in heaven, the bear has a gun now," Souma mumbled, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Oh, is that even real?" Futaba asked dubiously. "I swear, how could you even operate it?"

Monokid stared at her for a few seconds, then he shouted loudly, "HEY DAD! WHERE YOU AT?!"

From down the pathway came a'waddling Monokuma, waving his paws up in the air. " **Hey there, my adorable widdle Kubs, did you start the explanation about the love hotel already? I wanted to help with that, I haven't shown up since that damn building blew up in my face again-** "

 **BLAM!**

The shot was so loud, so sharp, everyone's hearing was deafened with a slight ringing as a replacement for a few seconds. Monokuma's face, most of his head, had been obliterated by the sniper shot. As the body slumped over backwards, the graduates could make out a faint chuckling from Monokid.

"Boom, headshot."

"EEEEEEEEEK!" Monophanie screamed, adding to the ringing in people's ears. "Daddy!"

"No, now _we're_ involved in killing him?!" Monosuke panicked. "I'm not ready for this new lifestyle!"

"THIS-WAS-YOUR-IDEA," Monodam scolded them. "YOU-DECIDED-TO-GIVE-HIM-THAT-GUN."

Monokid growled, and started to turn the gun towards Monodam. The green Kub scurried away, but was suddenly picked up and held close to Drake's chest. The cartoonist turned his back to Monokid, and shouted, "You leave him alone!"

The blue Kub growled in aggravation, and muttered, "Fine, I guess I'll just have to take care of you later. I'm watching you, Monodam, always watching you!"

"So, is that it?" Yejoon asked casually, observing the northern plaza. "You will shoot us if we trespass?"

"First, I will approach you and let you know that you have only a few seconds to get back to your side. Then, if you are on the wrong side still, I will blow your FUCKING HEAD OFF!"

"Eloquent. Is there anything else?"

" **Yes, there is something else!** "

Monokuma popped up in front of the large group, crossing his paws. Some of the graduates glanced towards where his last body had fallen, and noticed it was gone.

" **Don't you think I don't know what you think I don't know! My beloved Science Lab is now a pile of rubble, and it's going to make everything so much more difficult for me! So trust me when I say…** "

The despair bear raised one of his paws, the claws extending in the most intimidating manner, as they gleamed in the light. " **My Kubs and I have made this highly uncomfortable for all of you because of this transgression. Though I doubt you need more animosity towards each other with how much you're at each other's throats…**

" **But it's going to give me such a happy case of despair to know that while I struggle with you all, you're struggling much, much more. These rules we have for the northern plaza, you had better hope two of you will grow a spine, a pair of balls or ovaries, however you want to put it. Because if someone kills someone else, this plaza will be cut off from all of you…**

" **FOREVER!** "

The graduates exchanged glances, and then Isaac spoke up. "Okay then, let's plan something out-"

" **NO!** "

"NO!"

"NO."

The bears yelled in unison, and then started scurrying around the bunch. The guys were moved towards the left side, and the gals were pushed to the right. They didn't have much time to talk, for the ones that wanted to. Monokuma glanced between the two groups of gender-divided graduates, and then rubbed his paws together.

" **Communication will be a little bit difficult for you all, since I assure you, you won't be able to shout across the field to the other side. The mists are going to prevent that kind of yelling. If you want to communicate with the other side, you might have luck shouting inside of the hotel, though I doubt it, and then everyone will know what you're up to.**

" **Now… go!** "

The two groups stared at each other from afar. Isaac waved over to Hara, who clutched her shirt over her heart and waved back to him. Yejoon gave a small wave to Fiora, who slowly turned away when she saw him.

Saiko frantically waved, shaking her head when some of the guys thought she might be signaling to them. Eventually, it became apparent she was trying to communicate with Eisei. The dentist waved back, and then showcased a little surprise when she gestured towards him, herself, and then the love hotel.

There was a slight blush on Eisei's face, as he nodded. This let him see there was a laser dot on his chest.

"HOLD IT, WOMAN!"

Monokid marched over towards Eisei, pointing the sniper rifle at the dentist. "Are you already trying to break our fucking rules? No girls on the left side!"

"I'm a man," Eisei commented.

"Bullshit! You have that girly hair, the girly clothing, the girly face, the girly 'girliness'!"

"EISEI-IS-A-MAN," Monodam called from Drake's arms.

" **Um, son, that one actually is a boy.** "

"I assure you," Eisei spoke up again, "I am a man. If you need to inspect my genitalia-"

"I so do not care, whatever you identify as, or however it works! I'm a simple bear with a simple sniper rifle! So you're going to the other side, so says I! Remember, my rules, my judgement! Off you go!"

Monokid reached over to Eisei's jacket collar, and yanked him along. Eisei's feet dragged on the floor, as the dentist calmly crossed his arms and puffed his face up, the lollipop stick in his mouth sticking up indignantly.

Then he was thrown down on his back amongst the women, staring up with slight consternation on his face. "This is not the finest moment for my pride."

Saiko walked over, and helped him up. "Damn it, I think he may have known about us, that's why he threw us over here."

"That may be a possibility, or it is an unfortunate coincidence that he wished to be an aggressive jackass."

"Wait a minute, Saiko," Hara spoke, a smile fighting to conquer her face, "what do you mean by 'known about us'?"

The women all stared at Saiko, who became quite red-faced and started to sputter. "I… that is… I don't have to answer that!"

"Is there any particular reason," Eisei questioned, "why you refuse to tell your friend that the two of us engaged in intercourse during that aphrodisiac outbreak?"

"EISEI!"

"Oh dear, did I overstep my bounds? My apologies."

"I swear to God, I am gonna-"

That was when Eisei placed a lollipop in her mouth, making her go silent for a moment, and murmur how unfair it was before walking off towards the plaza. Hara was giggling a great deal, as the rest of the ladies were rather confused by this.

"So, Eisei is now considered a woman as far as Monokid is concerned?" Futaba asked. "That's just going to make things even more difficult with a possible marriage."

"Are we seriously considering that?" Crystal asked.

"If we are, one of you straight or bi girls are going to have to do it," Aka remarked. "Hey, mime girl… ugh," she shivered when Ignatia looked directly at her, "s-sorry, still not good with clowns… or similar performers. Aren't you straight? Could you and that cartoon boy hook up for us-"

Ignatia stormed off indignantly, flipping an indignant hand signal back towards the women. She also indignantly kicked a trash can, getting some good distance on it.

"I am guessing that's a no of sorts," Hara commented.

"We might as well take a good look around, eh," Fiora said, smiling at the group. She rubbed at her neck, where some of the marks left by the rope were still present. "It'll be so nice to spend a little time with you all, rather than… naw, you knoo' what? I joo'st want to help 'oot. Let's do dis den."

* * *

 **Day 11, 11:02 AM**

 **Northern Plaza**

 **Outside of the Hall of Fame Building**

The Hall of Fame building had a large sign declaring what it was, overblown like anything sporty and/or celebratory would be. There were two doors, a good distance apart at the short end of this long, rectangular building.

The door to the left was unlocked, with a label on it stating, "Hope of Fame" for some reason. The door to the right, labeled "Despair of Shame" was locked. There was an electronic palm reader next to the locked door, with the female symbol at the top.

"Guess half of the hall is going to be closed off until we have someone from the female side," Shuuya remarked as he inspected the door.

"THAT-IS-CORRECT," Monodam said from Drake's arms.

The bounty hunter/assassin stared at the green Kub, then glanced up at Drake. "Why on Earth are you carrying him around?"

"I… I don't trust Monokid to not shoot at him when we're out in the open," Drake stammered, clearly nervous over Shuuya's stare. He stared to shiver when the bounty hunter didn't stop.

Yitro walked over and pat Shuuya's shoulder. "You're scaring the kid, come on now."

"Sorry, sometimes that side of me doesn't turn off, especially when the Kubs are around," Shuuya said with a shrug.

"B-but Monodam isn't our enemy, and after Taro died," Drake mumbled, glancing nervously to the side. When Shuuya stared at him again, the cartoonist squeaked nervously and turned away.

"The Kubs are still our enemy, for the most part," Shuuya stated. "Even if Taro died for a noble cause, we don't know how much we can trust them."

Yejoon, standing nearby, sighed as he adjusted his mask. He tapped his walking stick on the ground, and said, "Maybe we should just inspect this building rather than have yet another debate? Let Drake hug the bear, it's not going to hurt you."

Yitro and Shuuya glared at the artist. "Do you really like tempting fate?" Yitro snapped. "You do realize that Shuuya and I would gladly destroy you if you give us a reason?"

"Please," Drake pleaded, "no violence."

"I see no reason to continue this argument," Yejoon remarked, and then headed into the building via the left side door. The three guys followed after hastily.

The inside of the building was very lengthy, well-polished walls and floor. On the left side was a series of memorial plaques, with tall, electronic touch screens underneath each one. The right side was almost the same, just that they were framed pictures rather than memorial plaques.

The four young men instantly recognized the people in the frames on the left side of the building: it was them. The twenty-eight graduates were lined up alongside that wall, starting with the six who were now dead; their pictures were in grayscale.

"My, how morbid," Shuuya remarked as he studied these pictures. "I think at this point, they're just trying to rub it in our faces."

The door slammed against the wall as someone burst through, and they turned to see Monokid march in. "Where's Monodam?" he shouted, glancing around furiously. Drake turned away from the sniper bear, and Monokid groaned in frustration. "Damn it, I still cannot get a clear shot at the fucker!"

"Hello to you too, Monokid," Yitro commented. "Why are you here, anyway? We're not breaking any rules."

"I just wanted to see how you reacted to our prestigious hall of fame, it has some of the best moments in Killing Game history! Hehe, even if one side is kind of just starting."

Yejoon ignored him, and turned to the other wall. He stared at the pictures, and commented, "So you have the survivors of the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game opposite from us?"

Drake looked over that wall, and noticed so many familiar faces. He winced when he saw some of them, and said, "I met some of those people when I went to Hope's Peak. So many didn't make it…"

The cartoonist studied some of them, and Yejoon watched him through the corner of his eyesight. Drake stopped in front of several of them: Kyoko Kirigiri, Kazuichi Soda, Mikan Tsumiki, Kirumi Tojo, Celestia Ludenberg, and Kaito Momota.

"IF-YOU-WISH-TO-KNOW-MORE-ABOUT-THE-PERSON," Monodam explained, "TOUCH-THE-TOUCH-SCREEN-TO-TURN-IT-ON. THERE-IS-A-LOT-OF-INFORMATION-ON-EACH-PERSON."

Drake nodded, and pressed the touch screen under Kaito's picture. The screen turned on, and displayed a bunch of profile information on the Ultimate Astronaut, like his age, birthdate, talent, and physical description. The cartoonist tried swiping the screen, which moved onto another page of information.

"He's dating Akane now?" Drake spoke aloud, staring at the touch screen in confusion. Glancing over at the gymnast's portrait, he repeated himself, "Akane? Her? And him? Oh gosh, I didn't see something like that, but good on them."

Shuuya raised an eyebrow, and said, "Drake, as interesting as that can be, we should probably focus on something more important: the people we're stuck in this town with."

He walked over to Jin Nahm's portrait, and pressed the touch screen. The same kind of information came up, and Shuuya swiped through the pages. It wasn't until he got to a page that had something very interesting that he stopped.

"List of Victims?" Shuuya read aloud, and then saw a whole list of names, mostly Korean by nature. The first two were a man and woman, with the last name of Nahm. The bounty hunter bristled with fury, and glanced over at Yejoon. "So, does this confirm it? You two really did start your murder spree by killing your parents?"

Yejoon chuckled, as he approached his own portrait. He flipped through the touch screen's pages until he got to the victims' list. "Ah, memories. Each one of these, I can recall."

"Sick fucker," Yitro snarled.

"Fucking sick, bro," Monokid cheered.

Shuuya went over to Takeo's, and read it a bit more closely. Though when he got to the list of victims, there was a long list of [REDACTED]. "What's this? You cannot list the people he killed?"

"IT-IS-MOSTLY-BECAUSE-WE-DON'T-KNOW-THEIR-NAMES," elucidated Monodam. "TAKEO-WORKED-ON-MANY-COVERT-MISSIONS-AND-WE-DON'T-KNOW-WHO-HE-TOOK-OUT."

Shuuya inspected Angelique's next; her list of victims was entirely blank. Next was Samson, and there was a rather lengthy list, ending with Angelique's name. Though the bounty hunter recognized a female name with a familiar last name.

"Esmerelda Wilson," he read aloud. "Wait, I thought he was responsible for Crystal's sister's death, not that he killed her."

"We put people there who could be considered his fault, as if he did the deed," Monokid said. "We figured he would appreciate that, the Chaos-loving bastard he was."

"My, how noble of you."

"No! NO NO NO!"

The sudden shouting from down the hall startled everyone, and there was a sudden impact noise. Yitro had punched one of the touch screens, cracking it. The others ran over, as Monodam said, "PLEASE-DON'T-DAMAGE-THE-DISPLAYS."

Yitro huffed in fury, and the guys could see what had upset him on the slightly cracked screen. There was one name on Yitro's list of victims, and it was his brother's.

"I did not," the swordsman shouted, "kill my brother!"

"Really now?" Monokid said, snickering a great deal. "Because his name is up there. Maybe it was all your fault, buddy! Haw haw haw!"

Yitro shouted a few curse words and stormed out of the building. The three guys exchanged glances, and Yejoon spoke first. "This can only mean two things: Yitro is really responsible, or the Kubs are using this hall as another way to get under our skin."

"We should look at everyone here, just to see," Shuuya said, "what the Kubs are going to assert. Even if Yitro wasn't responsible for his brother's death, there was still involvement, and that might be all the Kubs have to go on."

The three guys started to check all of the profiles. This went rather quietly, as they were trying to analyze what they saw.

Some of the graduates, like Shinobu, Ken, and, much to Drake's horror, Ignatia, had a list of names on the victims page. Though when the cartoonist stared aghast at the list, Shuuya approached him and spoke in a more comforting tone.

"Don't forget, a lot of us were forced to defend ourselves during the Tragedy. Self-defense, working together with groups, they might be why names are up here.

"Before she died, I had a conversation with Shinobu. She worked with a group while she was stuck in France, fighting for their lives underneath the Eiffel Tower. They had to kill to survive. It is probably the same for Ignatia."

Drake nodded, though remained quiet for the most part. The search through the profiles continued. Both Yejoon and Shuuya weren't surprised in the least when they saw Drake's profile had zero names under the victim list.

Drake wasn't the only one with a clean slate, as some of the others had apparently never killed: Angelique, Anzu, Eisei, Souma, and Hara were all clean as well. Though even with this seemingly good news, the three were rather dubious.

Shuuya scrolled through the list that was under Fiora's supposed list of victims. "The Kubs listened everyone that died in the Parking Garage Killing Game under her name. That's ridiculous, she was clearly a victim of that game, and there's no way she was involved."

"Or was she?" Monokid said, cackling. "Or maybe they're up there because they had to die for her to survive? Haw haw haw, you won't know unless you interrogate her or something!"

"Silence, you vile bear," Yejoon snapped, his hand clenching into a fist. "My little flower has been through enough, there will be no more violence towards her."

"Well then, let's hope all you fuckers have the same mentality that our resident double-hundred serial killer has towards Fiora, haw haw haw!"

Shuuya crossed his arms, and watched as Monokid waddled out of the building. The bounty hunter/assassin turned towards Drake and Yejoon, and said, "There is a small grain of truth to what he said."

"Wh-what would that be?" Drake stammered.

"Some people may jump to conclusions over what is stated here. They made it so that we have to intimately trust whoever we marry to bring her over to this side, but now we have an entire hall that points out that they could all be killers."

"B-but Hara and Anzu have a clean page!"

"And Eisei too, since he's over there," Yejoon remarked, "but I have a sneaking suspicion he is straight. Also, amongst the other ones with clean pages, Angelique is dead, and Hara is disqualified."

"And regardless of her nature, Anzu does not seem like the kind of person to risk marrying and consummating someone at random," Shuuya said. "Especially since she, like all the women, are leery of some of us."

"THIS-REALLY-HASN'T-BEEN-OUR-BEST-PLAN," Monodam admitted, "AT-HELPING-YOU-ALL-GET-ALONG. THIS-ISN'T-BECAUSE-OF-THE-DISEASE-KNOWN-AS-COOTIES, IS-IT?"

The three guys didn't really say much, they just considered their options. Even if they could only see half of this hall, it had already brought up a lot of unfortunate implications and distrust. Whatever was on the other side, it made them all wonder even more.

* * *

 **Day 11, 11:12 AM**

 **Baseball Field**

 **Home Plate**

Ken stared out at the open field, examining it as he tried to picture it in a better light than it currently was. The grass was all dead, the mists of Penjar were like a floating, ground-level cloud that coated the area, and he hadn't even found any equipment to play the game with.

The cavalryman sighed, and leaned against the chainlink fence, staring aimlessly forward. There was a slight clinking noise, and he turned to see Odelios pressing his face up against the fence near the Novoselician.

"You wanna play some baseball, big guy?" Odelios asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't know where the equipment is, sorry," Ken responded, and shook his head. "Besides, we should not be so distracted. We have a goal, a duty even, to investigate this place and learn the answers that they have subtly slipped in."

"Doesn't explain then why you're staring so forlornly at the field, sir."

Ken rubbed his eyes, and then muttered, "We had baseball in Novoselic. I got to play it some times, and I loved it very much. I wish to play it again, just to feel something of my home. Alas, I doubt there is a star to shoot to make a wish upon."

"Perhaps we could play a game after there's been a good inspection of everything we can look through here."

"Perhaps… but I must admit, I don't fully trust everyone, male or female, here. After the trial we just had, it made me realize, like with my home, anyone can fall to Despair. There also seems to be more sympathy for the Kubs than our cause."

Odelios sighed, and leaned his back up against the fence. "You're thinking of Ishiku, aren't you?"

"Where is he, anyway? I would have thought you two were attached to the hip after everything."

"He wanted a little space, so he went off to the bowling alley without me. I don't mind, he's been through a lot. Listen, Ken, I know you're saying it is hard to trust him, but I really do. He's my friend."

Ken shook his head. "It's not just him, it is… people I thought I could trust. Hikari is a good woman, but she trusts people I cannot. Fiora considered murder, Blake callously disregarded others' deaths. What am I supposed to do?"

The clown and cavalryman were silent for a minute, facing away from each other, wondering what exactly they could do. Eventually, Odelios spoke.

"So did you know that one of my greatest inspirations was an Ultimate too?" he said, grinning as he thought back. "Satsuki Iranami, the Ultimate Clown, a year older than me, is like one of the best clowns ever! She could do stunts, tricks, and make you laugh when you're feeling your worst. God, I have such a crush on her, I hope she's doing alright nowadays.

"Did you ever have a crush on one of your seniors, so to speak? I wonder, was there ever another Ultimate Cavalryman? Ooo, what if she was a girl, would she be a cavalrywoman? Would I get away with making jokes about breastplate with one?"

"Odelios, what on Earth are you doing?"

"If you want to make the world a better place, you should know about the people that make it good. I though I should tell you about some good people I know."

"You digressed quickly."

"I tend to do that."

The two were quiet for a few moments more, and then Ken spoke. "People always asked me if I had a crush on our princess, but she was fairly younger than me. Still, it's not hard to see why, she was such an amazingly vibrant and wonderful young lady…"

* * *

 **Day 11, 11:24 AM**

 **Bowling Alley**

The large building was quite colorful with working neon lights and screens inside. There were sixteen aisles, all of them polished and ready to play on. An arcade was located at the right side, as well as a VIP lounge with glass walls showcasing who would be in there.

This VIP lounge had a stripper pole stage, with cushy seats around the stage. A second stripper pole in the buildings of Penjar was really starting to make them wonder what the Kubs thought of casual life.

To the left side of the bowling alley, was a bar much like at the tavern except slightly larger. There were TVs at this bar, though none were on. Monosuke was at the bar, wearing an apron and cleaning a glass.

"Youse really want another one?" he asked the sole customer at the bar. "It's not even noon yet, ya mook."

"I'll tell yoush when I ish done, youse shee?" Ishiku slurred, staring at the bear. "Beshidesh, if Emanuel ish dead, yoush need a new drunk, right? I volunteer for the poshishun."

Isaac and Souma, who had been searching around the bowling alley for anything that appeared out of place and finding more than enough of that, approached the bar. Souma sighed as he surveyed the drunk magician.

"I'm afraid Mr. Shyre has given up on trying to help out with the investigation," the public speaker said. "Do you think this could be a one-day event, or is he stuck like this?"

The reporter shrugged, then glanced to his other side. When no one was there, like every time he subconsciously looked, he sighed miserably. Souma pat his shoulder, and said, "I know you miss her, but you're truly helping us out still. Your eye for detail is highly reliable."

"Hara and I work together on cases like this all the time. This is the first time I haven't had her by my side for something so important and dangerous," Isaac admitted, then he crossed his arms and sighed. "I mean, we're not that lovey-dovey kind of couple that needs to be with each other over everything. We have our own hobbies, our own ventures, but for something like this…"

"You don't have to explain yourself, I understand that you would want her by your side during this dangerous escapade," Souma said. "Do not worry, you will see her at night, and I believe she'll be close to friends on her side."

Isaac nodded, then smiled at the public speaker. "Thanks again, for everything. You really are trying hard to keep everyone together."

"I feel like the more I see of this place, the more we truly need to ensure we find the answers. You're very capable, Mr. Bellamy, and I just hope you'll do as well with me figuratively taking your fiancé's place temporarily."

"Whoa, that sure does sound forward."

"Looking back at it, yeah, I kind of realize how bad it did sound."

* * *

 **Day 11, 11:25 AM**

 **Northern Plaza**

 **Outside of the Love Hotel, Near the Western Door**

Blake observed the length of the gigantic hotel, and tried to see if he could see the other entrance that the women would have to use. It was so far away, he would only be able to recognize them by clothing and hair, and he doubted his voice would reach them, especially if the mists were dampening sound again.

The pyro observed the grass field that was in front of the hotel as well. There was a neon pink line of paint, starting on the right side of the hotel's left entrance, and trailed towards the grassy field. It extended through the grass, visible through the mist, and showcased a very clear point.

"Right, don't cross the line, Monokid," Blake said. "Man, you would be a metal badass if you weren't such a fucking freak show at the same time."

He sighed, then entered the love hotel. The wallpaper was a lustful red with hearts running up and down, and the carpet was a rich crimson as well. Everything inside was clean, pristine, and set a mood real fast. The front room was empty of people, which made sense since this wasn't a staffed hotel anyway.

Blake groaned as he approached the front counter, as if he was going to check in. He leaned against it, glancing around, and muttered, "Hi there, I'd like a room, please. Though with who, I dunno, because of how screwed up everything is. Goddamn, I just now realized how difficult this is gonna be. Damn my big mouth."

The pyro punched the counter, and rested his head against it. Mentally and verbally cursing himself, he eventually pushed himself away from there. He moved through the western lobby, and found the kitchen and cafeteria area.

There were restrooms, a gym, and even a small indoor pool. All of the rooms were done with a sensual, almost outright erotic set-up. The colors, the decorations, nothing explicit but definitely suggesting something in particular, it really started to exasperate Blake.

"We get it, you want us to shag," he muttered. "Get stuffed, you damn bears."

" _And who is mostly at fault for that?_ " he mentally chastised himself. " _You going to blame Fiora for bringing up your biggest shame, and Aka for being bitchy, until you delude even yourself? Or are you going to realize that your desire to win an argument became the most important thing, and you insulted all of the women to win that debate?_ "

"Get stuffed, me," he grumbled, pushing the thoughts aside.

He continued down the only hallway he could find that appeared to run through the entire hotel's first floor. The elevators and stairs up to the rooms were in this hallway, along the way to the center.

Before he reached that center, there was a large sign hanging up on the wall that read:

 **WARNING!**

Beyond the line that you see in front of you is the center area of the love hotel! To step into the area will register you for the marriage list! This means you!

Once registered, you may explore the center part of the love hotel, but you may not cross over to the other side until the marriage is made official. You know what we mean.

Also, consider the fact all marriages that are made official are permanent, there is NO divorce in Penjar. Consider that before you all get married, finalized or not, and until death do you part.

Signed,

The Reverend Monokuma

and

His Flock of Four Adorable Monokubs

Blake raised an eyebrow, and wondered if there were any specific rules to setting this place in fire. It was kind of silly to consider, with everything that happened, but there was a certain appeal of destroying yet another important building of Monokuma's.

Before he could contemplate any more, he could see someone far, far down the hallway. Despite the distance, the blonde hair and the large-collar jacket she was wearing, Blake could tell it was Crystal. She was reading what appeared to be a sign on the wall at her side.

As she scanned the words, Blake called out to her. His shout traveled down the hallway prominently enough to warrant her attention. She glanced over at him, and he chuckled lightly before calling out, "Hey there, blondie. What do you say we put our differences behind us, and get you an all-plaza pass?"

He didn't know if she could properly hear him, they were so far away that he didn't know if his words were comprehensible that far. Crystal offered no verbal response, but one of her fingers sent a message to him.

She turned on her heel and walked off out of range. Blake snorted, and went back to exploring his side of the love hotel.

The military adviser sighed heavily as she walked into the lobby of their side of the love hotel. She could hear some rattling within the cafeteria, and could see Futaba rummaging through some of the food and drink set up. Anzu was exploring the lobby, before looking behind the front desk.

"Why are you looking there, Anzu?" she asked the actress.

"Because a camera and a microphone have taken us into that vision world, and I think it was an insect containment case that Eisei was holding? At this point, it could be anything that sends us to this evil version of Oz."

Crystal rolled her eyes, though part of her found amusement to the reference that Anzu had made. "You want to go there again? Assuming that is an actual place?"

"Crystal, sweetie, we've got far more questions than answers, and I refuse to wait around waiting for something to happen. Also, I'm certain that with how the group is now, no one is lining up to consummate a marriage."

The military adviser had to admit, she had just found the idea repulsive. "Yes, especially since it seems the Kubs found a way to prevent anyone willing from doing it. I'm actually surprised you haven't volunteered."

Anzu stood up straight, and stretched her thin body out. "Ngh~ Well, the problem is, there's, what ten guys? Isaac is unavailable, Yejoon and Blake are never going to touch me, Drake and Souma are too pure to even consider it, so do I want to risk it? Unless you think porn stars aren't allowed to be picky?"

"I've never been one to judge you for what you do for a living. I'm actually impressed you are perfectly okay with a bisexual lifestyle, when I'm still kind of coming to terms with it."

"Really? Was that because of the orgy we had a while back? Ooo, who'd you do?"

Crystal blushed, and sat down in a plush chair nearby. "Um, that's personal, I'm sorry. Maybe we should switch the subject."

Anzu giggled impishly. "You mean I shouldn't focus on sensual subjects when we're in a love hotel? You're, like, the oppose of Futaba. I had to fend the girl off of me for a bit, she's amorous right now."

The military adviser groaned, and muttered, "Well, to be honest, we're kind of running low on options."

The actress twirled one of her blue bangs around her fingers, and strut over to Crystal. She was really swishing her hips, as she leaned forward. This gave the blonde a good glimpse down her sundress, her black bra quite the sexy contrast to her pale skin.

Anzu sat down in Crystal's lap, straddling her on the chair. She let out a sensual purr, and cupped Crystal's face as she slowly, but very surely, gyrated her thighs against the military adviser's. "What we need," she whispered, "is at least to plan something out. What do you think would be a good first step?"

Crystal was red in the face, and her body slightly froze up, but her hands moved towards Anzu's hips. She slowly held onto her, as her breathing became heavier. "Um, well, the… the best route would be to have people who could never finish this false marriage to register first."

"Mmmm, I think I see the logic in that," Anzu groaned, and she cupped the back of Crystal's blonde head. Pulling her face into the warm, soft embrace of her chest, she pushed herself up against the adviser's facial features. She could hear, and feel, the excited breathing against her skin.

"Y-yeah, b-because, that way, the guys and gals who could do it would more likely find a partner they could… do… do it with."

Anzu purred again, and rubbed her chest up against Crystal's face some more. Then she pulled back a bit, and caressed her face. "But then problem is getting the guys to agree to this plan, and seeing who would agree to admitting that the girls won't shag with them. Mmmm, you know what?"

The actress leaned in, and placed her lips against Crystal's. The kiss lasted for a few good seconds, and the next one was a touch longer. Running a hand through the military adviser's hair, she whispered, "I need to go over some details with another person good at social planning. One minute…"

The raven haired lady pulled herself up off of the military adviser. A bead of sweat ran down Crystal's forehead, as her breath was almost visible with how heated it was now. Anzu strut over to the cafeteria, leaving the lady like that for now.

Futaba was finishing a pastry that was left in a transparent drawer. She noticed Anzu, and said, "Mmm, hey there beautiful. You seem to be in good spirits, despite it all."

"I'm not a gloomy girl, despite the fact that I could easily resemble a goth if I so wanted."

"I could totally see you in a green 'n black top and skirt, or maybe something black with white and red trimming."

Anzu laughed, then said, "So Crystal and I were going over what we should do about the marriage issue, and we considered getting everyone on both sides who'd never finish that deal register first, get them out of the way."

"You're asking a bunch of guys who aren't gay to admit that all of the women won't have sex with them. Men aren't historically known to line up the admit to that."

"Oh, don't be silly, men are a bit more complex than that. Besides, we have to consider what women would actually help us here; unless you all lost your libidos?"

Futaba chuckled, and corrected her glasses. "No, mine is still here, and probably more interested than ever. After Shinobu, Emanuel, and Taro, it's looking more and more like we could die… if we weren't on borrowed time already."

The anthropologist noticed the concerned frown from the actress, and shrugged. "Sorry, but after all I have seen, with Killing Games practically becoming a culture of its own, I find that patterns tend to form. Hikari was right when she said that the Killing Game won't end soon, because the Mastermind still has use for our deaths."

She turned away from Anzu, and went back to searching through the food articles on the countertop. "I'm not a pessimist, but I'm not exactly an optimist. Could you give me a good reason to strive when it feels like a ticking timer to the next death?"

Futaba reached towards one of the baskets, eyeing the fruit with a particular want for an apple. She stopped suddenly when she felt a pair of warm hands on her shoulders, and soon to follow was the lithe form of a lady up against her back. The sensual pushing of Anzu's body features pressing against her made Futaba's breath hitch.

"A good reason? Listen, even if this marriage set-up is something that the Kubs and Monokuma cooked up, it doesn't mean we should ruin the chance for more information. They're counting on us being nags, that we don't even like sex so this is something we'd never do…"

Anzu's hands explored Futaba's hips, against her stomach, and up to her chest. There was quite the erotic gasp from the anthropologist as she felt her breasts caressed at the underside, then fully cupped and squeezed gently.

"Mmm, I know you of all people aren't a prude, and it's not like there are guys you haven't considered that are here. I think what you need is motivation…"

The actress released one of Futaba's breasts, reaching up to cup her chin and tilt her face to the side. She kissed her, over her shoulder, and quite deeply. Futaba melted into the kiss faster than Crystal, and returned it quite a bit. Anzu caressed the gal's face and neck.

"Mmmph~ And also, we aren't going to get anywhere by fretting over what we cannot do. So why don't we plan something out instead?"

Anzu pulled herself away and off of Futaba, and then motioned for her to follow. Now the three ladies were in the lobby, and the actress grinned slyly at both of them.

"So you two can definitely think of a way to communicate with the other ladies, and the guys, on what to do," Anzu suggested. "Why don't you two collaborate, and get us somewhere good to go? I'm gonna check the other places, real quick, but I'll be back soon."

Anzu strut, her hips popping, as she walked away. She giggled, and thought to herself, " _Still got it~ Now that I've jumpstarted those two to work on the problem at hand, I think their excitement will lead them to not be so defeatist over this motive._ "

The actress made it to the door, when she heard Crystal say something that sounded like, "So we… we were thinking-mmph~!"

Anzu paused her exit, and turned back to see Futaba and Crystal making out, rather passionately too. The anthropologist pushed the military adviser onto one of the lobby couches, and the kissing and groping intensified.

The actress blinked, staring at the two squirming, kissing, moaning women. She slapped her palm against her face, and muttered to herself, "Aw shit, I did it _too_ well."

* * *

 **Day 11, 11:27 AM**

 **Stables**

 **Front Gate to the Main Pen**

Kimiko leaned against one of the posts, staring out at the fenced area where the horses would normally be allowed to run free. She crossed her arms and scanned the area, seeing nothing but mist, rotten wood making up the stables area, and more mist. It was depressing, very much so for her.

The biker gang leader turned her head and spat, feeling just an incredible disgust for this place. Snorting angrily, she felt like stewing there for a little longer.

"This isn't the place I would think of finding a lady like you."

Kimiko turned her head to see Hikari strutting up the path, right towards her. The steampunk model had a friendly smile, maybe a touch more than friendly? The biker gang leader felt her face flush, and she turned away.

"I'm no lady," she responded.

"Now come on, a rough and tough biker woman can still be a lady. I firmly believe in that. Though I am curious why you're here."

The rough and tough biker woman sighed and rubbed her head as she felt the steampunk model eye her up. "Okay, when I was younger, I spent a lot of time at a ranch. Riding horses is something I loved doing, and this kind of made me think back to happier times, eh.

"Besides, it also made me think of how much I am supposed to be this rough and tough woman that you describe me as, but I'm failing miserably. I've bin nothing but tears and failure since I got here, and I fucking hate it."

Kimiko swung her fist downward and thumped the post she was leaning against. "I guess I'm no good at this, I never should have come here. But I'll be damned if I just up and leave when there is still work to be done; I'm not going to let others risk their lives when I should be helping."

The biker gal kicked at the ground, and added, "Don't worry a'boot me, Hikari. I'll get to investigating sooner rather than later. Maybe I'll find another one of those items that takes me to that cursed Hope's Peak. That'd joo'st be my luck, eh."

She tapped her chin, then turned to look at Hikari. "Were any of the Hope's Peak students equestrians?"

Hikari didn't answer this, she merely walked up in front of Kimiko, and leaned her parasol up against the wall nearby them. Her delicate hands reached up to caress Kimiko's shoulders, which was still intimate despite the leather jacket getting in the way.

"I think the problem is, you're stressed and emotional, and that's not a good combination for these circumstances," Hikari purred, and her pretty face moved in closer to Kimiko's. She caressed the gal's leather jacket, until she slipped her hands underneath and touched the bare skin where the biker's sarashi doesn't cover her.

"Wh-what?" was all Kimiko managed to say. It was hard to formulate words when the type of woman that she rather liked was touching her. It was her who did the advancing most of the time. "Um, are you doing what I think you're doing?"

"Flirting with you? Yes, yes I am."

Hikari leaned in, and her cheek nuzzled Kimiko's. Their noses grazed, and the warm breath from the model bathed the biker gal's face. Kimiko felt her breath hitching, and yet she managed to speak, "Wh-what about Aka?"

"Oh, she and I are taking a bit of a break. We wanted to explore our options, and it made me realize I was kind of slut shaming myself all this time. I shouldn't be ashamed to approach women I like, and I like you."

Hikari pushed herself up against Kimiko, pulling open the biker's jacket. Thus her corset was mushed up against Kimiko's breasts, and that warmth sent a heat through the biker gal. She Hikari kissed her, the kind of long, sweet kiss that made Kimiko weak at the knees.

"I like a lot of things about you, and even if you think you've only been emotional, you've been strong, stronger than I think you realize. Plus, I love your accent, your nobility, and hasn't it been obvious I love tomboys?"

Hikari slid one of her legs up and down against Kimiko's, as she giggled and added in a whisper, "I even like how protective you get over me."

"Wh-what?"

"You would go after Aka every time she flared up, and though you really don't have to worry about her, the way you sound so concerned," she kissed Kimiko, rather deeply. "Mmmm~ you taste so good, you know that?"

"Hi-Hikari, I-"

Kimiko kissed her more, the kind of luscious kissing that really did it for her. Her hands trembled, wanting to reach forward that perfect body that the model sported; something was stopping her, however.

"So I have gotten the feeling you like me, and I like you. What's stopping you?"

Her hands moved towards Kimiko's chest, one of them stopping over the biker's heart, to feel her heartbeat. She looked into Kimiko's eyes, and then her actions froze instantly when she saw something she didn't expect to see.

Tears. Kimiko was fighting it, but she couldn't prevent herself from sobbing once. "Hi-Hikari," the biker said with a sob, "I cannot risk this."

"Risk it? What do you mean?"

"You… you doo'nt understand. An… Angelique, I opened up to her, she opened up to me. We told each other a'boot those we lost, and… and then… I lost her too."

Kimiko took Hikari's hands, clenching them, and said, "It's true, I do like you, I have a certain attraction to beautiful, feminine ladies like you, despite my biker bitch lifestyle. And no matter what has happened, you've shown you can keep a level head during terrible times.

"But you said so yourself, this Killing Game isn't going to end until more of us die. I'm not going to risk it a'geen, because…

"I should be the one who dies, not someone like you. I'm soo'ry, I'm so soo'ry, but… you shouldn't associate with me."

Kimiko walked off, rubbing her eyes, not looking back. Hikari watched her go, unable to comprehend what just happened. The steampunk model tried to think of what went wrong, how did it go wrong.

"What does this place do to people," she whispered, "that makes even a confident woman like that so fearful of taking a chance?"

* * *

 **Day 11, 11:31 AM**

 **Spa and Beauty Parlor**

The main lobby of the feminine parlor connected to many different rooms, all of which were related to luxurious grooming. There was a hot spring spa, wax 'n massage room, nail salon, hair salon, and even a medical room. One of the doors was locked, with a blue, male symbol above a palm reader panel next to the door.

Hara and Saiko were staring at this door, which was in the hot spring room. Monophanie watched them, being something of a tour guide to them.

"So here's one of these mystery doors," Saiko remarked. "I seriously wonder what could be in them. Could it be a trap?"

"You think we rigged doors to explode in our precious town?" Monophanie declared, placing her paws over her mouth. "That would be horrible!"

Hara sighed, and said, "Your father could have done that as revenge."

"Well, how about when you have a nice young man come over, I could open the doors for you all since you technically have permission? That would be safer, yes?"

"You'd do that for us?"

"I want you all to enjoy this lovely place we brushed up for you all, not fear about being blown up."

Hara stared at the pink Kub, and then nodded. "Alright, th-thank you."

Saiko glanced between her close friend and Monophanie. "Yeah, that's nice and all, but what do you mean by 'doors'? There's more than one of these?"

"There's more than one in this building itself," Monophanie remarked. "Two in the spa, one in the clothing shop, and there is a supply closet at the stables that require someone from the other side. But can we trust the men to behave themselves, to not try and kill one of us?"

"Wh-what?" Hara stammered. "Do you really think they're that unstable?"

"The last two murders were a man killing a defenseless woman," the pink Kub pointed out. "And so many of you have pointed out that most of the men are dangerous or fools, so I'm going by your opinions. My brothers are kind of dangerous too, maybe it's best they stay over there."

Saiko groaned and rolled her eyes, muttering, "I refuse to get sucked into this debate again. Monophanie, can you show us where the other door in this building is?"

"Sure! Follow me~"

The two women and the bear walked through the building, towards the hair salon where Monophanie said the other door was. Sure enough, it was near the back of the room, but something else caught their attention.

Pyrrha was seated in one of the large chairs of the hair salon, and Aka was caressing her, smooching her cheek and ear. The romance writer swooned happily, as Aka nibbled at her earlobe. As the skier started to feel up the redhead's side, there was an awkward pause to those who had just entered.

Saiko broke the tedium with a frustrated shout, startling everyone. "What is this?" the forensic investigator cried out, storming over to the two. "We're supposed to be conducting an investigation, and you two are making out instead?"

Pyrrha was instantly red in the face, and stood up from the chair. Aka, shocked at first, frowned at Saiko as Pyrrha inched away from them.

"What the hell is your problem?" Aka asked, glaring at Saiko. "You don't get to tell me what I can do, what any of us can do. I was just talking to Pyrrha, and we were hitting it off. It's none of your business."

"It is my business when we have a duty to find out what is going on in this town, with Penjar, with everyone! You think you can just ignore responsibility and let the rest of us do all of the work?"

Pyrrha was wincing terribly now, almost appearing ready to cry at how ashamed she was feeling. Hara moved over to her, and she gently rubbed the romance writer's shoulder. "Saiko, please," the explorer pleaded to her friend, "you're being really harsh."

"Hara, all Aka has done since we've gotten here is try to sleep with the other women. We are in a dire situation, and she hasn't given a damn!"

"Oh, like you're any better!" Aka snapped. "Every trial, all you've done is side against the innocent! So why don't you back the hell off, and let us do what we feel like doing?"

Saiko scoffed, her glare becoming more unfriendly by the minute. "It's not good enough that you're sleeping with the hot model, you have to try and shag the other girls too? Do you have any self-respect?"

"I," Pyrrha muttered, "I just was feeling alone, I wanted to feel some company… it hasn't been easy here for me."

"Pyrrha, we're here to find out the answers to this city, not to try and find company," Saiko pointed out.

"Oh, now you're telling her what she can and cannot do with you around?" Aka spat out. "Who the fuck died left you in charge? I don't answer to you! Besides, you're the giant hypocrite here!"

"And how do you figure that, you bitch?"

"This whole problem, the twist the Kubs put in as a motive or whatever, it can be fixed as soon as one of the men and one of the women sleep together. But I'm a lesbian, I'll never have sex with a guy…

"Yet here you are, the straight woman telling me that I should do more for the investigation. Why haven't you gone to the love hotel and registered yourself, if you're _so_ concerned with what we're supposed to do?"

"Oh, I should whore myself out immediately, because you can't or won't contribute?" Saiko stormed to the other side of the hair salon, facing one of the shelves with all the hair trimming and grooming tools. "Is that your contribution? Get others to do things so you can have sex and fool around?"

"Better that than sulk around and tell everyone what you think they should be doing, you dumb cunt," Aka replied with a tedious roll of her eyes. "I thought you said last night that you weren't interested in leading us. Maybe you are projecting, because you have Eisei on this side, so you can fuck him as much as you want-"

There was a sudden rush of movement, as Saiko had grabbed a hair brush and hurled it at Aka. The skier dodged it, and the brush clattered against the wall. There was a highly tedious pause, then Aka snarled angrily.

"I see how it is, you're one of those types of women, aren't you?" the skier seethed. "You don't like the idea of women having sex, enjoying it, because you hate the very notion that we can, and will. You're just a _nag_ , an awful, narrow-minded nag who wants to boss people around.

"You have all the capability of furthering this investigation by yourself, but you won't, because you don't want people to think that you enjoy having sex! And yet you fucking think we'll get results for this dumb place, from any of the stupid buildings! Like from this!"

Aka grabbed one of the container boxes, which had a few combs, brushes, and a fancy pair of scissors. She hurled it at Saiko, who managed to dodge the projectile. The box smashed to pieces, the tools scattered around the floor. Aka heaved in fury, and continued.

"You think the Mastermind slipped the answer to it all in a hair salon? That we'll find out who did this and why and how because we looked at buildings that were constructed overnight? By the Mastermind himself? Oh sure, maybe it's in one of these hair dryers!"

She yanked a hair dryer's plug out, and aimed it at Saiko. Pyrrha sprinted over, and grabbed her arm, pleading, "No! Please, stop this! You're going to hurt each other. We don't need to do this."

Aka panted heavily, staring down Saiko before glancing at Pyrrha. "All my life, I've had to put up with women like this. They stick their nose in my business, tell me I'm not allowed to do this or that, and yet they cannot get their own damn affairs in order. They're worse than any guy.

"I don't want to be the target of her frustrations, when there is nothing else I can do except what I want to do. I'm sorry, Pyrrha, I'll see you later. I just… need to get away from her."

Aka dropped the hair dryer and stormed out of the building. Pyrrha slumped in one of the chairs, burying her face in her palms, as Hara hurried over to Saiko to make sure she wasn't hurt.

As Saiko tried to assure her friend she was fine, there was a series of soft electronic clicks. The three women glanced over at Monophanie, who was using a cell phone to send a message. The pink bear sighed heavily as she muttered, "Monosuke wants to know how the women are doing on our side."

"How are you even getting cell phone reception?" Hara asked.

"Kuma-Optics provider, works with our phones and none others," Monophanie explained. She stared down at the phone, sighing heavily. "Monosuke says that all of the guys are conducting investigations, and are working well together. The only one who isn't helping is Ishiku, who got drunk pretty quick in."

The pink Kub tapped a bunch of keys, narrating what she was writing. "The vast majority of the women are flirting or fighting, only a couple of them are actually investigating. Nothing is fine here."

"What?" Pyrrha spluttered. "Why are you telling him that?"

"Because it's the truth?" Monophanie replied, confused by the question.

"How do you know what's happening with the other women?" Saiko grumbled.

"Never doubt the power of Kuma-Optics, which has eyes all over our new plaza," the bear Kub said cheerfully, holding her phone to her chest. "It's amazing what we can do, and ensure that we all have a better future blessed with technology…"

Her phone beeped, and she examined it, expression quickly slumping. "He just sent back 'lol' written a hundred times and a bunch of emojis with goofy faces."

"Well, this is just great," Saiko angrily snapped, crossing her arms. "You're telling me that most of the women are too busy arguing or flirting to do anything, while most of the men are being responsible?"

"Goes against every stereotype we saw in cartoons, doesn't it?" Pyrrha said nervously, earning herself a glare from Saiko. The romance writer cleared her throat, and added, "W-well, it's not like you're the exception to that, Saiko. And while I'm not either, I think we've all had a really bad start."

"Bad start?" Hara repeated miserably. "What are we going to do? I mean, everyone on our side is emotional or illegible for that marriage motive. If only we had gotten along better, but after the last trial…"

She sunk into one of the chairs, shaking her head. "Gender doesn't even really matter at this point, it's all just anger and frustration and desire. If we could communicate effectively with the men, could we still plan something out?"

"Hara, sweetheart," Pyrrha said, walking over to her, "I know this looks bad, but let's not lose faith, okay? I know I come off as a hopeless optimist, but let's just try to make things work."

* * *

 **Day 11, Throughout the Day**

 **Northern Plaza**

The first day in this new district for the town was not very progressive, for anyone. No one showed any willingness to head to the center part of the hotel, and thus there was no communication between the male and female sides. Without knowing when or even if someone would show up, even those who wished to communicate with others didn't waste a lot of time hanging around the hallway where they'd have to shout to communicate.

Talking about the possible marriage motive was also a major dud on both sides. The women (and Eisei) were all unwilling for a number of reasons, one of the biggest being that they didn't want to risk being the "partner" for someone they hated; they had no idea which of the men had already thrown their hats in.

The men tried talking about it to some degree, but somehow the conversation changed subtly every time. It was like all of them were concerned about appearing as perverts or worse, so none of them were sure who was willing to do it.

At the least, both sides found all of the doors that were locked for them until someone from the other side made it over. On the male only side, there were two rooms in the bowling alleys, a storage shed next to the baseball field, and the other half of the Hall of Fame building.

As none of them could find any baseball equipment, they theorized they were in that locked shed. What could be in the bowling alley was highly confusing, but some of them were guessing that there would be more history and biographies in the Hall of Fame's locked area.

Yitro had calmed down since the electronic accusation from his Hall of Fame bio. Everyone on their side, sans Ishiku, had a look through the hall as well, though some of them were not keen to see what their own panels said.

Odelios had to help Ishiku, who became so drunk that he was a vomiting mess by the early afternoon. The magician was so distraught, he could barely be understood as he tried to explain why he was doing this.

On the female side, nothing of interest had been found, even from those who took the search seriously. Anzu, Kimiko, Fiora, and Eisei spent a good deal of time searching every last corner of the clothing store. They even inspected pockets and bags, wondering if maybe the Kubs had stashed something away.

Aka was still fuming over her fight with Saiko, who wasn't very agreeable for the rest of the day; the forensic investigator refused to talk to Eisei, as she turned away and said it wasn't appropriate every time they crossed paths. Ignatia had spent a great deal of the day knocking things over, and avoiding them.

Crystal and Futaba, who ignored the questioning stares from the others, tried to help Pyrrha make dinner for everyone. It wasn't easy or fun, and the strain of the group being divided and uncommunicative was starting to affect them.

The men had a similar feeling with their own dinner, and no one really said much. It didn't help that Monokid and Monosuke were asking them over and over who they wanted to get married to. Drake had to hide Monodam from Monokid's line of sight everywhere they went, as the blue Kub carried that sniper rifle at all times now.

The only thing they got was when Monokid was badgering Souma about getting married, and said at one point, "What about the singer woman with the big chest and the glasses?"

"She's dead," Souma had remarked.

"You got anything of hers? That would qualify."

"Are you kidding me?" Blake asked. "We can marry someone by having an item of their's?"

"So long as it was something that is very close to the person," Monokid explained, "and you bring it to the chapel, you can do that. That's our loophole."

"But you took everything that belonged to them," Shuuya remarked. "Jin, Angelique, and Shinobu don't have anything left that is their's."

"Hehe, well, youse know," Monosuke chuckled, "that sounds like a youse problem, not ours."

"Wait," Yitro said, standing up, "I have Angelique's locket! It's in my… room, the house I was living in. Didn't you bring all of our stuff to these rooms?"

"NO," Monodam said, "WE-WANTED-YOU-TO-HAVE-A-FRESH-START-HERE. THE-ONLY-THING-YOU-HAVE-IN-YOUR-ROOMS-ARE-ADDITIONAL-CHANGES-OF-CLOTHING-AND-WHATEVER-WE-HAVE-GIVEN-YOU-HERE-IN-PENJAR."

The swordsman sighed heavily, and muttered, "Okay, that's it. I'm done with everything. I'm going to my room, it's been a long, long day."

"I swear, you dumb Kubs," Blake snarled, "you make up the rules as you go along."

Monosuke chuckled as he fanned himself with his money. "Well, youse know, we have to do _something_ if youse guys aren't going to play along! At least with the previous motives, we knew youse were all doing something with it. But youse've all avoided the chapel like the plague!"

"Don't worry, Monophanie is telling the broads about this new rule, though I doubt it fucking matters," Monokid declared. "I mean, from what I heard, they're all making out and catfighting as if it were a dirty movie! Why can't you fuckers be that interesting?"

"Because we hate you and want you to suffer too~" Odelios suggested.

After this odd conversation, the men all headed to the elevators and the stairs up to their rooms. When Isaac started to wait for one of the elevators, Monosuke pulled at his pant leg. "Hey buddy, what are youse doing here? Youse got one of the center suites with your lovely lady! Come along now!"

Isaac was led to the center of the hotel, and he finally could see the chapel. There was a bunch of white folding chairs in front of an altar, which was a white gazebo (yes, indoors) decorated with fake roses, ivy, and paper cutouts of Cupid-Monokumas. The reporter winced at the thought of anyone getting married here.

As it turned out, the women were also done with dinner and the day, so Hara was led to this center area with Monophanie. The two got on the golden elevator across from the chapel, and were sent to the third floor.

Up on this floor, the carpet and wallpaper and even the ceiling all a rich red color, they saw one of the doors (which was also painted a ruby red) that had a plaque with their names on it. When they opened it, both of them almost fainted in embarrassment.

The room was divided into three sections: a hot tub with a ladder and a slide into it on the tiled left side, a gigantic circular bed with a heart shaped headrest and a ferris wheel chandelier above it on the carpeted middle, and resembled a sex dungeon complete with the whips and bondage cross and other gadgets in the brick wall right side.

The left and right side had diaphanous curtains, as if that would give some modicum of privacy. There were also two horses like a merry-go-round would have circling the bed. The lights coming from the ceiling were tinted pink, bathing everything in a loverly light.

"I can't sleep here!" Hara squealed in horror.

"Sleep? Youse want to sleep?" Monosuke asked.

"Hara, I don't think you understand," Monophanie said, "what a love hotel is exactly."

"But you're making us sleep here for the duration of this motive! We have to sleep here if we're going to stay here!"

Monophanie blinked in surprise, then glanced at her brother. "She has a point."

"So does Isaac, he's supposed to use his!" Monosuke declared. "Look, we don't make the rules."

"You literally," Isaac shouted, "just got done saying five minutes ago that you made a new rule!"

"Did I? Huh, I guess I forgot that. Maybe Monotaro is haunting me to forget things. Upupupupu! So youse is sleeping here, and that's final!"

"Sorry," Monophanie whimpered, and then the two scampered off with a, "So long bear well~!"

Isaac and Hara braved into the room, and looked around. There were two cabinets against the souther wall, which Hara assumed was where their changes of clothing would be stored. When she opened one and pulled out a lacy article of lack-of-clothing, she almost fainted again.

"I… I… I…," she stammered, then noticed Isaac was looking at her. "Please oh please do not ask me to wear this."

"Hara, come on, you really think I'd do something like that?"

"No, no I know you better than that. Sorry, but after everything that happened today, I thought you'd be tempted to ask me."

Hara shut the cabinet drawer and sighed. "The women are all concerned, and there's so much fighting and distraction going on. I don't know what we're going to do about it."

"Hara, you and I are the only people who can effectively communicate with the other side. What we need to do tonight is discuss a plan, and then share it with everyone else tomorrow."

"You do remember we're talking about me, right sweetheart?" Hara muttered as she nervously played with her orange bangs. "You're asking me to lead a bunch of women who are suspicious, horny, and/or defeated already. How am I supposed to rally them?"

Isaac walked over and cupped her face, looking into her eyes. "Hara, you pulled through at the last trial, you made sure that people listened and we got out of that hell, all because of you. I have faith in you, my love, and we will get through this. Together."

They kissed, holding each other close. After this brief but sweet bit of romance, they both found themselves feeler much calmer.

"It's… kind of a shame, really," Hara whispered. "There's a couple things in here I wouldn't mind trying with you. … But not the BDSM dungeon! Nothing from there!"

"Thank God, if you admitted you wanted to try that, I would have wondered who you were," Isaac said with a laugh. "Though you know what? Let's spend this evening planning out tomorrow, and get a plan ready. We can do this, my love."

"I know. But… if I am going to sleep here, can we at least find out how to turn off those merry-go-round horses?"

"Why the hell are those even here?"

* * *

 **Day 11, 9:30 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Fiora Stenton's Room**

All of the "normal" rooms in the love hotel were slightly similar to the "luxurious" rooms in the center that Hara and Isaac had. There weren't hot tubs or BDSM dungeons in the other rooms.

The pink lights, over-the-bed chandelier, and the merry-go-round horses circulating the bed were all in the "normal" rooms, in case you were wondering why quotation marks were being used. The dark red 'n black carpet, red wallpaper and ceiling, and even the furniture that was a dark reddish black, it was all so over-the-top.

Fiora was afraid to think of what the bathroom would even look like. Still, she had had a long day, and decided to shower off. The bathroom was like another world, because while the door was black 'n red on the room's side, it was a smooth silver on the side for the bathroom.

The walls, ceiling, and counters were all this sleek silver that made Fiora think of a space station movie set. The floor was black 'n white tiled, even in the shower. Inside the shower were non-slip strips, and a plastic chair. Fiora wondered why that chair was there, then decided that was not the best train of thought.

Removing the chair and showering, Fiora changed out of her clothing and into a nightie that she found in a drawer in the bathroom. She walked out and faced the bed.

"Okay, how do I turn those off?" she asked herself as she stared at the horses.

There was a knock on the door. For a brief moment, she feared it was Yejoon. Then, realizing it couldn't be, she went over and opened it. The movie maker was rather surprised to see Anzu standing there.

"Hello, Fiora, mind if I come in?" the actress asked, twirling one of her blue bangs around in her fingers.

"Um, sure, yeah," Fiora said, trying to play it cool though for some reason her heart started to pitter-patter. When Anzu strut into her room, she asked, "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to help you, Fiora."

"Oh, um," the movie maker scratched the back of her neck, and, almost subconsciously, tried to hide her neck from Anzu's line of sight. "That's okay. I'll be alright alone, I've done well enough most of my life."

Anzu walked over to her, and took one of her hands in hers. "Fiora, I know you don't want to think about what happened, but we still are. We're worried about you, just like we were with Kimiko. You have to realize, what happened, that wasn't natural.

"I don't believe you, of all people, would have tried to kill yourself unless something affected you. I want to make sure that not only is that gone, but that you are going to be in better spirits sooner rather than later. I miss the excitable movie director that spoke about her passions, and drove Monokuma crazy with theories on Mr. Beardsley."

Fiora chuckled lightly, and stared into the girl's crimson eyes. "Um, well, I woo'dent mind the company, but…"

"Oh don't worry, I'm not here to bang you, I'm not that forward. Sex isn't something you do to forget bad things, it is used when you feel really good about someone, or you're being paid for it in front of a camera; money can feel really good."

As Anzu joked and Fiora eventually started to get into the sway of the conversation, they moved towards the bed. There was only a pause as Anzu tried to find a way to turn off "these fucking stupid horsies, why the hell do they even have these, are they in every damn room?!"

Soon the two were on the bed, and Fiora stretched out on the admittedly very comfy mattress. She let out a relieved sigh, and then she felt something rather comfy and soft on top of her as well. Anzu giggled as she pressed up against Fiora's form, and kissed her sweetly.

The kiss that turned into several made the movie maker's head swim in delight, but she still was focused enough to ask after them, "I… I thought that you…"

"I said no sex, doesn't mean I cannot spoon and hug and kiss you a great deal, sweetheart."

"Wh… why are you being so nice to me?"

Anzu brushed her blue bangs to the side as she looked into her friend's eyes. "There was a girl I know a while back, one of the most charismatic women you've ever met. She could put up an incredibly graceful appearance, her manners, her words, her actions, all of them were like an upperclass lady.

"But she was manipulative, secretive, and incredibly selfish. She would take people for everything she could get, and leave them with nothing as if that was just a normal occurrence in life. All with a charming smile on her face, as if she had to do this to prove to everyone that she was better than them.

"One day, she decided she wanted something that couldn't be won through her ways, so she used people like she always did. But this time, people died, good people who deserved a better fate. She died too, a victim of her own hubris, but she went out acting like she deserved better, and all the attention and glamor she could get.

"I… I don't want to be that type of person, I never want to be like that. And as I am comfortable with myself, and who I am, I don't mind pressing up against a woman or man, and making them feel desired, wanted, loved.

"Because guess what, Fiora? I do like you. And I'm not going to let you forget that you are worth something. So come on, for one night, you and I can be kissing friends."

Fiora swallowed nervously, as she felt her hands move to Anzu's body. "Um, would you also like to discuss what we should do tomoor'ow?"

"As long as I can hear that adorable accent of yours~"

The two snuggled up, and commenced making out. It was a warm, sweet embrace for them, something that couldn't be interrupted even by the revolving horses.

What else was happening in the other rooms, across all of the Love Hotel, was sleep for the most part. This had been an exhausting day, and the majority of them were unsure what to do the next day. They would have to plan something out, but they just wanted to sleep tonight. Some found this very hard in such gaudy rooms, especially with those damn equine circulating the damn bed!

Though sleep wasn't on the mind of everyone in the Love Hotel…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

* * *

( **Day 11 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma is wearing a cowboy's stetson, chilling in an old-time salon. There are three Monokumas wearing feminine wigs and frilly dresses, dancing to the music played by a Monokuma musician tickling the ivories of an old piano._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Sometimes in life, you gotta sit back and take in the good sights, the good sounds, the good smells. My kids are always telling me they love the smell of cut grass, like after you've run a lawnmower over it in the early afternoon."

* _Monokuma is now slamming open the salon doors with pistols in both paws, firing wildly at shots coming at him from outside the salon._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "But isn't that just barbaric? Enjoying the smell of cut grass? You mean you _like_ the smell of a living thing being sliced mercilessly? How would you like it if someone said they enjoyed the scent of decapitated people in the morning? Or the wafting aroma of the masses bisected on an early summer's day?"

* _Monokuma is standing in the middle of a field, with a gun twirling around in his paw. Around him are a lot of dead bandits, as well as the Monokuma salon dancers._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Why don't you think about the implications of your words before you say them?! You really think we're going to let those kinds of offensive statements go on in this day and age? See, this is why you gotta take some time to lean back and enjoy the good things, before you get branded as a violent lunatic.

"This is Monokuma, Killing Game Extraordinaire, signing off for the night! Please take care of yourselves, do not let my best son snipe you tomorrow! Phuhuhuhuh!"

* * *

…

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 **Day 12, 12:37 AM**

 **Spa and Beauty Parlor**

The front door to the parlor opened up, and someone stepped in. With one of their hands busy holding something that occasionally dripped, they were quick to move throughout the building without leaving too obvious of a trail. Eventually, they found their way to the hot spring room, where one of the locked doors with the male symbol over the palm reader was.

A palm was placed on the scanner, several mechanical blips and beeps taking place as it did its electronic duty. A few seconds later, there was a pleasant chime and the sound of the door unlocking. When the door was opened, what was in this secretive room was quite the sight to behold.

"My, how very interesting. It's all starting to make sense now."

* * *

 **…**

 **22 Graduates remain in Penjar.**


	26. Chapter 4-2: The Rust on Penjar

**Chapter 4-2**

 **Cold Hard Steel Daggers**

* * *

 **Day 12, 9:15 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Fiora Stenton's Room**

The Ultimate B-Movie Maker purred in her sleep, and then woke up with a bit of a jolt. She had just started to have a dream, one of which she couldn't even remember details for because it happened so fast, but it had been a scare. Like a jump-scare, but while this would unnerve some people, Fiora took inspiration from her dreams.

She felt the warm, soft embrace of another woman, and saw that Anzu was still slumbering. She appeared so innocent, despite being a woman who could be so darn naughty. Fiora reached over and caressed her cheek…

This made Anzu flinch sharply and scream, squeezing Fiora so tightly that it hurt. The movie maker wheezed and tried to speak, but Anzu was putting pressure on her lungs. "Ah… nnngh… ahhh… Anzu!"

The actress was shaking and whimpering, for several seconds she didn't respond. Then when Fiora managed to shout her name, it snapped her out of her daze. Panting and gasping, Anzu stared at Fiora with wide eyes, and then realized that she was hurting her.

"Wha… oh my God! I'm so sorry! Fiora, oh God, did I hurt you?"

"Nnnngh, n-no, I'm fine, just a tight squeeze, that's all."

Anzu and Fiora sat up, with the actress tenderly touching her friend. Fiora calmed her down, and then asked, "Didja have a nightmare?"

"Y-yeah, again," Anzu said with a shiver, but managed a brave face. "J-just the kind of dream where men are trying to grab you, you know, the horrible usual every girl gets at some point."

"Oh, I doo'nt really knoo' what I was dreaming, but I think someone was lunging at me…"

The actress stared at her, and asked, "Wait, did we have the same dream? Do… do you think we all did? Again?"

Fiora ran a hand through her hair, her ahoge bouncing from the motion. "I remember when we all had a nightmare not too long ago. With all the crazy stuff I've seen, I doo'nt doubt that whatever powers they have in Penjar is beyond that."

"Everyone having dreams of awful men trying to grab them and," Anzu stopped speaking, and shook her head. "No, no we won't let this get to us."

"Damn right! We're going to go doo'n there, and when everyone's having breakfast, we're gonna unite them! We'll get them all banded together, assembled, joined together, I will find me a damn thesaurus in this town and find moo'r words to describe-mmmmph~!"

Anzu cupped Fiora's face and kissed her. The kiss turned into more than one fast, and Anzu was quite the passionate kisser. She eventually pushed Fiora back and crash-landed on her again, smooching her more, for a steamy finisher to this sudden make-out session.

"Oh, wow," Fiora purred, face flushed with excitement. "Wh-what was that fur, eh?"

"It's a reward for coming back to your usual chatty, happy self! Now I know Fiora is raring to go, and I'm just so glad to see you! Let's get ready, I'll see you downstairs."

With a final sweet kiss, Anzu pushed up off of the bed, and started to walk to the door. "Oh, Fiora, can I use your shower before I head down? I didn't get to take one last night."

"Sure thing, Anzu!"

"Great~"

Anzu reached down to her blouse, and pulled it off. Before Fiora could comment, the girl shimmied out of her pants and underwear, pulling off her bra as the last article of clothing, and walked into the bathroom completely naked. The movie maker stared, jaw gaping, at what she had just seen.

Then the TV up on the wall buzzed to life, and she was startled by the sudden noise and chime from the screen.

* * *

( **Day 12 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Love Hotel Greeting** )

* _The three male Monokubs are standing at the front lobby desk for the men's side of the love hotel; Monokid is still wearing his military gear and carrying his sniper rifle. The screen is split by a fourth, with Monophanie alone at the women's side front lobby desk._ *

 **Monokubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~"

 **Monophanie** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~"

 **Monokid** \- "So did you all enjoy sleeping in expensive rooms for free? You all fuck enough yet? Well, I can fuck a bitch up if need be!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _She is talking at the same time as Monokid._ * "Hi, everyone, I hope you all had a pleasant evening. Isn't it wonderful to spend time in some place exciting and new?"

 **Monosuke** \- "Youse all really need to get your head in the game! We gave youse that pass on using an item from a deceased person as a temporary pass! Why don't youse all have more belongings from dead folk!?"

 **Monophanie** \- * _Again, she's talking at the same time as Monosuke_.* "Yesterday was probably a hard first step for most of you, but don't you worry! I have full faith in you all!"

 **Monokid** \- "We're not going to tolerate your laziness and unwillingness! I got this great gun in my hands, and I GOTTA KILL SOMETHING! GIMME A REASON!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _Still chatting at the same time as her brother._ * "Today you might find a way to move forward, and help out not only Penjar, but yourselves. That's so loverly!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monophanie** \- * _Not quite talking over Monodam, but still talking nonetheless._ * "Just no more murders, please! My poor stomach cannot take any more of those gruesome deaths… especially after poor Monotaro… or was he Taro at the time? Wait, he's still the same person… or bear… I'm so confused…"

 **Monokid** \- "Hey, are you dumb fucks listening to us? Answer us, you dipshits! DID I MENTION I HAVE A SNIPER RIFLE?!"

 **Monosuke** \- "Have youse forgotten? They cannot respond to youse, we're broadcasting to them."

 **Monokid** \- "I utterly refuse to take responsibility for a moment that makes me look stupid! I've got to shoot something!"

* _Monokid levels the sniper rifle to his eye, pointing it at Monodam. The green Kub sprints away fast, legs a blur, as the blue Kub fires. The explosion of the rifle nullifies the sound for a few moments, and it can be heard throughout the hotel._ *

 **Monokid** \- "BLAST IT! Get back here, I'm finally going to prove you ain't got brains to shoot out, Monodam!"

* _He chases after Monodam, and another sniper rifle shot can be heard echoing throughout the hotel._ *

 **Monosuke** \- "Someone should really stop him before he actually hurts something…"

 **Monophanie** \- * _panicking with what looks like sweat coming from her forehead_ * "Are those sniper rifle shots? Is Monokid shooting at someone?!"

 **Monosuke & Monophanie** \- "… So long, bear well~"

* * *

Fiora stared at the screen after it went off, and then hurried over to the chest of drawers with clothing provided to her. She quickly changed into some new articles, placed her fedora on her head, and hurried out. If the Kubs were getting restless, she knew what she had to do next.

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:00 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Cafeteria, Females' Side**

By the top of the hour, almost all of the members on the female side were in the cafeteria, eating. Pyrrha had worked hard to make some breakfast, and had some help from Aka and Eisei. While having the dentist on their side was still a little unusual, his mannerisms and appearance made it easy for everyone.

Soon, all of them were enjoying waffles, pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Ten of them were in the cafe as soon as the eating started, then Fiora walked in with a heavy slump in her step. She sat down at a table, where Anzu offered her a plate full of food, and the movie maker flopped down on the table in a tragic mope.

Hara, the last member to arrive, came in and examined the ladies (and Eisei) carefully. Not many of them were talking, but there was quite a bit more calm compared to yesterday. Saiko waved at her and gave her a plate of food, commenting on how good it was.

The explorer stared at the food, then took in a deep breath. She stood up, picking up her glass of milk and a fork, and clinked them together. "Everyone? Could I have everyone's attention please?"

The women (and Eisei) all turned to face her. Kimiko raised an eyebrow and asked, "Doo'nt you usually do that when you're gonna propose a toast?"

"Um, I don't have a toast, but I do have a plan," Hara explained. "Listen, please, everyone, this is extremely important. Isaac and I spent a lot of time trying to organize something to work with our current situation, and we really, really need to you to hear us out. Or, just, me, I guess."

Hara shivered as she felt all the eyes on her, and she realized just how much she _hated_ public speaking. She tried to control her breathing, and clenched her hands in an effort to get ahold of herself.

"Is Isaac going to be talking to the men?" Hikari questioned.

"Y-yes, he is."

"Oh, that's right, you two got to stay together for the night," Futaba remarked. "Must have been nice, being able to stay there."

"N-not really."

"What was it like?" Aka asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "What were the honeymoon suites, or whatever they were called, what were they like?"

Hara blushed as she recalled the room, and found herself wringing her hands. "I… I'd really rather not think about that room."

"Aw come on, some of us are never gonna see one of those rooms," the skier pleaded, grinning impishly. "Just what were they like? What could the Kubs possibly consider a marriage suite to look like?"

"Aka," Saiko snarled, pounding her fist on her table as she glared daggers at the skier, "shut the hell up, and let her talk."

The skier stared back in surprise at first, then glared just as fiercely. "You going to tell me what to do some more? Is that what this is? Just another way to order us around?"

"Wait, Aka," Hikari pleaded, putting her hand on the skier's shoulder, "just let it go, please?"

"I'm supposed to just trust everyone here blindly?" Aka snapped, her glare going between Saiko and Hara. "I cannot even hear what some stupid room looked like? Why do I have to take everything on faith from possible traitors?"

"Oh, is that how it is?" Saiko shouted, standing up with her hands on her hips. "We cannot be trusted unless we do what you say? Well then, we-"

"It was a horribly kinky and disturbing room with the most gaudy and over-the-top sex machines one side," Hara blurted out, covering her eyes as she spoke, "and there's a hot tub with a slide going into it! The bed is gigantic with a couple of merry-go-round horses going around it nonstop, and there's a big chandelier over the bed! It's all overly sexual and awful and I have to wear these clothes two days in a row because the only other clothing in that room for me has less fabric than the 'How to Wash' tags!"

The women (and Eisei) were all silent at this rather sudden outburst. They all stared, then Anzu let out a small giggle. "The hot tub sounds nice. It has a slide?"

"I want a hot tub with a slide in my room," Kimiko whined, grinning playfully at Hara.

"The hot tub part does sounds rather neat," Aka admitted, rubbing her chin as she stared down at the ground. "Okay, fine. Sorry. Hara, what's your plan?"

The explorer stopped covering her face, and took a deep breath. She glanced at Saiko, who was leering at Aka, before she gave her friend an encouraging nod. "Okay," Hara said, "here's the plan: we're going to ask all of you who is willing to help us with the marriage motive, not just for a possible marriage but also to stabilize the first registrations so that we can have an idea who can go first out of our volunteers."

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:10 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Cafeteria, Males' Side**

"Now I know some of you may be leery," Isaac said to the gathered men in the cafeteria, "of trusting my fiancé and I a bit blindly, but we believe this may work out for everyone. Even if we are down a man or two, even if you think agreeing to trying out this marriage motive makes us look bad.

"Just remember that that is what Monokuma, the Mastermind, the Kubs, all those plotting against us, are planning on us to do. They want us to be too scared to act, too afraid of being labeled as perverts and cads; however, we're adults, we're capable of rational planning. No one is going to be forced to do this."

He took a moment to collect himself, before he noticed a certain cartoonist was nervously raising his hand. "Yes, what is it, Drake?"

"Yejoon's not here, should we try to get him involved?"

Isaac sighed as he crossed his arms. "I'm afraid that relying on him to work along with our plans would be too great of a risk. Even if I don't wish to discard all assets, he is far too much of a… free spirit to work alongside us. Yejoon refuses to work with us until absolute necessity."

"He hasn't even shown up for breakfast yet," Ishiku grumbled. "Not that we really want him around, but it does get unnerving not knowing where he is."

Isaac cleared his throat, and continued with what he was saying. "Okay, everyone, this is the plan. We are going to pick two people to enter the chapel area, to hopefully flush out any issues that could pop up out of the starting gate."

"Wait, what?" Yitro interrupted. "This is supposed to be about trust, but we're going to behave like we don't trust each other?"

"It's a necessity, and also we want to make sure the Monokubs don't try anything funny with this, should a couple go through with the marriage as they requested. I know it sounds bad, but we want to ensure that this plays out how we want it to.

"Hara is going to instruct two of the women who cannot comply with a relationship like this to go first, and we're going to send two guys as well. The timing is important, because if we see someone has entered and registered, we'll know due to one of our two men, or one of their two women, entering without being married at some point.

"My fiancé is going to ask Hikari and Aka to go first, as they are both lesbians and won't agree. I was going to ask one of you who cannot comply to the full deal of the marriage to go first, and then Blake to go second."

The pyro stared at the reporter, a shadow of shock passing across his face for the briefest of moments. "Really now?"

"Blake, when Aka started a fight, you started insulting women in general, in front of all of them. Do you think they'd forget that?"

Blake seethed, crossing his arms as he rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything at first, then he let out a loud scoff. "Fine, whatever, I already knew I wasn't Mr. Popular, mate. Glad to know I was first on your mind when it came to deplorable to everyone."

"Are you seriously going to act offended over this?" Ken snapped, glaring at the pyro. "We all know what you've done, and you have the gall to act like it should be forgiven and forgotten?"

"Hey, I was the one who almost got his brains blown out, I haven't threatened anyone here! Haven't I always been helpful when it comes to…"

Blake stopped talking, and a look crossed his face. Whatever went through his mind sucked the wind right out of his sails, because the fire in his tone and eyes was snuffed out immediately. He muttered, "Wh-whatever, just, Isaac, go on. Who's next?"

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:12 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Cafeteria, Females' Side**

"Aka going first will let us known if the chapel registry, for lack of a better term," Hara explained, "is evened out. She and whoever the men pick will head over to the chapel at 11 AM, and report back to us as soon as possible."

"So we're all going to stay in the love hotel?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Yes, we wanted to focus on getting this issue settled, not break off into little groups. At 11:30 AM, Hikari will be going to the chapel, as will Blake from the guys' side."

"What the hell," Aka remarked with the most disgusted look on her face, "you want her to marry that jackass?!"

"It doesn't actually mean anything, Aka," Hara said. "It's important we do this, and we cannot risk sending someone who could possibly marry, or whatever this union is; sorry, I keep using marriage as if it could really happen…"

"Why can't Eisei be the one to marry Blake?" the skier complained, glancing over at the dentist. "He's as likely as her to do the sex part of that marriage."

Eisei opened his mouth to speak, but then Saiko stuck a lollipop in his mouth to prevent him from embarrassing himself. The dentist stared questioningly at the forensic investigator, but she merely shrugged, and spoke her mind.

"Hikari is just doing this to assure balance, and she's not even complaining, Aka. Quit being difficult."

The skier glared daggers at the investigator, which were swiftly returned. Hara whimpered as she saw another possible argument breaking out, and she quickly declared, "Aka, we don't want to marry Eisei in case Monokid changes his mind about him and sends him over to the men's side."

The women (and bachelor Eisei) stared at Hara, slightly confusing about this. "You really think he'll do that?" Crystal asked. "I mean, none of us can guess what that damn Kub is going to do, but still…"

"We want to hold off on Eisei, just in case Monokid does see the truth," Hara explained. "Yes, it's unlikely with that maniacal, little bear, but there's always a chance."

Aka threw her hands up in the air in frustration, and then crossed them over her chest. "Okay, fine, whatever, marry the sexist jackass. But wait, what if when I go there, and I'm not married?"

Hara opened her mouth to speak, before a muffled, exasperated voice came from one of the tables. "You won't, eh."

The group turned to see Fiora, still with her face slumped on the table and her arms crossed over her head as if to hide herself. "I can assure you, the marriage registry has bin evened 'oot."

"Wait a minute, sweetheart," Anzu said, rubbing the movie maker's back, "why are you so sure?"

"I knoo', 'cuz I joo'st got married."

There was silence from the group, and then several of them shouted, "WHAT!?" in unison. Hara, trying to keep her panic down, cried out, "You went to the chapel? When?"

"Joo'st befur breakfast, eh," the still quite muffled and infuriated movie maker answered. "I was so inspired by Fiora encouraging me to do my best, I decided I should do the right thing and sign myself up for this motive."

"Wait, this is a good thing, right?" Kimiko asked, undaunted by the awkward silence that was threatening to suffocate Fiora with unspoken shame. "If Fiora married befur breakfast, that means the registry is even, and we doo'nt need to send in the two false entries."

"We don't know if the men know this too, however," Hara explained. "Though we should still do the false entries, according to plan."

"Fiora, can't you restrain yourself," Futaba asked, raising one of her eyebrows, "for one day? Why do you have to be so impulsive?"

"Do you just," Saiko grumbled, "just habitually ruin other peoples' plans? Is that your goal in life, B-Movie Maker?"

"Hey, stop making fun of her!" Anzu defensively cried out, wrapping her arm around Fiora's shoulders.

Hara took several deep breaths as she tried to keep calm at this unwanted twist. "Wait, real quick, Fiora, who did you marry?"

"Unnnnnnnnnghghghgh…"

* * *

 _Fiora walked down the unnaturally long hallway, humming to herself as she tried to calm her nerves. "It's alright, Fiora, you got this! You can do this! Joo'st go into the chapel, and marry whoever is there! And then… oh boy."_

 _She stepped up to the dividing line, the one in front of the list of instructions on the marriage rules. The movie maker nervously swallowed, and then stepped over the line._

 _Immediately there was a burst of confetti from the ceiling, making her yelp as she had it shower down in front of her. Staring incredulously at it, she was startled again when Monophanie fell from the ceiling, and threw her paws up in celebration upon landing._

 _"_ _Congratulations, newlyweds," she declared, "you have found a partner for yourself, and it is amazingly well-timed! That really helps us out, because you're both already here!"_

 _"_ _Huh? What?" Fiora asked._

 _"_ _Well, you see, it's a little hard for me to keep track of you all, and Monosuke is in charge of the guys' side," Monophanie explained. "That made me afraid of lack of communication, especially since I cannot always be here to marry off the newlyweds."_

 _"_ _Wait, weren't you joo'st in the ceiling?" Fiora asked, staring up at the air duct that Monophanie had fallen from._

 _"_ _Oh… no, I was hiding from Monokid, ever since he started shooting up the hotel."_

 _Fiora then noticed it was in fact dust that had fallen down from the ceiling, and not confetti. The loud bang must have been when Monophanie applied pressure to the grate and snapped it open. The movie maker sighed, and said, "Okay, good to knoo' that this was made simpler for me, so you're saying that my husband, so to speak, is nearby?"_

 _"_ _He's at the chapel, waiting for his new wife," Monophanie said cheerfully. "Monosuke is with him! Come on, come on!"_

 _Monophanie lifted up her paw, which Fiora couldn't help but smile as she accepted it. Walking her down the hallway that now felt like an aisle, the movie maker couldn't help but feel quite excited now. Ridiculousness did not dampen her mood._

 _"_ _Here you are," Monophanie declared as they rounded the corner, seeing for the first time the terrible looking altar with the rows of plastic chairs in front of it. One of the chairs had been turned around, and one of the men was sitting it in. He was writing something in a notebook, but looked up when Fiora walked in…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _"_ _AAAAAAAAAAAYIEEEEE!"_

 _"_ _Oh come now, little flower, aren't we past that by now?"_

* * *

"You married him?!" Futaba declared, trying so hard not to laugh. "You married your stalker?"

"Shoot oop," Fiora tried to say as she smushed her face harder against the table, in an effort to melt into it and become one with an object that doesn't feel embarrassment.

"If you're all done making her feel awful," Anzu said with an angry stare around the room, "we should be grateful for the fact that Hara's plan will go by just fine. Come on now, let's listen to her, and we can finally have a solid plan!"

The group in the cafeteria murmured agreement, though Anzu overheard Crystal say as well, "And we're listening to the porn star for reasonable advice, this is truly a strange world."

The actress giggled and placed her chin on the backs of her fingers in a dainty pose. "Ain't it a bitch when things flip on you like that?"

Hara gathered her courage to get her public speaking skills in order. "Al-alright, I'm sorry we got distracted. So Aka is going at 11 AM, Hikari at 11:30. After each of you come back, discussing possible pairings with your male, um, partner, so to speak, we'll plan out who goes over there… um, uh… to do it more seriously?"

"Oh my, are you shipping us now?" Pyrrha asked, giggling. "That's my job!"

Hara chuckled nervously, and said, "I… I know it's kind of silly, but we thought of some good ideas, though we wanted to make sure whoever goes is going to be fine. Remember, you have all the right in the world to say 'no' to the… the… consummation…"

" **RUN WHILE YOU CAN, HUMAN~!** "

Monophanie burst into the cafeteria from the door furthest down the hallway, and sprinted towards the group. She hurried over to Hara, shrieking, "Hara! Hara Hara Hara! Thank bearness I found you! I gotta get you out of here!"

"M-Monophanie?" Hara sputtered. "What are you doing here?"

"You have to leave now!"

"Hey, no way," Saiko shouted. "You're just trying to break up this plan she's lain out for us!"

Several of the women stood up, glaring at the pink Kub. Monophanie scanned the room, whimpered in a high-pitched voice, and declared, "N-no, you don't understand! Monokid is hunting for you!"

"He's what now?" Hara balked, covering her mouth in shock as her jaw dropped.

"Daddy was joking about him mistaking people for the wrong gender again, and he said something like, " **What if that couple that's already engaged are pretending to be a different gender? Wouldn't that be crazy?** " and then Monokid declared he was going to start shooting at one of you as a test!"

Hara froze up in shock. "H-how does shooting at me prove I am my gender?!"

"I don't really know, he said something along the lines of, "Real men don't fucking care if there's bullets coming at them, because they're manly men and bullets don't scare them," and I was saying how that makes no sense, but I'm afraid that means he's going to shoot at you without considering aim-"

There was a sniper rifle shot somewhere throughout the hotel. Everyone flinched, and Monophanie shrieked. "I gotta get you out of here, I cannot let you get hurt; you're my OTP here! Come with me!"

Monophanie reached up and grabbed Hara's hand, leading her out through the other door of the cafeteria. The explorer followed after, the sniper shot having unnerved her enough to listen to the pink Kub.

The women (and Eisei) were all deathly quiet after Hara and Monophanie left the room. They were all exchanging glances, wondering what to do now that the one with the plan was gone.

"Shouldn't one of us go after her?" Crystal suggested. "Find out the plan, you know?"

As the shock of what happened started to die down amongst the others, Eisei spoke up as well. "The best course of action would be for, at the least, Hikari and Aka to stay near the hotel due their roles. Those of us who won't be going to the chapel to get married should try and find Hara and Monophanie, and get the rest of the plan ASAP-"

" **RUN WHILE YOU CAN, HUMAN~!** "

The group was once again startled when Monokid barged in through the far door where Monophanie had entered. The doors swung wide and banged against the walls, and the sniper Kub marched in and surveyed the area.

"Alright, where's the pretender?!" he demanded to know. "Where's whats-her-name? And don't try to pass off as her, I know what she looks like, I just don't care to learn fucking names all that much!"

Those in the cafeteria stared in silence, wondering what was the best course of action to take with a crazy bear like this. Aka braved the first words, "She went out the way you just came in."

"What? But I just fucking came in that way."

"You didn't see her? Bummer, you just missed her."

"I knew she was sneaky! And you all let her slip through my bear paws! You women all work together, don't you? I knew this would be the case! Alright, I gotta hunt this imposter down and make sure she's who she says she is!"

"Hara is a woman, you dolt," Saiko shouted. "How can you forget that?"

"I bearly remember what she looks like, let alone her name!"

"… Wait, what? You just said you remember what she looks like-"

"Stop arguing with me, I'm full of determination and piss, and I'm all out of piss because this takes the piss!"

The doors swung open, and Monokuma, wearing a military helmet on his head, marched in. He surveyed the area, and shouted, " **Atten'SHUN! Monokid! What's your latest report?!** "

"Girls being girly girls, I can't do anything with 'em, Dad."

" **Now now, don't get mad, get imposing! Show them your determination and piss, as it were! Get grizzly!** "

The blue Kub snapped his claws together, and shouted, "You know what, when you're fucking right, you're fucking right! I'mma gonna make a new rule, to stop the females from working against me again!"

Monokid reached behind himself, and pulled a cigar from seemingly nowhere. He stuck it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter he also procured from Lord knows whatever hammerspace these Kubs have on their metal beings. Puffing on the cigar, he spoke with it clenched in his teeth.

"From now on, all of you are limited to groups of three! If I see more than three of you nearby each other, I'mma gonna start giving you warning shots!"

"You cannot be serious!" Futaba said, clenching her fists. Around her, the women (and Eisei) were quite agitated as well. "You are going to limit our movement now?"

"Did I stutter, bitch?" Monokid shouted. He slapped his sniper rifle into both paws, and added, "And I see a lot of you in one place, at one time."

"Oh, I cannot believe you're being," Kimiko snapped, "such an irritating little-"

 **BLAM!**

The terribly deafening noise of a rifle going off inside sent shivers down the spines of even the strongest-willed people. Most of them started to sprint out of the cafeteria, wanting to get the hell away from the Kub, but also to start breaking apart from the others.

Hikari and Crystal stayed where they were. The steampunk model felt herself locking up with fear but unable to bring herself to run. The military adviser stared down Monokid, refusing to budge or be intimidated at all.

This led them to see Monokuma, with part of his head blown off, slump over "dead" from the warning shot that Monokid had given. The blue Kub exhaled, billowing cigar smoke all around him, then glanced over to his side. "Oh, sorry, Dad."

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:21 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Cafeteria, Males' Side**

"Is that fucking bear STILL shooting?" Blake shouted, unnerved by the rifle's blast echoing in his ears still. "What the absolute fuck, what are they doing over there?"

"He shot at them twice," Drake whimpered. "Oh God, I hope they're all okay! He's really not very nice, especially with a gun!"

"You have a way with understatements, my dear Drake," Souma remarked. He rubbed his forehead, and said to Isaac, "I'm sorry, the shots really distracted us, Isaac, could you go over the plan one more time?"

Before the reporter could speak, the doors on the right side of the cafeteria swung open. Monodam, running so fast that his little legs were a blur, scurried into the room.

"HELP. HELP. I-DO-NOT-WISH-TO-DIE-AT-THIS-CURRENT-POINT-IN-MY-LIFE," he announced with his usual monotone. "MONOKID-WILL-BE-COMING-FOR-ME-NEXT."

Drake sprinted over and picked him up, holding him close to the chest. When the others stared at him, he said, "I'm not going to let Monokid hurt him."

The others appeared to have something they wanted to say about that, but Shuuya cut in. "Let's not critique this while we still have to review the plan. Isaac, could you go over it again?"

"Okay, here's how we'll do it: the two false leads will go first, at 11 AM and 11:30 AM. The two false leads will discuss with those they marry on who would over there would be most comfortable marrying one of us and going that extra distance…"

The reporter cleared his throat as he tried to not blush so much as he spoke. "After that, we'll organize who can go next, and send them in every hour after 11:30 AM. We want to give everyone ample time to prepare, to discuss this with possible partners."

"So, the first person to seriously go to the chapel," Souma remarked, "will go at 12:30 PM? And from there, an hour later for each one? Why so much time?"

"Hara came up with the idea, she said that if we try to rush people to the chapel, it might make people feel like they're getting forced into the marriages," Isaac explained.

"Yeah, because women just always have to act like they're being pressured into this," Blake muttered angrily. "It's not like they don't enjoy sex, half of them are probably banging each other over there!"

"And you wonder why you're a throwaway choice," Yitro snapped. "So, Isaac, who's going to be the first throwaway? The one who's going to talk to Aka?"

Isaac looked over at Souma, who raised an eyebrow at the attention. "Oh, you wish for me to do this?" the public speaker asked. "I mean, while I do not wish to actively partake in the marriage motive, I didn't think I would be the throwaway at the very start. Because if worst came to worst…"

"You're not scared of Aka, are you, Souma?" Odelios said with a big grin on his face.

He swallowed nervously, and muttered, "No, that's not it! What I mean is, I just didn't think I would be disqualified altogether. I may sound a bit wishy-washy, but I was thinking…"

"If he doesn't want to go first," Drake spoke up, "I'll do it. It's okay, I could never take part in what they're asking for."

"What, really?" Ken asked, staring in confusion at the cartoonist. "But you and Ignatia have a relationship, do you not? Why don't you two-"

"It's not like that!" The cartoonist squeezed Monodam close to his chest, and started stammering nervously, "I… I… I… don't know how to say it… it's so embarrassing…"

"Drake, there's absolutely nothing embarrassing about this, calm down," Shuuya said, as he casually adjusted his trench coat. "If you're saving yourself for marriage, if you and Ignatia aren't at that level, if there's any other reason, you don't have to be ashamed of the fact that you two aren't prepared to have sex."

"You two do have to take it kind of slow, that's for sure," Odelios remarked. "I mean, you gotta get around the fact that she doesn't talk. Or is it she cannot talk?"

"Wait, shouldn't you stay available?" Blake questioned, staring in utter confusion at Drake. "In case she wants to hook up with you?"

Drake nervously shook some more, before Isaac put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Everyone, let's not interrogate him over this, alright? It's personal, and Drake has already volunteered. We'll send him off at 11 AM, and then we'll go with Blake at 11:30 AM."

"Are you sure he'll be okay talking to Aka?" Souma questioned. "She can be a bit abrasive."

"It's either him or Blake talks to her."

"Like fuck that'll go over well," the pyro declared. "I mean, she'll probably just go on about how all men are shit and such, and ruin everything!"

There was a grinding of a chair pushing away from a table, as Ishiku stood up. "Yeah, no thanks to you, jerk," he spat out, then he started to leave the cafeteria.

"Ishiku, where are you going?" Souma asked. "You are still needed!"

"Am I?" the magician shot back at the public speaker, glaring at everything in the room. "I'm not going to go over there, there's no woman over on that side who'd want me. I'm not trusted, I'm not wanted, so just let me go do my own thing, okay?"

He barged out of the cafeteria, leaving the men in silence. Then Blake stood up, and started to walk out.

"What are you doing, Blake?" Isaac asked, staring down the pyro.

The pyrotechnician shrugged, and said, "I have a feeling I know where he's going, and I think I want to get a drink too. Don't worry, I got my phone with me, I'll come back at 11:30."

"It would be best if you stay here," Ken said, glaring at Blake.

"It would be best if none of you tell me what the fuck to do."

With that, Blake was out of the cafeteria as well. Isaac rubbed his forehead in frustration, then said, "Souma, if he doesn't come back, do you mind being that 11:30 appointment? I don't know of anyone else here to take the part."

Souma scanned the men in the room, which included a clown and an assassin. When he looked at the former, Odelios grinned and waved at him. Shuuya merely exchanged the glance before asking, "Well? Will you?"

"I, um, sure, very well," Souma said with a shrug. "I guess, I will not be uncooperative. We're definitely going to need some order with how things are."

"Okay, now, everyone," Isaac said, addressing the room, "you don't need to name names, we're not going into locker room gossiping here; however, Drake needs to convey to the other side who is willing. After that orgy we had, I know some of you may have had something.

"Don't worry, Hikari will tell Drake who is interested in specific guys on the other side first off. Now, who is willing to put their name forward?"

The seven men in the cafeteria were silent for a few moments, then Odelios raised his hand. Isaac stared at him, and then asked bluntly, "Anyone seriously going to say anything?"

"Hey, I'm serious," the clown protested. "Though I don't know which of the two I should mention…"

"Odelios!"

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:36 AM**

 **Northern Plaza**

 **Eastern Side, Outdoors**

Pyrrha heaved in exasperation, hugging herself as she stared at the two others with her. "Anzu… Futaba… wh-what do we do?"

"I'm not sure I know, to be honest," Anzu replied, as she glanced around the open area. "I just… w-wait a minute. Look at this… the… the mists…"

The three women glanced around at the area. Sure enough, the mists were far thicker, and seemed to be growing in density. They were barely able to see the buildings, even though they didn't seem that far from them.

"Oh great, Monokuma jacked up the mist factor again," Futaba said, shaking her head. "I'm beginning to think the motive isn't the marriage, but this feeling of being separated more and more."

"I'm actually afraid," Pyrrha said, rubbing her arms, "to even think about what else could happen. I mean, this is getting unreal. It was actually looking hopeful when Hara was talking about the plan…"

The redhead then smiled a little, and said, "Isn't that just so sweet, though? Those two worked up a plan together, it's so amazing how much their love makes them so competent. Hara was even talking to us, a crowd, and she's not really the most social person to do that. How romantic!"

Anzu and Futaba stared at her, then both of them laughed in a mixture of relief and amusement. "You just went from shivering scared," Futaba said, "to gushing about romance."

"I cannot help myself! It's so sweet~"

The actress giggled as she swished her hips, then said, "Okay, girls, as cute as this is, maybe we should try to think of what to do about Hara's plan?"

Futaba corrected her glasses, and spoke as she folded her arms. "Hikari and Aka are going to be going at 11 and 11:30, so I would assume that the plan is that afterwards, the women who are serious about having sex for the marriage to be official to go first."

"Yeah, possibly going to send someone everyone half-hour," Anzu said, "if we go by how they've set up the start of the plan. Hikari and Aka will probably let us know who on the guy's side will go first, they have to be a bit organized like that…

"Yeah, Aka goes first, and then talks to whoever they send first, then Hikari comes to confirm it! They really planned it out well!"

"But who should go first?" Pyrrha asked. "I mean, knowing who is over there, I'm sure the guys know who would be a better choice than others. Yejoon is married to Fiora… oh the poor thing."

"She'll live, don't worry," Futaba said. "But I want to know, who should go first over here? I don't mind most of the men."

"I don't mind either," Pyrrha said, though she was blushing almost instantly. "I mean, I'm not… well, that is to say…"

"Girls, you have a porn star right here," Anzu said, snickering as she swished her hips more. "If there was anyone who was meant to do it with a random guy, it would be me."

"It's not a race," Futaba said with a laugh. "I mean, whoever does go first, I don't mind also doing it to ensure we can explore as much of this plaza as possible."

"Maybe you two will find someone you really connect with over this?" Pyrrha said, her eyes twinkling in excitement. "This could be such a memorable experience."

"I kind of have sex for a living," Anzu pointed out, "I don't think I'll fall head over heels for a guy after we make love."

"I'm not a romantic, I'm far more casual," Futaba remarked.

Pyrrha puffed up her face and crossed her arms. "Ruin all my fantasies, why don't you? Fine, whatever. Which of us will go first?"

"Anzu can, but I'll go after her. Also, what is very important that we get everyone on the same page," Futaba said, caressing her gloved hand. "We should split up, and let everyone them know of the times."

"I can go to the clothing shop," Anzu volunteered.

"I'll go to the spa," Futaba said.

"I'll go to…"

Pyrrha then saw someone moving through the mist. She squinted, and then her eyes lit up. "Wait, that's Ignatia! I'll go after her! Ignatia!"

The romance writer started to head towards the mime, who noticed her and then started to run. Pyrrha hesitated for a moment, then declared, "No, you're not getting out of this that easily! Get back here!"

As the romance writer and mime disappeared into the mist, Anzu and Futaba exchanged glances. "Sometimes I feel like our situation," the anthropologist said with a shake of her head, "is too weird to be believable, even when we're in it."

"Life is a very odd thing, is it not? Meet you back at the love hotel at 11, okay?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:49 AM**

 **Bowling Alley**

 **Bar**

Ishiku trudged through the bowling alley, trying to drown out the fun sounds that were coming from the lanes, the arcade machines, the music playing overhead. It would have been the perfect distraction for him normally, but he was aiming for the bar.

The bartender wasn't Monosuke, but Monokuma, wearing a tuxedo over his dumb, bear body. Ishiku groaned, and then realized another Monokuma was seated at the bar, drinking a martini.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the magician asked, gaining the attention of the two Monokumas. "Why are you serving… yourself?"

" **Hey, my children are all very busy right now, and sometimes a bear needs to earn himself a few more coins, you know?** " Monokuma the Bartender, or Beartender as Ishiku was mentally calling him now, said.

" **Yeah, and it's 10 AM somewhere,** " the Monokuma drinking said, tipping his glass towards Ishiku.

"It's 10 AM now."

" **Oh, is it?** " the drinking Monokuma asked. " **Huh. How many of these have I had?** "

Ishiku sat down at the counter, unperturbed by the bears. He knocked at the wood, saying, "Just give me a drink, will ya?"

" **Martini?** "

"With how much I'm gonna be drinking, it'll be a mar-major."

" **Upupupu! I like the way you think, magic man! Let me see what I got here…** "

Monokuma moved down underneath the counter, and clicking glass could be heard. As Ishiku waited, he heard someone walking up behind him.

"You really gonna get shit-faced again, mate? And this early?"

The magician turned to see Blake staring him down, which made Ishiku glare with contempt. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop you from doing something really fucking stupid."

"Oh, why don't you just… fuck off? I know why you're really here," Ishiku pounded his fist on the countertop, and said, "You just want to mock me."

"If I wanted to mock you, I'd come out of the gate swinging at ya. Listen, Ishiku, this isn't a road you want to go down."

"Like you care."

Blake sat down next to Ishiku, crossing his tattooed arms as he spoke. "I've been to prison, mate. I've seen how men, those way tougher than you, utterly destroy themselves like you're aiming to."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're still hung up about Fannie, aren't you? Look, we had our differences about that…"

"You repeatedly said you wanted to beat the shit out of me."

"Yeah, I kind of did. But I know what you're doing, and it's what men in prison did it all the time. A lot of guys get locked up because of a woman, or the women break up with them while they're in jail. Now, the effects don't happen at first, but you know what those dumb fuckers do?"

Blake spun on the bar stool, and leaned against the counter as he thought back to his time. "They start picking fights that they might not win, maybe even know they can't. They find the contraband, like smokes and booze, and consume them like they were candies. And those are some of the nicer things I wanna mention…

"But you know what happens most of the time? They break themselves, destroy their body and spirit utterly. Some of them end up dead, they just fucking give up."

The pyro ran a hand through his hair, and muttered, "I saw some real tough sons of bitches wreck themselves over their woes. They weren't pussies, but we all know what it was: they felt no one would ever love them again after they got their heart broken like that."

Ishiku took a deep breath, and muttered, "Yeah, so, why are you telling me all this? I would think you'd want to see me destroy myself."

"Oh, if you do, I don't really care," Blake remarked with a shrug. "Go ahead, do it, wreck yourself over a sheila like that now-a-bear. But you do realize that the rest of us are going to have to pick up the slack when you ruin yourself."

The magician stared him down, utterly puzzled. "And you care about this… why?"

"The more we stay in this town, the more we're kind of in a prison. And if it's like that, you take care of the inmates who could do you some good later. You say no one trusts you, but they worse than distrust me, they consider me disposable."

Blake rubbed his forehead, and muttered, "And when you consider the fact that your only defense is that you help them out during the trials and investigations, the same defense that a fucking serial killer has, you realize that you ain't got much of a bargaining chip.

"Maybe you and I could consider ourselves chips if we work together in the future, mate. Think about that."

The pyrotechnician pat Ishiku's shoulder, and then stood up to leave. Ishiku watched him go, confused, puzzled, all sorts of baffled.

" **Did you want extra-alcohol in your drink, buddy?** " Monokuma the Beartender asked.

"Um, hold off on the drink for a few minutes, Monokuma," Ishiku requested.

" **Alright then, buddy, just let me know when you wanna drown your sorrows.** "

" **BARKEEP!** " the Monokuma patron on the stool shouted, pushing the empty martini glass forward. " **GIMME ANOTHER MARTINI!** "

" **I think you've had enough there, buddy.** "

" **You don't tell me when I've had enough!** "

" **Of course I can tell you when you've had enough, I'm you!** "

" **No, you're not me, I'm you!** "

" **YOU'RE ME!** "

" **WELL THEN, WHO'S YOU?!** "

" **I DON'T KNOW!** " " **I DUNNO!** "

" **Actually, you know what? Let's BOTH have martinis!** "

" **Oh, that solves everything!** "

" **Upupupupu!** " " **Phuhuhuhu!** "

Ishiku laid his head on the counter, and mumbled something about just ending it there.

* * *

 **Day 12, 10:58 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Left Side Lobby**

"It's almost 11 AM," Isaac said, glancing at his cell phone. The seven men had gathered in the lobby, nearby the entrance to that single, long hallway. Drake was nervously glancing around, still clutching Monodam to his chest. "Are you ready, Drake?"

"Y-y-yeah. I mean, it's no big deal, right?"

"Right, you're just going off," Odelios cheered, "to go marry a tomboy lesbian who hates men and enjoys going down on frosty slopes and curves! Hehehe!"

"Odelios!" Souma chided him. "That's not helping!"

The clown pouted, then held up his rubber chicken. "Are you guys sure I cannot convince you to let Rubarrow be our sacrificial lamb? I've heard some women do like their rubber toys-"

"Okay, I think we've heard, clown boy," Shuuya said, turning to Odelios. "We get it, you don't want to be here, but we need your support in this endeavor. You can go talk to Ishiku after we've settled things with the women."

"I refuse to be totally compliant with your incredibly reasonable plan that is the only way we can resolve this strenuous situation peacefully! I demand the right to free speech!"

Isaac rubbed his forehead, muttering to himself, "Right, just like you saying that Pyrrha and Crystal would both be interested in you."

"Argh! Just send the kid already, or the attention's going to be all on me even more!"

"I can go now, if you all want?" Drake asked nervously.

"I-CANNOT-WAIT-TO-BE-THE-BEST-MAN," Monodam said, "AT-YOUR-WEDDING."

"N-not helping, Monodam!"

"OH-I-AM-SORRY-I-THOUGHT-THAT-HUMOR-WAS-THE-HUMAN-WAY-OF-ALLEVIATING-TENSION."

"Drake, just go, kid!" Isaac advised. "If she's not there, just wait for her."

"Okay!"

Drake hurried off down the hallway, with some of the guys shouting encouragement. It was one of the oddest moments of their lives, but they still did it for him.

"Don't worry," Ken called out, "none of this is official!"

"You're just relaying information, little buddy," Yitro encouraged him.

"We're so proud of you," Odelios cheered, "marrying a lesbian for political reasons! You've grown up so fast!"

Drake almost jogged down the hallway, trying to think of what to say. When he made it to the sign, the line that was the border to the chapel, he hesitated. Then, he took a step over it.

Walking slowly forward, he eventually found himself in the chapel room. He noticed the large golden elevator on his left, which seemed overly glamorous to him. Then he saw the altar, and also noticed who was in the seats.

"Yejoon?" he blurted out, as the serial killer was busy writing in a notebook. The artist paused and looked up, then chuckled from behind his mask.

"Ah, Mr. Flare, this is quite the surprise," he said, shaking his head incredulously. "I didn't think you would be so bold as to marry one of the ladies."

"Um, no, there's a strategy about what we're going to do. But wait, if you're here… oh no!"

"Relax, I am already married to Miss Stenton. Or maybe she is now Mrs. Stenton? Mrs. Nahm, I would imagine, heh. Maybe she could get it hyphenated, that would look fancy for a name in a movie."

Drake blinked in confusion, and then there was a popping sound from behind him. He spun around, to see Monosuke holding a popper with confetti falling from to the floor. "Congratulations," Monosuke cheered, "we got youse a bride! Youse been officially married!"

"H-huh?" Drake asked. "Already?"

"Why do youse think I'm sticking around here? I knew youse all were gonna get married sooner rather than later, youse scamps!"

Monodam crossed his arms and turned his head away from Monosuke. "YOU-SHOULD-TAKE-A-MORE-PROFESSIONAL-OUTLOOK-ON-HELPING-THEM-GET-ALONG."

"We got a wide selection of hot babes for the guys, Monodam, how's that for helping them to get along? Upupupu! Oh, here she comes now, congratulations to the both of you!"

Drake glanced up from the bickering bears, and saw someone walk around the corner. It wasn't Aka, however, it was Hikari. The steampunk model froze when she saw Drake, and then Yejoon seated at one of the chairs for the altar.

"Wh-what?" Hikari stammered. "What's going on?"

"Youse is married now," Monosuke shouted, procuring another popper and letting the confetti fly. "Yay! Yay yay yay! Our second marriage in Penjar! How wonderful!"

"What?! What… wait a minute, Drake! Yejoon! What did I-"

"I am married to Fiora already," Yejoon explained, before going back to his writing. "Since Drake was next in here, I would assume he was your husband."

Hikari blinked, then stared at Drake. She retained her composure, and then smiled pleasantly at him. "Hi, sweetheart! Sorry if I was a bit late, but I had to come here last minute!"

"W-wait," Drake stammered, as Hikari's smile was a very distracting pleasantry; she was an Ultimate model for a reason, after all. "Isaac said that Aka was supposed to come here!"

"Oh, there's a bit of a story to that," Hikari said, nervously scratching the back of her head. "Monokid kind of broke up our group, and I had to improvise when I was in the hotel… and I have no idea where Aka went."

Drake bit his bottom lip, then thought back to earlier in the hour. "Oh, was that what those sniper shots were about?"

"Yes, it was really awful, but we shouldn't waste time, sweetheart," she said, walking over to him. "You and I need to relay information, and then we can help out both sides."

"Alright," Drake said, nodding. "Why don't you go first?"

"So, um… oh shoot! I don't know where to start!" Hikari gripped the sides of her head, her fancy hat almost falling off. "Shoot shoot shoot! I… um…"

"Whoa, don't panic, Hikari. Here, sit down…"

Drake offered her one of the chairs, and sat down alongside her. He reached over and rubbed her back comfortingly, as she took deep breaths. "I'm… I'm so sorry," she apologized. "But the shooting, it really unnerved me."

"It's okay, should I go first then?"

"If you could, darling."

"Okay. First off, O…"

Drake swallowed the nervous anxiety building up in him, and tried to speak as calmly as possible. "Odelios says that he is okay with either Crystal or Pyrrha approaching him."

"What?" Hikari asked.

"What?" Yejoon remarked, pausing his writing to stare at the cartoonist.

"What?!" Monosuke balked.

"That's just the message, I don't really know myself!" Drake pleaded. "Also, Yitro said…"

The cartoonist stopped again, and his eyes went to Yejoon. The artist had stopped his writing again, and was watching them now. The coldest chill ran up Drake's spine, and he tried to stammer out, "I… I don't remember what Yitro said."

"Darling, we should probably focus on what you do remember," Hikari said, placing her hand on his. "Come on, you can do this. You're a very capable young man, you've proved it again and again. So just talk to me."

"O-okay, you're right! What I do remember, is that Ken said-"

There was a sharp whine from the feedback of an overhead speaker. When those in the chapel glanced up, they could see that there was indeed a speaker on the ceiling, meant for music, but now part of an announcement.

" _Attention, fuckers who are in our chapel,_ " Monokid's voice came raging out as a violent attack. " _I see there are FIVE of you in there! That is one more than three! How fucking dare you!_ "

"Wh-what?" Drake blurted out. "What's he talking about?"

"Monokid said the women were only supposed to be in groups of three from now on," Hikari quickly explained, "but that's the women! There's two guys and two bears, and one woman!"

" _I'll remind you all that I said groups of three only! I am ashamed of you, breaking the rules so early! How do I know that the one in the mask ain't a woman in disguise, or that fucker who looks like Monodam? That could totally be a female pretending to be someone I want to shoot to avoid being shot!_ "

"I think," Monosuke said, rubbing his chin, "my brother has lost it."

" _Okay, I'm not going to get the sniper rifle for this case, but I will flood the chapel room with tear gas in ten seconds if you don't get the HELL OUT OF THERE!_ " Monokid hollered. " _ALL OF YOU! EXCEPT MONOSUKE, YOU STAY THERE!_ "

"T-t-tear gas?" Hikari's pretty face went deathly pale, and she leapt to her feet. "No! No not that! You wouldn't-"

" _TEN! NINE! EIGHT!_ "

Hikari sprinted out of the chapel, so fast that she was gone before Drake could call out to her. He was so confused, he didn't realize he was moving until Yejoon had pulled on his arm and led him back towards the men's side.

Drake and Yejoon sprinted all the way down the hallway, where the men were standing around. They all were highly confused to see Drake back so soon, and even more startled to see Yejoon with him.

"What the hell?" Shuuya remarked. "Where have you been, Yejoon?"

"Drake, what are you doing back so soon?" Isaac asked. "You couldn't have talked to Aka for that long!"

"I… we… she…" Drake stammered.

There was a horrible shriek from down the hallway, loud enough to be heard even by them. They all flinched, and Ken started to move down the hallway. He called out, "Hello? Who was that? What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on!"

Ken backed up into the main lobby, with Monokid marching forward with his sniper rifle pointed up towards the ceiling. "There's gonna be new rules from here on, to ensure that those scheming females don't ruin everything for us manly men!"

"You're a bear," Odelios remarked.

"Same thing! Now… wait a minute!"

Monokid surveyed the lobby, counting all of the men there. "What is this, a sausage party? Eight guys in one room? We can't fucking have this, it looks TOO manly! And how do I know you aren't womens in disguise?!"

"Because we aren't women?" Souma tried out an answer.

"I don't know that, now do I? Okay, we need to do the same thing we're doing with those deceitful, dirty womenfolk! Groups of three, only! And get out of the hotel!"

"Wait, what?" Isaac declared. "But we need to go in the hotel to get to the chapel!"

"You can do that once you've all spent a little time outside of the love hotel like a bunch of weird dudes! Now, OUT OUT OUT!"

 **BLAM!**

Monokid blowing a hole in the ceiling made the guys beat a hasty retreat. None of them were going to argue with a bear mad with power. As they moved out of the hotel in a rush, they almost knocked down Blake, who was now returning to the group.

The pyro watched them all leave the hotel, and start to break apart into groups, moving further and further apart from each other. Some of them were already hidden in the mists, having spread apart enough to ensure Monokid wouldn't shoot at them.

Blake shook his head, and then turned to see Monokid standing at the doorway. "Um, anything I should know about?" he asked.

"Groups of three only, or I start shooting at you possible women in disguise."

"Okay… can I wait in the hotel, I have a thing I need to do."

"Sure, that's fine. One dude in the love hotel's not weird, it's just hopeful."

* * *

 **Day 12, 11:09 AM**

 **Stables**

Pyrrha sprinted through the misty outsides of the tables, chasing after Ignatia. The mime was swift, but the romance writer was definitely just as athletic. Eventually, Ignatia stopped as she had to catch her breath, and Pyrrha caught up to her.

The romance writer crossed her arms, as she saw the mime lean up against the wall to gasp for air. The two were next to the locked door of the stables, the palm reader for a male hand scan next to Ignatia as she tried to catch her breath.

"Okay, if you'd stop running now," Pyrrha spoke, tapping her fingers impatiently on her arm, "we can have a civilized talk."

Ignatia stared strangely at her, to which the redhead responded, "You know what I mean, darn it. You can use your phone to communicate just fine.

"Now, I want to know why you're hurting Drake."

The mime glared at the romance writer, as she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Quickly typing, she then handed the phone over to Pyrrha.

[It's none of your damn business.]

"It is my business when you're hurting someone in our group. Ignatia, Drake has been nothing but sweet and supportive of you. He thinks of you as a good person, and he defends you when no one else has. Why were you so cold to him before we wound up in this plaza?"

Ignatia leaned against the wall, staring off to the side. She appeared deep in thought, though Pyrrha wondered if she was avoiding her question. Finally, letting out a long, frustrated sigh, the mime typed on her phone again.

[You wouldn't understand. You just write romance stories, how's that make you an expert?]

"Honey, I've been involved in a lot of real-life romances. I wouldn't write romance when I have no experience."

[Romance novels are all just about written sex scenes.]

Pyrrha stared at the text, then panned up to the mime. "Oh really now, I'm not that kind of romance writer. I avoid sex until it is right of the relationship. You want to know why?"

Ignatia shrugged, and Pyrrha smiled as she leaned against one of the posts. "There's a very easy policy for how you avoid having all kinds of sex scenes in your story: you don't write when you're wanting it. If a romance writer writes when she's, um, in the mood, then the characters jump into bed when it's too soon.

"So I'm going to tell you now, I'm not telling you to go have sex with Drake. I'm pretty sure that cinnamon roll wouldn't be quick to dive into that anyway; however, I'm asking you why you turned away from him."

Ignatia shook her head, glancing away from Pyrrha again. The two ladies were quiet for a few moments, then they heard footsteps behind Pyrrha. They looked to see Aka approaching behind the redhead.

"Oh! Hello to you two," the skier said, rubbing her hair underneath her goggles. "Sorry, am I interrupting something? I heard sex being mentioned… ehehe, guess I have a radar for that."

"Aka sweetie, we're trying to have a serious conversation here," Pyrrha chided her.

"Okay, well, um, don't mind me then. But I don't want to go out there, the mists are getting really thick, and I don't know where that fucking bear with the gun is…"

Ignatia thumped her fist against the wall, next to the locked door. She typed on her phone, and handed it to Pyrrha. [Look, I don't expect you to understand, but I was ashamed of myself.]

"Ashamed?" Pyrrha read the text. "What about?"

[I should have said something when Emanuel asked me to help with the note. I should have spoken up, but… I didn't. I let my pride get the best of me.]

"Ignatia, we all have made mistakes during trials. A lot of us are having a hard time comprehending some of the choices we made, but you're not helping yourself, or Drake, by pushing everyone away."

[No, you don't understand. I'm expendable, that's been made clear since Angel's case. If I let myself get close to Drake, it puts him in danger. I even tried to leave Penjar, to make sure he wasn't endangered.]

"Wait, you did? When was this?"

[After you all got drugged with the horny chemicals. Drake was so sweet to me, but I realized then that he would put himself in danger for me, some dumb girl who doesn't deserve that kind of loyalty.]

"Ignatia, slow down a minute. If you tried to leave, what stopped you?"

[Monodam. When he was human, he found me before I made it out of this damn town. He persuaded me to stay, for Drake's sake. He told me that Drake wouldn't leave Penjar even if I would, and that would put his life at serious risk.]

Pyrrha stared at the text in confusion, and then back to Ignatia. "Did he explain how that was?"

[If you haven't noticed, I have a hard time communicating with people. It's even harder with people who used to be robotic bears. I cannot get a straight answer out of him.]

"Well, I'll try talking to Monodam for you, when we next can. Ignatia, if you're going to stay, you need to work with us."

[No, it's not just about Drake. I don't deserve anyone's trust. You don't know anything about me. I'm sorry, I don't deserve trust after the things I've done.]

Pyrrha sighed heavily after reading this, and moved up to Ignatia. She hugged the mime gal, good and tight, for a few moments. "All of us have had to do some bad things in our past," she whispered to the pale lady, "but if you blame yourself for it forever, you can never be a better person. Ignatia, I know it's difficult, but you need to put your better foot forward, and trust some of us.

"But you also have to trust yourself. You hear me?"

Ignatia, who had been shocked to receive a hug like this, eventually nodded. When Pyrrha released her from that hug, the mime looked a little forlorn that it was over. She smiled appreciatively at the romance writer, then glanced over at Aka.

The skier was staring down at the floor near the two girls, when she noticed both of them were looking at her. "Hmm? Sorry, was I supposed to say something?"

"No, it's okay, Aka. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I'm not good at mushy stuff like, well, feelings and shit. I'm kind of a fast girl, you know?"

"Oh, Aka, there's a time for everyone."

The skier scoffed, and said, "Wish I had your optimism, Red. Well, we shouldn't hang around abandoned stables, why don't we all go to the spa or something?"

Pyrrha tilted her head to the side. "What could we do there?"

"Something that's not possible here, which is anything, really," Aka said with a grin. "Come on, why not?"

"Okay, but maybe you could tell us what you and Drake talked about first?"

"… What?"

"You did go to the chapel, right?" Pyrrha asked, frowning in concern. "It is past eleven o'clock, Aka."

The skier pulled her cell phone from her pocket, and stared at the time: 11:28 AM. "SHIT!"

"You didn't go to the-"

Aka sprinted out of the stables, hurrying as fast as she could to the love hotel. She didn't hear or notice anything going on around her, she just kept thinking about how disappointed Hikari was going to be that she didn't do this correctly.

The skier burst into the love hotel, heading directly for that stupid hallway. She missed Crystal calling out to her, and made it all the way to the line that was the border to the chapel room.

"Congratulations! Youse is-AWK!"

Aka tripped over Monosuke, falling head over heels in a somersaulting fall that resulted in her rolling a few times before tumbling in a heap on her chest. She groaned in pain, then muttered, "Ugh… wha… w-wipeout, damn."

"Youse are in one big damn hurry ta get married, aren't youse?" Monosuke said, wobbling on his feet as he moved over to her. "Well, either way, congrats! Youse is married now!"

"Ugh," Aka struggled to say, and muttered, "really, I am? Good thing the kid waited for me."

"Youse can find your new husband in the chapel room, upupupu!"

The skier rubbed her forehead as she wandered forward, grasping the very peculiar situation. She then turned to see the chapel, the seats in front of it, and who was there in the chapel room…

"YOU?!" she shrieked, completely aghast.

Blake leapt to his feet, staring incredulously at her. "You?!"

"YOU!"

"YOU!"

"Youse is youse, yessir," Monosuke added.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Aka shouted. "Drake was supposed to be here, not this fucking misogynist pig!"

"Hey, you dumb cunt, if you're here instead of Hikari, that means you fucked up," Blake retaliated, glaring at her. "I came here at the time they asked me to, so what's your deal?"

"My deal is with you, you jackass!"

"Where's your damn lesbo girlfriend, I was supposed to meet her instead!"

"FUCK OFF!"

"YOU FUCK OFF!"

"NO, YOU FUCK OFF!"

Monosuke sniffed, and wiped his eyes with a tissue. "Already behaving like a married couple! I'm so proud of youse two! Boohoohoo!"

There was much more swearing and cursing, and then Aka stomped off with Blake hurling more insults at her. She fumed throughout the hallway, until she almost ran into Crystal, with how much her fury was distracting her.

"Aka, what happened?" Crystal asked, trying to hold her back.

"What happened? You tell me what fucking happened, blondie," Aka shouted. "I was supposed to meet someone else, and I ended up meeting that gigantic dickhead!"

"You weren't here," the military adviser declared, crossing her arms. "Hikari had to go in your place, because we didn't know what else to do."

"Where is she, anyway? Why isn't she here?"

Crystal sighed heavily, and muttered, "Monokid threatened to use tear gas in the chapel if the people in it didn't disperse. There must be something in her past that triggered something, because she ran upstairs and hasn't come down."

Aka felt her outrage flow out from her as if someone opened up a drain. "Wh-what? Poor Hikari. Oh God, what do I do?"

"If you could go back and find out what is happening over there-"

The fury flooded back into the skier, and she gnashed her teeth. "I am NOT," she barked, "going back in that room with that awful, evil, misogynist prick!"

"Aka…"

"No, you don't understand, he can't help us! He WON'T help us! He'll just stand there making lesbian slurs about me, about Hikari, and-"

"Will you calm down!"

Crystal stomped her foot, her eyes blazing as she stared down Aka. "This plan is about our survival, about the truth, about what all of us want and need. It is far bigger than your hatred for one man…

"So you go back there, and you find out what the hell is going on, or I swear to God, I will…"

She grabbed the lapels of Aka's sports suit, and yanked her close. Hushed whispers were said directly into Aka's ear, and the skier's eyes widened. She shook her head in disbelief, as she muttered, "Holy shit, girl, are you really military, or are you a monster?"

"Aka. Go."

The skier moved back down the hallway. A few minutes later, she came back with a noticeable slump in her step. "He's gone," she said. "Please don't punish me, I swear to God he left."

Crystal face-palmed, groaning out obscenities underneath her breath. She took several deep breaths, and said, "Okay, we need someone for the noon meeting, someone willing to go down there and do this right. If we screw this up, we might not get anyone properly married."

"This is the most fucked up motive ever, isn't it?"

"Aka, I really don't need lip from you. I either need you to go out there and find out who wants to volunteer, or go upstairs and talk to Hikari."

The skier flinched when she considered the steampunk model. "Um, that may not be a good idea, me talking to Hikari. I screwed up really badly, I admit, but I don't want to admit it to her yet…"

"Oh for the love of God," Crystal shouted in utter exasperation. "Fine! Just wait here, or go talk to the other girls, just do _something_ to make yourself more useful! I'll go and talk to your girlfriend, since apparently, you don't want to approach her if you aren't going to get sex out of it! And that's just more important than everything else, now isn't it?"

Crystal stormed off, gripping her head as she continued to mumble more curses under her breath. Aka nervously scratched her arm, and muttered, "That actually kind of hurt, girl…"

"Aka?"

The skier turned to see Pyrrha and Ignatia enter the love hotel. The romance writer walked over to her, and asked, "Are you alright? You kind of look off, honey."

"I… I messed up big time, girls. Sorry, I'm not the best bitch to stick around."

"It's no good standing around moping," Pyrrha said with a cheery smile. "You and Ignatia should go out there and talk to the other ladies, I'll stay here for you."

"Um, why?"

"Because Anzu and Futaba are already trying to track down the women to see who will go when, and we need to make sure everyone knows about the plan's details. And we can't all three of us go, or there will be four women in one place if we approach anyone."

"Maybe you two should go instead of me."

"Didn't I just say you shouldn't stick around moping? Go!"

Pyrrha gave Aka a friendly shove towards Ignatia, the mime's face paint and get-up triggering the skier's coulrophobia. Aka started to shake and muttered, "Um, uh, I-"

Ignatia grabbed Aka and pulled her back outside of the hotel. The skier whined and whimpered the whole way, as Pyrrha waved them good-bye.

* * *

 **Day 12, 11:36 AM**

 **Bowling Alley**

 **Bar**

Odelios was seated next to Ishiku, watching his magician friend contemplate a very strong martini that Monokuma the Beartender had made him. The clown was silent, which was rather amazing considering his normal nature, as he leaned against the counter.

"So we have no idea," Ishiku said, "what's going on over there?"

"Drake said that he spoke to Hikari, not Aka, which makes me think that maybe Blake is going to run into our cold slopes expert. That's going to be about as pretty and volatile as a toilet backing up during a chili cook-off."

"Ew, but accurate," Ishiku sighed as he lifted the martini up and sipped it slightly. He shuddered a little, then put it back it back down. "It seems like we're limited to three people in groups, so communication is going to be scarce. What are we even supposed to do in this plaza if we are this divided?"

"That deserves a thoughtful answer. I ain't got a durn thought in mah puzzler to dick around with possibilities, so why don't we just work on you for now, my friend?"

Ishiku sipped the martini again, and then set it down more purposefully. "You know what? You're right. You're not the first person to come around here and give me a lecture, maybe it's time I stop feeling sorry for myself."

The magician stood up, and then smiled at the clown. "At the very least, I'm going to approach the other guys, and let them know something: I'm going to go over there next."

"Whoa, really? I wanted to do that, but if you're feeling bold enough?"

"Yeah, and you know what? For better or for worse, I think this'll play out. I want to help, I want to show everyone that I am not a hindrance or a threat to this group!"

Ishiku flipped a chocolate coin in his hand, and grabbed it mid-flight. "I'm going to get some answers out of this town, and the only way to do that is to progress on the investigation, not trying to drink myself to death!"

Odelios sniffled, then rushed over to hug Ishiku. "I'm so proud of you! You go over there and get married, and I'll be your best man fo' sho'!"

"Sounds like a plan! I should go now, 12:30 may come sooner rather than later!"

The magician left the bowling alley, with Odelios and the Monokumas saluting him with pride as he left. The clown heard him say, "Excuse me, Blake," and then the pyro stormed inside.

Blake marched over to the bar, sat down in front of it, and barked, "Give me the fucking strongest shit you got, ya damn bear, because I'm so pissed I cannot see straight."

"I'm afraid to ask," Odelios remarked, "but did you meet up with Aka?"

"Shut up, clown!"

Blake noticed the martini on the bar, and grabbed it. "Whoever this belonged to, it's mine now."

Odelios watched the pyro down the martini in one go, raising an eyebrow at this startling amount of sudden alcohol consumption. "Fitting we're at a bowling alley if we've got a turkey who really did strike out."

* * *

 **Day 12, 11:47 AM**

 **Hall of Fame**

 **Survivor Side**

Ishiku finished speaking with Isaac and Souma, and then made his way out of the building. The two men exchanged glances after he had left, and Souma was the first to speak.

"Do we really want to let him go next?" the public speaker inquired. "I mean, his reputation has been pretty low since he worked in secrecy with Shinobu."

"I don't really mind, I don't know who else to send," Isaac said. "This whole set-up is ridiculous, anyway. It's something we can only hope that things go well over."

"I keep getting images of a blood-splattered bondage room, or maybe that was the unfortunate dream we all had last night," Souma said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stared at some of the portraits.

Isaac and Souma were quiet for a few moments, before the reporter couldn't help his questioning. "You know a lot of them by now, don't you? A lot of Hope's Peak Academy survivors joined the Future Foundation."

"Heh, it's quite the collection of characters. Mr. Naegi is a very capable young man, despite everything about him looking like an ordinary, unassuming young man. He must have an extraordinary family."

Souma sighed a little, and glanced at the next portrait, which was of Aoi Asahina. "His wife is so very charming… or at least, I think Mrs. Asahina is his wife, he's involved with another woman too."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, but before he could make another motion, the public speaker held up a hand. "No, don't quote me on that. I'm human resources, not gossip resources."

The reporter grinned impishly, and said, "Forgive me, but I really do like to get all the answers. I've only been able to talk to some of them, they don't normally talk to the press except for their statements about restoration and hope. Don't get me wrong, you all are doing a great job, but I sometimes want to know more."

"Ah yes, the reporter who wants the big scoop. Well then, Mr. Bellamy, are you going to interrogate me some? Want to know my dating life?"

"I'll be asking the questions here," Isaac said with a laugh. "Actually, you know what, I have a bargain for you: if I ask you something, you can ask me something. And we won't be invasive unless one of us starts to get that way."

Souma rubbed his chin, then chuckled. "I agree, under the arrangement that I go first."

"Hit me then, Mr. Koukai."

"Is it true you've applied to be part of the Future Foundation? I heard rumors."

"No, I haven't applied. Though I may have mentioned to some I would like to join, but I'd like to finish some things up first, like marrying Hara."

Isaac chuckled, and tapped his pen against the portrait of Kyoko Kirigiri. "She actually asked me if I wanted to, very perceptive. So I haven't officially applied. Now, my turn…"

"I'm curious where this'll go, Mr. Bellamy."

"What is your response when people ask if your company is trying to make mummies?"

Souma burst out laughing, slapping his knee. "Oh, it's been so very long since I heard that one! I had honestly forgotten about that stupid joke, where did you hear it?"

"A certain pink-haired girl who happened to be in Byakuya Togami's office when I was interviewing him. She said you were 'gonna make pyramids in Japan' and she couldn't wait."

Shaking his head as he chuckled, Souma remarked, "It's so crazy to hear my Japanese-Egyptian heritage brought up in such a way. But no, Koukai Enterprises isn't going to be bringing mummies or pyramids or sphinxes, or anything like that, to Japan anytime soon."

As Souma spoke, the southern door to the hallway opened. Yejoon walked in, holding his notebook in one hand and his walking stick in the other. He regarded the two men, who went silent when he entered, and then observed the Hope's Peak survivors.

"How very unusual," he said, before opening up his notebook.

"What is unusual, may I inquire?" Souma braved to ask.

"With how much the bears and masterminds of these games try to guilt their victims into thinking the deaths of those executed are their fault…"

Yejoon reached forward and swiped the touchscreen, getting to the blank list of Victims that Aoi Asahina had. "You'd think they would have put all those that have been voted guilty in a Killing Game under the Victim list."

"That," Isaac admitted, "is a little unusual."

"Yejoon, would you kindly," Souma said as he crossed his arms, glaring at the artist, "not linger around Mrs. Asahina's profile. I do not care for you being there."

Yejoon glanced over at Souma, and chuckled; the sound echoed menacingly from behind his mask. "So very protective. Very well then, I shall get out of your hair in just a minute. There's a few more notes I must make."

"What are you doing, anyway?" Isaac asked him.

"Sorry, Mr. Bellamy, but that's private."

* * *

 **Day 12, 11:57 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Side Elevator #2**

Crystal glanced at her cell phone for the hundredth time, wiping at her brow. She strained to keep her calm, so tempted to just turn on her favorite app game and be done with this nonsense. Then the elevator dinged, and she stepped out into the hallway.

Pyrrha was seated in a chair next to the lobby, reading a book. She didn't appear very amused, despite how very randy the scantily clad couple on the cover was.

"Oh come on," she remarked in disgust, "who uses 'boobs' in the narration? Did some horny teenager write this?"

"Pyrrha!"

The redheaded writer _flung_ the book across the room, as she stood up and turned towards the military adviser at a speed that would make a ninja jealous.

"Iwasn'treadingsomethingtrashyIswear!"

"Pyrrha, I don't care about anything except our goal. It's only a couple minutes to noon, and we know absolutely nothing about the plan! What are you doing here, anyway? Where's Aka?"

Pyrrha nervously stared at the intimidating woman interrogating her. She swallowed, and spoke, "I was set to go at noon. Aka left with Ignatia to tell the others about who could go next."

Crystal seethed, gripping her head as she let out a frustrated howl. "I asked Aka to do one bloody thing, and she goes off to do her other thing, again! And she's hitting on Ignatia now? What the hell!"

"N-no, she's not-"

"And why are you reading out here? Wait, where'd you even get that book?"

"W-what book? I wasn't reading any-"

Pyrrha flinched as Crystal took a step forward, as sweat ran down from her forehead and her face turned as bright red as her hair. "There's… there's a lot of romance books in the gift shop, you know, the one next to this lobby. I j-just thought since I would be having sex with whoever I married, I could get in the mood."

"Pyrrha, this isn't a romance novel, we're not getting romantic; this has to be done, so don't romanticize it!"

"Hey, I'm taking it seriously, isn't that what you want?" the romance writer protested. "So I should go now, right?"

"I don't think you'd be really good for this first serious exchange," Crystal protested, crossing her arms as she stared down the writer. "You're trying to make it a romantic setting, and the dirty book you're reading to psych yourself up is clearly something that makes you feel ashamed."

"Hey, you know, maybe I am better for this job," Pyrrha said, huffing as she stepped forward. "Because I know I'm bisexual, but you clearly are struggling with it."

"What? What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Crystal, we were intimate together, when we were with Odelios that very odd but passionate night. I know it was your first time with a woman, but you haven't let it go, and you've been struggling with that curiosity ever since, especially with a certain anthropologist."

Now it was Crystal's turn to blush and stammer. "Wh-what? What on Earth gave you _that_ idea?"

"You and Futaba had all the signs of two people who had made out when we were trying to make dinner last night," Pyrrha said with a sly smile. "I just didn't say anything then because I knew it had to have been awkward."

"So what are you saying now? That I can't have sex with a man because I'm too interested in women now?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"I am so able to do this, I was planning on doing it since I couldn't rely on anyone else! With Hikari locked up in her room and Aka being so damn useless, I felt it was up to me to do this more than anyone else!

"So you know what, Pyrrha? I want you," she pointed to the front door as she spoke, glaring at the writer commandingly, "to go out there and get ready for whoever is going after me! Because we're going to solve the mysteries to this damn town, and we're not going to wait for people to get over insecurities!"

With that, she turned on her heel and marched towards the hallway. Pyrrha watched her go, and then she smiled happily. "That worked better than I thought~"

Crystal hiked down the hallway, feeling her heart pick up in pace the closer she got to the dividing line. When she saw it, she took a deep breath as she double-checked the time, and stepped over it.

Much to her surprise, Monosuke came sprinting down the hallway. The orange Kub threw a couple handfuls of confetti and declared, "Ain't this a glorious day, another marriage! I'm so happy for youse!"

"Yes yes, thank you, Monosuke. So the guy is already at the chapel?"

"No, youse is the only one here right now."

"What?!"

Crystal sprinted past the orange Kub, and into the chapel area. She scanned the area, peering into the chapel itself, and searching the area. When she moved towards the golden elevator, she turned towards the Kub who had waddled back into this center room.

"Did the man already go up the elevator?" she asked.

"Men aren't that impatient, youse know," Monosuke remarked. "No one's gone up that elevator yet today."

"What? Then who did I marry?!"

"I don't know, youse think I keep track of these things?"

"But if you are saying I'm married, then you must know!"

"I'm just the chapel minister today, I know when people get married, but I don't know whose youse husband is."

"DAMN YOU, HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW!"

Crystal grabbed Monosuke and lifted him up, shaking him back and forth. "You told Aka that she was married to Blake, and they fought over it!"

"Awk! Ay-yi-yi-yi!"

"Who came here after he did? I know you didn't forget who we are! What's gotten into you dumb Kubs anyway?! Why are you so forgetful!?"

"Youse wanna stop shaking me before the Guardian comes down here and shoots your ass, toots?!"

"I'm interrogating you, not attacking you!"

"Well, just stop doing that, because I don't know who youse married!"

Crystal, panting in frustration, set Monosuke down on the floor. The bear Kub dusted himself off, then spoke. "Listen, youse don't understand this, but I'm only sent a message to my brain that someone got married. I'm determined to marry you all, that's why I'm staying in here today."

"So wait, who knows out of you Kubs? How can Monokid know who got married if he's forgetting who is who too?"

"Don't worry youse pretty head over it, toots, he'll know that for sure once one of you couples go up that elevator. But we are having a hard time remembering names and faces, Monokid most of all."

"You put him in charge of sniping people who break the rules!"

"Youse know, that may not have been a good decision to begin with, ya. So… youse want to know anything else?"

Crystal balled up her hands into fists, and spat out, "No. If whoever I'm married to isn't here, then the guy just came and left. One of them did that, or…"

The military advisor's eyes went wide, and she muttered, "Oh no, what if we got something wrong in the rotation? Shoot! I need to tell the others!"

She ran off, ignoring Monosuke's question of a registry, and back down the hallway. The lobby was empty, and she blinked in surprise at the lack of a certain redhead.

"Pyrrha? Where are you?"

Crystal checked the gift shop, but she wasn't there either. The blond lady sprinted outside, and scanned the area, but the fog was rather thick and she couldn't see anything, much less anyone.

" _Okay, if she left already to round up the others, where would she go first?_ " Crystal asked herself. She tapped her forehead, and chuckled bitterly. " _Everyone's lost but me… hmm, may as well go to the spa first, that's where a lot of them could be. It's the only place here that is worth hanging out at._ "

She moved towards the spa as fast as possible, secretly hoping that she wasn't on a wild goose chase… or that the women of her group were engaged in something else there since they couldn't return to the love hotel. Crystal tried very hard to remain on the subject as she finally arrived at the spa.

The first room she moved into for her search was the hair salon. No one was in there, and she noted the broken box with the scattered combs and brushes on the floor. That wasn't so interesting, as someone else that caught her eye was.

The door with the male symbol upon the hand reader, the one that was supposed to be locked, was slightly ajar. Crystal stared in shock at it, and then moved towards it slowly. She pushed the door open, and was met with a dark room.

Searching for a light switch, she didn't find on the wall next to the door. So she pushed the door out of her way and moved in, groping in the dark for a light switch. The door swung back and closed, leaving her in darkness.

"Oh, come on," Crystal muttered in frustration, pulling her phone out and turning the flashlight function on. Still unable to find a light switch, she moved to the door to open it back up.

It didn't open. Crystal struggled at the door even more, but it did not budge. She frantically searched around the door, and saw the palm reading device with the male symbol next to the door, the opposite side that she had been searching.

"… Oh fuck," she swore, as she realized just how terrible her predicament was.

* * *

 **Day 12, 12:13 PM**

 **Baseball Field**

Shuuya leaned up against the shack that had the gender-specific palm reader door. He had his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and appeared to be deep in thought.

He spoke as he heard approaching footsteps, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to be alone right now."

"As much as I'd like to respect those wishes," Yitro said as he walked over to the bounty hunter, with Ken by his side, "I think we need to talk about the schedule."

"As well as some other serious subjects," Ken spoke.

Shuuya opened his red eyes and stared at the two men with swords. "I am not aware of anything in particular we need to discuss. Are we not going by the schedule we discussed at breakfast?"

"Ishiku wishes to go next, and nothing we could say," Ken explained, "could convince him otherwise."

Shuuya raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. "Let him then. We can work with the change in rotation, it's not like we're going to run out of options."

"Can we trust him?"

"Can we trust you?" Shuuya remarked, now staring down the cavalryman. "You and Hikari went behind our backs when you asked a question from Monokuma, and Ishiku worked with Fiora and Shinobu behind her backs. If we're going to doubt one, we'll have to doubt the other, and that other is you."

Ken huffed and crossed his arms. "Everything I did was for my fallen country. You wouldn't understand, Japan has pulled itself back up, despite it being Zero Ground for the explosion of Despair."

"It's the other way around with that saying," Yitro corrected him. "Look, I don't distrust you, nor Ishiku. If Fiora is married to Yejoon, and that makes me outraged to think of, then there's no one else I've spent time with amongst the women.

"I'm actually just wondering right now if you two are going to be okay with this. I mean, no offense, but I don't really see either of you okay with the circumstances of this motive."

Ken and Shuuya stared at the swordsman for a moment, before the cavalryman spoke. "We both enjoyed the company of a woman during that unusual day."

"What? Wait," Yitro stared at him, "how do you know that? Only Ishiku and Shinobu's partners were revealed, and I told you all who I was with. So why do you know he…"

Yitro stopped for a second, then stared at the two. For the first time since his arrival in Penjar, Shuuya appeared slightly mortified.

"So we were both with the same woman," the bounty hunter blurted out. "It's no big deal."

"Nothing is wrong with a threesome involving two straight men," Ken protested. "Do you have judgement you wish to rain down on us, Yitro?"

"No! Just… didn't really picture you two teaming up for something like that."

"Neither did I," Shuuya remarked, trying to go back to his calm visage. "Either way, it proves that women enjoy sex as much as men. We mustn't assume that we're the only ones interested in this deal."

Yitro blinked as he studied both guys, then shrugged. "Alright alright, if we're not going to talk about this in more detail-"

"We're not," Shuuya cut him off.

"Oh, were you interested in the positions we took with Futaba?" Ken asked, smiling with pride. "I have to tell you, she was quite the flexible lady."

"KEN!"

Shuuya was waving his arms, staring wide-eyed as his trench coat fluttered from all of the movement. "Not necessary! No need to go into detail! Stop, desist, halt!"

"… I'm confused," Ken admitted, "but maybe this is more of the cultural difference between Novoselic and Japan. You seem rather perturbed about this, Shuuya."

"Because I don't think this is appropriate conversation during our very serious time here in Penjar, and we need to do this in a more professional manner-"

"Is it perchance," Ken continued to speak, grinning, "that you rather liked such a wild occasion, and you wish to do it again despite it not fitting your cool, brooding image?"

Shuuya's eye twitched, and he stormed off, muttering, "This is why I do not engage in bro chat!"

The two men with swords watched him go, then Yitro peered at him. "Any reason why he is uncharacteristically flustered over this?"

"I suppose he is considering another chance with Futaba," Ken said. "He was, as you said, uncharacteristically enjoying himself very much that night."

Before Yitro could ask for details, Odelios came bounding over to them. "Hey guys," the clown declared, "I got a plan, but I wanted to ask you two about it."

* * *

 **Day 12, 12:21 PM**

 **Clothing Store**

Kimiko hummed as she pulled a leather jacket from one of the racks. She spun it around, and said, "Not bad, eh. I rather like how slimming it looks. What do you think, Fiora?"

"Eh?" Fiora asked as she turned towards the biker gal. She was holding a dress that was white and slinky in front of herself. For a wild moment, Kimiko thought that she was looking at a wedding dress. "Oh, that's nice, but I doo'nt do leather real well."

"Heh, well, maybe I'll try this one 'oot tomor'roow."

"Yeah, or maybe you coo'd try it on fur that date in the hotel, eh."

"You think you knoo' what drives the men wild, do you, eh?"

"I may have some idea a'boot the subject…"

Fiora and Kimiko stared each other down, both pursing their lips, and then raised their hands. Pointing at the other, they said in unison, "Eh!"

Both girls burst out laughing, slapping each other on the back. "It's like our accents amplify when with another Canadian," Kimiko declared.

"That's so funny!" Fiora said, giggling. "But I gotta say, it's so amazing, hearing someone Japanese talking in such a thick accent, eh!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot, actually. Truth is, my father was Japanese and had a ton of pride for this country. Mother joo'st stole his heart when he was on a business trip, and they settled doo'n in Canada; Dad never let the Land of the Rising Sun go, and there was a lot of Japanese in 'oor hoo'se.

"I kind of got bullied a bit in school for being the odd Japanese gal, and even in a few fights; won those fights, hoo'ever," she said with a proud grin. "But you knoo', you're equally an odd case as me, girl."

"Hmm? What do you mean, eh?"

"Oh, I'm soo'ry, you are black, aren't you?"

"Well, yes and no," Fiora said. "I mean, my mother is… was black."

The movie maker crossed her arms, and sighed heavily as she stared off in the distance. The memories of her shouting at Blake over Fiora's parents' death came to Kimiko's head, and the biker gang leader flinched. "Oh… oh God, I'm so soo'ry!"

"No no, it's fine, you didn't mean to bring it up, eh. But I can still talk a'boot them, so yeah, Mom was black, Dad was a mix of white and hispanic. In fact, a lot of Dad's heritage is so mixed race that he is probably the reason I got my freckles and straight hair."

Fiora giggled as she ran a hand through her black 'n white hair. "Mom's history was nothing but black, so it was an unusual couple to a lot of their friends and family; however, it worked, eh. Still, part of me doesn't like to say I'm black because I don't want to ignore my father's side of me, but it kind of comes to that, you knoo'?"

The movie maker shrugged, and said, "It's no big deal, I'm cool with whatever at this point in my life. Heh, it's kind of funny, I haven't really talked a'boot this with anyone, since…"

Now she froze up, and appeared for more perturbed. Kimiko swallowed as she realized what this meant. "Yejoon?"

"Yeah, with him, he asked me all a'boot my parents," Fiora said, crossing his arms. "I'm actually kind of worried he might kill Blake with all the boys stuck over in that sausage fest."

"You're worried a'boot him?"

With a heavy sigh, Fiora braved to look Kimiko in her eyes. "You want to know what he told me when I found 'oot we were married?"

* * *

 _"_ _AAAAAAAAAAAYIEEEEE!"_

 _"_ _Oh come now, little flower, aren't we past that by now?"_

 _"_ _Y-you cannot be here," Fiora shouted incredulously. "I cannot marry you! You're my freaky stalker! You're a serial killer! I doo'nt even want to knoo' what your libido is like!"_

 _Yejoon snapped his notebook shut and stood up, chuckling. "I'm sorry, my little flower, but I didn't plan this. I honestly didn't think that someone would come here so early."_

 _"_ _And yet you're waiting here in the chapel! Why don't you be honest, you prick! You thought I'd do this, and that's why you're here!"_

 _Yejoon lifted up his mask so they could talk face to face. "Your impulsiveness can be a touch predictable, as endearing as it is."_

 _"_ _GAH!" Fiora screamed, stomping around the room. "This is awful. This is so stupid! I have to admit to everyone that I married you!"_

 _Monosuke, watching this tiff, laughed from the back. "These impulsive eloping couples, it always comes crashing down so hard on youse."_

 _"_ _Oh shut up, youse stupid bear," Fiora snapped. She turned back to Yejoon, crossing her arms, and adding, "So then, are we done here? Because you knoo' I am NOT going up that elevator with you."_

 _"_ _I didn't think you would, my little flower. If you must go, go right ahead. I just hope to see you after this conflict is finished."_

 _Fiora started to walk back to her side of the hotel, when she stopped at the edge of the room. She placed her hand on the wall, and held herself in place as her other hand gently traced the slight marks on her neck._

 _"_ _The others told me," she said, her voice soft, "that you cut me doo'n from the ceiling when I tried to hang myself."_

 _"_ _I did," he responded. Yejoon had put his mask back on, and was writing again. "However, I was not the one who saved your life, Eisei revived you."_

 _"_ _You technically did save my life, so," she turned back to face him, and said with a great deal of effort but also sincerity, "th-thank you. For saving my life."_

 _Yejoon paused his writing, glancing up at her. "You're welcome," he said, before going back to his writing._

 _"_ _Yejoon, please tell me, why are you so focused on me?"_

 _The artist paused again, and for the first time since she had met him, there was a pause in his voice. "I… may have lied about something, my dear little flower."_

 _"_ _Wh-what?"_

 _"_ _I am a fan of your work."_

 _Yejoon chuckled lightly, and said, "I happened upon one of your movies one day, how I did doesn't really matter. What mattered to me was that I saw your creativity, your passion, and it intrigued me; especially when I discovered they were made by a Hope's Peak graduate as well._

 _"_ _Your movie,_ _Undead Flying Objects_ _, where there was an alien invasion during a zombie apocalypse," he said, folding his hands over the notebook, "had so many hidden details that I was captivated. Like how the alien language was actually code for the English alphabet, something that was never pointed out, just a little detail of effort by the movie maker."_

 _Fiora covered her mouth, and muttered, "I joo'st did that because I wanted to make it look like a real language, eh. I didn't think anyone woo'd ever bother translating it."_

 _"_ _Ah, but I did notice, my little flower. This was a secret enjoyment of mine, one I had to hide from my sister. She hated it when my attention was focused on anyone else other than her attempts at work. I'll still never forget how much unnecessary bloodshed there was at that one rave…"_

 _Fiora clapped her hands over her ears, and shouted, "No no no, la la la LA, I cannot hear you, I cannot see you! LA LA LA LA!"_

 _Yejoon watched her sprint down the hallway, singing the whole way._

* * *

"Every time I think he might be a normal person deep doo'n," Fiora spat out, "he joo'st has to remind me that he's killed a whole lot of people! I mean, God damn, does he expect me to accept that part of him?"

"Joo'st stay calm, and remember that he won't be able to bother you after we're done with Penjar," Kimiko remarked. "I mean, between Shuuya, Yitro, Ken, and myself, he's not going to get away from this too'n after all this is over."

"Oh," Fiora replied, nervously clenching her fists and glancing to the side. Kimiko noticed this, and came upon a realization.

"You doo'nt want us to kill him?"

"Maybe I doo'nt want any of you to kill fur me, or joo'st to kill in general. I think he needs to be arrested, if we coo'd even catch him."

"You're too nice, Fiora," Kimiko said, slugging her fellow Canadian's shoulder. "But then a'geen, you are Canadian."

"Oh, shut up, you probably drive a zamboni when you're not on a bike, you're so Canadian!"

"You hoser!"

"You chucklehead!"

"Sexy scivey!"

"Cute keener!"

Both burst out laughing again, which was when Pyrrha walked up to them. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the two ladies laughing and hugging.

"Good to know someone's in a happy mood today," the writer said. "I just came by to try and plan out the rest of the schedule. Already am done talking to most of them…"

"Well, I'm not sure I want to go," Kimiko admitted. "I mean, I'm good with shagging a guy, but I doo'nt knoo' if I'm ready fur that, eh."

"I understand, we can try to plan you last if need be, eh," Pyrrha said, then shook her head as she realized what had slipped out at the end. "Anyway, you needn't worry about that now, because I already talked to who is going next…"

* * *

 **Day 12, 12:31 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Hallway, Western Side**

"Congratulations," Monosuke shouted, as he threw confetti right into Ishiku's face. "Youse finally got over my sister, thank goodness!"

Ishiku spat the shredded paper from his mouth, and glared down at the bear. "Could you please just leave that alone? I don't want you rubbing it in my face anymore."

"Upupupu, youse thinking I'll let it go? Maybe your new wife will be the one to help youse forget my sister's warm, comforting, human bosom! Gwahahaha!"

"Ugh, youse is such a mook, youse orange, outrageous oaf! Now let's backpedal on your stupidity, and clarify something much more important: youse saying I gots married?"

"I'm saying that, youse putz! Now if I were a few feet taller, I'd challenge youse to fisticuffs, and… hey get back here! I'm not done threatening youse yet!"

Ishiku walked towards the chapel, and turned into the simple yet slightly intimidating room. He was just as surprised as everyone else who had entered here how it looked, but the real shock was when he saw who was seated in one of the chairs.

"Oh, hello," Anzu said with a pleasant smile. "I'm actually quite happy to see you, Ishiku."

"What? R-really?" Ishiku stammered, rather surprised that she was smiling.

"Yes, I was afraid you were letting the others get to you, thinking that you betrayed us. You didn't, you were helping Shinobu do the right thing."

She stood up and walked over to him. There was still that sensual swish of her hips, but much more purpose than seduction in her movement. "And you've always been a good person, from what I've seen, even if you're a little silly and wild, but who isn't?"

Anzu giggled, then reached over and touched his chest. "Now, I don't know if you're interested in little ol' me, since I'm sure some guys don't like a girl who's been around the block more than a few times. So if you're not comfortable-"

The actress was surprised when Ishiku wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in close. Their lips met, and a rather passionate kiss followed. She felt a little breathless, though a small part of her felt a tinge of guilt for some reason.

When Ishiku pulled back from the kiss, he caressed her pale face, and said, "You know, ever since we've been in this stinking town, you've showcased more maturity and intelligence than I've seen in a lot of people. You had the guts to stand up against Emanuel, you're good to people, and you're really cute too."

Anzu giggled and snuggled up against him, popping her foot. "I can be fucking adorable, yes~"

"Wow, this is actually getting sickening," Monosuke muttered, shaking his head as he watched the two. "Youse really get over past lovers fast, don't you two?"

The two bristled slightly at this, and Ishiku let out a sad sigh. Anzu took a turn in caressing his face tenderly, and whispered, "Listen, don't let him get to you. What you had with Fannie, I am sure it was special, but you cannot let that ruin you. You have friends who care about you, so don't let those who accuse you of being a pervert drag you down.

"This motive, it's trying to play up the idea that men are sex-fueled cads and women are stuffy nags who don't enjoy sex. They timed it perfectly, but you know what? I enjoy sex, and I am not afraid to admit it."

She took one of her fingers, and traced his jawline, then booped his nose. "And I'm glad I got someone sweet and cute like you. Just no magic tricks in the bed, okay~? Well, maybe one, I'd love to see what you can do to surprise me!"

They both giggled, and then kissed again. Moving towards the golden elevator, they pushed the button as Monosuke walked in with them. The orange Kub didn't seem all that thrilled to be in the same lift as a now passionately making out couple.

* * *

 **Day 12, 12:39 PM**

 **Northern Plaza**

 **Eastern Side, Outdoors**

Futaba glanced between Ignatia and Aka, before correcting her glasses and speaking some more. "So do we have an understanding?"

"I fail to see why either of us are really necessary for this conversation," Aka commented, shaking her head. "I already got married to the total and utter bastard, and Ignatia here ain't going to go over."

"She told you as much?" Futaba asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Tell you the truth, I wasn't really keen on hanging out with a mime, but I like this chick," the skier said, slapping Ignatia on the back. The mime didn't react, except to shrug. "She's like a total badass and some of the shit she can do is freaking awesome! Ooo, do the feral squirrel bit again, I loved that."

"That really isn't necessary," the anthropologist said as the mime knelt down. "We are trying to work on a problem here, and also, we haven't seen… oh my."

Futaba paused her speech as Ignatia mimicked something attacking at her neck. She began to twist and turn aggressively, grabbing and swatting at her body with such passion, Futaba found herself looking for the rabid squirrel that was supposedly climbing all over her.

"That's actually very impressive," Futaba admitted as she watched Ignatia start to walk backwards, trying to avoid this feral squirrel that was quite intimidating despite not being real.

As the mime stumbled backwards, she bumped into someone. Turning around, she glared at the person at first, until she saw who it was.

"Ahh," Aka screamed, hiding behind Futaba, "the clown!"

Odelios waved at the three of them. The grin on his face was very big, and he was standing in a way that showcased a feminine side. "How do you do, fellow women?" he said in a high-pitched voice. "I got lost, and I'm back here, on my rightful side!"

A frustrated growl came from his side, and Monokid, still holding the sniper rifle, trudged up behind him. "This better be the truth, Satsuki, or I'mma gonna be real pissed off! And impressed, but also pissed off!"

Futaba, Aka, and Ignatia stared at the clown, trying hard to comprehend what was going on. "Okay," Aka started to say slowly, "why are you here?"

"Because I'm supposed to be," Odelios squeaked, his "female" voice not at all convincing but he was trying. "I am a female woman with girly parts and such!"

He slapped a hand on his chest, and the girls noticed there were large, round bulges at his chest, inside his clown outfit. They wobbled a great deal, and he immediately took his hand off of them.

"Sorry I got mixed up," Monokid muttered, "but this is apparently Satsuki Iranami, the Ultimate Clown. She got lost on the men's side, and I'm returning her to her rightful side."

The women stared at "Satsuki" and at Monokid, wondering what to do about this interesting scenario. "Um, okay," Futaba said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Monokid, how'd you misplace… her… to begin with?"

"I don't know, I don't remember your names or such, but look at those gazoomazooms," Monokid shouted, pointing his sniper rifle up at Odelios's large chest. "That's obviously something a woman has! That's the one thing I do know, if they look like a woman, they're definitely a woman!"

He poked the clown's left breast, and there was a sudden popping noise. Odelios was down to one breast, and he crossed his arms in a desperate attempt to hide this. Ignatia slapped her hand against her mouth in shock.

"… Alright then," Aka said. "I suppose we had forgotten about her, thanks for bringing her back."

"Yes, it's nice to see you again," Futaba tried to maintain a straight face, "and we really need to hear all that you know, Odelios. I mean, Satsuki!"

"WHAT! ODELIOS! That's a male clown's name!"

Monokid stomped his foot as he glared up at Odelios. "You lied to me! You aren't a woman! You're going right back, you sneaky clown you!"

The blue Kub leaped up and grabbed the back of Odelios's clown top's collar. Dragging the one-breasted clown away, Odelios folded his arms under his remaining balloon tit, and shouted to the women as he was carried back.

"Thanks a lot, Futaba, that almost worked! Oh, and about the chapel plan, let Pyrrha know she can go next, because-"

The sound-dampening mists cut him off there, completely enveloped in them and out of sight. The three women all exchanged glances, baffled by what just transpired.

"How did he manage to even fool Monokid in the first place?" Aka remarked. "I mean, did all it take was a pair of balloons in his top to convince that damn bear he was female?"

"Apparently," Futaba remarked, scratching the back of her head. "I kind of blew it there, didn't I?"

Ignatia and Aka nodded in unison, and the anthropologist glared at them. "No need to agree so quickly, he would have eventually found out. Anyway, we can at least let Pyrrha know that she should step up next for the altar."

"We really going to send that sweet girl to marry the clown?" Aka asked, shaking her head. "You really think that's a good idea?"

"Pyrrha is bisexual, so maybe she'll be happy with Satsuki instead," Futaba remarked.

Ignatia responded by putting two fingers in a V-shape in front of her mouth and licking her tongue in-between, making both of the usually shameless ladies blush in embarrassment. Then she leaned forward, mimicking a rubber clown nose on her own nose, and pushing against that V again.

* * *

 **Day 12, 12:49 PM**

 **Northern Plaza**

 **Outside of the Bowling Alley**

Drake sat on the front steps of the bowling alley, still holding Monodam in his arms. The cartoonist had decided that being available to talk to people walking by the building would be the best course of action except for wandering around.

Yejoon walked up towards the bowling alley, holding the notebook in her hand as he surveyed the building. Noticing the cartoonist, he said, "Hello there, Drake."

Drake squeaked in fear as he clutched Monodam to his chest. "Errr, h-h-hi, Yejoon."

"No need to fear me, Drake, I have no intention of killing you."

"Th-that doesn't really make me feel better!"

"Drake, you little cinnamon roll, if I wanted to kill you, don't you think you would be dead by now."

"YOU-JUST-TRY-IT," Monodam declared. "I-WILL-FIGHT-YOU."

Yejoon pulled his mask to get a good look at the defiant Kub. "My my, look who's turned against the norm. Monodam is willing to go against the rules and defend you against any possible threats, Drake?"

"I… I didn't know he felt like that."

"WELL-I-WOULD-PROBABLY-LOSE," Monodam said, "BUT-I-WOULD-WITNESS-IT-SINCE-I-AM-CURRENTLY-BEING-GUARDED-BY-HIM."

Yejoon chuckled, then he overheard a dragging noise. Monokid was walking towards them through the mists, and had Odelios in tow. The blue Kub dropped the clown on the ground in front of them, glared once at Monodam, and then wandered off.

"It didn't work," Odelios pouted from the floor. "It did not work."

"Did you manage to get any information to them?" Drake asked.

"Just that Pyrrha can go next, I'll be waiting for her."

"What?" Yejoon said, staring incredulously at the clown.

"What?" Drake stammered, gawking at the carnival entertainer.

"WHAT." Monodam's dubious assertion came along with the others as he peered downwards at the acrobatic prop master.

"I should probably freshen up for my date with her, if she accepts it! Maybe I could do with a little liquid courage? Or retouch my make-up? Guys, does this outfit make me look fat?"

He stood up and posed, trying all the different angles one would to see if they had mysteriously gained weight in the time it takes to try out clothing. The three stared at him incredulously, until a sharp shout came from the mists.

"HEY! Four guys together at once!" Monokid's voice boomed from the dead grassy field. "You all got ten seconds to make it three or less, or I start shooting!"

Odelios squeaked in fear and sprinted off to the Love Hotel. Yejoon shrugged and walked into the bowling alley, with Drake and Monodam following afterwards. The artist, cartoonist, and green Kub were soon in the arcade section, observing the odd collection of games.

"OH-THEY-HAVE-FIGHTERS-OF-THE-STORM," Monodam declared. "I-WILL-TAKE-YOU-ON-YEJOON."

"I have never taken part in video games, I shall not participate now," the artist said, as he walked over to the locked door with the gender-specific hand scanner next to it. Staring at the door, he glanced back at Drake. "You've had fairly good perception, what do you think could possibly be back here?"

"I… I don't know," Drake stammered.

"Care to even guess?"

"Maybe they're storing something here? Like they felt that a bowling alley would be an inconspicuous place for a storeroom?"

Yejoon glanced back at the door, and tapped his chin. A smile tugged on his lips, and he replied, "Interesting theory."

* * *

 **Day 12, 12:55 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Lobby**

Aka, Ignatia, and Pyrrha bid Futaba farewell, as the anthropologist had to leave to avoid the three-person maximum; she had wanted to go next, but being informed of Odelios' message made her more interested in knowing the results rather than participation.

"You really had sex with the clown?" Aka asked, staring incredulously at Pyrrha as she brushed herself off, studying herself in a mirror in the lobby.

"Aka honey, he's more than just a performer, he's still a human being capable of love, passion, and intrigue," Pyrrha remarked as she corrected her hair.

"He's a clown, they have no souls!"

Ignatia pushed Aka's shoulder, and the skier rubbed it while pouting. "Hey, you're a mime, it's different! I get that now. But come on, he'll probably ask you to make out with his rubber chicken or something weird!"

"Oh, you're so funny," Pyrrha said with a giggle. She twisted and turned in front of the mirror, trying to see if she looked good, and hadn't mysteriously gained weight before such an intimate occasion. "Come on now, Aka, this is already going so well, all things considered."

"What do you mean?"

"Have either of you seen Crystal or Anzu since recently?"

The two women exchanged glances, then shook their heads. Pyrrha chuckled, and said, "That means they most likely are upstairs right now, enjoying their honeymoon, so to speak. It's all working out just fine."

"It's all working out so straight, bleah," Aka complained, making a face. Ignatia silently chuckled, and slugged her friend's shoulder again. "Ow! Ignatia, that's not what I meant when I said I'd be fine if you hit on me!"

Pyrrha approached the two, and asked, "So, how do I look? I want to look good, it'd be appropriate to look good. It's like a fairy tale, in a way, isn't it? I mean, I know I'm romanticizing it, but this could really be nice…"

"You got something on your mouth, right there."

Aka pointed to the corner of her mouth, and Pyrrha reached up to the side the skier was suggesting, and rubbed at it. "No no, you didn't get it, it's right there."

"Where?" Pyrrha said as she rubbed at her face more.

"Right," Aka stepped forward, her pointing finger coming right up to Pyrrha's face, "here."

She cupped the romance writer's face and kissed her good. Pyrrha's eyes went wide, and she sunk into the passionate smooching. When Aka pulled away, she grinned slyly, and whispered, "You go knock that clown out of his socks, sexy."

"O-okay then!"

Aka stepped back, and then was promptly punched in the shoulder by Ignatia again. Before the skier could whine about it, they were treated to the most irritating voice there was in Penjar.

"So what are you three doing here in the hotel?" Monokid shouted as he walked in through the front door. "Conspiring? Making trouble? You womenfolk are always up to no good!"

"Oh God, I'm just going to go," Pyrrha remarked, as she walked towards the hallway.

"Monokid, you said three people was the maximum," Aka protested. Ignatia nodded firmly, crossing her arms defiantly at the Kub. "We're obeying your dumb rules."

"Maybe I'm just a little more suspicious since that clown tried to pull a fast one on me," Monokid replied.

The blue Kub pulled out a rather wicked looking knife, and started to juggle it in one paw. As he glanced between the mime and skier, he added, "Now I shouldn't waste more bullets, but maybe I should start my knife throwing skills."

Aka scoffed, then she noticed Ignatia mimic laughter, then beckoned for Monokid to "bring it." "Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing there, Iggy?" Aka asked. "He might actually try something if you encourage him."

Ignatia smirked, and pulled out her cellphone to type a message. [Let him try. When Despair hit the streets where I lived, people were throwing knives and other shit at each other for a cruel sport. I got so used to it, I'm now a master of grabbing any knife thrown at me.]

Aka read the text, blinking in surprise. "Seriously now? Oh wow, that's horrible. Still, I think I recall when Jin was throwing knives at people, you caught the one thrown at Drake."

Ignatia nodded proudly, and Aka snickered. "Okay, I'm so not straight, but that boy is cute as hell. Why aren't you interested in hooking up with him if you're straight too?"

[Oh cool down, you player. Drake isn't the kind to do it on a whim. He's the kind that'll wait until marriage.]

Aka stared at the phone screen, and then giggled even more. "I don't know why, but that makes him even more cute!"

"HELLO!" Monokid shouted. "Are you two forgetting that I'm threatening you with bladed injuries? I'll fuck you up if you tempt me!"

Ignatia stared him down, and then gestured at him again. She typed a message to Aka, and handed her phone to her. [Tell the blue bitch to bring it. Remind him that I made him my soccer ball when I first saw him.]

When Aka read out the message, Monokid's jaw dropped, then he started hopping around in fury. "Alright that does it! That tears it! That fucking does it! I'mma stab a mime today! TAKE THIS!"

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:00 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Chapel**

Pyrrha walked into the chapel room, observing all of the strange decorations that were adoring it. The golden elevator was rather inviting but a bit gaudy for her preferences. She stared down at Monosuke, who glanced up at her.

"Hiya, toots," he said, waving at her. "Youse gonna wait around to get married?"

"Am I allowed to do so?"

"Sure! I was getting a little lonely anyway."

Pyrrha sat down in one of the chairs, smiling pleasantly as she waited. "So, are you allowed to tell me anything?"

"Youse mean about who has gone up the elevator, whose has been here, whose has left?"

"Yes, is that possible?"

"Sorry, toots, but not even for youse. I'm sure youse want to make a great big novel about it, but I cannot tell youse the details."

Pyrrha sighed and crossed her arms. "At least you remembered that I'm a writer."

"Oh, I just know youse took some of the romance novels from our gift shop. Did youse like my original stories of passion? Upupupu."

"Wait, YOU wrote those books?" she declared, gawking at the orange Kub.

"Who better than the one bear who knows fan service better than any other?" Monosuke slapped his paws on his stomach and let out a series of belly laughs. "It helps when your Pops is a publisher!"

Pyrrha made a face over the thought of Monokuma publishing dirty books. "Well, that does explain why there's no plot to the stories."

"Silly lady, that's why the spy series is called the PWP Files! Don't youse catch the subtle innuendos left in the subtext of the inconspicuous details? It's like a mystery series, you gotta look for the little things so the big picture is so much better."

Pyrrha was about to comment about how a spy named Maro Kisi (a name that suddenly made so much more sense) banging all sorts of women in the process of a mission that never really seemed to happen because he was too busy banging women didn't really need subtly. Before she could talk, there was a horrified shriek from the eastern lobby, the kind of blood-curdling scream that made Pyrrha flinch.

"What was that?" Monosuke asked.

Pyrrha didn't even answer, she sprinted back down the hallway, and was back in the lobby within a minute. When she turned the corner to see what was going on, she wasn't expecting to see what she did.

Ignatia was lying on the floor, appearing unconscious. Aka was struggling with the mime's right hand, in which there was a combat knife clutched in the woman's hand. The skier was trying to get it out of Ignatia's hand frantically, and she glanced up when she noticed Pyrrha approaching.

"She… she won't let go," Aka cried out. "She passed out, and she won't let go of it!"

"Aka, what happened?"

"W-well, Ignatia dared Monokid to throw a knife at her-"

"She did WHAT?"

"It's a bit of a story, Red! But to make the story short, Ignatia caught it, no problem! Then she started struggling and gaping, like she was trying to speak, and then she just fell over backwards! And she's totally unconscious, but her grip on this knife is like iron!"

Pyrrha inspected Ignatia, checking her pulse and temperature with her hands. Finding nothing else out of the ordinary, she stared at Aka. "Was it you who screamed?"

Aka blushed and scowled, muttering, "Monokid started to say that we were obviously too tough to be women, what with us undaunted about catching daggers, so I shrieked as hard as I could. He said that proved I was a woman, and walked out of the damn building, all smug and shit."

The romance writer nodded, then gently caressed Ignatia's face. "We cannot just leave her here, let's carry her up to her room."

"What? But you need to go back to the chapel, you are gonna marry the clown!"

"We cannot leave Ignatia out here in the lobby, and you shouldn't carry her yourself. The marriage can wait a few minutes, I'm sure Odelios will wait for me. Let's go now, I have her head and shoulders, you get her legs."

The two of them picked up the limp mime, and moved towards the elevator. As they entered the lift, neither of them noticed that Ignatia's hand, holding that deadly dagger, was twitching slightly…

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:02 PM**

 **Spa and Beauty Parlor**

 **Hot Spring Room**

Eisei sat on one of the massage boards, as he watched Saiko inspect the locked door. This process had taken quite some time, it was one of the main reasons the two of them had been in the spa all day.

The dentist had been fairly quiet during their time there, mostly because Saiko had showcased that she had no interest in talking. It didn't stop him from hanging around her, so he watched as she inspected the door, its frame, and the ground near it.

"So," he finally said, his curiosity getting the better of him, "did you find out anything interesting yet?"  
"Eisei, I'm trying to focus."

"Sorry."

There was more silence, and Eisei began to lay on the massage board. The ceiling was rather boring, but he figured that he wasn't supposed to be lying on his back. It was deep thoughts like this that kept him from being overwhelmingly bored while the other person did all of the searching for things he didn't know to look for.

He tried to think, contemplate, ponder, do anything he could to mentally keep himself amused. Eisei had thought about leaving, letting her do what she did in total peace; however, he couldn't find peace in leaving her all alone.

As he lay there, he closed his eyes and drifted off into thought. Trying to let himself relax, he started to hear something. Somewhere in this building, he could hear a very faint thumping sound.

"Saiko," he spoke up again, "I think someone else is in the building."

"That doesn't matter."

Eisei tilted his head, lavender pigtails bouncing from the movement. "No, I mean I think someone is currently in this building, not just having recently entered."

"Again, that does not matter. Stop interrupting me."

The dentist nodded, then leaned back down on the massage board. He took a few deep breaths, and relaxed again. A much more prominent thumping sound alerted him, his eyes widening.

"Okay, surely you heard that-"

"Eisei!"

Saiko's sudden sharp tone startled the dentist, and he watched her turn from the door to glare at him. "Would you kindly stop! I am trying to find out what is going on here, and I don't need you distracting me."

"I'm not distracting you, I'm trying to help you."

"No, you don't understand," Saiko stormed over to him, tucking her hands in her pockets. "Hara is still missing. We looked all over this plaza, in every room of every available building, and we found no trace of her. She didn't just up and vanish!

"Wherever Monophanie took her, she's gotta be trapped there, and I'm going to find where she is!" She stomped her foot, and declared, "So don't distract me by asking me pointless questions when it is my friend who is probably scared out of her wits!"

Eisei and Saiko stared at each other for a few seconds, before the dentist spoke. "I was just going to comment that I thought I heard someone making a commotion somewhere in this spa. It could be Hara."

"Hara can only be in one of these locked rooms," Saiko countered. "I've been studying this door to see if it's been opened, and I think it has been. There are small signs that someone opened that door!"

"But there's another locked door in this spa, the one we haven't checked out yet."

Saiko blinked, then crossed her arms. "You think I should just abandon my search here and go to the other door?"

It was then that there was a heavy thudding sound, far more prominent, in another part of the spa. Both Saiko and Eisei heard it, and the dentist stared at her inquisitively.

"Maybe?"

Saiko wordlessly walked past him, and he followed after. The two moved towards the hair salon, as more thumping noises came from behind the door. The forensic investigator hurried over to the door, and knocked on it loudly.

"Hara?" she called out. "Hara, are you in there?"

"Hello? Who is that?" came a voice from behind the door. "I don't recognize your voice!"

"That's not Hara," Eisei offered. "I think it's Crystal."

"Crystal? What the hell!" Saiko shouted. "How'd you get in there?!"

"The door was open when I came by, and then it locked itself when I stepped in!"

Eisei raised an eyebrow, then commented, "I'm guessing that you've tried the doorknob to leave the room."

There was a tedious pause, and then Crystal spoke from behind the door, "No-oooooo, Eisei, I hadn't thought of using the doorknob to open the door until you suggested it! Thank you!"

"Okay then, you should try that, that would be your best way to exit-"

"I/She was being sarcastic!" Crystal and Saiko shouted simultaneously.

Eisei observed Saiko's upset face, then nodded understandingly. "Okay, so, the gender specific door was left open, and now Crystal is trapped in the room. Is there no way for you to open the door on your side, Crystal?"

"There's one of those palm readers, but it's for a man!"

The dentist walked over to the palm reader on their side, and tried his palm. An error noise came from the device, and the door stayed locked. "Seems I'm registered as female," he said. "I should have tested that out earlier."

Saiko stared at the palm reader, Eisei, and the door. "So, wait a minute… how are we going to get her out of there?"

There was a brief bit of silence, as the situation dawned on all of them. Crystal muttered a few explicits, then Saiko did. Eisei merely rubbed his chin, and spoke his mind.

"Is there any way we could speed up the marriage progress between the two sides before Crystal starves to death in that room?"

There was another bit of silence, as Saiko frowned at the dentist. Eisei didn't really catch on this, and continued, "Or at the very least, get her out of there before she requires to make biological outputs if there are no commodes inside of that room."

There was one more bit of silence, before Crystal's exasperated voice came from behind the door. "There isn't."

"Then we'd better hope that someone consummates one of these pretend marriages sooner rather than later, for your comfort first and your survival later on."

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:10 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Honeymoon Suite #?**

Ishiku and Anzu had taken their time to enjoy some intimate time together before rushing to the main reason for their being in this overly fancy room. He was still slightly nervous, and she was patient and sweet to him to ensure he was comfortable with what they planned to do.

They had taken some time to enjoy the swimming pool on the left side of the room. Ishiku had found a pair of swimming trunks in the cabinet, and slid down the slide into the waters. Enjoying the warmth of the water and the underwater jets, he cheered happily.

Then Anzu changed into a black bikini (in the middle of the room, so he saw everything), and slid into the swimming pool as well. They had fun splashing each other, talking and joking around, and then pressing up and kissing each other.

Hands wandered all over, bodies slid together, and Anzu made all kinds of erotic, sweet noises that made Ishiku shiver in delight; this in turn excited Anzu, who loved that nervous energy he was showcasing.

She fondled him down there for a little bit, grinding herself between her legs him before she sat herself down on his lap for a sweet make-out session in the hot tub. They were touching themselves all over, before the straps to Anzu's bikini started to fall from her slender shoulders.

As he gave her chest some special attention, she leaned her head back and moaned. "Hehehe~ you really do like kissing my tattoo, do you?"

"Mwah~ It seems fitting, since it's a heart and all."

"You know what, you cute stud? I think it's time you get me on that bed and show me how much you can touch my heart."

Anzu purred into his ear, then pulled herself out of the hot tub. She stripped off her bikini, grabbing a towel to dry herself off before making her way to the bed. She pulled herself up, and motioned for him to come with the greatest combination of a come-hither finger wag, bedroom eyes, and her naked, inviting pose.

Ishiku did the same as her: leave the hot tub, strip out of his swimwear, towel down, and move to the bed. She was giggling in excitement as he moved over her, and they resumed kissing.

Anzu's hand was on his manhood, his hands all over her pale, slender form. They were intimately touching, moaning, groping each other. They were both panting heavily, sweat already starting to form as they looked into each other's smoldering eyes.

"Are," Ishiku stammered as he reached down between her legs, touching her and spreading her open, "are you ready?"

"Of course I am," she purred, beaming at him with all the excitement and readiness in her eyes and smile.

" _No, you're not._ "

The little voice in Anzu's head that had been buzzing about this entire time, burning at her mental thoughts every time she touched Ishiku, every time they kissed. It was something that had happened more than she admitted, every time she was intimate with someone…

She shook her head ever-so-slightly, hiding it with an excited shiver. Anzu thought to herself, " _It's just because this is the first time you're actually going to have sex while here. It's nerves, get over it._ "

" _You cannot do this._ "

"Yes I can," she whispered fiercely.

"What?" Ishiku asked, staring questionably at her.

"Oh, sorry, honey," the actress said as she brushed her blue bangs away from her face. "Just… psyching myself up. I've never really done this with a friend before, just with a co-worker."

" _You're a liar._ "

"Well, um," the magician nervously stammered, as he loomed over her, kissing her lips sweetly as she whimpered heatedly, "I'd like to make this really good for you. I don't have much experience…"

"Sweetheart, rock my world," she whispered passionately, kissing him after those words. "You just stick it in and pump me good, and trust me, I'm going to love it."

" _Don't let him do this._ "

"O-okay," Ishiku said, as he gently pushed her legs open. She giggled happily, watching him aim for that sweet area between her thighs.

"It's okay, I'm ready, stud."

" _No, you aren't! You cannot do this! STOP IT!_ "

Ishiku moved in, his manhood about ready to touch her pussy…

" _STOP THIS! NOW! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT…_ "

"STOP IT NOW!"

Anzu shrieked so suddenly, flinching intensively and crawling away from Ishiku, as she pressed her legs together and screamed. She gripped her hair, panting, gasping, whimpering, struggling to get a grip on herself.

"Fuck… fucking… what… I… oh my God, I can't… I can't do this!"

She felt tears rolling down her face, her body trembling, and she couldn't hold it back. The worst feelings in the world were swirling through her head, the greatest of them shame. Anzu was shaking as she tried to hold herself.

Noise didn't register to her, as her head was screaming non-stop in this confusing, shameful state. Though she felt someone's hand on her knee, and she finally heard a name being said.

"Anzu?"

Ishiku was staring at her, his concern palpable. She stared at him, panting hard, tears still rolling down her eyes. Despite everything, she realized one thing: he was worried about her.

"I…," she tried to speak, her throat hurt but she forced herself to elicit the words, "there… there's something wrong with me, Ishi."

"Anzu…"

She was shivering, shaking, and needed comfort more than anything, but was withdrawing from him as much as her body could allow. Anzu didn't know what was going on, her head was still screaming at her.

" _You are a liar._ "

" _How could you do this!_ "

" _You slut, you whore…_ "

" _You fraud!_ "

"Ishi, please, hold me."

He embraced her, holding her naked, shivering frame to his warm body. Despite everything, the comfort this provided slowly but eventually calmed her down. Caressing his chest as she tried to find the words, she stared into his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Anzu, it's okay. If you cannot do this, I'm not going to pressure you."

"But I should be able to do this! Ishi, I… please… I'm so sorry…"

The actress shook, and then blurted out the words that terrified her to admit…

"I don't know who I am right now."

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:11 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Ignatia Nazario's Room**

Aka sighed heavily as she stared at the unconscious mime on the bed. She wiped her forehead, a bit tired and winded from carrying her all the way there. "Okay, so, what do we do now," she asked, turning her head towards Pyrrha, "with her, I mean? Do I just watch her, wait for her to wake up?"

"That would be best, yes," Pyrrha said, nodding and smiling. "I'll go back down and check out the chapel, thank you very much, Aka."

"This is so weird," Aka remarked as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "I mean, I don't think I really believed the others when they talked about these visions and such, but I've never seen someone unconscious with a death grip on something like this."

"I know, I'm sorry to leave this to you," Pyrrha said, bowing respectively towards Aka. "But we just need to make sure she's… she's…"

Words failed the writer, and her eyes widened in horror. She could only point, as she tried to speak, as her mouth opened and closed to try and push words out. Aka stared at her in confusion, then looked to where she was pointing.

Ignatia's arm, the dagger in the hand, was raising up as if possessed. Then, slowly but surely, shaking as if it were struggling against something, her arm lowered…

… with the dagger moving towards her heart.

"What the fuck!" Aka shouted and grabbed Ignatia's arm. She pulled back, but whatever strength the mime had in this unconscious state was just as strong as her grip on the dagger. Aka pulled as hard as she could, and she could feel Ignatia's arm struggling against her with an intense strength.

The dagger's tip was merely a few inches from the mime's chest, hovering over her heart. Aka struggled, sweat beading down her forehead, and yet she was losing the fight by an inch every few seconds.

The blade started to poke at Ignatia's clothes, slicing through the cloth and causing a small, bloody cut in her skin. Before it could move in deeper, Pyrrha had moved in, having to avoid the spinning horses around the bed.

The romance writer gripped the mime's arm from below, and pushed upwards as hard as she possibly could. Between the two women struggling against whatever strength possessed Ignatia's body, they were able to just barely stop the blade from plunging into her chest.

"What," Aka struggled to say as she pulled with all her might, "what is WRONG with her?!"

* * *

 **?, ?:? ?**

 **? ?**

 **? ? ?**

 _Ignatia lifted one of her legs and kicked at the chest of her attacker, pushing with the sole of her shoe. She was pushed up against the wall, struggling as the one trying to force her own knife into her chest had inhuman strength._

 _The corridor in Hope's Peak Academy was bathed in villainous red light, as were the eyes of her attacker. Ignatia strained through clenched teeth to remove herself from this possibly fatal position._

 _Her leg lifted up, her skirt fluttering as her limb stomped harder on the metal surface that was her attacker's chest. She then twisted her body, and her arm was forced downward. The dagger in her hand stabbed into the wall, cutting through one of her long, black pigtails._

 _Her attacker's grip on her loosened from this twisting attack, and then Ignatia whipped her arm forward. Using a kind of training she didn't know she even had, Ignatia slashed at her attacker's neck as she pushed back._

 _Sparks flew through the air, and her attacker swung one of his arms, striking her in the chest. She flew through the air and slammed her on her back, skidding to a halt as her red shoes slipped off of her feet. Her black leggings-clad legs pushed against the floor, trying to put distance between her and this violent robot._

 _"_ _Maki Harukawa," Kiibo declared, marching towards her, "I must eliminate you. There is no avoiding this, you are to be exterminated. All of hope must be exterminated…_

 _"_ _Despair is the only way forward for Hope's Peak, for the future. You must not be allowed to survive, because…"_

 _As he stepped forward, Kiibo's metal feet cracked and broke the tiles of the floor. Ignatia pulled herself up to her feet, as the robot reached out to grab her again._

 _"_ _Your baby cannot be allowed to survive in the new age of Despair!"_

* * *

 **…**

 **28**

 **11**

 **22**

 **03**

 **48**

 **7**

 **…**

 **suRVivORs**

 **GrADuatEs**

 **sTudENts**

 **…**

 **aLIve**

 **dEaD**

 **REmaIn**

 **…**

 **in**

 **In**

 **iN**

 **IN**

 **…**

 **…**

 **…**

 **?**


	27. Chapter 4-3: The Rust on Penjar

**Chapter 4-3**

 **Paint the Town Metallic Red**

* * *

 **? ?, ?:? ?**

 **? ?**

 **? ? ?**

 _Ignatia panted hard as she watched the robot man approaching her, extending one arm out with his green fingers ready to grab her. It made her think of something out of sci-fi horror, a human-killing robot bearing down on her. She was prepared to run, and luckily, this body that she was in was incredibly athletic._

 _Whoever Maki Harukawa was, she was even more fit than Ignatia normally was. So she was able to sprint swiftly down the hallway, though the hateful red lights coming from the ceiling made her feeling like she was retreating through Hell._

 _"_ _Get back here, Maki Harukawa," the robot known as Kiibo shouted. "Do you really think that you can outrun me? I do not tire!"_

 _The running footfalls of the robot, cracking the tiles with every step, started to catch up to her. Ignatia huffed as she ran as fast as she could, though Kiibo was catching up with her quickly._

 _Ignatia made it to the stairs, and started to leap across the handrail down to the lower flight. She continued to do this, down to the first floor. Kiibo stomped down the stairs, and she could hear more cracking noises._

 _The mime couldn't even comprehend what was going on, it had been like this since she had woken up here in Hope's Peak. She was in someone else's body, this lithe and incredibly fit young lady who wore black and red clothing to match her black hair and red eyes. When she woke up in a dorm room, in this body, it felt like the normal version of Hope's Peak Academy…_

 _Then when she started to explore the place, the lights went that awful red color. Kiibo approached her, talking normally, and then he suddenly attacked when his eyes gleamed with the same color as the overhead lights._

 _Ignatia couldn't comprehend how this was happening, but she wasn't going to just stand around and wait to be killed._

 _Gasping for breath, she struggled to make her legs work after that parkour bouncing. She moved forward, and then she started to hear voices in the distance, sounds of a commotion…_

 _And then there was someone speaking on the overhead speaker, shouting out orders, in Italian. It was the same voice she could recall hearing shouting on speakers during the Tragedy, when mass riots were happening._

 _Ignatia stepped towards the main lobby of Hope's Peak, and it was full of teenagers wearing the uniform for the Reserve Course. They were all mad looking, splattered with blood, some injured but carrying on._

 _The front doors had been smashed down on the ground, all of the windows shattered and every single item in the lobby broken beyond repair. And, all over the floor, were dead students and staff of Hope's Peak._

 _The Reserve Course students were shouting, all in Italian, brandishing weapons and shivs that gleamed with the red light that poured in from outside._

 _"_ _DEATH TO HOPE'S PEAK!"_

 _"_ _KILL ALL THE ULTIMATES!"_

 _"_ _DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM!"_

 _"_ _KILL EVERYONE!"_

 _Ignatia stumbled backwards, and then she realized they weren't speaking in Italian, as if a switch was flipped. Several of the murderous Reserve Course students noticed her, and snarled and moved towards her._

 _"_ _KILL HER!"_

 _"_ _KILL THE ULTIMATES!"_

 _"_ _IT'S NOT FAIR!"_

 _"_ _DESPAIR! DESPAIR!"_

 _The mime turned around and sprinted away, heading away from the murderous mob as fast as she could. She could see Kiibo heading down the hallway, towards her, and she continued to move._

 _As she headed around the hallways of Hope's Peak, she could hear the flood of violent students swarm on top of Kiibo. They were bashing him, stabbing at him, trying to destroy him. He responded by breaking their necks, smashing her skulls against the walls, and plunging his metal hand into their chest and ripping out their hearts._

 _"_ _I tire of these attempts to slow me down," Kiibo declared, as he yanked at a young man's head and ripped it off of his shoulders. "These methods will not stop me from terminating my target! Come back here, Maki Harukawa, you only delay your inevitable demise!"_

 _Ignatia hurried through the hallways, to another stairway, and started to head back up. She got to the fourth floor before she felt so tired that she could barely stand. Collapsing to the floor, shivering and gasping, she had to throw up to alleviate how awful her stomach felt._

 _"_ _Maki?"_

 _She flinched and lifted her dagger up at the voice nearby. There were four figures standing there, all of them appearing terrified._

 _Two of them were total strangers to her: the boy in a purple jacket with purple, pointy hair, and a petite girl with blonde hair and a green dress._

 _The other two, Ignatia remembered seeing when she was on her art program at Hope's Peak. Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer, and Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Cook, both frequently visited the art rooms due to their talents._

 _"_ _Mon cheri," Teruteru walked over to Ignatia, waving her hands, "it's alright. We are not affected by this wave of Despair."_

 _"_ _It's so awful," the blonde girl said, sobbing as she covered her face. "Those violent Reserve Course students, they… they killed so many of our friends! I couldn't do anything…"_

 _Mahiru walked over and hugged the blonde girl, pulling her close. "Chihiro, no one is blaming you."_

 _"_ _Yeah, no one blames you! Come on, Maki Roll," the purple haired guy said, extending his hand to her. She was still pointing her knife at him, highly confused and concerned. The purple topped guy stared at her, equally concerned. "Maki Roll? Are you okay?"_

 _Ignatia swallowed and struggled, but she didn't know what to do. She opened her mouth, trying to speak, unsure if she could after all this time…_

 _"_ _I… I can barely breathe," she managed to say, Maki's voice sounding raspy and so unusual. "I cannot stand… that robot… chased me."_

 _"_ _Robot? Kiibo?" Chihiro declared. "Oh no! He's trying to hurt you?"_

 _"_ _He's… trying to kill me."_

 _"_ _Maki Roll, I'll carry you, if you need," the purple topped guy said. Ignatia stared at him peculiarly, and he chuckled. "Yeah, I know you're tough, but we cannot stay here."_

 _"_ _Mon cheri, you can trust Kaito," Teruteru said, walking up to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and Ignatia flinched slightly; she remembered that the cook could get a little handsy. Then he leaned in and whispered…_

 _"_ _Ignatia Nazario, you can trust us, we're some of the last standing during this Killing Game."_

 _The mime stared incredulously at him, and then up at Kaito. She nodded, and Kaito moved over to pick her up. Carrying her bridal style, the purple topped man moved along with the other four students in tow._

 _"_ _So what are we going to do?" Chihiro asked. "Do we hide? Can we even hide from all of this?"_

 _"_ _There's so many dead," Mahiru muttered, running a hand through her hair. "So very many, we just have to wait for the police to show up."_

 _"_ _Maybe with the Reserve Course sent in to try and kill us," Teruteru said, "we could survive if we make it outside."_

 _The cook glanced up at Ignatia, and added, "That's new, you know?"_

 _"_ _What's new?" Kaito asked. "I mean, yeah, the motives we had previously weren't like this. They were all offers of power and money, not just flat out try to kill us all."_

 _"_ _Let's just get to our dorms," Mahiru said. "We should hunker down, and try to recover our strength. We'll need it to push our way out of here."_

 _"_ _Push?" Ignatia repeated. "You think we can just shove our way out."_

 _"_ _We're not going to kill anyone," the photographer said defiantly. "Maki, I know you're trained for this, but the rest of us, we couldn't comprehend killing someone, ever. So please, let's just calm down and get some place safe for now."_

 _Ignatia was rather confused by this, and yet she did notice Teruteru appeared highly distraught after Mahiru's statement._

 _The group headed through the hallways, and Ignatia saw bloodstains on parts of the wall and floor occasionally. Whatever Killing Game had happened in Hope's Peak, no one was cleaning up afterwards._

 _When they made it to the dorm rooms, Kaito placed Maki on a bed, one that was facing a small kitchen and underneath a window; the light outside was still that awful, hateful red color, so Kaito shut the blinds as soon as he could._

 _"_ _Maki Roll, I'm going to try and get the others ready to get out of here. Don't worry, we're all going to make it out, okay?"  
"Okay," she responded._

 _Kaito cupped her face, and then leaned in to kiss her. Ignatia recoiled, startled and confused, which perplexed Kaito as well. The mime shook her head, and said, "Sorry, I'm not feeling well."_

 _"_ _I understand. My apologizes, Maki Roll."_

 _He gently kissed her forehead, pat her shoulder, and left the room. Teruteru came in, tipping his hat to Kaito before moving over to the kitchen._

 _"My apologies, Ignatia, I am sure you must be very confused," he said as he started to work with the food and tools available. "I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time."_

 _"_ _I'm… not used to talking," she admitted. "It's only because this body is not mine that I can talk again."_

 _"_ _Ironically, Maki isn't much for talk either, so it's not too much different. So, let me try to explain everything here…"_

 _Teruteru worked hard as he quickly went into the explanation of this place, his role, and what was going on. Ignatia was able to follow for the most part, though she was highly confused over a few points._

 _"_ _So how did you know it was me?" she asked. "Like, actually me?"_

 _"_ _I'm rather in tune with what happens in Penjar, due to my role. So when there is a disturbance, I know one of you must be in here. Though y'all are still kind of mum about what you ding-dang find in here, aren't chall?"_

 _The chef sighed irritably, and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry. I guess you're just being cautious."_

 _"_ _What did you mean by something new, earlier?" Ignatia asked, crossing her arms._

 _"_ _Oh, this Killing Game has repeated so many times, I've lost count; however, one of the consistences that the front door is barricaded and escape is impossible has recently changed. Now whoever is still alive can make it out of the Killing Game if they make it to the outside world."_

 _Ignatia nodded, then stared down at the knife still in her hand. She hadn't let go of it, despite everything. "Is there something about Maki that I'm not aware of? I don't remember the other students during the Hope's Peak Killing Game except for your class."_

 _"_ _Maki is actually an assassin, trained at a young age, one of the very best. Don't let that fool you, she was a good person."_

 _Ignatia glanced down at herself, or rather down at Maki. Her free hand moved towards her stomach, and she rubbed it gently. "Kiibo said something about me being pregnant."_

 _Teruteru froze up, pausing whatever he was making in the kitchen. "Did he now?"_

 _"_ _And that boy, Kaito, he tried to kiss me. Were they… are they…"_

 _"_ _You have to realize, Ignatia, that when you entered this Killing Game, it has been weeks going on to months for us. There were times when no one died for lengthy periods, with these scared but strong students hanging onto hope despite what the Mastermind threw at us._

 _"_ _During that time, and during so many other times, Maki and Kaito become a couple. She resists because she's so tsundere, he persists because he's the Luminary of the Stars, and eventually it leads to that kind of intimacy."_

 _"_ _Why does Kiibo want my… want Maki's baby dead?"_

 _"_ _If you didn't recall, during the real Hope's Peak Killing Game, Aoi Asahina was pregnant. Quite pregnant, and the Mastermind wanted her and her unborn children inside of her dead."_

 _"_ _What? That's horrible! Why?"_

 _"_ _That, I do not know," Teruteru said, shaking his head. "I am afraid I am not as omnipotent as I could be, but I guess they didn't want to give a pervert like me those powers, eh?"_

 _He chuckled lightly, though there was a sadness in his tone and movement by now. Ignatia watched him, and sighed as she realized that this spirit of Teruteru must be suffering._

 _"_ _I didn't think such love could exist amongst such evil and hatred," she said, crossing her arms. "I still find it so hard to believe… Kaito loves Maki, despite her past, despite who she is?"_

 _"_ _Yes, that is love, mon cheri," Teruteru said. He reached up to his eyes, and wiped away some tears. "It's something that many of us hope for, but not all of us get."_

 _"_ _I honestly didn't believe it could be, but… this place isn't real. This place is just an image, an illusion of sorts, is it not?"_

 _"_ _It's a bit more than that, this is one of the most highly advanced recreations you could imagine, more powerful and accurate than any virtual reality. The problem is, it has been corrupted, as well as a containment area for a lost soul or few."_

 _"_ _What? Can you please tell me what that means?"_

 _"_ _I'm sorry, my mind is really fuzzy after all of the times I have been through this Killing Game. Just know that, as extreme as this place may be, the people here are still very real._

 _"_ _Kaito loves Maki. Chihiro is as gentle and sweet as he is in real life. Mahiru is ever the strong and reliable young lady."_

 _"_ _But why am I here?"_

 _Teruteru finished what he was making: a rice ball and a blended juice mix in a glass. He walked over to offer them to Ignatia, who started to eat and drink. "Despair is trying to get something from this place. I'm not sure what, I'm not sure how, I just know that those who want Despair are working to take something from this place."_

 _The food that Teruteru had prepared, as well as the juice mix, invigorated at a level that felt like she had been reborn. She stood up, her body feeling rejuvenated entirely. "Okay, so what do I need to do?"_

 _"_ _Survive, mon cheri," he said. "Every time one of you shows up, there is a dire threat that needs to be resolved. It is usually when the Mastermind is trying their hardest to win the Killing Game."_

 _"_ _Each time one of you shows up, it usually means I'm about to die."_

 _Both Teruteru and Ignatia flinched at the other voice now in the room. Mahiru walked in, clutching her hand over her heart, as she shivered. The color in her face was drained, and she had the most horrified expression on her face._

 _"_ _It's becoming clear again," Mahiru said, shaking slightly. "I… I'm going to die soon."_

 _"_ _Mahiru, mon cherry top," Teruteru declared, running over to her, "do not lose faith! You can…"_

 _"_ _No, this is how always is, Teruteru. Please, just give me a minute with her. I need to talk to her. Get the others ready… we're going to make a break for it."_

 _Teruteru nodded, then moved out of the room. Mahiru stared at Ignatia, right into the fiery red eyes that were actually Maki's. "Ignatia Nazario, right?"_

 _"_ _Yes."_

 _"_ _The Ultimate Mime, you haven't spoken in a long time, I'm sorry to ask you to speak more."_

 _"_ _It's okay."_

 _Mahiru crossed her arms, and stared at Ignatia. "Don't tell anyone you saw me, or even Teruteru at this point. Despair is looking for a pattern, and if they find out that I'm a consistency with those visiting this place…"_

 _"_ _Are you what Despair is looking for?"_

 _The photographer rubbed her hands together, and sighed. "I don't know. I cannot imagine how, or why, I would be important for whatever they want; I'm not a bad person, I never was."_

 _Mahiru sobbed, and muttered, "Maybe it has something to do with my mother, my friends, maybe it's about Hiyoko? Or maybe I'm just thinking too much about this, and I'm not what they are after at all."_

 _The redheaded photographer pulled herself together, and continued, "I just want this pain to stop, but I cannot risk Despair finding out more on this place. If they expand out from here, if they gain power…"_

 _Mahiru paced back and forth, and then glanced out into the hallway. "I've fallen for Chihiro so many times. Hajime, Kazuichi, Mikan, Kirumi, Shuichi, Makoto, Kaede, even Sato, when I get to see her again, I've been through the Killing Game finding someone I can rely on, who relies on me, that feeling of love and respect…_

 _"_ _And then it is ripped away from me, again and again and again, and I know they are alive in the real world, they'll never know… how much they meant to me. They're happy, I want them to be happy, I will not let Despair ruin them!"_

 _Ignatia nodded, and said, "I'll respect your wishes; however, we won't give up until we find out the answers to Penjar."_

 _"_ _I know you say that, but I have to warn you, the predicament you're facing in Penjar is going to be more emotional than anything you've handled so far. You cannot let the emotion overrun the logic, no matter how much it hurts."_

 _Mahiru crossed her arms, and stared at Ignatia. "I know you want to leave Penjar, to avoid bringing harm to Drake, to your new friends; however, you do play a part, so stay strong, Ignatia."_

 _She managed a small smile, and moved in to hug the mime in the assassin's body. Ignatia felt the camera around Mahiru's camera press against her chest, and there was a rather intense feeling in the mime's heart suddenly._

 _That was when Kaito burst into the room. "Maki Roll, Mahiru, we need to go, now! The Reserve Course is getting up here!"_

 _The two girls parted, and headed into the hallway. Chihiro, Teruteru, and Kaito were there waiting for them, and the five started to head out. Ignatia tried to keep her calm, though she had an incredible sense of dread._

 _The lights were normal, though she could hear noises in the distance. It reminded the mime something of a Tesla coil, the vibrations from constant movement traveling far to affect others in the same place. This was a strange time to consider science…_

 _But when she saw a robotic man down the hallway with a murderous glare as well as red lights coming from his eyes as you rounded a corner, she realized that science was not on her side._

 _Kiibo stomped once towards them, and the whole building seemed to shake. It was like her vision was rattled, as all of the lights in the hallway turned that hateful red once again. The floor shook, her ears popped and buzzed, her teeth clattered._

 _"_ _Maki Harukawa," Kiibo shouted, extending his arm and flexing his fingers. He was covered with blood, his limb and hand coated in it, dripping that life fluid from all the Reserve Course students he had massacred. "You and the rest of Hope must be destroyed."_

 _Kiibo started to march towards them, his arm extended as if he planned to grab her neck the moment he closed the distance. Ignatia growled, and clenched her knife in her hand._

 _"_ _Everyone run," Teruteru shouted, "there's no point in fighting this-"_

 _There was an explosive sound, which ripped through the hallway. It took Ignatia a moment to register that Kiibo's palm had a barrel in the center, and now smoke was emitting from it. Teruteru, a bloody gunshot wound in the center of his chest, fell over backwards._

 _The robot continued moving forwards, as his arm pointed towards Ignatia. "No more defenses, no more guardians," the robot declared, then his eyes shone malevolently, "just the end of you invaders. DIE!"_

 _Ignatia sprinted forward, so fast on her feet that she mentally thanked Maki for being so amazingly fit. She struck at Kiibo's arm, and his next shot missed her and blew a hole in the wall nearby. Kiibo frowned, and reached out with his other arm._

 _He grabbed her wrist, she slashed at his neck and eyes. She wasn't even scratching whatever material he was made out of. Ignatia tried to stab right into his eyes, but he acted faster._

 _Slamming her down on the ground, he resisted her kicking at his face and chest. The robot pointed his palm cannon at Maki's face, and she could hear it revving up, preparing another shot…_

 _Someone else kicked at his arm, and the next blast went wide. The railing to the side exploded, the debris plummeting four stories. Ignatia kicked at Kiibo as hard as she could, while Mahiru struggled to push the robot's arm away from the mime in the assassin's body._

 _Kaito rushed in to help, and kicked at Kiibo as hard as he could. The robot didn't so much as flinch, he merely glared at his attackers._

 _What happened was so fast, it barely registered to Ignatia at first. With her on the ground, she could only witness Kiibo rushing forward, something that sounded like jet engines behind him revving up. His chest slammed against Kaito, and sent him sprawling backwards, all the way down the hallway._

 _Kiibo reached over to Mahiru, gripping her arm. No words were spoken, as he used inhuman strength to fling Mahiru towards the balcony. With it destroyed, Ignatia saw the redheaded photographer fly over her in the briefest of seconds, the horrified look on her face…_

 _…_ _and there was no way to stop when Mahiru was sent over the edge, falling down four stories to her death._

 _There was screaming from down the hallway, the kind of heart-wrenching shriek that Ignatia knew too well. With nothing to lose, she lifted herself up and grabbed at Kiibo's head, trying to break his neck, block his vision._

 _One of her hands grabbed the most prominent part of his head: the incredibly prominent ahoge the robot had with his platinum hair. She yanked at it, and there was an intense snapping sound with sparks shooting out from his head. Kiibo froze in place, eyes losing the murderous red glare._

 _Ignatia took that ahoge, and jammed it right into Kiibo's eye. It penetrated and shanked deep into his cranium, before he flopped over motionlessly. Ignatia took several deep breaths, struggling to get up as blood leaked from her hand._

 _She felt her eyes glancing all over the place, to the destroyed railing that Mahiru had gone over, to the "dead" robot, then back to the others. Chihiro, with tears running down his face, was holding onto Teruteru's lifeless body as he too was staring at where Mahiru had fallen from._

 _When Ignatia and Chihiro looked at each other, the programmer turned slowly to observe Kaito. The mime found herself running for the fallen astronaut, and her hands were trembling for some reason. She didn't know why, maybe it was the part of her that was Maki._

 _Kaito's neck was broken, he had slammed against the wall that hard. Ignatia felt such an intense sadness well up in her, and she moved to hold Kaito's body. "N-no…"_

 _"_ _It'll be like this for you all if you do not work together."_

 _Ignatia flinched, and turned to see Kiibo sitting up. The robot still had his metal ahoge stuck in his eye, until he reached up and wrenched it out. Sparks flew from the open "wound" as he stood, and dropped the hairpiece device. He stepped on it, shattering it to pieces._

 _Chihiro screamed in terror and moved away from him, heading to Ignatia. The mime held up her knife, but something registered in her head: the red light in Kiibo's remaining eye was gone._

 _"_ _Heed my advice, Ignatia," Kiibo said, hobbling towards the mime and programmer, off-balance due to the lack of coordination. "The Entity of Chaos is indeed in Penjar. You are playing into their plan, and digression is what they want. You… you mustn't…"_

 _Kiibo fell down on his chest, hand reaching out, fingers twitching as if his life force was draining away. The light started to fade out from his eyes, as he murmured, "… n-not… let… h-he… letter… letter re… letter e… turn."_

 _The blue light in his eyes faded out, then there was a brilliant white flash from those dead eye sockets. Ignatia covered her own eyes, but it felt like she was sinking down…_

* * *

Ignatia grunted and strained, then her eyes snapped open. She was staring up at the gaudy ceiling of her love hotel room. Her body was soaked in sweat, and she felt a dull, sore pain throughout most of her limbs and chest.

"Ignatia? Are you awake?"

The mime glanced around, and saw Pyrrha watching from the side of the bed. The romance writer was also sweating, appearing so terrified that she could barely breathe.

"Oh thank fucking God."

A tight pain that she didn't even realize at first eased up on her arm. She noticed Aka was next to her, and had been gripping her. Ignatia sat up in confusion, and lifted her arm, noticing she still had that knife in her hand…

And just as she mentally recognized as exactly the same knife that Maki had in that vision, the knife crumbled into dust. The dust was so fine, it didn't even leave a layer on her bed; it simply scattered and vanished into the room, carried away by the slight current the rotating horses made.

"What the hell!" Aka shouted when she saw the knife disintegrate before their eyes. "Okay, what the fuck is up with that?!"

"Ignatia, thank heavens you're okay!" Pyrrha declared, moving towards the mime before hugging her tightly. "We were so scared!"

The silent performer moved her mouth, and nothing but a wheezing noise came out. Her ability to speak as Maki was gone, and yet she felt inclined to try now more than ever. Still, she couldn't physically do it, it was too taxing, especially with how sore and exhausted she felt.

"What happened? What did you see?" Aka asked. "If you saw something? I mean, I know it's crazy, but you wouldn't believe how crazy it got out here!"

"You were trying to stab yourself," Pyrrha said, placing her hands on the mime's shoulders. "Aka stopped you, but you twice were trying to push the knife into your chest! What happened?"

Ignatia stared down at her chest, and was shocked to see a slight cut in her clothing, and her skin. Blood had stained her clothing, though the wound had already stopped bleeding. She stared at the injury for a moment, before staring in confusion at the two.

Aka wiped sweat away from her forehead, and muttered, "It was like you were possessed, took everything we had to stop you. It was the most intense experience of my life… what's going on, mime girl?"

The mime woman pulled her cell phone from her pocket, and started to type. Showing it to the two, it read, [It is very hard to explain. I'm so tired, I just want to shower off and take a nap.]

"Wha-what?" Pyrrha blurted out after reading the text. "But, Ignatia, what did you see? Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

[I don't feel suicidal at all, if that's what you are implying. What I saw in my vision was roughly the same as the others, Hope's Peak Academy and the students involved in a terrible Killing Game that had no trials, just death.]

"Did you see that Mahiru girl, like the other girls did?" Aka asked.

[No. Mostly I saw the robot.]

"The robot? Kiibo?" Pyrrha questioned. "Oh dear, but did you happen to get any kind of warning? That's something that seems to be popping up a lot."

[I was warned that we have to work together, that the Entity of Chaos truly is in Penjar. Now, I'm sorry, but I'm so sore and tired and sweaty… can I get some privacy?]

"Of course, Ignatia."

Pyrrha hugged her again, which the mime tentatively returned. The romance writer whispered to her, "You just take care of yourself, and once you feel better, come talk to us. You can trust us, we're going to help you through this."

Aka and Pyrrha, both slowly because they were still watching out for Ignatia, eventually got off the bed and exited the room. They stood there for a while, waiting to hear any other kind of sound to assure Ignatia would be okay.

Sure enough, they heard the familiar sounds of a shower turning on, with water running down the drain and through the pipes in the building. Pyrrha and Aka exchanged relieved glances, and the romance writer smiled.

"You were so brave, you really kept her alive there, you know that?"

"Y-yeah," Aka stammered, flustered for some reason.

"I am so impressed, but I'm still worried about her. Do you suppose we should come back after about a couple hours and-"

Pyrrha was interrupted when Aka grabbed her and pressed her up against the wall. The romance writer found the skier's hot lips on hers in the next second, as well as the tomboy's hands all over her body.

Aka was extremely passionately, with some of the most thrilling kisses and energetic gropes that Pyrrha had ever felt. The redhead's breath was snatched away, only able to gasp in overwhelmed excitement when Aka gave her a chance to breathe. The purple-topped athlete was all over her.

After a minute of this, the two were heatedly panting in each other's faces, Pyrrha a blushing and gasping mess, Aka an excited and determined boldness.

"I want," the skier whispered sensually, "to have sex with you, right now."

"H-huh?"

"I've told you before, adrenaline and excitement, thrilling events, they get me going more than anything. That… what we did together to keep her alive, that got me revving so hard, and I'm so fucking impressed with you now.

"I want to take you, Pyrrha, and show you just how fucking excited that got me. Holy shit do I _need_ you right now!"

Pyrrha trembled as she looked into the thrilled eyes of the skier. She could think of a hundred reasons why this wouldn't be a good idea, but… that was countered by the passion and intensity of the moment.

"Take me," Pyrrha breathed out, smiling sweetly, "to my room. I want this too."

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:21 PM**

 **Bowling Alley**

 **Arcade**

Drake operated one of the controls at the Fighters of the Storm, battling against Monodam's choices. The green Kub was much more precise with his movements and actions, but he was failing to win because of something in particular.

"I-SEEM-TO-BE-AT-A-DISADVANTAGE-DUE-TO-YOUR-ABILITY-TO-BUTTON-MASH, DRAKE."

The cartoonist giggled, as the character he was playing used her whip to keep the dragon-styled man at bay, until he went down for the count. Monodam slammed his head against the controls, and muttered, "CURSES. I-LOSE-AGAIN."

Yejoon watched them play, as he finished a few more notes in his notebook. "I must admit, that game does look like fun. What with everything going on, it must be nice to be able to enjoy yourself."

"So long as I can keep Monodam from being hurt by Monokid," Drake commented, "I don't think I'm wasting time."

"I didn't mean to imply you were. You've done your part, we cannot ask you to do more."

Drake nodded, and tapped at a couple of the buttons. "I just wish we could do more, you know? It's really frustrating, not knowing what is going on at the other side."

Yejoon chuckled, then spoke again. "Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the distance."

Drake glanced over at him. "I don't understand. You sound so smart, you're so composed… how could you possibly be such a bad person?"

"Sinister comes in many different forms, my dear boy. After the Tragedy, many people saw evil as someone who hurt and killed for the fun of it, even out of their own control. For me, people need to die when it is necessary to make them beautiful, to fulfill a purpose in life.

"That, to me, is what I can change. Though I don't suppose you agree with that."

Drake shook his head, and muttered, "Hurting others is so awful to me, I could never get any enjoyment for that. I had always hoped that my work could inspire compassion in people, no matter how much people thought I was naive."

"To believe we can all get along is naive, Drake," Yejoon said.

"HEY-THERE-IS-A-CHANCE-YOU-CAN-ALL-GET-ALONG," Monodam interrupted.

Yejoon shook his head, and replied, "No, there are too many threats amongst our own group; however, there is a chance for some of you. My dear boy, you are one of the few I believe can carry on with your good work after we leave this town. You, Fiora, Isaac, Hara, and a few others, so do not lose hope. Find that courage, regardless of how shy you are."

Drake was silent for a few moments, before he turned back to the arcade game. He was about to hit the button to start it up again, when he heard someone approaching nearby.

Shuuya had walked into the arcade, glancing around to see who else was there. He glared at Yejoon, who merely shrugged and watched the bounty hunter approach the cartoonist.

"Hello, Drake," Shuuya said, before regarding the green Kub, "and… Monodam. Are you doing alright?"

"Y-yeah, we're fine," the cartoonist stammered.

"It's almost 1:30, and I cannot find out who is going next to the chapel. Have you heard from anyone else?"

Drake glanced at the game, then back to Shuuya. "N-no, sorry. I've pretty much been watching Monodam, with Yejoon nearby and Blake over at the bar."

"What's Blake said about his encounter?"

"Nothing that I want to repeat… or even can at this point. He got drunk pretty fast."

Shuuya slapped his palm against his forehead, and muttered, "Great, just great. We're almost completely in the dark about this, and it's so very embarrassing."

The assassin leaned against the arcade machine, and stared into Drake's innocent eyes. "I feel like you're probably the only person who gets how uncomfortable this whole motive is."

Drake nodded, and said, "Y-yeah, it's really difficult. I mean, are you going to be okay doing this?"

"Oh, I'll be fine, but I just hate the implications that come with it all, as well as that this is something that we feel obligated to do."

Shuuya chuckled lightly, and muttered, "Funny, hunting down a pedophile and killing him is so much easier to do than this motive."  
Drake swallowed nervously, and added, "Well, um, sketching drawings of my characters is pretty tough."

Shuuya realized the two were very different when it came to their passions and careers, so he decided to stop making it awkward for the young man. "So are you sticking around here in case any of the married couples come here?"

"Yes, two of the locked doors are in this building, so I wanted to be sure to know who comes through here. I'm trying to keep record of what goes on, I have a bit of a skill for that mentally."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, when you are planning out a script for an episode, I take into consideration where everyone is at all times, so I don't lose track of where they would be. So it's kind of the same here, as much as I can help out."

Shuuya smiled, and pat the cartoonist's shoulder. "Good plan. That reminds me that we never planned which side one should visit first, so I'll come over here, fail or succeed. I should go now, take care of yourselves…

"Even you, Monodam."

"YOUR-CONCERN-IS-APPRECIATED. BEING-HUNTED-BY-A-MAD-SNIPER-WHO-IS-YOUR-BROTHER-IS-STRESSFUL-AND-DIFFICULT-TO-MAKE-PEOPLE-GET-ALONG."

Shuuya walked away from the arcade, tucking his hands into his pockets as he thought about what to say and do when he got to the chapel. To try and distract himself from that tedious scenario, he decided to check up on Blake.

The Australian pyro was slumped on the counter, drool coming from his mouth as a pool of beer poured down to the floor. Monokuma the Beartender was staring at him, then glanced over at Shuuya.

" **You'll have to pay for his tab.** "

Shuuya rolled his eyes, and noticed that there was another Monokuma seated at the counter. He walked over, swiftly yanked the stool out from under the Monokuma, and waited for him to hit the floor.

Then the assassin lifted the bar stool, and smashed in Monokuma's head. Dropping the stool, he turned to the Beartender, and said, "Sorry, but the liquor went right to his head, thought I'd help him drain it out."

Gliding over to the bar, he reached over, grabbing Monokuma the Beartender's tie, and yanking him so the evil bear and the assassin were face to face, red eyes glaring into others. "That is how much you intimidate me, Monokuma."

" **…** **Would you care for a martini, before you go off and try my Kubs' motive, in which you gotta bang a chick for the sole purpose for information? Aw, is that really upsetting to the trained killer and huntsman?**

" **You know, not all women are like the victims of those you assassinated. Or you thinking it more in the sense that your widdle sister could one day get stuffed hard than a-** "

Shuuya hurled the bear against the racks of alcohol, knocking many of them over and causing a terrible commotion of shattering glass. The assassin walked out of the building, the last thing he heard were more shattering bottles, as well as Blake waking up with a start.

"Who'sh shtuffing whosh shishter?!"

The trench coat fluttered through the mist as the assassin beelined for the love hotel. His dark clothing really did stand out, and he had a steely look in his crimson eyes as he mentally told himself to just go. He quickly glanced at a clock inside of the lobby, which said it was slightly past 1:30.

The walk down the hallway made him feel a cold shiver going down his back, but he shoved his trepidation aside. " _This is ridiculous,_ " he mentally scolded himself. " _This is not exactly virgin territory for me… and I just made a pun, great. How the hell am I nervous?_ "

Just as he was thinking that, someone let out a scream and threw something in his face. Shuuya cried out and adopted a martial arts pose, snarling angrily at whoever dared to attack him.

"Wow, youse is real high-strung," Monosuke said, shaking his head. "I get it, pre-wedding jitters, but don't worry. Youse don't have a ceremony, youse don't have to make a speech, youse just got the honeymoon to worry about!

"Youse didn't drink before the honeymoon, did youse?" the orange Kub questioned as Shuuya relaxed from his stance. "Pops probably has been trying ta get youse all drunk before the marriages, he thinks it is funny."

"I care very little about what your father thinks or does at this point," the assassin remarked. "Now tell me, was there a point to startling me?"

"Oh, did youse not hear me when I said youse was married now?" Monosuke asked. "Hehe, congrats, big guy! Even youse with your scary eyes and scary clothing and scary hairy…"

Shuuya walked past the orange Kub, and looked into the altar room. Seated in one of the chairs was Futaba, who was busy making notes until she noticed he was there.

"Oh, hello again, handsome," she said as she stood up, smiling. "What a fortunate coincidence that I meet up with one of my orgy partners."

"Oh," was all Shuuya could say, his pale face blushing slightly. He adjusted his collar, and muttered, "I guess that is a fine coincidence."

"What, are you nervous, Shuuya? Oh, is this about the whole social intimidation that I'm sure you poor boys are going through."

Futaba laughed and twirled his gloved hand around. "Yeah, speaking as an anthropologist, it's one of those things that is a social issue with no clear resolution. This was probably what the Kubs were hoping for."

Monosuke waddled into the room, and then stared up at Futaba. "Listen, youse don't want to stand around here all day, debating social norms and issues and moral dilemmas. If youse could come with me…"

The orange Kub reached up and grabbed her gloved hand. When he tugged, she shrieked in pain. Futaba yanked her hand away from the Kub, accidentally flinging him through the air and crashing into the altar. There were a lot of shattering and banging noises, as Futaba clutched at her wrist.

"Are you okay?" Shuuya asked, walking over to her.

"I'm fine," she hissed, as she tried adjust her wrist, but the pain was evident on her face. She was trying to fix something about it, but it wasn't working.

"Here, let me."

"No! No I don't-"

"I have experience with this, please allow me."

He took Futaba's arm, and held her firmly. She shivered, as she watched him peel the glove off of her hand. The Ikeru Tech logo was proudly displayed on the back of her mechanical hand, right up to the edge where her hand was slightly detached from her wrist.

"Wait, Shuuya, I know what to do," she said. "Please, now that I can see it, I can reattach it. Just… I didn't want to reveal it."

Shuuya let go of her, and Futaba moved her hand to the mechanical hand and wrist. With a slight fiddling, a quick push and shove, she successfully had it back to normal again.

"Sorry, that normally doesn't happen unless it gets yanked on really hard," she said. She sighed and glanced to the side. "I understand if it's really unattractive to you."

"No, it isn't. You're just fine, Futaba."

The anthropologist sighed as she glanced up at him. "Look, I'm not the type of woman to lose confidence because I don't think I'm pretty enough or something; however, I'm know I'm a bit of a scarred mess."

"Honestly, I thought you would be far more concerned about me."

"Why, because you're an assassin? Meh, I'm not a bad person, so I'm not scared of you. Plus, you're handsome and strong, and we've done it before. So if you're up for banging, I'm not going to be all emo."

Futaba grinned as she took her glove and put it back on her hand. She made sure it was snugly on, then leaned in to give Shuuya a hearty kiss. Her real hand moved up to caress him, then she whispered, "Though maybe I'm just keen because I may not have long."

"Huh? Why, exactly?"

"Because I kind of hurled Monosuke across the room, that might count as assault."

As if on cue, Monosuke stumbled out from the altar, with fake vines and string decorations of Monokuma hanging from his head. He rubbed his noggin, and muttered, "Wow, what a trip."

Shuuya approached Monosuke, and said, "Is that going to be a problem, Monosuke?"

"Is what going to be a problem?"

The assassin paused, wondering what direction to take this. "No one's in trouble, are they?"

"Trouble? Isn't that what being Penjar is all about? Haha, why don't youse be more concerned about youse's new marriage?"  
Shuuya sighed in relief, then walked over to Futaba. "So if you're okay with this-"

Futaba took his hand with her artificial one, and squeezed him affectionately. "Up to our honeymoon suite, handsome. Aim to impress, this is round two after all!"

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:35 PM**

 **Spa and Beauty Parlor**

 **Hair Salon**

"Okay, I don't want to be that kind of impatient bitch," Crystal shouted from inside the locked room, "but what's going on out there?"

Eisei raised a lavender eyebrow, and pulled his lollipop from his mouth to speak. "Nothing at all, Crystal, we're contemplating methods of assisting you. Our options are low, as we are not allowed to use explosives, fire, or battering rams."

A groan could be heard from behind the door, and Crystal responded, "Yes, I know this is quite the pickle."

"I fail to see how a vegetable-"

"Eisei," Saiko called out, "that's not really going to help."

The dentist turned towards the forensic investigator, tilting his head to the side. "Right now, I do not know how to assist Crystal except to help her stay calm so claustrophobia and/or cabin fever do not make her condition worsen."

"And you think bringing that up when she's in earshot is going to help?"

From inside the locked room, Crystal called out, "I'll admit, Eisei's voice is very soothing. It is helping me stay at ease."

Saiko felt a tinge of jealousy and outrage that she couldn't quite explain or care to admit to, so she pushed it aside. "Okay, I'll admit, I'm out of ideas. I was thinking of something to pick the lock or remove the hinges from the other side, but I cannot find the scissors."

"What?" Eisei inquired. "What do you mean?"

"When Aka and I had a fight here yesterday, she threw a container with hair styling products in it. There was a really nice pair of scissors amongst the brushes and combs you can still see on the floor, but they're gone now."

"That sounds dangerous."

"I think we're mature enough adults to handle scissors."

"I meant more so that she threw the container at her."

Eisei walked over to the broken container on the ground, and nudged it with his food. "That does remind me, didn't Monophanie tell us yesterday about being able to use an item from someone who's died as a 'married' partner?"

Saiko tapped her chin, and remarked, "I do remember that. Maybe we find something to slip under the door, we could get Crystal out of there."

Crystal knocked on the door to get their attention. "I hate to break it to you all, but the hand scanner is meant for one of the males, so an item to be my stand-in husband would not unlock this door."

Eisei snapped his fingers. "Curses and bad words, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe we should ask the Monokubs for help in this endeavor?"

"You really think those rat bastards would help us?" Saiko remarked with a frown.

"Calling them such things would lower our chances."

"Eisei, think about each case: Monophanie has been missing along with Hara since breakfast, Monokid has gone fucking insane with power, and Monodam is on the male side."

"Also," Crystal called out, "Monosuke is at the altar. I'm pretty sure he is going to stay there all day."

"So we cannot rely on the Kubs, and we're certainly not going to get mercy from Monokuma," Saiko said. "What would you suggest we do?"

Eisei swished his hips as he mentally processed all of this information. "It's past 1:30, is it not? We've spent a lot of time trying to get Crystal out of here, we must ask the next one to cross the threshold to hurry over here with their husband."

"Ah shit, that might be our only course of action," Saiko said, shaking her head. "God damn it, I wish I had thought of that, I've just been so distracted… wait, Eisei, what are you doing?"

The dentist had moved over to one of the counters, and started to sanitize one of the combs. He then ran it through his long lavender pigtails, and said, "I feel like I should make myself as presentable as possible before I inquire a lady to have the good graces of coming here after volunteering for sex."

"… Why?"

"Because one should look their best when asking for unusual favors, it's charismatic and visually pleasing."

"… Okay."

"Or were you thinking of doing it? I believed you wished to find Hara, so you would be busy otherwise."

Saiko crossed her arms in a huff, then she noticed him walking over to her. She was about to speak, then he took one of her blue pigtails and started combing it.

"Ahh~! Ei-Eisei, what are you doing?"

"I'm helping soothe your hair out. The mists kind of frazzle our hair when they get thick."

"Nnngh, s-stop it. This… this is…"

Saiko felt herself blushing, and it intensified when she heard Crystal start giggling from behind the door. "This is too cute," the military adviser remarked.

"Sh-shut up, baka!" Saiko hollered, though she didn't stop Eisei from continuing. "Why don't you make yourself useful while you're back there, Crystal? You got stuck in there, tell us what is in there!"

"I'm having much more fun listening to you doing each other's hair. Wait, does this mean all this time, you two have been doing each other-"

"I will leave you in there, Crystal!"

"Okay, okay, fine. Sorry, but I kind of was avoiding that, because I didn't want you all to worry."

Eisei paused his combing, and asked, "Is there something dangerous in there? I hope it does not have a timer counting down."

"No, nothing that looks like a bomb."

Crystal leaned against the door, as she shone her phone's light over the large device that took up the main part of the room. There were computers set inside of a metal frame on the left side, a large tank full of water in the center, and a small platform that was no bigger than a dinner plate to the right.

"I think Monokuma has another tank for human body creation," Crystal said, "within this room."

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:47 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Western Gift Shop**

"But why does Ken get to go next? Why won't anyone hear me out? Both Crystal and Pyrrha could have gone already, and I told the women-"

"Odelios, it is not that we don't believe you that either of those intelligent, beautiful, and sophisticated women would be interested in you," Ken tried to reason with the clown, "it is just that we don't believe you when you say they would be interested in you."

Odelios scrunched up his face in outrage, cheeks getting puffy, and he started rummaging through his belongings. Yitro leaned over to Ken, and whispered, "I don't think you were supposed to directly contradict yourself there, Ken."

"The court jester does not lay with elegant women," the cavalryman remarked, folding his arms as he spoke matter-of-factly. "Everyone knows that the comic alleviation does not earn himself a proper woman."

"When I get my rubber chicken out, buster, I am so challenging you to a duel," Odelios hollered.

"You do realize that my honor as a fighter for Novoselic means I take such a duel seriously?"

"My rubber chicken against your sword! I will slap you in the face with it, and challenge you to a duel!"

Ken rolled his eyes, and went back to looking through the items located in the gift shop. "Let us simply find something that would be appropriate for a present to a _lady_ when we cross over to the altar, Yitro."

"I don't understand what is making you so upset about Odelios, man," Yitro remarked, crossing his arms. "I mean, yeah, he is silly, but he's trying to help."

"Odelios speaks funny and acts oddly, with a talent that doesn't befit someone of true pride and comfort to the world. Simply put, he annoys me."

Yitro watched Ken move about the gift shop. The cavalryman searched through the items, and he was looking at potpourri, romantic novels, and some oddly brightly colored jeans. The swordsman squinted in confusion, and remarked, "You wish to give pants to a woman as a present?"

"Clothing is a nice gift, is it not?" Ken remarked. He was speaking louder, possibly because Odelios was causing such a commotion with how much stuff he was throwing around to find where he had stored his rubber chicken; the clown was searching through displays too, having seriously misplaced Rubarrow.

"You do have to take into consideration that you are giving a present to a woman while asking her to agree to have sex with you over a plot set up by our bear overlords," Yitro commented, as he picked up one of the romance novels. "Clothing is an unusual present for such a proposition."

"Novoselic takes presents of nice pants very seriously! Look, Yitro, I know I get phrases wrong a lot, but I am not doing this to get into a woman's pants, I'm trying to be pleasing to them."

"In the process of requesting they take their pants off?"

"Why are you being so lewd and vulgar over this?"

Yitro chuckled as he shifted through the tacky romance novel about a spy. "A little bit of Angelique stayed with me after she passed away. She was usually brutal like that when we were at Hope's Peak, and when we kept in contact afterwards.

"You know, even though I knew she was a lesbian, there were times when I was quite enamored with her. I had to remind myself that she and I weren't to be, and I'd have to wait to find someone amazing as well. Though part of me doesn't really believe in that anymore…

"I kind of just want this motive to be over, for us to find the answers to this place, and get out of here. I'm just tired of Penjar, of Despair."

Ken picked up a movie case that seemed to be about yakuza. "You shouldn't give up, my friend. Despair never will, so you must take to fighting against it at all times. Maybe when this is all over, you and I should embark on a mission together, and slay Despair where we find it."

"I'm not really interested in spilling blood with my sword, Ken."

"Then what is the point of your weapon, and your very being, if you are the Ultimate Swordsman? You look poorly upon violence, because of your past? Maybe it is time that you embrace this, and we prepare for a storm after the one we are in now."

Yitro went silent, as he flipped through the book more. Ken watched him, then went back to going through the possible presents. Neither of them spoke, until there was a shout from Odelios.

"Wah, it's got ahold of my shoe! I'm going down-"

There was a loud crashing sound, then an even louder one as a cabinet came falling down to the ground. Yitro and Ken saw one of the big displays with a ton of plushies had come down, and Odelios was underneath the thing. The two strong men grabbed it and lifted it up with relative ease.

The clown was buried amongst the plushies, completely dazed with a bump on his forehead. He eventually looked up, and exclaimed with a slight slur in his voice, "I was just getting ready for my date, and then these dolls ganged up on me and beat me up! Stupid dolls! Doll fuckers!"

Yitro rubbed his forehead, and said, "I think he's concussed."

Ken rolled his eyes, and muttered, "I think he's stupid."

"I think your _face_ is stupid! Hahaha! Ow… fucking dolls, gerroff…"

* * *

 **Day 12, 1:59 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Lobby**

"I doo'nt knoo' if I'm ready fur this. What do you guys think?"

Kimiko nervously inspected herself in the mirror, then spat into her hand. She started to smear down the parts of her hair that were sticking out, and muttered how much she wished her hair would obey for once. Eisei and Fiora watched this with a slight case of disgust.

"Men normally don't find saliva in the hair very attractive, Kimiko," Eisei said. "As far as I know, I haven't met any men who have that kink."

"Most men don't carry their kink sheets with them, eh," Fiora said with a giggle.

"What exactly is a 'kink sheet'?"

The movie maker shrugged as she tried to think of something to add to this. "Um, I was kidding, I doo'nt knoo' what men want either."

"Well, we're gonna hafta get a man over here if we wanna get Crystal 'oot of that room," Kimiko remarked. "I doo'nt want to leave her in there, the poor thing. I knoo' I'd be going crazy if ya locked me up in a room."

Eisei nodded, and said, "Plus, the crack at the bottom of the door isn't big enough to shove candy under, so that just got to be a bit sad after a few attempts."

Fiora rocked on her feet, as she watched Kimiko try to smooth herself out. "You really okay with this, you hose-head?"

"Oh shut it," Kimiko said with a sly grin back at her fellow Canadian. "If I'm say I'm ready to go have sex with a guy, I'm ready to do it, eh! I wonder if he'll be okay with it being quick, though."

"Most men would delight in seeing a woman naked for however brief of a period," Eisei spoke up. "That is why strip clubs persist to this day."

"Know that from extensive field research, Eisei?"

"What my classmates dragged me off to for a pre-graduation ceremony from Hope's Peak haunts me to this day."

Both women stared at him for a few seconds, then realized prying for more information wouldn't get them anywhere. Fiora grinned at Kimiko, and said, "Look, you're going to do joo'st fine, Kimiko. Go on, it's two o'clock now."

"Al… alright. Time to screw some lucky lad's brains 'oot, yeehaw!"

The Japanese-Canadian biker gang leader declaring this as she walked down the hallway of the love hotel was definitely one of the most unique events either Eisei or Fiora had seen, and those two had seen a lot of unique events in their lives.

"So," Fiora said, turning to Eisei, "do we joo'st, I dunno, wait around here until she gets back?"  
"That might be an unusual waiting period, because we're not sure when she will be back."

"Why doo'nt you go back to Crystal and Saiko, keep them company. I am sure you want to spend moo'r time with Saiko, eh~"

"I'm not sure what you mean…"

"You knoo' exactly what I mean." Fiora grinned and added, "I knoo' I've bin through a lot these past couple days, but even I can see that you're sweet on Saiko like your lollipops, Eisei."

Eisei pursed his lips and pouted, then asked, "But how do I know it's something more amorous than the after-effects of the aphrodisiac-induced orgy we all took part in?"

"Yitro and I banged during that orgy, but we're joo'st friends; you and Saiko continuously hang out with each other, and it's so cute when one of you starts blushing."

"I don't blush."

"Everyone blushes, you cannot deny that."

"Curses, natural biological methods that irrationally show mentality have thwarted me. Alright, Fiora, I'll go, but if you wish to stick around, just know it may be a while."

"I ain't got anywhere else to be, eh!"

Eisei left the love hotel, as Fiora chuckled and watched him go. She sat down in a chair, and grew bored in the next two minutes. Heading over to the gift shop, she started glancing around for something to do while waiting.

She walked over to the back of the shop, where there was a large shelf full of plushies to look like the Monokubs. Fiora stared at one of Monokid, and said, "I wonder if anyone would want one of these fur a bit of comfort."

Glancing around the area, she saw that the gift shop also contained a few unorthodox items, including self-defense items. Fiora walked over to pick up what appeared to be a whistle, then she noticed the tag of 'rape whistle' on it.

"Oh, I see your game," she muttered, rolling her eyes and glanced over at the plushie stand. "You're trying to make us more nervous a'boot going over there, huh? Well, guess what?"

She put the whistle in her mouth, and picked up one of the tasers, pointing it at the Monokid plushie. "That ain't going to work, you stupid bear bitch! Take this!"

Fiora walked over to the stand, placed her hand on it as she loomed over the Monokid plushie. She pressed the taser against the plushie and tased it good; however she wasn't aware there was a metal rod as a support pole behind the plushie, so when she pushed against the plushie, it was zapped out of the way. Her taser hit the metal pole, and the electricity raced through the metal stand, right to her hand she had placed on the stand.

Fiora shrieked in pain as she somehow tased herself, flinging the taser up into the air. As she lurched over to gasp for air after that painful experience, the taser (of really poor quality, because this is the Monokubs we're talking about) came down and zapped her on the back.

The movie maker shook from the overwhelming electricity, and fell down, attempting to grip the plushie stand for support during her last conscious moments. This caused it to fall over, covering her with plushies.

"Whu' jus' happa'?" she slurred underneath the mess of plushies and the shelf.

Monokid, toting his sniper rifle with him, came running into the gift shop. "I heard that someone desecrated the adorable plushies built on my fucking good looks! Is this…

"HOLY FUCK! MY PLUSHIE SHELF! Why did you tase it, you stupid, stupid girl?"

* * *

 **Day 12, 2:57 PM**

 **Bowling Alley**

 **Bowling Lanes**

Isaac sipped at the beer he had received from the mostly destroyed bar, and watched Souma set up his shot. The reporter resisted the urge to taunt his bowling opponent, so Souma rolled a rather nice one down the aisle. The crack of pins as they all went down was rather satisfying, and the public speaker pumped his fist.

"Yes! Strike! Hot damn, I am good at this game," Souma said, walking proudly over to the digital screen that was keeping track of his score. "That's four in a row now, I'm on fire."

"Right, right, keep applauding yourself, Souma," Isaac said with a chuckle. "I'll get one that doesn't go into the gutter, just you wait."

"Maybe you should use something a little bigger?" Odelios offered, inflating a beach ball that he had been keeping on his person. "Perhaps you could hit something with this?"

He tossed the beach ball at Isaac, who slapped it back at the clown, bouncing it off of his head and down the aisles. As Odelios went to chase it, Isaac called out, "You're up, Blake!"

The pyro walked down the stairs to their aisle, as Odelios kept a safe enough distance from them to avoid breaking the rules. "Honestly, as much as I didn't think I would be saying this," Blake muttered, "shouldn't we be more vigilante at the hotel, find out who actually screwed someone?"

"As eloquently as you may have put it," Souma responded with a roll of his eyes, "Shuuya and Ken know to find us at the bowling alley first off, unless the women require them post-haste on their side."

"It's like sending a man to an island of horny lesbians," Blake said with a snicker. "Ain't that Wonder Woman's origin story?"

"You're so funny," Isaac muttered, also rolling his eyes.

"Well, what about Ishiku?"

"He'll be coming to either side, it's not like this plaza is a labyrinth."

Blake shrugged, and then his head did a rather intense spin as it reminded him he had drunk way too much a couple hours ago. Grabbing a water bottle and slogging it down, he wound up and rolled his bowling ball down the aisle. It crashed against the pins, knocking over most of them.

"Gotta admit, there is something really satisfying about that," Blake said. "Thanks for inviting me, guys."

"Thank Odelios, he felt bad for you," Souma remarked.

A few lanes over, Odelios decided that he had to run down one of the lanes, throw himself on the waxed floor, and slide into the pins to knock them all over, beach ball in his hands.

"He's not taking it well that we're making him practically go last," Isaac remarked.

"He'll get over it, I'm sure," Souma said, "if Crystal and/or Pyrrha still want him afterwards."

"What?" Blake asked, his face twisting with incredulousness.

* * *

 **Day 12, 3:13 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Honeymoon Suite for Ishiku & Anzu**

Two hours had passed in the suite, though it felt like an eternity for them. Anzu had pressed her body up against Ishiku, shivering, straining to block out the awful voices in her head. He behaved gracefully, holding her close, comforting her, rubbing her head and back to try and help soothe her nerves.

Anzu hadn't been able to speak this whole time, she just needed someone to hold her and let her know she was alright. And as Ishiku did just that, she felt he was shivering too; something was wrong with him as well, she could sense it.

She wrapped herself and pulled herself closer. They were both still naked, but very warm and comforting despite what had happened. Anzu thought to herself as she pushed up against him, " _You need to talk to him._ "

" _But… he'll think I'm crazy… or even worse, dangerous!_ "

" _He needs your comfort as much as you need his. Don't just press up against him and expect he'll be satisfied with that; just because he's a guy doesn't mean your naked body is going to be good enough for what just happened._ "

" _He'll hate me…_ "

" _That risk is something you'll have to take, Anzu. Do it._ "

Anzu took a deep breath, then looked up into Ishiku's eyes. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course, Anzu," he said, petting her raven hair. "Just take your time."

"I've been just lying here for a while now, I think it's time I'm honest with you."

Anzu sighed as she propped herself up and stared into his eyes for as long as she could bear, then she glanced away and spoke.

"I don't know much about who I am, ever since I came to Penjar. You see, I remember coming here, I found this old hotel and took shelter there. Next thing I remember is Saiko walking inside and us startling each other…

"But I don't even remember getting here, when and how I did that… I know why, I wanted to find the answers to this place. Even my career, my life, I'm trying so hard to remember details, but it all feels so vague."

Anzu ran a hand through her hair, twirling one of her blue bangs. "I thought that was normal, you know? You don't remember every detail of your life, every day on the job. Like, I could remember having sex, in offices, in a bedroom, at a fancy resort, and I thought that was good enough, you know?

"But I'm having trouble remembering my parents, the people I worked with, and what I do remember seems to be so bitter and hateful. Especially when I think of Hope's Peak Academy, and the students there… I… I think I wasn't well-received by my peers, and I blocked it out."

She smiled sadly at Ishiku, and continued. "So yeah, broken home, broken life, porn star profession, sounds like the norm, you know? But ever since I got here, every time I've tried to get frisky with people, there's been this voice in my head, telling me I'm wrong, that I shouldn't, that I _won't_ do it.

"I kept on just snuggling and kissing and everything up to third base, and I hid it from them; people like Kimiko, Fiora, Angelique, they were understanding. Then I tried to get it on with you, and… and…"

Anzu sobbed and shook her head. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know what stopped me, what is going on with me, and it is freaking me out that I don't know. Tell me, what kind of porn star freaks when she is trying to have sex?

"What happened to me?"

Anzu took several deep breaths as she tried to lift her head, to look at him. She soon felt one of his hands cup her chin and lift her head up, so she was looking into his eyes.

"During the Tragedy, I had some similar experiences," he said. "There were times when people were trying to kill me, kill my friends, and I fought back. I don't remember what happened a lot of the time, I just know I made it out of there in one piece every time."

"That sounds something like blacking out during combat," Anzu murmured, "but then again, I doubt it would continuously happen like that."

"Yes, I couldn't explain it, and it still worries me to this day. The Tragedy, what happened during it, and why did so many people wind up dead? I saw a lot of people die, and I don't understand why…

"And to be honest, I wish I could forget about my parents sometimes," he said with a heavy sigh. "During the Tragedy, the despair got to them. They killed our neighbors, they did horrible things to them, and then they killed each other. I… I keep trying to think back to when I was a kid, all the good times I had…

"But every time I do, all I see is their faces with Despair in their eyes. It was the last time I ever saw them, it was when I had to run for my life from them."

Ishiku took one of Anzu's petite hands into his, and squeezed affectionately. "Whatever you've been through, Anzu, I'm sure you can find the answer. And you won't be alone, because I'm not the only person who cares about you."

Anzu laughed, slightly bitter, and muttered, "I really did sleep around."

"You know that's not the only reason people care about you. Come on, you're a smart girl."

She finally managed to stare into his eyes, and whispered her thanks. Anzu moved in to kiss him, the two spending a few romantic moments thanking the other for helping them with sweet kisses.

Eventually it stopped, and Anzu said, "We… we should probably go back downstairs, tell the others what happened. I'm sorry."

"You really don't have to apologize."

The two decided to shower off, together, before getting dressed in their clothing again. They walked to the elevator, holding hands, trying to find strength in each other on how they were going to tell the others they had failed.

As they rode the elevator down, Anzu's eyes lit up, and she leaned in to whisper into Ishiku's ear. " _Hold up… what if we say we did it?_ "

" _You really think they'd buy it?_ "

" _We won't know unless we try. Here, let's go to the guy's side first._ "

When the elevator reached the ground floor, Anzu and Ishiku left and took a right, down to the western side of the hotel. They saw the dividing line, the border as it were, and both of them stepped over it, holding hands.

They managed to get a few steps down the hallway when there was a loud throat-clearing sound. Monokid walked down the hallway towards them, holding his rifle in both paws, and a smoking cigar in his mouth.

"Well well well, do we have a nicely married couple here?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "Did it finally happen? Between a man and a woman? It's so hard to believe."

"It's true," Anzu said, staring down defiantly at the blue Kub. "We crossed the threshold together, we had sex. So you gotta let us pass."

Monokid snarled, and then shouted, "Monosuke! Where is your lazy ass?"

The orange Kub came scurrying from the altar, down the hallway to behind the couple. He glanced up at Anzu and Ishiku, and clicked his tongue. "Hot hot hot! Youse two, youse really made things interesting! What with all the sex and crying and sobbing and hugging… it was so realistic!"

Ishiku and Anzu were both blushing at this point, and he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Okay, very funny, Monosuke," the magician said. "Guess this means you were watching?"

"More or less, but don't worry, youse weren't recorded! Yes yes yes, the sex was grand and miserable! Upupupu! So, Monokid, why you holding back our latest couple?"

Monokid snarled again, and started angrily ranting as he turned around and stomped down the hallway. "Fine! Have things work out! You ruin things for everyone when things work out, what the hell am I going to do now? First the clown woman, then the plushies being electrocuted, now I have to babysit you two…"

"You really don't have to do that," Ishiku assured him.

Monokid stormed off to the gift shop on the western side the moment they got to the lobby. The two scanned the area, but none of the guys were there. Anzu, incredibly excited and nervous, giggled to hide her fear and whispered, "Well then, stud magician, where do you want to take me first?"

"There's the bowling alley, the baseball field, and the Hall of Fame," Ishiku listed off.

"Hall of Fame? What's that?"

Before Ishiku could respond, they could hear very angry yelling from the gift shop. The two simultaneously believed that an angry Monokid should be avoided, and they darted out of the hotel.

Passing by the bowling alley and the baseball field, they swiftly arrived at the Hall of Fame building. With the mists in the area so thick, it was the only thing they truly could see.

"It's so big," Anzu marveled at the building, then she nudged Ishiku and giggled. "Don't you dare say it."

"Why would I, that's what you said."

She giggled and shoved him, and then said, "Okay, so, do you want to see closed-off side now?"

"Why don't I show you the side we know of first off? That way, you'll have an idea what this place is about."

Ishiku and Anzu entered the open side of the Hall of Fame, and the actress was immediately stunned to see the portraits. While the ones of her fellow Penjar tourists were quick shocking, she found herself transfixed with the Hope's Peak Academy ones.

"Yeah, the crazy thing is, they have all of us here too," Ishiku said, as he walked alongside the ones of the Penjar visitors. He got to his, and sighed as he remembered what he had seen on the touchscreen. "Have a list of all the people we killed, and there's a few on here for me… I think that's when I defended myself during the Tragedy.

"Though if I recall, yours was actually pretty clean, Anzu. So you don't have to worry about anything, it seems that even the Kubs and Monokuma know that you're not a bad person-"

 _CRASH!_

Ishiku whipped around, eyes wide in shock, at the sound of glass shattering and metal slamming against tile. Anzu was standing there, heaving as her face was twisted in outrage. She had taken one of the portraits off of the hook and smashed it on the floor.

"Anzu, what," the magician stammered, gingerly approaching the actress, "why did you do that?!"

She didn't respond, she merely spat on the back of the destroyed portrait. "Bitch," she snarled out.

"Anzu!"

The actress flinched, and then stared at Ishiku. "Wh-what?" she asked, and then she noticed the portrait on the floor, as if that had happened without her knowledge. She reached up and grabbed both of her curly bangs, and started shivering.

"Oh no," she whimpered, "oh no, oh no no no, I have no idea why I did that…"

"Anzu, let's hurry over to the other side," Ishiku suggested, coming over to her. "Something is wrong here, but if we dawdle, Monokid might throw us out."

"I'm ruining everything…"

Though Anzu wasn't responding to him, she did follow alongside as he took her back outside. She placed her hand on the palm scanner next to the other door, and it beeped affirmatively. They went in, though the hallway was nothing like they could have imagined.

The walls, ceiling, and the floor were all a horrific, crimson red color. The lights above kept the place nice and illuminated, but they were either tinted, or the room was just so red that even the lights couldn't fight it.

On the right side, lined up on the wall, were more portraits. Each one was a victim of the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game, and each one had a touchscreen underneath. There was also a bright red light under most of them.

Ishiku stared in confusion, as this was the main, and only, feature for this locked room. He walked through it, until he was down towards the other side. Touching the screens under the portraits, he found they all had data, but of a different kind.

"What is all this for?" Anzu asked, staring at the portrait of Mahiru.

Ishiku flipped through touchscreen's pages. "These are all the people who died during the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game, but the stats… they're different."

"What? How so?"

"They are all about their deaths. The time, the date, the manner of the death, who killed them, and also, it seems, something about… their time before the Killing Game?"

Ishiku ground his teeth together as he searched through more of the pages. "Known living associates, the class they were in, their favorite hang-out spots… wait."

The bottom of one of these pages really caught Ishiku's attention. "Last Known Location before Knockout? What the hell is that?"

Anzu crossed her arms as she scanned the portraits, frowning in concern. "Well, I mean, they don't look like boxers, or sentries that a spy needs to knock out. Why would whoever is at work here care where they were?"

"Not to mention how they could have all been knocked out?" Ishiku murmured. He tapped his chin, then stared at the red light that was under the portrait of Himiko Yumeno; or rather, he would have looked at a light if it was on, so to speak.

"What's up with some of them being on, and some being off?" he asked.

Anzu walked through the hallway again, observing everyone. Only a few of the victims had the light underneath turned off: Himiko Yumeno, Teruteru Hanamura, Sayaka Maizono, Sonia Nevermind, Kiibo, Toko Fukawa, Mondo Owada, Peko Pekoyama, Gonta Gokuhara, and Maki Harukawa.

The actress scratched the back of her head, and then said, "Could this have something to do with the visions we've been having?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's something going on with those visions that we've had, what I had, twice," Anzu explained. "Look, I was in Peko's body the first time I had a vision, and then Mondo's a second time. Kimiko was in Sayaka's. And I think Eisei said something about Gonta at some point?"

Ishiku stood up to observe the portraits. "That doesn't explain the others, but it is unusual. And those visions that people have been having, that cannot be a coincidence."

"Not at all, I think," Anzu said, "that whatever is going on with those visions, that is something that Monokuma, the Monokubs, the Mastermind of this place, they clearly know about this."

"And they have all this information," Ishiku continued the train of thought. "They clearly believe someone is of importance, someone who died in Hope's Peak Academy. But why?"

"And what do they want with them?" Anzu said, as her eyes trailed towards Mahiru's portrait again.

Ishiku sighed, and stared at Himiko's portrait. "Poor little gumdrop, I wish she had made it out of there."

The actress moved through the hallway, staring at each of portraits as she tried to rack her brains over this. It was highly confusing to her, and she didn't like how she was being presented this with so few answers. Plus, her sudden and violent outburst on the other side of the Hall of Fame had her unnerved slightly.

"Anzu," Ishiku called out to her, "maybe we should check out the baseball field next, and see if we can find the others."

"Should we leave the door open to this place?"

"Can we?"

The two tried to leave the door open to the formerly locked side of the Hall of Fame. After some trial and error, they discovered that the door would stay open if they left it ajar slightly. Any more and it would swing closed as if there was a limit to how far it would be left open.

The two walked, with Anzu trying to stay calm and keep a neutral expression. Ishiku took her hand again, and she squeezed him appreciatively, but it was obvious she was still perturbed.

When they reached the baseball field, Ishiku showed her to the shack that had the locked door and palm reader. When she opened it up, they saw a great deal of baseball equipment.

Ishiku started rummaging through the stuff, and muttered, "Seems like a bunch of stuff of baseball. Why'd they lock it up?"

Anzu kicked at a metal bat. "This stuff would be lethal if you wanted to hurt someone. Baseball bats, a pitching device, the works! But then again, they probably hid it because they just wanted to tease us that we weren't going to be able to play baseball."

"No… I think you were right the first time…"

Ishiku dropped a baseball in disgust. It rolled into the center of the shack, and Anzu could see it was stained with blood.

"Oh God."

"Yeah, let's get out of here, this isn't any good to us."

Shutting the shack door, the two left the baseball field. They were at the bowling alley next, with Ishiku trying to push down a feeling of shame that was welling up in him. He remembered getting drunk at the bar yesterday, and almost getting hammered this morning; it wasn't something he wished to admit to her.

Though when they tried the front door, they found it was locked. Ishiku, confused, tried to push on the door, then knocked. Anzu knocked too, louder, and yet no one came to the door.

"What is going on?" she asked him. "Why is the door locked? Has this happened before?"

"No, I don't understand! I mean…"

Ishiku glanced around the plaza, trying to observe what he could in the thick fog. "Okay, this is really weird, since this is the only place the others could be."

He pounded on the door, slamming his fist on it to try and get some attention. "HEY! Guys! Come on! Open up!"

"I-AM-AFRAID-THINGS-ARE-GETTING-MORE-COMPLICATED."

Anzu and Ishiku jumped in surprise, and turned to see Monodam standing there behind them. The green Kub was staring up at them, as calm as ever. "I-AM-AFRAID-MY-BROTHER-IS-GETTING-ANGRY… OR-MAYBE-IT-IS-MY-FATHER?"

"Monodam," Anzu said, kneeling down to pat the green Kub, "can you open the door? Aren't the other men in there?"

"I-THINK-MONOKID-IS-TRYING-TO-FOIL-YOU, BY-NOT-LETTING-YOU-GO-INTO-THE-BOWLING-ALLEY."

Ishiku crossed his arms, and sighed. "Okay, you know what, you have any idea when we could go in the bowling alley?"

Monodam motioned for him to lean down, then he whispered ever-so-softly into the magician's ear. As the Kub spoke, the magician's eyes grew wide.

He magician snapped up, then took Anzu's hand. He led her back to the hotel, back down the hallway to the chapel and center elevator, and went up towards their room.

"What on Earth did he say?" Anzu asked him.

"Monodam said that if someone was fibbing," Ishiku said nervously, "that the more they searched the area, the more they would come under scrutiny."

Anzu swallowed nervously. "So you're saying that if we stay out there, the more obvious we will become?"

"That's about it, yes," Ishiku said, pacing back and forth. "But now I'm so confused on what to do! Do we go back out alone, do we try the other side? I just… I don't want to risk your life, Anzu."

"I don't want to risk your life either, Ishi," she said affectionately. "You know what though? We're not the only ones who can solve this problem. Why don't we spend some time in our room, and then go out later?"

They arrived at their room, and both entered with an uneasy feeling going on. Ishiku was nervous about what to do, and Anzu was thinking back to what she had done. That guilt started to well up in her, but every time she thought about the face of the woman on that portrait… unexplainable fury started to writhe in her stomach.

"Um, Anzu?"

She turned towards Ishiku, who was trying the door to their room as if to leave. He was having no luck, and he struggled to open it.

"I think we're locked in."

Anzu swallowed, and then let out the most exasperated sigh. "Another way to divide us up, it would seem. It wasn't enough to move the genders apart, and then split them up into groups of three… now we're being locked into separate rooms and buildings."

"I don't understand why they're doing it, but it's freaking me out," Ishiku admitted, "and, well, that's what they want, right?"

Anzu sighed, and glanced around the room. "Here we are, girl and boy, trapped in a love hotel room, and it's more scary than anything else. Sorry we cannot just have sex to pass the time."

Ishiku stared at her, then chuckled. He snapped his fingers, and there was a deck of cards in-between his digits. "A magician always has things to do to pass the time. You like card games?"

Anzu's eyes lit up, and she giggled. "I can play a mean game of Go Fish!"

* * *

 **Day 12, 4:28 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Western Lobby**

Yitro glanced up at the clock in the lobby, noticing that it was indeed 4:28 PM. He tapped his foot, then regarded the gift he had selected out of the rather messy gift shop: brightly colored pants.

"I cannot believe I am considering this a gift as well," he muttered. "But if the Novoselic knight thinks it works, well, then I should try it to. And… I'm talking to myself again. Oh great."

The swordsman tossed the pants on his shoulder, and then he heard the creaking of the floor along with footsteps. He turned to see Yejoon walking into the lobby.

"And what brings you here?" Yitro asked casually.

"Someone locked up the bowling alley from the inside," the artist responded. "It was starting to get rather tedious in there, so I snuck out."

"How's that?"

"I don't reveal my secrets. So, are you truly going to give a woman a pair of pants as a gift? I mean, those are brightly colored, they are quite nice, but still."

"Do you honestly believe I will take your advice on gift giving?"

"No, I don't suppose you would; however, there is something I would ask you to consider, even coming from me."

Yitro raised an eyebrow at the artist, and then crossed his arms. "Very well, I suppose this day cannot get any more odd."

"Monodam told us that everyone is meant to be inside of the Love Hotel by 9 PM, by order of his insane brother. The only people who are allowed outside will be married couples, and those with items that belong to one of the deceased of the opposite gender."

Yitro rolled his eyes and slapped his hand against his forehead. "That's just great. This is becoming more and more complicated. I think the Monokubs are planning on that, however, they want us to be baffled and frustrated."

"Oh, but you know what we could always do so that the women could open their doors in case our men have failed to properly consummate the marriages?"

Yitro blinked slowly, and muttered, "If I told you I don't want to hear it, would you still-"

"Cut off one of our hands, and give it to them as a gift."

The swordsman stared hard and long at Yejoon, and he could see it: the madness of Despair swirling in Yejoon's eyes. Yitro took a deep breath, and responded, "That's not going to happen."

"Why not? It could most likely work, I have a good feeling it would," Yejoon remarked, stepping forward. "Besides, I know you want to damage me."

"Yejoon, back off."

"You hate me, and you want to spill my blood. Why not have a go at it? That way, you could help the women… you could help Fiora."

Yejoon took another step forward, reaching up and clenching his hands in determination. "I'd do anything to find the answers to this place, to find the true purpose of Despair here. If Fiora won't take me as her husband, I can still offer her my hand, can I not? Hehehe… hehehe…

"Hehehepupupupuu…"

Yejoon grabbed at his mask and pulled it off, staring at Yitro with a crazy grin. "So what do you say, Yitro? Want to try it out?"  
Yitro slowly walked away from Yejoon, and down the hallway. He moved all the way down to the center, silent and unnerved, but determined as ever.

"Hey there, champ," Monosuke said, staring up at the swordsman when he entered the chapel. "Congratulations on getting married!"

"What?" Yitro asked. He glanced around the altar room, towards the elevator, and asked, "What are you talking about? No one's here."

"And yet you are married! Hahaha, upupupu!" the orange Kub announced. "Those be the rules! Monophanie and I designed them, and they stick like glue! Like super glue! Like super-duper-whooper-pooper glue!"

Yitro face-palmed again, and muttered angrily, "I am seriously considering going ballistic if I cannot find one being to speak normally to me."

"Those pants for me?" Monosuke asked, pointing up at the pair on Yitro's shoulder. When the brightly colored fabric was dropped unceremoniously, the orange Kub laughed in delight. "Thanks, man! I rarely ever get pants as a gift! Youse is one cool frood!"

"Alright, who am I married to?" Yitro asked.

"I dunno, champ."

"What? Who was the last woman in here?"

"I dunno, champ."

"How can you not know? How are you and Monokid constantly forgetting who we are?"

"Because all youse humans look alike, youse know that? Anyway, where is yo' woman? Youse gotta consummate the marriage, bro!"

"I cannot do that if I don't know who she is!"

"This sounds like a 'youse' problem, champ. Maybe youse all should have planned this better!"

"How were we supposed to do that? You divided us up more and more, and now we have to stay in the hotel at 9? You all keep making more and more rules!"

"Kind of like turning the difficulty up on the game on youse'all, ain't it?" Monosuke said, walking towards the chapel. He started arranging a broken part of the mess it was, and said, "Youse can always wait around here, if youse want."

"Why? The woman I married is already gone!"

Yitro sat down in one of the chairs irregardless of his words, and proceeded to sulk as he waited for someone, anyone, to come and better explain the situation to him. Monosuke shrugged, and said, "Sheesh, not often youse see the groom left at the altar."

* * *

 **Day 12, 6:50 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

The hours were either crawling or flying by for the visitors of Penjar. Most people were wondering who was where, and patience was starting to be driven really thin amongst those trapped in rooms or buildings.

One person who wasn't so trapped or frustrated was Aka, who was done licking her fingers clean as she loomed over the resting figure of Pyrrha.

"Mmm, that was delicious, my darling writer," she purred, caressing Pyrrha's hair as she gently tucked her in. "I should probably go find out what the others are up to now."

Leaving the writer's room, Aka headed towards to the elevator, and headed down to the ground floor. No one was in the lobby, so she decided to take a quick look into the gift shop.

When she saw the toppled over plushie shelf, she winced. "Ugh, who wrecked this place?" she muttered before she started to leave.

"Mmmrgh… nut meh fall…"

Aka paused, then headed back into the gift shop. Lifting up the large shelf, she found Fiora lying amongst the plushies. The skier tried to lift her up, but she was quite out of it.

"Okay, B-Movie Maker, what did you do?" she asked as she managed to get Fiora into a chair.

"I tased the plushie," Fiora murmured, "and that made the shelf tase me… then I tased myself… and the shelf fell on me."

Aka stared incredulously, and muttered, "Oh… kay. Why did you do that?"

"Stupid Monokid…"

"Yes, we all hate him, but is that really a reason to tase yourself?"

"That wuz un accident," Fiora slurred, still out of it slightly. "Look, I was just mad because of poor Crystal's condition."

"… What about Crystal?"

* * *

 **Day 12, 7:02 PM**

 **Spa and Beauty Parlor**

 **Hair Salon**

"What do you mean, you don't know who has even gone into the altar?" Saiko shouted at Aka, glaring at the skier. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"None of your business," Aka shot back, then stared at the locked door. "Crystal, are you going to be okay in there for the night?"

"They cannot fit food or water under the door crack, and I'm using a litter bin as a toilet," the military adviser complained. "If I could get out of here ASAP, that'd be real peachy."

Aka winced, and then shrugged. "Okay. Maybe I could go to the altar and wait around, see what is going on."

"Did you hear about the new rules, by the way?" Eisei inquired. "Monokid came by to explain them to us."

After hearing about the new curfew, Aka walked out of the spa (exchanging eye daggers with Saiko one more time) and headed back to the Love Hotel. When she entered, she called out, "Fiora? You still here, movie girl?"

"I may have sent her to her room."

Aka gaped at Hikari, who stood in the middle of the lobby, smiling weakly. She still appeared glamorous, like the steampunk model aimed for wherever she went.

"The poor darling was seriously worn out, and I really needed to give her a break. She appeared just as bad when we found her in that dreadful lab," Hikari said. "What's going on, Aka?"

"Um, total chaos and confusion, Hikari-love. Sorry, I don't really know what's going on either."

Hikari nodded, and then walked over to Aka. "I'm sorry I kind of hid away in my room. I… I had a really bad experience with tear gas in my past, and when Monokid threatened to use it…"

"Yeah, he's an awful son of a bitch. He's fucking crazy, but we'll be fine. Don't worry now."

The steampunk model nodded, then she noticed something about Aka's hair. She reached up and fiddled with the purple locks, and muttered, "Why is your hair all messed up?"

"Um, ehehe…"

Hikari sniffed the air, and then her eyes widened. "Aka! You didn't!"

"Um, I kind of did."

"Oh dear, who's the beauty you managed to bed? Was it Pyrrha? You seemed keen on her."

"I don't think I should kiss and tell, Hikari."

"Well then… I suppose…"

Hikari moved her arms around Aka's body, and whispered sensually, "I'll have to press that information out of you."

Aka's blushing face was quite telling, and she swallowed. "H-holy crap, you find that sexy?"

"There's something _very_ sexy about a woman who can really charm them like you can. I admire that free spirit, and just the fact that you can keep going… it makes me think…

"I want to see if I can finally make you reach your limit, if you catch my drift."

Aka felt herself swooning, as her hands explored Hikari's perfect body. " _Welp,_ " she thought as her mouth found Hikari's, " _time to abandon my post… once again~_ "

* * *

 **Day 12, 8:30 PM**

 **Bowling Alley**

 **Front Door**

The doors to the bowling alley burst open with an aggressive kick, as Odelios stood there, heaving in fury. "I am so," he shouted, "very, VERY late! ARGH! GANGWAY!"

"Odelios, wait!" Isaac called out.

The reporter hurried up to the front doors, with Souma by his side. Isaac pat Odelios's shoulder, and muttered, "Look, we are lucky to get out of this building before 9, but if you run over to the chapel now, you might just throw the whole rotation off. Maybe it's time to call it a day."

"Isaac speaks the truth," Souma remarked. "This day has been highly concerning with the constant rule updates, and I believe we're all a little flustered and confused."

Odelios puffed up his face, then crossed his arms in outrage. "Fine. But know that tomorrow, I'm going to heading over to the altar, and I'm going to get married! This clown will prove once and for all that he can be a good husband for a lovely lady, like Crystal or Pyrrha or any of the others!"

"What?" Isaac muttered.

"What?" Souma questioned.

"What?" Yejoon said as he walked past the bowling alley, staring at Odelios as he passed by.

Odelios frowned, and then declared, "I'll show you yet, I'll stay up all night if I have to, to prove my point! ARGH!"

The clown stormed off towards the love hotel, the others watching in confusion. Yejoon shook his head, and said, "Sometimes there are mysteries that don't need to be solved, and he is one of them. Good evening to you, gentlemen."

"Where are you going, Yejoon?" Souma called out.

"I still have investigation to do, we have a half-hour," the artist said, waving at them. "Later, my friends."

"So not your friend," Isaac muttered under his breath, before walking towards the Love Hotel. When he made it to the large building, he was surprised to see Monokid in the lobby.

"Hey there, manly men," the blue Kub said to the reporter, as Souma and Blake came into the lobby one at a time. "Good news, I decided to give you guys some mercy. When you're in the love hotel past 8 PM, you can be in groups bigger than three! Especially in the kitchen, because those are now a manly man's place!"

Souma crossed his arms. "That is rather nice, but it just becomes more rules to remember. Tomorrow is going to be very complicated."

"Cheer up, none of you have been shot at yet!" Monokid declared. "Now why don't you all go get something to eat, and then eventually go up to your rooms! Just remember, your personal rooms are all unlocked during the night, so take the best of care someone doesn't come in the room to kill you!

"Or just have that sex stuff that I heard you humans love so much."

The public speaker stared down at the blue Kub, glanced back at the others, and then back at Monokid. "Anything else?"  
"No, I'm good now. Go make me dinner, bitches!"

Drake, carrying Monodam, entered the love hotel and thus the men in the lobby entered the cafeteria. As Drake and Isaac made dinner, the men rested and conversed; only Odelios was quiet, sulking in the corner away from them.

When the food was ready, Yitro entered the cafeteria. Souma regarded him, and called out, "Is everything okay? You look rather upset."

"Monosuke told me about the new rules, and I've been waiting for three and a half hours to see who comes by the altar. No one has come there, and I don't know who I'm married to."

"Wait, you're married?" Drake asked, tilting his head in confusion. "But to whom?"

"No idea, and I am getting to the point where I don't care. I may have to try something later tonight, see if I can get some answers, any answers!"

The men didn't know what else to say or do at this point, so they enjoyed their dinner.

* * *

 **Day 12, 9:01 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Cafeteria**

Saiko and Eisei were seated inside of the cafeteria, both of them rather upset. It had only been a few minutes ago that they had been in the hair salon, trying to comfort Crystal.

Monokid had traveled over to the eastern side to tell them the new curfew rules, as well as tell them that they were allowed to group up inside. "Because that's the place a woman belongs! Haw haw haw haw," he had burst out laughing.

"Oh, how original," Saiko muttered, "a woman's place is in the kitchen? Go screw yourself."

"What? I meant the love hotel, because you're good for screwing! Like all of you have been doing all damn day! Haw haw hardy-har haw!"

Saiko was still bitter about leaving Crystal where she was, but the military adviser had told her that she'd be fine for the evening. Now the forensic investigator and the dentist were in the cafeteria, contemplating what to do next.

"I wish there was some way to convince Monokid that you are, in fact, a man," Saiko remarked. "Maybe you should flash him your cock or something."

"I don't have a rooster, Saiko."

The investigator stared at him, then cleared her throat and muttered, "Your wiener."

"Are we having sausages for dinner? Would you like me to prepare those for you?"

"Your willie!"

"I'm Eisei."

Saiko shouted in frustration, and reached down between Eisei's legs and squeezed. "THIS!"

The dentist let out a high-pitched squeak, and then stared into Saiko's eyes. "Now now now, that is sexual harassment."

"Listen, Eisei, I'm stressed and upset, so I just need you to drop the literate mentality, or I will have you drop your pants so I can-"

"You'll do what now, Saiko?"

Saiko practically leapt up into the air as she was startled and embarrassed, to see Hara walking into the cafeteria. Monophanie was right by her side, as if to be her bodyguard.

"Oh look, we found her," Eisei said with a supportive smile. Saiko sprinted over to Hara and hugged her tightly.

"Where have you been?" Saiko asked the explorer. "We looked all over the place, and we've been worried sick!"

"Monophanie hid me in the one place Monokid wouldn't come looking for me," Hara explained, "which was my own honeymoon suite."

"What? Why would he not look for you?"

"Monokid cannot enter the altar," Monophanie explained, "and thus he cannot go up to the honeymoon suites. It works perfectly! I'm so happy, she's safe and sound!"

"I thought you hid her because Monokid thought she was a man in disguise?" Hara asked.

Monophanie rubbed her cheeks as she stammered out the response, "Okay, Monokid was saying he didn't even know what Hara looked like, but I actually came to a bit of a revelation a few minutes ago. Monokid identifies gender by stereotypical, physical characteristics…

"And Hara has large breasts, so if he saw her, he would know she's a woman!"

Hara was blushing furiously and crossing her arms around her chest, trying to hide her feminine anatomy identifications. Saiko raised an eyebrow, and remarked, "It only took you the entire day to think of that?"

"I was more concerned with keeping Hara safe!" Monophanie glanced up at Hara, and asked, "I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner, but I was so scared…"

"It's okay, I understand how difficult this must be for you," Hara said, kneeling down to pat Monophanie's head.

As she did this, two more people entered the cafeteria: Pyrrha and Ignatia. The redheaded writer appeared to be a little off, with some of her red hair sticking out of place, but she had a positive smile on her face.

"Hey everyone, hope we're not late," Pyrrha said. "I mean, I think we are, but we really wanted to be here. Ignatia has a lot to tell us."

"We have a lot to tell you too, as well as a few questions," Saiko remarked, raising an eyebrow at Pyrrha. "Like, for instance, where have you been? I thought you were going to be part of the marriages going on."

Pyrrha blushed, and said, "I, um, I got caught up in a lot of things going on. I'm terribly sorry, but I think it should be fine. We seem to have a lot of people missing, they're probably married and such?"

Hara glanced between them all, and nervously asked, "Maybe I should hear about everything that's been going on today?"

"Of course, dear, but please, we really need to hear Ignatia out," the writer said, putting her hand on the mime's shoulder. Ignatia frowned and turned away, trying to shield herself from the stares that were directed at her. "She had one of those visions, and it was very upsetting. It is high time we share information, rather than sulk and argue."

The ladies made dinner for themselves, eating heartily during this moment of calm after such a stressful day. Fiora eventually came downstairs, and ate alongside them.

Ignatia used her phone to text all of the details she could over her vision, though she did not mention Mahiru or Teruteru. Fiora asked her if she saw someone called Junko Enoshima, describing her as well, though Ignatia didn't have any knowledge of this person.

Next the women took to telling Hara about the marriage set-up, as well as Crystal's predicament. It seemed to be very reasonable at first, until Pyrrha mentioned arriving at the altar at 1 PM.

"Wait, why did you go at 1 PM?" Hara asked.

"Because that was the rotation?" the writer asked. "When you were telling us the plan, we didn't get all the details, so we went every half-hour, just like how the first two meetings were."

Hara gasped, covering her mouth as her eyes went wide. "No! No no no, oh dear, this isn't good."

"What's wrong?" Fiora asked, nervously tapping her fingers together.

"You weren't supposed to go every half-hour! You were supposed to go every hour! The first official meeting was an hour after the second information run, at 12:30 PM!"

The women were quiet for a few moments, then Saiko cursed out loud. "Damn it! Fuck! You mean to tell me we got everything wrong?"

"Why the heck did you have it every hour," Fiora cried out, "when the first two meetings were a half-hour apart? Why?!"

"Hey, don't yell at her," Saiko barked at the movie maker. "She couldn't have known this would have happened."

"Oh no, oh no no no," Pyrrha whimpered. "We got it all wrong. If the men were going every hour… then who was married to who?"

"I am afraid to say," Eisei said, "that all of the marriages may be not what they seem."

Pyrrha stood up, clasping her hands together. "Listen, this is my fault, most of it is on me. I'll try to make this right, okay? The rest of you should try and get some rest, we'll need to think of something tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?" Hara asked her. "How is this your fault? Please, don't blame yourself."

"I'm afraid I already do. Don't worry, I am not going to do anything drastic!" Pyrrha assured her. "But we have to think of a plan for tomorrow, because the only women who haven't gone to the altar are Ignatia, Saiko, and Eisei.

"And if there is something, anything we can do to prevent them from having to do something they do not want to do, then we should do everything in our power to make things right," Pyrrha remarked. "I refuse to allow a strain on the true romance that is happening in this town!"

As the mime and investigator frowned and blushed, the dentist raised one of his lavender eyebrows at the writer. "So what are you going to do, Pyrrha?"

"Nothing much, I'll keep watch tonight in the altar, since I'm one of the few here who can. Unless the Kubs have any objections, I'll be there all night to see who got married out of the girls missing. Once we have enough information, I'll help you all out tomorrow.

"It'll be fine, easy-peasy," Pyrrha said with a cheerful smile. "We'll find a solution to this, no problem."

* * *

 **Day 12, 9:45 PM**

 **Love Hotel**

Eventually, both the men and women were done with dinner, and the fatigue of a frustrating day was seriously bearing down on them. Most of them went up to their rooms without a fuss, the only one not so keen was Hara, who had spent all day in her room.

The explorer eventually realized that wandering around the lobby and gift shop were not going to be of any interest, and despite the stir crazy feeling welling up in her, she decided to head to her honeymoon suite.

In the altar room, Monosuke was seated in one of the chairs, staring at a fidget spinner that Pyrrha was spinning in her hand. The romance writer appeared to have hypnotized the orange Kub, who was groaning as he leaned in to watch with great intrigue.

"Saiko gave me one to keep myself occupied here," Pyrrha explained when Hara noticed the device. "Said she didn't want me to be too bored."

"We don't mind staying up all night with you," Monophanie said as she walked into the altar room. "So long as you're awake, we'll bear with you! We'll… ooo, what's that? It spins!"

Hara wished Pyrrha good night, and rode up on the elevator. As she was lifted up, her body started to shake. The weight of everything having gone horribly wrong in her absence, as well as the growing dread of more cabin fever from behind cooped up in this small section of the town…

It was truly starting to get to her. She had to breathe deeply to set aside the frustration, and when the elevator dinged at its destination, she nearly jumped.

Hara slowly walked to her honeymoon suite, and when she entered, there was Isaac. He was busy undressing, getting ready for bed, when he saw his fiancé enter.

"Oh, Hara," Isaac said, smiling at her before he saw the dreadful visage she was sporting. He walked over to her, saying, "What's the matter?"

Hara took several deep breaths, before explaining everything to Isaac: being hidden away by Monophanie, the scheduling misunderstanding, Crystal's predicament, and more. Hara was trying to keep it together, because she knew Isaac could fall apart over this amount of disarray.

The reporter took it all in, starting to pace back and forth. He took out his notepad, and started making notes. Soon the two were seated on the floor, against the wall, comparing notes; they had to sit on the floor because there were no chairs in this love hotel room, at least none that were meant for actual sitting.

"Okay, I'm trying to map out who went at what times," Isaac said, "and it is very spotty, but I'm highly concerned that everything has gone wrong. And Kimiko didn't come to dinner?"

"No, I have no idea where she could have gone, even after she said she'd make it quick."

The reporter slumped against the wall, and continued to write furiously. He was silent for a while, then a look of utter defeat washed over him. "If we have the times correct, then everyone who paired up with someone was actually married to someone else. No one is married to someone they think they are."

Hara sighed heavily, and leaned against her fiancé's shoulder. "Maybe what we need is to plan tomorrow accordingly. We still have time."

"The only available men are Souma and Odelios, the former is adamantly against it and the latter is… the latter."

"On our side, we have Saiko, Eisei, and Ignatia. I have no idea who to pair up with who, especially since Ignatia won't, Eisei is straight, and Saiko is…"

Hara blushed slightly, and then giggled. "I am still pretty sure Saiko is into Eisei."

"Oh my."

"Yes, isn't it grand? The only good news I got for you, my love."

The two were quiet for a little while, just trying to focus on the only positive they had. Both were deep in thought, with a collection of notes between the two of them.

"Could we try knocking on the other suites?" Isaac asked. "I know it's rude, because they might be… you know?"

"Monophanie told me that the honeymoon suite doors are soundproof, so much so that even if we knocked on the doors, pounded on them, the people inside wouldn't hear it."

Isaac groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Our options are so limited, but you know what else is bothering me? What is the endgame to this motive?"

Hara squinted in confusion as she considered this. "Isn't it the same as any other motive? Monokuma wants us to kill for the answers."

"What if, somehow, we succeed?" Isaac asked. "We have couples go to each side and explore every room, we succeed and we learn everything in this plaza. So, what happens next?"

The explorer thought about this, then sighed. "But it hasn't happened yet, honey. As much as I understand what you are saying, you're trying to predict what this unpredictable Mastermind will do. We don't even know what we want."

Isaac groaned, and thumped the back of his head against the wall. "I know, I know… I just want to find out what is going on."

"I fear that we aren't going to know that pondering it here, but honey?" she pulled herself up against him gently. "I'm just so glad to see you again."

Isaac held her close, and caressed her gently. "I know that we plan to spend the rest of ours lives together, that we won't always be together, especially with our careers; however, I hate being forced away from you, and I don't like it one bit."

"Me neither. Maybe we should go to bed, Isaac. Tomorrow, we'll find a solution to this, even if it feels hopeless today."

The two glanced at the luxurious bed, and the horses circulating around it over and over. Both sighed, then laughed. The two of them prepared for bed, as the TV in their room, and all TVs in the Love Hotel and around Penjar, turned on for the closing theater performance of Monokuma.

* * *

( **Day 12 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma is dressed like a sloven detective in the driver seat of a car. He is drooling and clearly sleeping, despite it being bright daylight, staking out in front of a fancy house._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Have you ever been asked what the point of something is? To explain why it is necessary, important, or at the very least beneficial to one's life? Luxuries are one of those things humans pride themselves on being able to have, to do and have the things that aren't essential to life."

* _Monokid comes rolling up on a skateboard next to the car. He pops his head in, shouting, "HI!" which causes Monokuma to wake up in shock._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "That's what they say when it comes to all kinds of fiction and pastimes, 'what is the point of it?' Of course, I have to counter that with, what is the point of anything? In the end, we all die, either as hard-working members of society or free-loading, useless gits."

* _Monokuma is screaming at Monokid to buzz off, with Monokid snickering as he skateboards off; it appears that Monokid is throwing a bunch of taco wrappers and empty cheap beer bottles out of the window in his fury directed towards the Kub._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Sometimes, you gotta do what you enjoy to prevent yourself from going crazy from the inevitability of it all. So when someone tells you that something is pointless, like dressing up as a fictional character, or collecting figurines, or writing a story based off of an existing franchise, tell them that they are stupid for trying to dismiss your desire to make what little time we all have left a little more enjoyable!"

* * *

 **Day ?, ? ?**

 **Northern Plaza**

The mists of Penjar curled around the northern plaza, with the moonlight shining through the clouds and down onto the wide-open area. The neon signs on the buildings could be seen through the thick mist, more clearly than the large structures they were attached to.

The Love Hotel had lights on at the ground floor, but none on the floors above; this was because there were no windows for the rooms in this hotel. No balconies, no windows, no way of seeing outside…

No way to witness from up above what was transpiring…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"They… they all will…"

"They're _supposed_ to…"

"It would be _very_ hypocritical…"

"It's time I _finish_ this."

"Until we meet again…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

* * *

 **Day 13, 9:25 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Odelios Shintani's Room**

The clown had finished showering, shaving, grooming, spraying body spray on him, applying deodorant, and stuffing his clown clothes full of additional supplies for looking good on a date in case he needed them. He also had a great deal of other items, which were meant to be gifts.

"Chocolates, a rose, dirty books," he listed off as he stuffed the items into his clown clothing, "coupons, brightly colored pants… I think I'm ready to go!"

Odelios began applying his make-up, taking the time to ensure everything was in order. As he did this, the TV in his bathroom, as well as all other TVs clicked on.

* * *

( **Day 13 has begun!** )

( **Monokids' Love Hotel Greeting** )

* _The three male Monokubs are standing at the front lobby desk for the men's side of the love hotel. Monokid still has his military gear and niper rifle. The screen is split by a fourth, with Monophanie alone at the women's side front lobby desk._ *

 **Monokubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~"

 **Monophanie** \- "Rise and shine, ursine~"

 **Monokid** \- "Alright troops, remember that there are new rules for this place! I'm going to have my colleagues explain them to you, because I'm tired of doing it!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _She is talking at the same time as Monokid._ * "Hello to you all~ Today is going to be a much better day, because we're all going to get along far better now that the rules have been established!"

 **Monosuke** \- "Look, youse all are allowed to stay in the Love Hotel together with however many numbers you want, until 10:30 AM. Then youse gotta split up into groups of three…"

 **Monophanie** \- * _Again, she's talking at the same time as Monosuke_.* "I'm sure you all know about the rules about groups of three, but don't worry, you don't have to worry about that until this afternoon."

 **Monokid** \- "And also remember the new rule that has to do with how many items you're allowed to take from our gift shop."

 **Monophanie** \- * _Still blabbering at the same time as her brother._ * "Enjoy our gift shop, pleasant lobby, and quality kitchen! Let's all get along this lovely day in Penjar! The mists are…"

 **Monosuke** \- "Wait a minute, what's going on right now? Are we having trouble with our own rules?"

 **Monophanie** \- * _She gestures towards the front doors of the eastern lobby._ * "You're more than welcome to enjoy our town, maybe you'll find something really enjoyable to do with your friends, and your new spouses!"

 **Monokid** \- "Something's wrong here… and I blame the womenfolk! I blame all of you with your stupid breasts and your Y chromosome and your flowers 'n puppy loving attitude…"

 **Monosuke** \- "Women have two X chromosomes, Monokid, we're the ones with the Y."

 **Monokid** \- "That ain't fucking possible, women are the ones always asking 'why'!"

 **Monophanie** \- * _She notices mists are creeping into the lobby._ * "Oh, pardon me, I should probably close this up. We don't want a draft getting in here."

 **Monodam** \- "I'M-GOING-BACK-TO-DRAKE'S-ROOM-NOW."

* _He leaves in the midst of Monokid yelling and shouting incorrect statements with Monosuke trying to correct him._ *

 **Monophanie** \- * _speaking over her ranting brother_ * "So today is going to be such a lovely day! A lovely, beautiful day, maybe we can grow some flowers!"

 **Monokubs** \- "So long, bear well~"

* * *

 **Day 13, 9:35 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Altar Room**

The golden elevator dinged, and opened up for Isaac and Hara. The two stepped out, and noticed that Monosuke was already in the altar room, watching them.

"Hey there youse two," the orange Kub said, rocking on his feet, "good to see youse again. You ready to seize the day?"

"Fine, thank you, Monosuke," Isaac said.

Hara didn't say hello, she peered around the altar room. On one of the chairs were a few of the romance novels from the gift shop, and a fidget spinner, the same spinner that Pyrrha had last night.

"Pyrrha?" Hara called out. "Is she here?"

"Youse think she stayed the whole night here?" Monosuke said, chuckling. "Anyway, youse two need to get going to your respective sides soon, Monokid won't like it if youse spend too much time together."

"Why, is that one of your hidden rules?" Issac responded, crossing his arms. "Are you going to do something like you Kubs did yesterday when you hid Hara away from the others, screwing up our plans?"

Monosuke snickered, and he continued snickering until it became unnerving to the couple. Hara and Isaac exchanged a kiss, then parted from the room down the hallway of their respective sides.

Isaac made it past the border part, and was at the elevators right one of them dinged to signal it had arrived on the floor. The doors opened, and Odelios came sprinting out. Isaac whipped out his arm and grabbed the back of the clown's top.

"Hey wait a minute, Odelios," Isaac shouted. "You cannot go to the altar just yet."

"You all said I could," the clown protested. "I'm tired of waiting to prove I can be a manly man of mankind!"

"Listen, you have no idea how badly we screwed up yesterday, and I need you to come with me. Come on, young man!"

Isaac marched down the hallway, dragging Odelios behind him. The clown rolled his eyes, and shouted, "Aww, come on, Dad!"

"I'm not your father!"

"You're not my real dad?!"

* * *

 **Day 13, 9:37 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Cafeteria**

Hara entered the cafeteria, and saw Eisei and Saiko seated at one of the tables. The dentist was tenderly cupping Saiko's face, whispering something to her that only she could hear. The two leaned in, and shared a long kiss.

The squeal of delight that came from Hara's mouth startled the two, and Saiko jumped up in shock. She stared at Hara, and blurted out, "What… what was that?!"

"I'm sorry," Hara admitted, "I'm just so happy for you two!"

"Do you have to come into a room squealing and screaming?" Saiko huffed as she dusted herself off. "Seriously, you should know how wrong that is to do."

Eisei merely shrugged, and pulled a few lollipops from his pocket. "Would you care for one before breakfast, Hara? I give them out to people who brush their teeth in the morning."

"I actually," Hara started to say, then she noticed Monophanie walk into the room. She started to grow nervous, remembering what happened yesterday when the pink Kub showed up.

"Hello everyone, what a beautiful morning it is," Monophanie said to them all. "Please pardon the amount of mist that came into the lobby, it should die down after a while."

"Wait, the front door was open?" Hara asked, approaching the pink bear.

"Yes, it's actually quite odd. I'm actually quite curious about that…"

Hara exchanged looks with Saiko and Eisei. "If Monophanie doesn't know what's going on, should we…?"

"Should we go investigate? Sure, we might want to check on Crystal too," said Saiko.

The three of them left the love hotel together, the mist curling around them as they walked into it. It seemed thinner from yesterday, they could see into the distance now.

"This place appears far less intense now," Eisei muttered, his eyes darting around. "I wonder if this is a good or a bad sign."

"If we are being granted a mercy," Saiko remarked, "it's a double-edged sword, for sure…"

* * *

 **Day 13, 9:38 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Western Lobby**

Drake, carrying Monodam, stared in confusion as Isaac, dragging Odelios, walked into the western lobby. "What's going on?" the cartoonist asked.

"Odelios needs to hold back on his desire to charm a woman, because we're in trouble when it comes to the rotation," the reporter said. "Are you the only one up, Drake?"

The cartoonist nervously glanced over at the front door to the western lobby. It was open, with mist swirling into the building. Drake muttered, "I'm not sure, I thought I was the only one up, then I saw that."

"There's someone else awake?" Odelios asked. "And outside? And doing things that might be more interesting than what we're doing? How dare they!"

"We should just do a quick sweep of our side of the plaza," Isaac suggested as he let go of Odelios. "I mean, we have a brief period where we can discuss our plans, I'm not going to squander it."

"Oh, what if it is one of the couples that consummated the marriage?" the clown said as he stood up. "Haha, they got up early to go explore the town more!"

"No, that's not possible," Isaac said as he adjusted himself, and moved towards the open front door. "We got the rotation so wrong, no one is married to who they think they are."

Drake and Odelios exchanged glances, perplexed and rather concerned. They followed after Isaac, though Odelios still had a few words to say.

"You know, Drake, once this is all over and you can see your mime friend again, maybe you could give her a nice gift," the clown rummaged through his clothing, as they stepped out into the mists of Penjar. "Do you think she likes brightly colored pants?"

"Odelios…" Isaac muttered.

"Oh calm down, Dad, I'm just giving our little bro here some advice," Odelios declared as Drake tried to hide his face behind Monodam. "There's no harm in that!"

"Why's the mist so thin this morning?" Drake murmured, eyes peering out from behind Monodam.

"THAT-IS-MOST-UNUSUAL," the green Kub agreed.

Odelios's grin became far more nervous, and he muttered, "H-hey guys, we haven't seen a lot of the people since yesterday, do you think they might be out here?"

Isaac took a deep breath, trying to summon his courage. For some reason, chills were racing down his spine, and he was sure he wasn't the only one feeling that. This town, this plaza, the mists, they sure did a number on his feelings of dread.

"Let's just check everywhere real quick," the reporter said. "That's all we can do, but let's make it quick. Breakfast is waiting, after all."

* * *

 **Day 13, 9:39 AM**

 **Northern Plaza**

"Okay, no one's in the clothing store," Saiko called out as she walked away from the large building. As she did so, Eisei walked up to her and Hara.

"There's no one at the stables," he said, "as far as my vision of the place can tell."

Hara nodded, then glanced over at the spa. "Okay then, let's go check on Crystal. I'm sure she'd like an update?"

"I'm sure what she'd like most is to get out of that damn room," Saiko said, shaking her head as the three moved towards the large building.

As they entered the building, Hara and Saiko were focused entirely on getting to the hair salon. Eisei was observing the floor, and his keen eye for detail spotted something.

"There's more blood on the floor."

Saiko and Hara whirled around, and exclaimed, "What?" in unison. Eisei knelt down, pointing at a dried droplet of blood.

"This blood, it wasn't here yesterday with the other droplets of blood. This is new."

"Wait, are… are you sure?" Hara stammered. "I mean, blood droplets all look the same to me."

Eisei pointed in-between of the droplet he had found, and another droplet nearby. "This was here yesterday, and this one is new. I memorized the pattern when I helped Saiko look for you yesterday, just in case it ever became important."

"Wait, so there is more blood?" Saiko asked, crossing her arms in confusion. "So why would…

"… Oh my God. Crystal!"

Saiko sprinted towards the hair salon, with Hara and Eisei close behind. The forensic investigator made it to the room, and then froze in place.

The locked door to the body creation lab Crystal was locked in was ajar. There were more blood drops on the floor, far more noticeable, as well as a dried puddle underneath the palm reader. Several items from the shelves of the barber countertops had been placed in the doorway, as if to prevent it from sliding closed.

Saiko summoned her courage, and pushed his way into the formerly locked room. Hara and Eisei entered, and as they did, all of the TVs in Penjar turned on.

On the TV screens, Monokuma was seated on the front steps of Town Hall, holding a craft beer in a large mug within his paws. He had the smuggest of grins on his face, and his voice boomed across Penjar.

" **A body has been discovered!** "

" **Please do not panic, and head to your respective lobbies within the Love Hotel! The Kubs will be there shortly to give you instructions on how the investigation will commence!**

" **Thank you, and enjoy your stay here in Penjar during this investigative time in our fair city!** "

The TVs all blinked off, as Saiko stared down at the floor with wide eyes…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Crystal lay on the floor, one of her arms over her eyes, one over her chest. She stirred, then glanced up at those standing over her.

"Oh, thank God," she said, sitting up. "You finally got someone to open the damn door! Lemme out of here!"

The military investigator stood up and pushed her way out, stretching as all of her joints popped. She sighed happily, then looked back at the three standing there. "So, who was it? Who got me out? Sorry, I just got up, and…"

She then noticed the nervous expressions on their faces, and she was growing more and more confused. "What is going on? Who let me out? Why are you all like that?"

"Right before you woke up," Eisei said, "there was a body discovery announcement."

"What? Someone is dead?! But we," Crystal started to speak, then she noticed the small puddle of blood underneath the hand reader. The military adviser saw a trail of blood droplets lead from there, to one of the counters.

And when she saw what was placed in one of the small containment boxes, she yelped and stumbled backwards. Hara, Eisei, and Saiko moved over to see what it was that had startled her…

A severed, human hand had been stuffed in the small box, the fingers drooping down.

"What is going on?" Hara exclaimed.

* * *

 **Day 13, 9:42 AM**

 **Northern Plaza, Western Side**

 **Baseball Field**

Drake was clinging Monodam tightly to his chest, whimpering as he forced himself to look away from what was on home plate. Odelios had fallen back, scooting away from home plate, shivering and shaking as the color in his face behind the make-up was gone.

Isaac had to resist the urge to throw up. His head was so full of emotions, confusion and disgust being chief among them, that he felt dizzy. He also felt sad and angry, trying to come to terms with what he witnessed.

He just couldn't comprehend why someone would do this, how someone could do this. It had been a question burning at his mind for many years of his life, and he didn't have an answer to it. Yet here he was, shivering alongside two others, standing on a misty baseball field, staring at a body lying on home plate.

The head was caved in, so much force used that all of the gruesome bits were clumping up with the sand of the field. The clothing was practically the same color as blood, the excessive beating had been all over the body. It was like whoever did this wanted to ensure every last bone was broken.

His right hand was missing entirely. His mask was at his side, shattered into a thousand pieces. There was no need to take a pulse, check for any signs of life, because he was truly dead.

Yejoon "Yeou" Nahm, the Ultimate Artist, the serial killer and gentlemanly fiend, was dead. His body had been bashed so throughly, so violently, that it appeared someone as atrocious as him had done the deed. He was strewn out on home plate, like some kind of sick metaphor or display that was fitting for an artist like him.

"H-how?" Isaac stammered, staring down at Yejoon's body.

"Why?" Drake whimpered in terror and disgust.

"Breakfast," Odelios wailed, "is ruined!"

* * *

…

 **21 Graduates Remain in Penjar.**


	28. Chapter 4-4: Case 4 Investigations

**Chapter 4-4**

 **Call the Coppers**

* * *

" _Hope's Peak Academy has been one of the most intriguing and eye-opening experiences I have had in my life. Some say that an artist truly stagnates when nothing interests them anymore, when he or she cannot discover the beauty out of out life. This may be true, but I find my horizons wider than ever, all thanks to this school._

" _There has been a question many of my classmates have asked me, why do I take the motif of a fox so seriously? I told them if I graduated, I would give them the reason, so here it is: foxes are elegant creatures, sly and crafty, who showcase enjoyment in hunting and living._

 _"_ _That is how I plan to live my life from here on. I plan to continue my course in South Korea, but I do plan to visit Japan every once in a while. Maybe I'll come see my sister graduate too, so keep that in mind, Jin. So, thank you all, I'll continue to make this world a little more beautiful every day._ "

-Yejoon "Yeou" Nahm's graduation speech

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:00 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Western Lobby**

Isaac, Odelios, and Drake (carrying Monodam) were standing close to each other, trying to make sense of what they had just seen. Monokid and Monosuke were also standing in the lobby, waiting for everyone to finally show up.

Souma was the first downstairs, appearing rather shocked and having rushed out of bed, quickly grooming himself before heading on down. Shuuya and Ken were next, both of them rather cantankerous for reasons known only to themselves.

Yitro and Ishiku showed up next, the latter rather nervous as he glanced around the guys. Blake came last, not really concerned about rushing to this meeting as much as the others.

"We gonna wait for our serial killer?" the pyro asked as he glanced around the room. "Or is he being his usual stubborn self?"

"He's the one who's dead, Blake," Isaac said, keeping his voice so calm that it was almost monotone.

All of the men who hadn't seen Yejoon's body flinched, and were far more concerned now. They blurted out questions all at once.

"Holy fucking shit, you sure?" Blake asked.

"Yejoon is dead?!" Yitro declared. "How? Where?"

"How could anyone here," Ishiku cried out, "kill that guy? He was like an evil ninja assassin!"

"EVERYBEAR!" Monokid shouted, waving his paws in the air; he was noticeably not carrying his sniper rifle anymore. "Shut the fuck up! We have some rules to go over!"

"Oh God," Souma muttered, face-palming, "not more rules."

"Youse better believe it," Monosuke said. "First off, the rules about going over to the women's side still stand, youse aren't to go over there no matter what, unless youse has your spouse with you.

"Second off, youse can be in as big of groups as you want, no more limitations of three.

"Third off, youse are going to find that any of the locked doors youse never unlocked are going to stay locked, forever. Youse blew it by not going to open them!"

"What about the ones we did open?" Ishiku asked.

"Oh, those youse can open up if you get your spouse over and open them," Monosuke said. "And I'll save youse a little time and effort, youse never got the ones in the bowling alley, just the baseball field's shack and the other Hall of Fame."

"Wait a minute, what?" Ken asked. "Someone opened those doors? But that doesn't make any sense!"

"Yeah, it really doesn't," Isaac remarked, glancing over at Ishiku.

Monokid grumbled in outrage, and muttered, "Well, whatever! You all have a certain amount of time before the trial starts, and you'd best use it wisely! Because we're kind of sick of giving you losers favors when you keep killing the most interesting members of the group!"

"The interesting violent ones, that is," Monosuke said, pulling out his phone and starting to text. "I'm sure there's still some sexy shenanigans we can get up to after this trial, if youse all don't die."

Isaac watched Monosuke use his phone, and then walked over to the orange Kub. "Could we use your phone?" the reporter asked.

"Huh? This phone only works with the Kubs' phones, why would youse want it? Youse cannot phone a friend!"

"If you let me have yours," Isaac said, kneeling down to the orange Kub, "and Monophanie gives her phone to one of the women, we'll be able to conduct a great investigation. If you really want more sexy shenanigans, Monosuke, you will want us to survive this trial."

Monosuke pulled out a bunch of bills and started fanning himself. "Intriguing! I do admit, I like how much youse is putting into this bargain!"

" **You cannot just let them get all of the advantages, my darling widdle Kub!** "

Monokuma came waddling into the lobby, carrying Monokid's sniper rifle. The white 'n black despair bear chuckled as he rested the large weapon on his shoulder. " **Though I have to admit, this case will take all of the help they can get, because our killer is just too damn good! I already did a through search, and there's very little to go on!** "

"Oh great," Yitro muttered, "he's trying to destroy morale."

"Monokuma with a gun kind of does that," Souma remarked.

" **So here's my little rule for if you borrow phones, my dear Isaac,** " Monokuma said, walking over to the reporter, " **you and only you can use it, you cannot give it to anyone else. The same will go for the woman on the other side who gets ahold of Monophanie's phone…**

" **And,** " Monokuma leaned in, grinning most wickedly right in Isaac's face, " **during the trial, something rather damning about you might come out. You ready to take the heat when it does?** "

Isaac took a deep breath, squeezing his right arm as he considered what Monokuma could have on him. He could guess, but either way, he needed this advantage. "Deal, Monokuma. Whatever you think you have on me, it's not going to dissuade me."

" **Upupupupu! AHAHAHA! Very well, my favorite reporter for the truth, you can have Monosuke's phone! Monosuke, be so kind as to give our guest your phone!** "

"Okay, Pops," Monosuke said, as he started dialing a number, "just make sure youse don't drain all the batteries, or go through my photo album, or use all my data, or say anything that'll get me in trouble with whoever is listening in."

"Who could be listening to your own phone network?" Isaac asked, though he felt stupid for questioning the Kubs' words.

"Yeah, who could be?" Monosuke asked, eyeing everyone and everybear in the room.

" **My son has the right to be paranoid,** " Monokuma said with a proud laugh, " **considering you punks just picked off a serial killer!** "

Isaac sighed as he waited for Monosuke to finish dialing the number. This wasn't going to be an easy choice to make, he could already feel the suspicious stares on him; however, any advantage that they could would be absolutely necessary.

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:10 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Lobby**

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" Saiko shouted down at Monophanie. "We're all here, can't we get some answers?"

"Yeah, we all are here," Futaba remarked, glancing around for a quick headcount. "Does that mean one of the boys is dead?"

"And if no one has crossed over, who let me out?" Crystal declared. "Why didn't whoever let me out wake me up?"

Monophanie was gripping her head, struggling with the amount of questions being thrown at her. "Please, please! One at a time, for Daddy Kuma's sake!"

"Could you at least tell us who's died?" Anzu asked, a look of great concern on her face. "Please, this is horrible, not knowing."

She felt herself twisting one of her blue bangs, painfully even, as she dreaded the answer. Ignatia was trying to play it cool, but there was definite concern in her eyes. Kimiko was fidgeting, Hara was pacing, Fiora was drumming her fingers against the brim of her fedora.

Aka rocked on her feet impatiently, and muttered, "Just tell us who died, Monophanie."

"But… but I don't know who died!" the pink Kub said, fretting up a storm. "Oh I hope it's not Ishiku! Who could it be?"

"You don't know?" Hikari asked, staring intensively at the pink Kub. "How could you not know? Are you Kubs knowledgeable of everything going on in Penjar? Especially when you're in your robotic Kub form."

"Is it more of that amnesia that seems to be going around?" Eisei inquired. "I mean, your brothers seem to constantly forget who we are, are you just forgetting the name of the victim?"

Monophanie stammered, unable to get an answer of sorts out. Fortunately for her, she was saved by the bell, or rather the jingle of a cellphone. Reaching behind herself and pulling a cell phone from seemingly nowhere, she blurted out, "H-hello? Wait, this isn't Monosuke… who is this?

"Oh, Isaac! Good to hear from you!" Monophanie cheerfully said. Both Hara and Saiko let out audible sighs of relief, the former wiping away sweat that had built up on her forehead. "So why do you have my brother's cellphone?"

There was a bit of silence, then Monophanie nodded as Isaac spoke to her. The pink Kub said, "Uh-huh, uh-huh. I understand. But whoever I hand the phone is the only person who can use it, or even to look at the screen. So if you're going to send videos or pictures, it has to be to them only.

"Understood? Sorry, I wish I could make it better for you all, but knowing my brother and my father… wait, who? Okay, if that's what you're thinking."

Monophanie walked over to Saiko, and said, "He wants you to handle the phone."

Saiko blinked in confusion, and then took it. "Isaac? Is that you?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Listen, could you apologize to Hara for me? But if the other person on the phone is the only one who can look at pictures and such, it needs to be you. You're the only one-"

"Isaac, I'm sure Hara understands, no need to get apologetic; we're working a deadline, after all. Speaking of which, who is it?"

The women (and Eisei) all braced themselves for what would surely come next. Saiko's face scrunched up as she listened to Isaac, and then her eyes widened. "Wait, are you _serious_? … Oh my God, our victim is Yejoon?"

"What?!" several of those in the lobby shouted in utter disbelief, staring at Saiko as if needing to hear that again. Some of them looked over at Fiora, who had flinched and then locked up when she heard the name.

"Okay, if Yejoon is our victim, what do you need from us?" Saiko asked.

"Are you seriously asking them," Futaba said with a disapproving stare, "to tell us what to do? As if we cannot conduct an investigation ourselves?"

Saiko glared at her, then listened to Isaac. After a couple minutes, she told him to wait, and then turned to the women (and Eisei). "Okay, listen up, ladies! We can only open the locked doors that were previously opened, all others are locked for good. We need you all to split into groups, and check every one of them for signs of usage.

"We need to check everywhere, see what is off from last night! Get ready to compare notes! It's also okay for us to be in groups of more than three, so work alongside with as many people as you can!"

Anzu stepped forward, and asked, "If you and Isaac can agree on one side of the plaza should be investigated first, Ishiku and I could head over to one side and open doors."

Saiko stared at her, and muttered, "Wait, what? You serious, you and him?"

The actress crossed her arms, and replied, "Snarky comments can be withheld until after the investigation, Saiko. Come on now, ask Isaac."

Saiko spoke into the phone, then was confused once again. "Isaac said you shouldn't be able to, because the rotation was off with how we accidentally did it."

"And yet Ishiku and I went to the other side," Anzu said. "Look, just please tell Isaac to tell Ishiku to meet me in the chapel, we'll investigate whichever side you think we should first."

"Considering the dead body is on the western side, start there," Saiko said. "We got a lot of ground to cover, and not the most ideal of resources, so we need to hurry!"

"This really is happening?" Pyrrha whimpered, covering her mouth in astonishment. "Three people died just two days ago, and we already have another dead person?"

"And it's the serial killer?!" Aka declared. "What the hell is up with that?"

Hikari scoffed, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her fancy hat. "He was a monster, nothing more and nothing less. He said he killed almost two hundred people, the families of his victims are probably still all in pain right now. This isn't a tragedy, except that because someone jumped the gun, we may have lost the answer to secrets in this town."

"Whoa, careful now," Futaba said, adjusting her glasses. "You might offend the one person who liked him."

Most of them glanced over at Fiora, who was lost in thought until she noticed everyone staring at her. "Wh-what?" she stammered, concerned. "Is it really true? Is Yejoon really dead?"

"Yes," Pyrrha said, clasping her hands together. "Sorry, Fiora."

"You taking this kind of hard, girlfriend?" Aka asked, staring curiously at the movie maker.

Fiora gaped at them, then let out the most incredulous laugh. "'Soo'ry'? 'Taking this hard'? What the hell are you talking a'boot? Yejoon being dead is the best thing fur me, eh!"

"Fiora," Hara spoke, but the movie maker exploded in indignant outrage.

"A serial killer who had almost two hundred victims, my stalker with the creepiest fascination with, a man who literally could not promise that he wouldn't kill me in the long run, and you're all worried I'm _upset_ he's dead?

"Screw that! Screw any of you who think I'm sad he's dead! I'm not soo'ry in the least! Leave me 'oot with this!"

Fiora stormed off to the cafeteria, leaving the others quiet for a moment. Saiko sighed, and then spoke on the phone to Isaac. "Okay, it's going to be a bit of an effort here, but let's do this. Anzu will be in the chapel in just a minute, you just get the men organized, and I'll get the ladies, and Eisei, to investigate as much as we can."

"Saiko, I don't want to sound too daunting," Isaac said, "but we're investigating Yejoon's murder. Whoever did this probably went to great lengths to make sure this went perfectly, we cannot overlook anything!"

"I know," Saiko said, "I know. Let's do this."

 **INVESTIGATION START!**

Saiko turned towards the ladies (and Eisei), and began to speak to them. "Hikari, Ignatia, Eisei, go check out the hair salon in the spa, and that room you were stuck in. Look through everything there, and make note of it.

"Anzu, go on over to the western side, but please get back here as soon as possible. Crystal, Futaba, Kimiko, please go check out the clothing store, that place is huge and we need to know if anything is out of order.

"Aka, Pyrrha, Hara, go check out the stables. Everyone, the moment you are done with the area, take some time to check out the rest of the spa, or the hotel. But no one is to go alone at any point, understood?"

"Actually, if I may," Pyrrha said, nervously pointing at the cafeteria, "I want to talk to Fiora. She and I can look through the hotel, you can go with Hara and Aka."

"Alright, fine. Alright people, let's head on out, and be alert. We're hunting a serial killer's killer, and if we get it wrong, we're all dead."

"Yeah, no pressure," Kimiko remarked, stretching and popping her joints. "Move on 'oot, ladies."

Saiko continued to speak to Isaac on the phone, as all of the women, sans Pyrrha and Anzu, left the hotel. As Anzu hurried on to the chapel, Monophanie stared up at the romance writer, and said, "I'll join you two, if that's okay."

"Um, sure, Monophanie," she said, confused but deciding not to question it. She walked over to the cafeteria, and entered it, peering around for Fiora.

The movie maker was seated at one of the tables, back to the entrance. She was twirling something around in her fingertips, and when Pyrrha approached, the romance writer recognized it as one of Yejoon's throwing daggers.

"Fiora?" she said, staring at the forlorn movie maker from behind.

"Heh, you wondering a'boot this?" Fiora said, holding up the throwing dagger and then putting it back down on the table. "Yejoon gave it to me a while back, shortly after I found 'oot Blake was the reason my parents were dead. He told me that if I was going to murder him, I should use one of his weapons so that everyone woo'd suspect him. How 'sweet,' am I right?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Pyrrha sat down next to her, facing her as she spoke calmly. "Listen, I know you're trying to brush this off, but if you need to speak about it, I'm here."

"There's nothing to speak about. My murderous stalker is dead, that's a good thing fur me."

"Fiora…"

"No, this is a good thing, and we all knoo' it! I mean, yeah, it sucks we're gonna get cut off from the locked rooms we never opened, but Yejoon is dead, and that's going to make all of us feel safer! The world is a better place!"

Fiora chucked the throwing dagger across the room, and it impaled in the far wall. Monophanie squeaked in shock, as Fiora continued to explode in outrage. "He wasn't my boyfriend, he wasn't my lover, he was my aggressive stalker who made me feel unsafe every waking moment I've bin here in Penjar!"

"He did save your life," Pyrrha softly remarked.

Fiora scoffed and stood up, as did the romance writer. The movie maker pulled her fedora's brim down, and muttered, "Eisei saved my life, Yejoon just cut me doo'n. Yejoon didn't knoo' anything a'boot saving lives, he could only take them."

The movie maker pulled the brim of her hat down, threatening to pull her hat off to cover her eyes entirely. "Pyrrha, I appreciate you trying, but what are you here fur? To comfort me, to tell me how soo'ry you are that he's died, as if I had feelings fur him? The psycho, Despair-loving, parent-killing monstrous bastard that he was?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath, and said, "I'm not here to judge or assume anything, I just want to make sure you're okay. You've been through so much, and I don't think you're the kind of person who would celebrate death, no matter how awful they were."

"I joo'st knoo' that even with'oot Emanuel, this trial will find a way to blame fur this too. They always do that, they always think I was the one who murdered the victim, and now they'll leap all over this. They'll come at me with everything…"

Fiora shivered, her shoulders shaking. "T-tell me something, Pyrrha."

"What is it?"

"We all knoo' he was an awful man, right? You understand he was stalking me, he was threatening and evil and murderous and psychopathic. He murdered more people than we'll probably ever knoo' in our lives, Yeou the Fox was a heinous person that I shouldn't pity, that I shouldn't feel sad fur, or I'd be a stupid, stupid girl…"

"You're not stupid, Fiora."

Something sparkling fell from Fiora's face, and then she finally looked up at Pyrrha. Tears were streaming from her eyes, as she wept, "Then why do I feel so bad right now? What kind of stupid, messed up, awful wimp of a person am I that… that I…

"I joo'st keep thinking I never got to say good-bye, and I shouldn't… I really, really shouldn't…"

Fiora let out a wretched sob, and shivered hard before Pyrrha pulled her into a tight hug, giving her the chance to let it all out.

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:15 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Chapel**

Anzu reached the chapel at the exact same time Ishiku said. The two embraced each other in a hug, and then started to hurry towards the western side. "How is everyone taking it over there?" Ishiku asked her.

"I think they're all stunned," Anzu said. The two of them passed over the border for the western side, and there was nothing stopping them thus far. "Fiora is defensive, the poor thing must be so confused right now."

"It must be so conflicting, thinking about how someone she was so scared of but protected her is now gone."

The magician shivered, as images of his Despair-addled parents flashed in his mind. He rubbed his temples to keep himself focused, and asked, "So what was this about the rotations being off for getting married?"

"The men were going to the chapel every hour, and the women were going every half-hour," Anzu said. "Apparently, no one knows who they are married to." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"But if everyone is off," Ishiku pondered, "then how are we married and able to cross over to the other side?"

"You got me, Ishi. Somehow, despite everything," she nervously scratched the back of her head as she recalled what happened yesterday, "our marriage worked. Or maybe other marriages worked too, and we haven't had a chance to ask anyone?"

"We both were at the chapel at around 12:30 PM yesterday, right?" Ishiku asked. * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"I think so. So what are we doing first?"

"We'll have to ask the guys as we go around the areas," Ishiku said, the two arriving in the western lobby. Odelios was the only one there, and he was throwing rice over the couple the moment they were in the lobby.

"Odelios! What on Earth are you doing?" Anzu declared, as she scratched the rice out of her hair. "We have serious business to attend to."

"I refuse to let a moment like this go to waste, my apologies," the clown said with a grin. "Anyway, you two should head to the baseball field, Isaac said he wanted you to start there."

"Okay, buddy, what are you doing?" Ishiku asked.

"Ken, Drake, and I are going to be inspecting the hotel, there are some leads that we are going to try to track down. The two of them, as well as Drake's Togepi pal Monodam, are in the gift shop."

"His what now?" Anzu asked, baffled.

"Sorry, obscure Pokémon reference, takes too long to explain. Either way, you two should hurry, but don't worry about the bowling alley; the Monokubs told us that the rooms in there, no one ever tried."

Ishiku and Anzu were still slightly confused, but they didn't want to waste time. They walked outside as Odelios cheered on his new OTP, and hurried on over to the baseball field. When they both arrived, neither of them were prepared for the grisly mess that was the bloody corpse of Yejoon.

"Oh dear God," Ishiku squeaked out, turning away.

"That's so horrid," Anzu whimpered, shielding her eyes. "Oh Lord, he looks like a stampede victim."

Isaac was taking pictures of the body, and sending them to Saiko. The reporter glanced up at the two, and remarked, "Yes, one of us really wanted him to suffer. I can actually take some estimated guesses as to what he went through, but I'd rather have Saiko instruct me on some of this."

Yitro and Shuuya were nearby, both observing the body as much as they could. The swordsman regarded the bloody stump that was Yejoon's wrist, and he remarked, "Might want to ask the ladies if his hand made it over to their side."

"Why on Earth would the killer take his hand?" Shuuya mused, rubbing his chin. "If our killer is a man, the hand serves no benefit to opening any doors; if our killer is a woman, would that even work on a hand scanner, an amputated hand?"

Monosuke waddled up to the group, taking a moment to regard Yejoon, before chuckling. "We didn't tell anyone about this, but if youse use a severed hand, it'll probably work once on the hand scanners. After that, the lack of body heat and loss of blood would probably make it not register to the scanner." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Isaac spoke to Saiko on the phone, taking in her comments as she observed the photos. Anzu knelt down next to Yejoon's body, studying the damage. Ishiku glanced around the area, trying to find something to do.

"Why don't you two go check out the baseball field's shack, the locked one?" Shuuya remarked. He raised an eyebrow, and added, "And just how was your marriage official, by the way?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Anzu said, as she moved over towards the shack. Ishiku started to follow her, then something near the pitcher's mound caught his eye. The magician hurried over, and found a notebook at the base of the pitcher's mound.

"Hey, what's this then?" Ishiku said, as Shuuya moved over to him. The magician walked towards the shack as he flipped through the pages. "What is this?"

"I think that is the notebook that Yejoon was writing in," Shuuya remarked. "I recall him using it a great deal yesterday."

The magician flipped through the pages, as he and Shuuya tried to make sense of what was written in them. The bounty hunter was baffled, taking the notebook from Ishiku as he examined what was written.

"This isn't Japanese, is it Korean?" the bounty hunter said, examining the symbols from all sides. "I am not familiar with it."

"Great, Yejoon left us notes in a language I doubt anyone here can read," Ishiku muttered, shaking his head. * **TRUTH BULLET** * "We should ask the others if any of them read Korean."

Anzu had placed her hand on the palm scanner at this point, and the shack opened up. The actress went into the baseball shack, scanning the inside. "Okay, Ishi, do you see anything different from last time?"

"You were here?" Shuuya asked, eyes raised. "Care to explain?"

Anzu and Ishiku explained everything that happened to them last time they were on the men's side, but the magician left out the part where Anzu smashed one of the portraits. Anzu realized he had done that, but was too ashamed to admit it herself, so the search continued.

Shuuya picked up one of the baseballs, and noticed blood on it. "Wait a minute," he said as he stared at that stain, "this is far, far too old to have been Yejoon's. I don't understand."

"Oh yeah, we found that here too," Ishiku said. "It was kind of the reason that we left."

The bounty hunter sighed, and rolled the ball on the floor. "Leon Kuwata."

"What? Who?" Anzu asked.

"The Ultimate Baseball Player, one of the culprits and victims in Hope's Peak Academy's Killing Game. His execution was being bludgeoned to death with baseball bats and baseball pitching machines. If there is blood on these balls…"

"Then it would throw us off the scent if anyone used them as a weapon!" Anzu said, dread welling up in her at the realization.

"Not particularly, I can tell the difference between a weapon stained with blood dried from over years, and a weapon used most recently."

Shuuya sighed, and examined the baseball bats in the shack. "It might take a while, but I'll examine all of these. I'll ask Yitro to help me, since I'm sure no one wants me doing this alone." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Anzu nodded, then tilted her head to the side. "By the way, Shuuya, what happened with your marriage?"

The bounty hunter flinched, his pale face getting a little red, and he hissed in air as he seemingly tried to resist lashing out. With a heavy sigh, he muttered, "I paired up with Futaba, and we, ah, consummated the marriage…

"But when we tried to visit the women's side, Monokid showed up with his rifle, and threatened to shoot me if I didn't go back," the assassin grumbled, not liking to admit the Kub had bested him. "We kept telling him that the two of us had done what he asked, and he kept saying we weren't with our married partner."

"I guess that was because the rotation was off?" Ishiku said, slightly nervous at how bitter Shuuya appeared. "So what time did you two meet up?"

"We were both at the chapel around 1:30 PM. Why?" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Anzu sighed as she said, "We are trying to find out why our marriage worked, yet others didn't. The pattern seems highly inconsistent."

After this conversation, Shuuya called over Yitro, and the two started to investigate the shack's equipment. Anzu and Ishiku were ready to head over to the Hall of Fame, when they caught part of Isaac's conversation.

"You want me to take off his pants?!" Isaac balked, staring at Yejoon's dead body. "Dear God, Saiko, could you, in the future, tell me why before you give me instructions?"

Saiko's frustrated groan could be heard on the phone. "Fine, whatever, but I didn't mean you have to take off his underpants. I just need to see what his knees and legs look like, and also his arms. I'm curious if our killer went to town on his limbs."

"Argh, fine," Isaac said, then went to Yejoon's pants. He was shivering, and it was hard with one hand. Ishiku offered to help him, and soon, the serial killer's pants were around his ankles, and his jacket on the ground nearby.

"If there are such things as evil spirits," Ishiku whimpered, "he's gonna haunt us fo' sho'."

"Let him try," Anzu said with a confident smile.

Ishiku and Anzu helped to move Yejoon's body around as Isaac took pictures. The couple left Isaac to wait to hear the results from Saiko, and carried on to the Hall of Fame; Anzu wasn't thrilled to go, but realized it was necessary.

When they arrived, they noticed that the locked side was closed. Both of them were confused by this, but elected to check out the unlocked side first. Souma was standing near the entrance, and he regarded them when they walked up.

"So, we did have a working couple, how interesting," he said, blocking their way in by standing in the doorway. "Maybe you know about what happened here?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Ishiku said, feigning ignorance as hard as he could, while Anzu nervously pulled at one of her bangs.

Souma raised an eyebrow, and said, "Perhaps you should see it with your own eyes."

He allowed them in, and the two were shocked to see that the Hall of Fame had been vandalized. Spray paint in different colors had been used to make X's on all of their own portraits, with a different slur painted on the touch screens for every person.

" _Retard_ " was on Odelios's screen.

" _Slut_ " was on Aka's.

" _Traitor_ " was on Ishiku's.

" _Fraud_ " was on Anzu's, making the actress start shivering a great deal.

The other side, the one with the Hope's Peak Academy survivors, was vandalization in a number of ways. If the pictures weren't shattered or X'ed out, they had words painted on them in surprising detail. There were eight words, but with the order they were in, they appeared to be two-word phrases:

" **Murder** " " **Authority** "

" **Uphold** " " **Kaos** "

" **Undo** " " **Management** "

" **Kill** " " **Unity** "

Despite the words and the smashed portraits, the one on the floor still stood out. The only portrait not vandalized was Kyoko Kirigiri, the cold, piercing stare from the Ultimate Detective still fully intact.

"Man, whoever did this really hated us," Blake, in the middle of the hallway, said with a devious chuckle. "Though not as much as Celestia Ludenberg, they really hated her."

"What do you mean?" Ishiku asked, glancing around at all the damage.

"The one on the floor? That was Celestia, the Ultimate Gambler," the pyro said. "I was thinking our vandal hated smart women, but then I noticed that the lavender-haired woman with resting bitch face wasn't touched. Kyoko, I think her name is?"

Souma sighed as he walked into the Hall of Fame. "You hardly need to be so crass about it, Blake. So what does this all mean?"

Ishiku scanned the area, and asked, "As bad as this may sound, are we sure our killer did this?"

"What, you think someone went for a joy walk over here to ruin the place," Blake asked, crossing his arms, "as someone else bashed his brains in?"

Souma rubbed his chin, and remarked, "Sounds like something a couple could do."

"Wait a minute," Anzu said, staring down the public speaker, "are you accusing us?"

"There were many other couples, my dear Anzu," Souma said, "but this appear to be something that a couple could do. One kills Yejoon while the other destroys this place."

Ishiku sighed heavily as he examined the hall again, his eyes landing on the word "Kaos" spray painted over one of the survivor's faces. "Kaos, the Latin word for Chaos… is this the work of chaos fanatics?"

"It grows more and more concerning," Souma remarked. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Blake groaned in frustration, and said, "Do we take notes of this? You think the crazy person who did this left hints?"

Ishiku took out his phone, and quickly started to make notes on the Note app. He categorized every insult paired with the Penjar visitor it was directed to, and also made note of the survivors' portraits. Souma did the same thing too, though he lingered in front of a few of the Penjar visitor's portraits.

"What do you think this means?" he asked when he pointed at the slur, or rather the word, under Ken's portrait. It read, "Scarlet" on it.

Neither of the three knew, so they carried on. Souma also stopped at Isaac's portrait, where a few words had been scrawled out rather than an insult.

"'Serial Killer Bait'?" he read aloud. "What on Earth does that mean?"

"Beats me," Blake said. "We done here? Shouldn't we check out the other side? Ain't that why our porn star and magic dork are here?"

Ishiku clenched his staff in his hand, and whispered to Anzu, "You think I'd get in trouble if I hit him, just once?"

"Don't waste the effort on that waste of a human," the actress responded. "But, Ishi, about that portrait…"

"We won't say anything unless we have to, don't worry."

The four Penjar visitors exited the unlocked hall in the building, and went over to the other side. Anzu placed her hand on the palm reader, and it allowed them in.

What was waiting for them was just as bad as the unlocked side, if not a bit more chilling due to the lights. The hallway, full of the portraits of those who died during Hope's Peak Academy's Killing Game, had been vandalized too.

The word "DESPAIR" was painted over the majority of the faces. Only two of them were different, and they were at completely different ends of the hall.

Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer, had numerous circles around her with arrows pointing at her as well. Ryōko Otonashi, the Ultimate Amnesiac, had a heart drawn over her chest, with a bloody arrow shooting through it.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Blake asked. "What is this room for?"

Anzu scanned the room, but she mostly just focused on Mahiru's portrait. She nervously glanced over at the men, and said, "I think whoever our vandal is, they know the truth."

"What truth?" Souma asked. "Does this have something to do with the late Mahiru Koizumi?"

"Most likely," the actress bitterly remarked. "Whoever did this sure believes that, look at the attention that is brought to her portrait." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Ishiku walked over to her, and pointed at the lights in-between the portraits and touch screens. "Look, though, the lights are just like how they were when we last saw them."

Anzu regarded this, and nodded. "It's possible that whoever left this message wasn't heard the way they wanted to be, if they think Mahiru is the key to whatever this room is implying."

"Do you people," Blake grumbled, "practice being cryptic? What the fuck is going on here?"

"There's no time to argue this," Souma remarked, before approaching Ishiku and Anzu. "If you two have time, you need to go to the other side of the plaza and see what you can open up there. We have no idea what time limitations we have."

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:20 AM**

 **Clothing Store**

"Okay, I cannot find a single thing out of place," Futaba said, as she rummaged through the area. "I mean, I didn't have this place memorized, but I think I would get a feeling if there was something off."

Crystal regarded the locked door with the hand scanner nearby. The neon sign of "Dressing Rooms" were above it, and she noticed the jacket propped up against the door frame. "I have a feeling this may be a dead end."

Kimiko walked over to the two, and she pulled her cell phone out. Rummaging through her photo album, the biker gang leader let out a sigh.

"What are you doing, Kimiko?" Futaba asked.

"When I was investigating this place with Fiora yesterday, I put that jacket up a'geenst the door, and then I took a picture of it," she explained. "That way, if anyone used it, and they thought to put the jacket back, I would notice any slight differences."

"Did anyone?" Crystal asked.

"Nope, looks like no one touched this locked room," Kimiko said, shaking her head. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

The biker gang leader pocketed her cell phone, and started to walk out of the building. Futaba was close to her, as she had a lot of questions. "You seem kind of down, what's wrong with you?"

"This isn't an ideal situation, any way you slice it," Kimiko said. "Even if Yejoon is the victim, our lives are at risk, and the mystery gets worse and worse."

"Something else seems to be bothering you. You should let us know everything here and now, Kimiko," Futaba said, crossing her arms as she added, "You know that it'll come out in the trial, even if you don't talk about it here and now."

Kimiko frowned at her. "Are all anthropologists so interrogative?"

"The good ones are," Futaba said with a cocky smile.

The biker leader let out a heavy sigh, and then spoke. "I slept with Ken yesterday, like, the sex kind of sleeping."

Crystal pursed her lips, and muttered, "Oh, you did the thing, did you?"

"Yeah, it was important! I mean, wasn't that the whole motive, the point of this?"

"You'll have to forgive me, I never thought military strategy would involve having sex for the sake of progress."

"Well, it was actually pretty good," Kimiko said with a sly smile. "I'm… joo'st a bit embarrassed, because I kind of promised that I woo'd make it quick. You were trapped in that room, after all…"

"And you took your sweet time because the sex was that good?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow as Kimiko chuckled nervously. "Oh, my hero."

"Okay, yeah, I kind of messed up, but he's Novoselician! They kind of have ways a'boot them, he's very talented…"

"Oh my," Futaba said, swishing her hips, "you have my attention, and this is totally for anthropology reasons!"

Crystal face-palmed, and muttered, "How is it that when the Monokubs tried to start a war of the genders, the female side is full of the horny ones?!"

"Stereotypes are bullshit," Kimiko said, flicking her green hair about. "Women love sex too! But, yeah, it didn't work."

"What? You just said it was great," Futaba inquired.

"I meant the marriage being official, eh. When we finished and tried to go to this side, Monokid showed up and chased Ken back into the chapel area. The damn blue Kub joo'st stood at the edge of the border, shouting at Ken to leave because he wasn't with the person he was married to."

"So the rotation was really messed up," Crystal said with a sad shake of her head. "What time did you two meet up, by the way?"

"I was in the chapel at a'boot 2 PM, I think? He came a'boot a half-hour later." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

The three ladies were in the spa by this point, and headed to the hair salon. Ignatia was leaning against the door that led to the formerly locked room, keeping it wide open. Eisei was inspecting the counters, particularly the amputated hand. Hikari was studying the blood splatter on the floor, as well as getting some input from the dentist.

"Okay, I see what you mean, if we follow the blood trail," Hikari said. "The killer must have carried the lopped-off hand into this room, and then placed it on the scanner; that's why there is a small pool underneath it."

"As gross as it sounds, body parts are a bit like containers like that," Eisei remarked. "Whoever our killer is, they probably wanted to keep as much blood as they could to see if the hand scanner would work."

Hikari sighed as she stood up, and regarded the other ladies in the room now. "We're on the trail of Yejoon's hand, so to speak." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Futaba and Kimiko stared at the hand, still set in a container, and shivered at how they were looking at a real, disembodied hand set up like a prize. Crystal was viewing the room she was stuck in, and said, "Did you find anything in there?"

"Just the bucket you used as a toilet," Eisei remarked. "We placed it in the bathroom."

Crystal winced, as she tried to hide her blush behind her collar. "You didn't have to tell everyone that!"

"I didn't, I just told you."

The military adviser groaned, and walked into the room. She nodded to Ignatia, who nodded back. Hikari moved into the room with them, and examined the machine in front of them.

"So there is another human body creation tank here," the steampunk model said, examining the machine.

"Yes, it would seem so," Crystal said. "From what I could gather of this thing when I was trapped here, you put something on that platform right there…"

She pointed at the platform that appeared to be the size of a dinner plate. "And that's what you use as a point of reference for the machine to scan, and make a body out of it?"

"That would be incredibly baffling if it wasn't for the fact we've seen the Monokubs in human form," Hikari remarked. "I guess the computers are programmed for the specifications of the body creation."

"Yes, though they were just as cryptic as the ones in the lab. I tried to use them, and I couldn't get the mouse or the keyboard to work properly. Whatever codes they set up in this thing to prevent us from using them work perfectly." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Hikari tapped her lips, then glanced at Crystal. "There's also something really bothering me, honey, and please don't take this the wrong way."

"Go ahead, I'm a tough girl."

"Well, why didn't Monokid find you in violations of the rules?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "The new rules were that anyone outside after 9:30 PM that weren't going with a married partner and such were going to be punished. You weren't with anyone, so why aren't you in violation of the rules?"

Crystal opened her mouth to speak, then shut it. She tried to think, and then shrugged. "I have no idea! Maybe I wasn't in violation because I was trapped here?"

Ignatia knocked on the door, and shook her head when they glanced at her. She mimicked a lightning bolt over her left eye, and pretended to laugh diabolically. "Yes, she's right," Hikari said. "Monokuma, and Monokid at that, are far too cruel to give you a break."

"Then I have no idea why I'm alive." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Eisei sat down in one of the barber chairs, and spun around slowly. "There's also the problem that whoever did this opened the door and left you in there, asleep and unaware of what was going on."

"If our killer did this," Kimiko said, crossing her arms, "then they would have to do that. If Crystal saw who they were, she'd know who our killer was."

"So are we going on the idea that our killer killed Yejoon," Futaba summarized, "cut his hand off, brought the hand here and opened the door so that Crystal could escape?"

"How on Earth did they go back and forth between the sides like that?" Hikari asked. "And was their goal to save Crystal? I mean, if they killed Yejoon and let the body be discovered, that door would be locked forever!"

"That's not entirely true," Eisei said, his voice growing soft and strong in a rotation with his chair. "Someone opened the door previously and left it open, which was when Crystal found herself imprisoned in that room. So we could have had one of our married couples come over here and open the door."

"My marriage wasn't the real deal," Kimiko remarked.

"Mine too," Futaba said.

"I was only in that room because I was married to someone with no one being in the chapel," Crystal grumbled. "Besides, we were only told after the murder that they'd allow a couple to open the doors that had previously been opened."

"Not to mention that we're very lucky Anzu and Ishiku's marriage worked," Hikari said. "No, I'm sorry, Eisei, but we have to assume that the killer did this to save Crystal." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Eisei nodded, then his chair stopped with him facing the lab room. "Or maybe they wanted to ensure this room would be available to them in the future."

"What? Why?" Kimiko asked. "What woo'd they possibly want from this room, it can only used by the Kubs and Monokuma!"

"Our killer is someone who brutally took down a very dangerous and able serial killer," Eisei said, a rare moment of dire seriousness that betrayed his cute looks and voice. "Whoever they are, they're just as dangerous, if not more so now to us. If we don't know who they are, or what they want, we are lost."

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:21 AM**

 **Stables**

 **Near the Locked Storage Closet**

"Yeah, that's been opened, for sure," Aka said, kneeling down to the light dirt-covered floor to showcase her point. The locked storage closet, still locked and closed, had door movement tracks on the floor. The skier glanced around the area, and said, "Sadly, I don't think we'll get footprints. That'd be your speciality, eh Saiko?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Hooray, you got my talent right," Saiko asked, rolling her eyes. She was examining the photos on Monophanie's phone, amplifying and scrolling through them. "Hara, can you see anything else around here?"

"No, not really, Aka has this," Hara said, regarding the skier. "I don't know what else is going to be here, but should we stay here? For when Anzu and Ishiku come here?"

"We should head over to the hotel and help out there, while I stay in the lobby," Saiko remarked. "You two can still make yourselves useful, while I'm stuck playing Spot the Medical Discrepancy with Monophanie's phone!"

Aka chuckled deviously. "Heh, well, maybe we should get Anzu away from Ishiku and have some fun with her before we have to go to trial, get you to loosen up?"

When both women stared at her, Hara confused and Saiko fuming, Aka scratched the back of her head. "Oh yeah, you're both straight."

"And we're investigating a murder, you horny git," Saiko snapped at her. "Can't you take it seriously for one minute?"

"Investigating isn't really my speciality, it's yours," the skier admitted. "But you do realize, the hotel isn't going to be a lot of help to us?"

"How's that?" Hara asked.

"I was thinking we should investigate all of our rooms, make sure that no one's hiding anything in any of them. However, while they were unlocked at night, they were all locked when we were awakened. I tried to get back into my room, but I wasn't allowed back in." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"That explains a lot," the forensic investigator said, then added under her breath, "and more than I cared to know."

Hara sighed as she considered this. "So we're not able to get back into our rooms, even our own? That does complicate things."

"You and I can help the others investigating the gift shop and the lobby," Aka said, with a friendly smile to the explorer. "Who was working on that again?"

"Fiora and Pyrrha."

Aka's eyes widened, and she chuckled nervously. "Oh dear, this might get a little awkward."

"Oh my God, I so do not care," Saiko declared. "You know, the only reason I asked you to come with me was that I wanted to make sure you would actually help out, but that might be too much to ask of you!"

"Saiko, please," Hara said, holding up her hands defensively. "We'll be fine, just talk to Isaac."

The investigator fumed, then spoke into the phone. "Yes, Isaac? Okay, I need you to take one of the bats and try to fit it into one of the most apparently head wounds that Yejoon has. … Yes I know that's not standard protocol, but you do realize that nothing we've done since we got here has been, right?"

"Ew," Aka remarked, making a face, while Hara turned a little green.

When they arrived at the Love Hotel, Hara and Aka made a beeline for the gift shop. Saiko continued to speak on the phone, hearing Isaac make all the grossed out remarks as he fulfilled her request.

In the gift shop, Pyrrha and Fiora were rummaging through all of the items. The movie maker was steering clear of the tasers, muttering to the romance writer, "Stay away from those, they doo'nt work right."

"Oh dear, how do you know that?"

"I joo'st knoo'."

Pyrrha saw Aka and Hara enter the room, and waved at them. Hara went over to help Fiora search, while the writer approached the skier. "So hello there," Pyrrha said with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Err, hi," Aka blurted out. "L-listen, Pyrrha… I want to ask you something…"

"I'm highly aware that already that you're not the kind of take our one-night fling, or rather one-afternoon, seriously. You're very much a 'passion in the moment' kind of woman, and I will respect that."

"Oh, really? I thought you were a romantic and you expected-"

"No, I'm not going to ask you to be my girlfriend or marry me if you don't want to, I knew from the start that it was a sexual fling. I wanted and needed it as much as you did. Plus, I can kind of tell I wasn't the only one you nailed yesterday."

Aka was cherry red in the face, and muttered, "Holy shit, I didn't think it would go like this, I swear! Man though, I really, really am more flustered than I thought I would be."

"Most are when they meet their side chick, or however it goes, I don't really keep up with that slang," Pyrrha said with a shrug. "Anyway, you want to help us? We need all the help we can get."

"What do you need from me? I mean, it's not like we have an inventory of this stuff, so we cannot tell if anything was taken."

Aka glanced around the place, and added, "It's also kind of a mess. What happened here?"

"We're not entirely sure, but let's hope that we can find a clue of some sorts. There's a few things that can be used as weapons here, maybe our killer grabbed something from here."

"If our killer is a woman, which we don't know for sure yet; it wouldn't surprise me if one of those boys killed him."

Aka rummaged through the items, and added, "I really hope Blake killed him, so we can be done with both of the bastard boys."

Pyrrha nudged her and motioned for her to keep it down, regarding Fiora nearby. The movie maker didn't seem affected, she kept idly rummaging through the goods.

"She really is upset he's dead?" Aka inquired.

"It's complicated, but don't aggravate it, please," Pyrrha implored her. "I beg of you, the poor woman's been through enough."

Aka sighed, then glanced over at Pyrrha. When her eyes went up and down the writer's body, her face became almost as red as her hair. "Aka, come now, we're investigating."

"Oh, like we're going to find anything, and I doubt the killer is a woman. I mean, what did they do, just happen to go on over to the men's side, which is impossible, find Yejoon there randomly, kill the ninja-like serial killer, and then came back here?"

Pyrrha tucked her red hair behind her ears, and said, "It does sound kind of silly when you say it like that, but that begs the question, how did Yejoon go outside after 9:30 PM?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Unless someone broke into his room on the boys' side, killed him, and dragged him out there… which is like ambushing an armed grizzly bear in his own cave," Aka remarked, shaking her head. "Okay, how could anyone have killed the bastard? Wait, then again…"

Aka tapped her chin, then glanced over at Hara and Fiora. She hummed in thought, and a grin spread across her face. "Now I got a bit of a theory, but I don't think I should divulge it just yet." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Pyrrha stared at her in confusion, then glanced over at Fiora, who was furiously evaluating all of the tasers. Hara was there to make sure she didn't hurt herself. "Aka, why are you being cryptic?"

"What am I doing, that is a good question," the skier said, walking over to the romance writer. "Here's a better question…"

She leaned in to whisper into Pyrrha's ear, and the redhead's emerald eyes widened in surprise as that blush intensified. "A-Aka! We can't! We have an investigation!"

"Are we going to find anything of use? Come on, you were just telling me that you needed that rush and excitement, why not do it again? You're never going to get an opportunity like this again."

Pyrrha considered pointing out there could be another murder, but she wasn't a pessimist. The romance writer fumbled her fingers and her words, and said, "But… we're locked out of our rooms!"

"We don't need a room."

"Saiko's right out there in the lobby, she'll see us leave together…"

"Then we do it in this room."

"Hara and Fiora are here!"

Aka smirked slyly, and called out without looking back to the two ladies. "Fiora, Hara, would you two go help out Saiko?"

"I'm busy, damn it," Fiora hollered, comparing two tasers together. "I'm almost certain that this one is the one I tased myself with, eh! And I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!"

"You did what now?" Hara exclaimed.

Aka's smirk was replaced with a frustrated scowl, and she muttered, "Well fuck it, we're going to the kitchen and doing it there. No one will be there, and even if they do, I'm not the kind to care about another woman walking in."

"Wh-why are you so insatiable?" Pyrrha whimpered, though there was an excited grin on her face as a bead of sweat rolled down her flushed face.

"I've seen you naked, Pyrrha, that's why. Now come on…"

Aka took Pyrrha by the hand, and led her out of the gift shop. When they stepped into the lobby, they noticed Saiko was gone. Without that deterrent in the way, they made their way to the eastern kitchen…

One could make a joke about it getting hot in the kitchen, but one has standards. That's why one will make a remark about not recalling having clams for breakfast, because one's standards are really warped.

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:25 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Western Gift Shop**

"I swear to all that is holy, clown, if you do not take this search more seriously, I am going to-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Drake shouted, getting in-between Odelios and Ken. "I don't know why you two are at each other so much today, but please! This isn't the way to behave, especially when we're investigating a murder."

"YES. LIKE-DRAKE-SAID," Monodam requisitioned, "PLEASE-DO-GET-ALONG."

Ken huffed in frustration, and said, "I just don't appreciate all sorts of japes and shenanigans in the midst of such turmoil! I mean, we have the death of an awful man, but it is a very conflicting and confusing death! We need to take it with the utmost sincerity and integrity…

"And this court jester continues to pester me about the marriages that took place yesterday," Ken declared, pointing furiously at Odelios.

"Hey, if you hooked up with one of the two women who gave me more of a chance the whole male and female population ever did," Odelios shouted, "I have a right to know! Which of my threesome buddies did you hook up with, if you did?"

"What?!" Ken exclaimed.

"What?" Drake asked, perplexed.

"WHAT?" Monodam petitioned.

Odelios pursed his lips. "You know, I'm starting to think that no one believes me that I've been with a woman. It's not bloody impossible, you non-believers? Is it because I'm a clown? That's racist!"

"Hey, Odelios," Drake said, trying to keep himself between Ken and the clown, "look, I'm not going to judge you, but maybe you shouldn't be advertising things like that. I mean, women don't like it when you brag."

"The women seem to be bragging non-stop about their conquests."

"That's just Aka, you don't need to emulate her," Drake said, placing one of his hands on Odelios's shoulder. "Come on now, please try to help us out."

"Damn it kid, why are you so cute and nice? But what are we going to do here? The searching is pointless here if we don't know what we're looking for."

As Odelios said that, Souma and Blake walked into the gift shop. Blake regarded the three guys, and asked, "Is there spray paint in here?"

"What?" Drake asked.

"The Hall of Fame has been vandalized, and we believe someone used spray paint to do the job," Souma explained, "but we don't know if the spray paint was here, among someone's belongings, or in the other gift shop."

"It's here," Odelios said with a cheerful smile.

"What?" Ken exclaimed once again. "How do you know?"

"I was actually looking when I was pestering you, big guy," Odelios said. "I've got a good mind to join a club and beat some sense into you with it, if you think I was just wasting time."

Odelios moved over to one of the obscure corners of the gift shop, and showcased boxes of spray paint. Blake took one out, and examined it. "These things say they are more precise and fine than normal, perfect for writing messages," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's like they were selling vandalization tools here." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"There's also a ball-peen hammer display, right there," Odelios said, jerking his thumb to point behind him. "Did they smash stuff up?"

"Holy crap," Blake shouted as he stared at the rack of the window-breaking hammers, not to mention the other, rather aggressive stuff they had there. "This place is like a prison's black market goldmine!" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"That's one way to put it, yes," Souma said. "So does this prove our vandal is a male? Or do you believe the women have this stuff over there too?"

"We're going to have to hope they investigated throughly over there too," Drake said. "Ken, Odelios, you just remember what they sold here, and we'll compare notes when we meet up for the trial."

"Got it, little adorable buddy!" Odelios said.

"Should we search other parts of the hotel now?" Ken inquired. "I know our rooms are locked now, but maybe Monodam could let us in?"

"NO."

"Damn it."

"Actually, I have to ask you something, Monodam," Drake asked, placing the green Kub on the counter to properly talk to him. "Did you move my stuff, perchance?"

"I-DID-NOT-TOUCH-YOUR-STUFF."

"Then… did someone go into my room last night?"

Monodam paused, leaving everyone in the room in suspense for a short while. "I-AM-ASHAMED-TO-ADMIT," Monodam said, "I-WAS-NOT-IN-YOUR-ROOM-LAST-NIGHT."

"That's something he's ashamed to admit?" Blake asked incredulously.

"IT-WOULD-BE-CHEATING-TOWARDS-THE-KILLING-GAME-FOR-ME-TO-WATCH-OVER-A-PARTICULAR-VISITOR."

Ken walked over to Drake, and asked, "Why are you inquiring about this, cartoonish man?"

"What? Oh, um, it's probably nothing," Drake said, scratching the back of his head, "but I kept Emanuel's key ring with my things, and when I changed into my clothes this morning, I didn't see it in the drawer."

"Emanuel's key ring? Who would want that?" Souma inquired.

"Anyone female who wants to wander over to our side," Ken remarked. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

The public speaker tapped his chin, then said, "But you have to get over to this side to get to Drake's room, so if a woman wanted to use that as her way to get around the western side, she wouldn't be able to retrieve it."

"Yeah, it's like an acid-proof suit kept in a vat of acid," Odelios remarked. "It's one of those unfair predicaments! A kind god would not allow such an impossibility, and a cruel god would have just located our noses next to our butts!"

"Maybe you just misplaced it, Drake?" Ken asked.

Drake sighed, shaking his head. "W-well, maybe, I'm sorry, maybe I'm just causing a problem where there isn't one."

"We should check out the last places that haven't been checked out," Souma said, nodding sagely. "Drake, you and I should check out the kitchen here, while you three could inspect the bowling alley."

"Why?" Blake asked. "There's nothing there worth finding. It's a big waste of time!"

"Oh please try to be a bit more cooperative," Souma said, rubbing his forehead. "Come on, we don't know how much time we have left, so we have none to lose."

"With a little study, you can go a long, long ways," Odelios said to Blake, "and I wish you'd start now."

Blake fumed, then grabbed one of the ball-peen hammers and followed after them. "Fine, but I'm gonna see just how effective these things are while we're there!"

Drake picked Monodam back up, as he and Souma watched the unusual trio leave. "You ever wonder," the public speaker asked, "how we managed to survive three trials beforehand?"

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:30 AM**

 **Stables**

 **Near the Locked Storage Closet**

"You're up, handsome," Anzu said, patting Ishiku's back. "You got this, don't worry now!"

"It's not exactly something you need to psych yourself up for," Saiko remarked, watching the two.

"Oh come on, after the dud in the clothing store, I am really hoping for something good here!"

Ishiku rolled up his sleeves, chocolate coins spilling everywhere (much to Saiko's disgust and confusion). He walked over to the palm scanner as he removed his glove, and placed his hand on there. There was a positive beeping noise, and then the door unlocked.

"Success!" Ishiku declared as Anzu cheered. The door was flung open…

… and it was a collection of old tools you would find around stables and a barn, or just things you could loosely associate with them. There was a pitchfork, a collection of horseshoes, old saddles, a shotgun, a lengthy saw, a milking machine, and more. All of them were rusty and awful looking, tetanus shots waiting to happen, though everything with points appeared sharpened and ready to stab or shred.

"This is the second most unpleasant room I've ever seen," Ishiku remarked. He walked in, observing the objects. "Yeesh, a shotgun?!"

Anzu walked in and examined the old boomstick. She picked it up gingerly, studying it closely, then set it down. "This thing is ruined six ways to Sunday, it'll never shoot."

"You know about guns?" Saiko asked as he observed from the doorway. Anzu smirked playfully over at her, and dusted her hands off as she stood up.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, honey. I'm more than a pretty face and a good lay."

"If you stopped bringing up your sexual prowess, I might believe that more," the investigator said. "Still, I must admit, I'm highly curious about this storage room. When was it previously opened?" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Anzu glanced around the room, muttering, "Does anything here have blood on it? I mean, some of this could have been used for the murder."

"Horseshoe to the back of the head sounds like a way to KO someone," Ishiku said, picking up the horseshoes individually. "I mean, if you were hiding in the mist, and threw one at Yejoon…"

"I kind of see him being able to dodge in time, with how swift he was," Anzu admitted.

Saiko watched them, and asked, "Are you leaving smudges on the horseshoes there, Ishiku?"

"What? Oh, yeah, there's dust and stuff on them."

"Do any of them have smudges or such on them already?"

A few seconds passed, then Ishiku answered, "No."

"The saw isn't smudged at all either," Anzu said. "If someone had used this, it would have been bloody or shown signs of being cleaned. In fact, everything in here is pretty much unused."

"What was even the point of this being a locked room?" Saiko remarked, shaking her head. "I mean, seriously, nothing in here is really all that useful."

"Wait, what if one of these are one of those things that give you a vision?" Ishiku asked, as he started touching and picking up the objects.

"Ishi, even if one of them is, are you sure you want to do that before a trial?" Anzu asked. "I mean, those things are terrifying…"

"They also have provided warnings, and if we don't find it now, we may never find it again," the magician replied as he grabbed at the saddles.

"Even if I agreed with all of that," Saiko said, shaking her head, "none of these would work for the Hope's Peak Academy victims. None of them were about horses, farms, stables, or the like."

Anzu held up the time-worn milking machine, and smirked as she remarked, "Were any of them kinky?"

"Anzu, I just told you to stop…"

"Okay, okay, I hear you. I don't think there is anything to be had here," the actress said, dropping the device. "Ishi?"

Ishiku was quiet at first, then he sighed and said, "Okay, let's check out the other room in the spa."

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:31 AM**

 **Bowling Alley**

"Are you serious?" Blake shouted at Monokid, right as the blue Kub was lining up a shot in one of the lanes. "You fucking serious?"

"What, you think I need to help you guys out during investigation?" Monokid shouted right back. "Screw that, I ain't got any obligation to help you! The trial would be so much more interesting if you all failed!"

The pyro rubbed his forehead, then said, "I actually meant your stance. You'll never get a strike like that, mate."

"Oh, really? Thanks."

Ken watched this rather weird exchange from up on the main floor, and rolled his eyes. "Great, I'm surrounded by crazy folk in the midst of the most gruesome and confusing murder there is. I'm flanked by fools."

"I think you mean 'surrounded by idiots,' thank you very much," Odelios said. The clown was holding a small waste bin in his hands. "So did you find anything yet, Ken?"

"No, and why are you holding that?"

"Because I found it."

The cavalryman stared at the clown, then proceeded to walk away. Odelios ran back to in front of the Novoselic fighter, pursing his lips in a pout.

"Just look in here, big boy."

Ken did so, and was startled to see a large collection of knives in the waste bin. Specifically, they were Yejoon's throwing knives, all within a bin filled with blood, torn fabric, and ripped, clear plastic. He picked one of the bloody blades out, and dangled it like if it were a dead rat. "What is the mishmash of awfulness?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Maybe this is where it happened?" Odelios asked. "I mean, if our killer took his weapons off of him here… though I don't know what the rest of this stuff is."

"There's no way our killer could have bludgeoned him to the degree he was murdered," the cavalryman said, "without getting blood all over the place; they couldn't have caught it all in here, where did this blood even come from? There's no blood splatter around here in the bowling alley, we would have noticed.

"Not to mention, there's no kind of weapon he could have used to beat Yejoon to death with here."

There was a crash of pins, and Monokid let out a victorious shout. Blake applauded lightly, giving some minimum praise to the blue Kub. Odelios and Ken exchanged glances, and the cavalryman asked, "Are you thinking the same thing that I am thinking about, court jester?"

"That Monokid just so happened to take up bowling during our murder investigation?"

The two of them headed down to the lanes, and whispered to Blake. Odelios then started to interrogate Monokid, as Ken inspected the bowling balls and Blake walked down the lane to closer look at the pins.

"Alright, Monokid, let's get a few things straight," Odelios declared, standing defiantly with confidence over the three foot Kub. "I am getting some answers from you, and you're going to answer them!"

"Oh yeah, fucking clown boy? How you going to make me?"

"Bowling competition, dude! You bowl, I bowl, and whoever gets more pins has to answer a question!"

"I'm gonna fuck you up, as if it was your holes I was sticking my claws into, instead of a bowling ball!"

"You're gonna get stuffed like the turkey I'll be bowling, dude!"

"BRING IT!"

"BRING IT HARDER!"

"BRING IT HARDEST!"

"BRING IT HARDEREST, DUDE!"

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:32 AM**

 **Baseball Field**

 **Home Plate**

Shuuya wiped his forehead as he walked over to Isaac. "Okay, Yitro inspected every baseball bat in there, and we came to the same conclusion… we think one of them could have been used for a murder." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"'Could have'?" the reporter repeated. "The two of you are giving me a maybe?"

"Look, I'll admit, the old blood that was left on that equipment threw us off more than we thought, because they all have the scent of blood on them, no matter how… stale. Only one of them smells fresher, but that could be…"

The assassin rubbed the back of his head and muttered in embarrassment, "That was the one we used to compare Yejoon's wounds to a baseball bat's."

Isaac face-palmed, and muttered, "Damn it, that's as much my fault as yours. If we can, let's avoid telling Saiko that detail, or she'll kill me."

He removed his thumb from the phone's microphone, and then lifted it to his mouth. "Hey there Saiko, do you have an update for me?"

"If you can take notes, I want to tell you everything I can."

Isaac fumbled with his notepad, trying to hold it and the phone with his shoulder. Eventually, Shuuya offered to hold the notepad and dictate for Isaac, so the two worked together. When they were ready, Saiko started to speak:

"Here is everything I noticed from all your hard work, Isaac. There are electric burns on his neck, very similar to a taser injury. Someone really pushed it into his skin, the prods penetrating the skin almost like a vampire. So he was definitely tased, but it appears only once.

"Yejoon's knees were shattered, someone hit him there repeatedly; he wouldn't be able to stand at all, he must have been in terrible agony. His arms were similar, broken bones rather than shattered though, but still damaged to the point where he wasn't able to properly use them.

"It's impossible for me to tell what was made before and after his death, it was all done at the same time. Judging from the condition of the body as you told me, he's definitely been dead for more than a few hours; rigor mortis is still setting into his body, but it hasn't peaked.

"The wounds definitely appear to be from a baseball bat, though something of the same side or a bit wider could have done it. Just keep in mind that something had to be very durable to endure beating a man to death, especially to the state he's in…

"You wouldn't happen to know if more than one of those bats were used, would you?"

Isaac and Shuuya exchanged worried glances, and the bounty hunter/assassin showed genuine worry about angering the short lady. Shuuya shrugged, and then Isaac said, "Why, would multiple bats be needed for something like this?"

"You could do it with one, but I assure you that a bat used to beat a man to death would definitely bend or break noticeably."

Shuuya and Isaac stared at each other again, and then over at the shack. "Great," the bounty hunter said, "we may be on the wrong track after all, if the killer could even get in there."

"Anything else, Saiko?" the reporter asked.

"Yejoon's hand was definitely carved off with a blade meant for such cutting, like the kind you'd find in a kitchen. The cut isn't clean enough for something like a swift sword slice."

"And you couldn't cut it off with a sword or combat like you would a carving knife?"

"No, it's definitely a carving knife like you'd find in a kitchen or a meat shop; you have to understand, I know my cuts after all my years of studying dead bodies."

Isaac groaned, while Shuuya raised an eyebrow. "The lady knows her cuts, we shouldn't argue with that."

"And do you think that the murder was committed here?"

"That seems possible, with how much blood appears to be underneath him. Unless there's a trail of sorts, I would say that it appears the murder was committed there.

"By the way, where were those wrist blades of his?" Saiko questioned. "You know, the ones he and his sister had, those assassin blades?"

"He didn't have those on him."

"Seriously? Why wouldn't he… you know what, never mind, I shouldn't question why he did anything. I think that's all."

Isaac sighed, and remarked, "Yeah, I think we've learned everything we can from his body." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Shuuya nodded, and said, "Might as well spread it around to see if anyone knows Korean over there."

"Hey guys!"

The two men turned to see Yitro approaching them, Blake by his side. The swordsman glanced over at the pyro, who held up an unusual object in his hand: it was a bowling pin, stained with blood on the side.

"So I not only found this," Blake said, "hidden amongst the pins at the end of the lane, but if you sneak under the pin return machines at the end of the lane, you find yourself in a back hall that has a door to the outside. So I found out how Yejoon managed to make it out of the place when it was locked up."

"There's a door in the back of the bowling alley?" Yitro remarked, staring at the neighboring building. "Damn it, how did we not know this?"

"And how much does it affect our trial?" Shuuya said. "I mean, was a bowling pin really used to bash Yejoon to death?"

He took the pin from Blake, examining the bloody area. There was definitely some splintering around the place of impact, but it didn't seem right to Shuuya. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"There may be more than one pin used if it was a murder weapon," the assassin said. "Blake, we need to see if more than one pin is bloodstained."

"Well, we'll have to do it while Odelios and Monokid are bowling," Blake said, shrugging nonchalantly. "He's trying to do that to get information out of him."

"Odelios or Monokid?" Isaac asked.

"Yes."

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:33 AM**

 **Bowling Alley**

 **The Lanes**

Monokid stared in exasperation as all of the pins fell down to the bowling ball's wrath. Odelios smirked at the blue Kub, and said, "You owe me so much information now, or do you wish for me to humiliate you further?"

"I hate you so fucking much, clown," the blue Kub shouted. "I don't gotta tell you anything, you crossdressing bastard! So haha, in your fa-"

Monosuke showed up then, and grabbed Monokid's ear. "Youse gotta honor any deal we make with our tourists, bucko! So unless you wanna break the honor code of the Monokubs, youse best be spitting out information like youse was in a spittoon store!"

Monokid yanked himself out of Monosuke's grasp, and grumbled, "Stupid Monokub code, I hate the fact that I gotta listen to rules. Aren't we in a horror movie scenario right now? Those don't have fucking rules!"

"Monokid~?" Odelios sang. "I'm ready to ask you questions!"

"Rawrshafardigan," the blue Kub angrishly hollered. "FINE! Dewitt, you little bitch clown!"

"First off, how do you know who is married to who if you cannot remember names or faces?"

"I dunno, I just kind of do."

"… So wait, if someone is married, you know who they are and what gender they are?"

"Maybe."

"How the hell do you recognize someone as male or female?"

"Females are girly with feminine features like big boobs and pretty faces."

"Are you telling me that I was on the right path when I had big boobs? That was the only thing that made you think I was a woman?"

"Yeah, kind of. I know women have those because of the statues in the trial rooms, and the fan service files Monosuke keeps around with him."

"Okay, fine. I remember you were talking about someone who had an item belonging to someone who's gone. Can even married people use those to get around?"

"Yeah."

"… Does Yejoon count as someone who is gone?"

"After he died? Yeah."

"And wait just one minute, I'm curious about something: you at one point said that you put anything you may have given us in our rooms in the love hotel. Did that apply to anyone here?"

"That's classified, motherfucker!"

"Drat. Well, about recognizing a woman, how do you recognize someone as a man?"

"Manly stuff."

Odelios pursed his lips, then glanced over at Monosuke as he pointed at Monokid. "He's talking about blatant stereotypes, ain't he?"

"Yeah," the orange Kub said with a nod of his head. "He don't know any better, life is so simple for him." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"So how did he know who was married to who? Did you tell him?"

"No, it's kind of the collective knowledge that we have; when one of us knows, we all know."

"So what would happen if someone you know is married claims to be a different gender? Doesn't that conflict with what you know?"

"Youse have a good point, but unfortunately, our memories aren't so good nowadays. Plus, Monokid doesn't get involved in the marriages like Monophanie and I do."

"Why's that?"

"Only the two of us handled the chapel and informed others of their marriages. Monokid never even showed up to help us marry people, but then again, he really couldn't." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Why's that?"

Before Monosuke could answer, or if he even would, everyone from the group at the baseball field walked into the bowling alley. Monosuke regarded them, and called out, "What are all youse doing here? The murder was at the field, not here."

"We have investigating to do," Isaac remarked. "Wait, Monosuke, what are you and Monokid telling Odelios?"

"I think youse will have to ask him that during the trial," Monosuke said, correcting his glasses. "Youse already got a good amount of information with this clown, youse want to waste time with me repeating it?"

The reporter growled in frustration, and surveyed the lanes. "Alright guys, let's look over this place as much as we can, we might find more clues. The Kubs were trying to discourage us when they told us the rooms in here were useless to go through."

"Hey, we never intentionally mislead youse," Monosuke protested. "We may be forgetful these days, but we always were as honest with youse as we could."

"You refused to tell us who we were really married to," Shuuya declared, pointing at the two Kubs. "I still think you were working against us."

Monosuke pulled out his fan of money, and proceeded to flaunt it in front of them. "Upupupupupu~ Youse is just so accusatory, but it weren't one of us who killed that fox. So youse might want to investigate as much as youse can, before it's too late!

"Pops has got a brilliant method of a group execution, and I'm wondering if youse will all let him use it."

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:36 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Kitchen**

Pyrrha shivered in orgasmic delight as she was pushed one last time up against the counter. She attempted to clench her teeth but still let out a high-pitched cry as she threw her head back in bliss. Aka grunted several times as she thrust against her, and then clutched her tightly as she shook from the overwhelming feeling of their quickie.

The redhead leaned back, sweat rolling from her forehead before wiping her forehead. "Oh _God_ , that was good, Aka. Though… wow… we should really, really get going now…"

"Mmmmph… a minute more like this, is all I ask," Aka purred, petting the writer's naked breasts, as she had hiked up Pyrrha's shirt and bra when they had started. She squeezed at Pyrrha's girls, making the writer shiver even more.

"Nnngh, you are… such… a bad influence on me," the writer said, her hot panting making her words coming out in heated intervals.

Aka chuckled, as she gripped Pyrrha's hips and rubbed their intimate areas together more. "Yeah, I know. Sorry about that~"

"I am not complaining~"

Pyrrha rolled her head around and sighed happily, but as she did this, she noticed something odd out of the corner of her eye. In the kitchen was a butcher block, and large, pink-colored handled knives in each of the slots. Though right now, the center one had a cerulean handle, the dark blue contrasting the pink ones noticeably.

"Ummm… Aka?" Pyrrha said, staring at the butcher block. "Something is different about that one knife?"

"Huh?" Aka said, wiping her sweaty bangs from her forehead. "What do you mean, I'm not a kitchen girl."

"I help make the meals, and all the knives are the same color, stereotypically pink because the Kubs thought it was funny or something. Now there's a blue one there."

Aka regarded it, and, regretfully, pushed herself from Pyrrha. As the two pulled up their pants, and adjusted themselves, Pyrrha moved over to the butcher block and took the blue knife handle in her hand. "I wonder…"

"You think the killer really left such an obvious clue like that?" Aka asked, staring dubiously at the butcher block.

Pyrrha pulled the knife out, and gasped as she saw the blade of the carving knife had a copious amount of dried blood on it.

"Oh shit," the skier remarked. "Yeah, that's definitely a clue." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"If this knife came from the men's side," Pyrrha remarked, staring at the carving blade, "then where is ours? Is it over there?"

"And why did the killer just leave it in there?" Aka inquired. "Like that, even? I mean, that's obviously gotta be what cut off Yejoon's hand. Eww."

Pyrrha took a deep breath, as adrenaline was still rushing through her post-coitus body. "We should take this with us to the trial, Aka. I don't think anyone would just take our word for it."

"You really are one determined chick," the skier said with a laugh, "to carry a bloody knife to a trial and claim she found it."

Pyrrha laughed, and then felt a cold shiver run up her spine. "Oh crap. I just realized… I told everyone that I was going to stay up to wait for the married couples to come down. I… oh dear."

"What's wrong?"

"I… may have some explaining to do that'll make me look guilty. Aka, I'm so sorry, just please, back me up if you can, you know I didn't do this!" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Of course, Red. Just, um, don't announce what we were doing in here when we found it."

"I'm not the braggart here, Aka."

"Hehe, yeah, I know…"

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:37 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Western Kitchen**

Drake stared at the butcher block in the kitchen, which had cerulean-handled knives in it. The difference was that the center one was bright pink. The cartoonist didn't know what to make of it, so he pulled it out.

"Something wrong, Drake?" Souma asked him, walking over to the cartoonist. "Is there something about that knife that bothers you?"

"It's pink."

"An unusual color for a carving knife, yes."

"I mean that the handle is pink, while all the other blades in here have blue handles. I think it might be how the Monokubs designed the Love Hotel?"

"YES," Monodam said, standing on the counter as he watched Drake at work, "THE-WOMEN-GOT-PINK-HANDLED-TOOLS, THE-MEN-GOT-BLUE. MONOKID-THOUGHT-THAT-WAS-THE-ONLY-WAY-TO-DO-IT."

"Why's that?" Souma asked the Kub.

"BECAUSE-HE-IS-BLUE-AND-MONOPHANIE-IS-PINK. HE-CONSIDERS-HIMSELF-THE-DEFINITION-OF-MANLY-BEARNESS."

"Of course he does."

Drake inspected the clean blade of the pink-handled carving knife, and said, "It doesn't look like it's been used, I don't smell anything on it. But it cannot just be here for no reason, right?" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Souma crossed his arms as he pondered this. "It does prove that our killer had access to both sides of this place, somehow. I'm not sure how this will fit in exactly, but it is important. Good work, Drake, a credit as always."

As the cartoonist blushed at the compliment, a chiming sound echoed around the building. Souma and Drake knew it was probably sounding off all around the plaza and the buildings around it. Sure enough, the voice of Despair came shortly after the chime.

" **A-HEM! Ahem. Ahem ahem ahemy. Attention, tourists of Penjar! The time for investigation is now over…** "

* * *

 **Day 13, 10:38 AM**

 **Love Hotel**

 **Eastern Gift Shop**

" **Please report to the front of Town Hall, at the front steps, within the next, hmmm… well, you're kind of far from Town Hall, so you get twenty minutes. Anyone not there may be subject to immediate execution!**

" **And please, take into consideration that I've BEARly gotten to show up during this motive. These trials are really important for me, so do your best during this one! I wanna honor someone who did killing almost as good as me! Upupupupu!** "

The sound cut off sharply, and Fiora winced at it. She glanced over at Hara, and muttered, "So, it's really happening then, is it?"  
"I'm afraid so, sweetheart."

"I… I wish I could see his body, joo'st to make sure… no! No no no," Fiora growled as she shook her head. "He's dead, he's gone, and… and I have to get used to that fact. I'm not going to feel bad a'boot it…

"… But I doo'nt feel good a'boot it either."

Hara moved over and hugged Fiora, as the two women shared a quiet moment between each other. The explorer whispered to her, "Just remember everything we found in this room, and we'll do him a service by finding his killer."

"Yeah, but I wonder how Monokub plushies, tasers, whistles, disposable rainwear, brightly colored pants, and all the other things in here are gonna help…" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

The two finished their comforting hug, and then left the Love Hotel. The other women (and Eisei) were already on their way up the pathway back to the center of the town. It was so odd, traveling a path that was forbidden to go on, despite it being right there.

Walking up that slanted path was one of the longest walks for Fiora, and when she got to the top, she tried to peer down from the high ground to see if she could spot him. She couldn't, only the buildings were visible from this point of view. The movie maker sighed heavily, and muttered, "Good-bye, Yejoon."

As she made her way towards Town Hall, the men were coming up from their side, and some of them were joining up with the women to converse. Some were comparing notes and making sure all of their truth bullets were in order. Some were just interested in seeing how others they cared about were.

Isaac and Hara were with each other instantly. Saiko joined up with them shortly, but she was heavily distracted. All she could do was mumble about the "other locked room in the spa," and carried on with a mental thought process that couldn't be interrupted. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Drake hurried over to Ignatia, who was happy to see him but confused why he was carrying Monodam. Hikari went to check on Ken, and was surprised to see how frustrated and bitter the cavalryman was over this whole ordeal.

Odelios went to Crystal's side at first, but the military adviser was so distracted by her trying to mentally map out everything, he couldn't get her attention in the least. So he moved over to Pyrrha, who was walking alongside Aka.

"Hey there, Romantic Red," the clown said as he approached her. Pyrrha's eyes went wide, and Aka's narrowed. "Um, something wrong?"

"What? N-no, nothing's wrong," the writer stammered. "Just, I mean, is something wrong with you?"

"No, not really. I mean, I was trying so hard to get the guys to let me go get married, but they wouldn't let me! I just wanted to see if you did alright as far as marriages?"

Pyrrha stammered, glanced over at Aka, and then back at Odelios. "I did… well, actually, I don't know who I married."

"Uh-oh, this sounds like a complicated matter. Are we talking needle in a haystack, or a needle in a needlestack?"

"It's berries in a blender, Odelios sweetie."

The clown winced, and then pulled out his faithful companion. "Rubarrow," he declared to his rubber chicken, "we must do our very best during this trial! Right all the wrongs, for justice's sake, psych out the culprit, and most importantly, objectify!"

"I cannot tell if you're taking this seriously," Aka remarked, "or not at all."

"Tense situations force me to bring out humor, it's an incurable status effect."

The only other pairing, so to speak, between the men and women involving interactions was Yitro approaching Fiora. He walked alongside her, watching her, trying to gauge how she was feeling.

"You doing okay?" he finally asked when he couldn't observe an answer.

"Yeah, kind of," Fiora muttered. "No, not really. I've gone over this several times now, with other people, but I still doo'nt knoo' how I feel."

"If I may give you a bit of advice?"

"Sure, why not."

"This battle is just starting. You need to push aside how you feel for now, as this is the fight or flight response to conflict. The trial is going to be intense, and you need to keep your wits about you.

"I have a feeling that you'll be important to this trial, Fiora. And if there was any humanity in Yejoon, that is what you'll fight for, as well as your own sake. You're going to live to see another day, and go out to make more movies, to follow your passions."

He pat her shoulder, and then moved on forward. Fiora stared in utter confusion at him, wondering what he meant by all that. Something was welling up in her, but she couldn't tell if it was purely dread, anticipation, fear, or something else. Maybe it was all those things?

Trials did tend to make her anxious like that.

It was at this point that she realized she was walking through the main plaza, and was that the front of Town Hall. Monosuke, Monokid, and Monophanie were there already, standing on the front steps.

Monodam pat Drake's arm, signaling to let him down. When the cartoonist did so, the green Kub scurried over to take his place on the steps. The second he did so, the front doors flung open, and Monokuma was standing there.

The despair bear was wearing robes much like a priest's, and he was carrying a book that was definitely not a bible, it was much more like a Necronomicom. " **Welcome, all you happily married couples! It's so good to see you all… well, I mean, there are some of you still single, so you'd best pray that you don't DIE that way too! Upupupupupu!** "

"I AM GIDDY AS A SCHOOLGIRL TO BE SINGLE!" Odelios screamed. "I don't hold any grudges against you bastards for keeping me all alone and nothing to do but play with my cock!"

 _Squeak_ went his rubber chicken as he waggled it up and down in Monokuma's general direction.

" **Okay, I've seen a lot of reactions to my speeches, but that's gotta be a new one,** " Monokuma remarked. " **Beary well, let's get this show on the road!** "

Monokuma raised his paws up to the ceiling, as he turned around and walked into Town Hall. The Monokubs all ran in, heading to the various doors and slamming them shut behind them.

The twenty-one visitors of Penjar walked in, as they had done so three times before. It didn't feel any easier, and doubt was racing through their minds as they walked through this derelict building.

Had they had enough time? Had they found everything? It had felt so rushed, the investigation was little more than a half-hour! It was giving them all such unease, it was practically suffocating.

Father Monokuma was standing next to the elevator, pressing the button to let them all in. They shuffled in, and were immediately sealed up by the door sliding shut, and the robed despair bear waving them good-bye.

With a mechanical rumbling and slight lurch, the elevator started to go down…

Down…

Down…

Down to the accursed trial room below…

Down to where the truth was like a white-hot knife to the-

"Was the cock joke too much, you guys think?" Odelios asked. "I mean, it was Monokuma, so I don't know if it was too much-"

"Not NOW, clown!" Saiko declared.

"Jeez, fine. Don't know why we always gotta go down this elevator all quiet and dramatic-like…"

Down to where the truth was like a white-hot knife to the heart, but it needed to be done, as if it was necessary surgery…

Odelios tried to talk again, but the combination of dirty looks made him shut up, so he strangled Rubarrow's flexible neck to alleviate his tension. It was unusual and weird, but everyone deals with stress and tension in different ways.

No one knew what was going to happen, and thus they were all feeling like the elevator ride was like the last of their nerves being stretched thin. Their stomachs turned, their pulses quickened, some were even sweating with how much they felt the heat.

At long last, the elevator stopped. The door scrolled open, and once again, the trial room was an incredible sight. This wasn't the same, but it was still rather chilling…

The floor, ceiling, and walls were all pitch black, but there were white swirls swishing through the edges and corners. The pearly white color was done with such detail, it was hard to tell if they represented fur or fire.

Large tapestries hung from the ceiling, down to almost touching the floor. On them were swirling works of art, but despite the mysterious way they were done, the images were clear once a little time was focused on them…

All the blood-red tapestries showcased men dying from various, mysterious ways. Some were engulfed in fire, some were having their souls siphoned from them, and some were withering away. The white-gold coloring on these crimson tapestries was masterful, which made it all the more horrifying when the true message behind the beauty was revealed.

In-between every tapestry were the statues, in their usual places but brand-new ones that were less monstrous than the previous ones. These women were not snake ladies or demon jinn or nightmarish nurses…

The statues were proud displays of kitsune women, posing with flourish and grace. They wore kimonos, all of them stylish and of intricate detail, all of them with low necklines that threatened to have their massive bosoms slip out from their chic clothes.

Numerous tails spun from them, nine on each one. They sported fox ears, whisker tattoos on their faces, and keen, predatory eyes that, even in immortalized stone, appeared to be on the hunt. These gorgeous and sensual women statues were illuminated with white fire in brazers around them, giving them an arcane foxfire feel.

Monokuma sat on his throne, grinning and rubbing his paws together in great anticipation. His four children stood in front of him on the lower platform, all of them raring to go as well. The big difference between now and other times was the memorial stand of Monotaro where the red Kub used to stand.

Taro's portrait was right next to Takeo's, where he had stood during the previous trial, both memorial stands taking up the podium's space. Everyone moved to their respective podiums, and tried to calm themselves as they prepared for what was going to come.

Emanuel and Yejoon's portraits were there too, but there was a slight difference between Yejoon's and everyone else's. Instead of an X, there were tally marks in red ink done all across his face. Anyone who took the time to mentally process how many tally marks were made would realize it added up to two hundred.

" **Are we all ready then?** " Monokuma asked. " **Oh baby, this is my time to shine, and I shan't let it get away from me! This is the best case ever, and I didn't get blown up once! So let the fourth trial of Penjar begin! Time for you all to bicker like properly married folk!** "

Monokuma pulled out a large bell from seemingly nowhere, and rocked it back and forth. Chiming like a church bell, as if a wedding happened, it echoed with a horrendous clatter throughout the trial room. The foxfire brazers flicked as the bell rung, and it started to sound like death to the living.

An atrocious trial, in an atrocious town, for one of the most atrocious victims any of them had ever seen, and yet they needed to solve it…

* _Jin glares forward, three fingers correcting the rim of her owl-themed eye mask._ *

* _Yejoon stares through the eye holes of his fox mask._ *

* **Crystal stares downwards, as if surveying a map or field.** *

* **Isaac is leveling a studying stare straight forward with a hand extended, as if wanting an answer.** *

* **Fiora is holding onto the brim of her fedora, peering out from under it with grim determination.** *

* **Aka has a hand on her skiing goggles perched on her head, looking bravely forward.** *

This was the trial for Yejoon Nahm, the Ultimate Artist, but also a serial killer and gentleman fiend. He claimed to have approximately two hundred victims, aiding his sister in a trail of blood and death for his entertainment, for the beauty of death. No one felt safe with him alive, and the world was better with him gone…

* **Saiko has her hands on her hips, glaring downwards at someone or something.** *

* **Drake is nervously glancing to the side, while holding his sketchpad up and close to his chest.** *

* **Souma has an arm raised as he is apparently in the middle of delivering a speech.** *

* **Hara has her hands clasped together, staring anxiously forward.** *

* **Shuuya is glancing over his shoulder, with his arms crossed defiantly.** *

* **Eisei has a lollipop in his mouth and looks half-interested in whatever is going on.** *

Does someone like that even deserve sympathy? Were his last actions noble or not? Was he truly someone who cared about Fiora, or was there only a murderous fiend within Yeou the Fox?

* **Blake is cracking his knuckles and growling in frustration.** *

* **Ignatia is glancing from the side, seemingly uninterested.** *

* **Hikari is taking a confident pose with a smile, hand on the brim of her hat and her chest stuck out with pride.** *

* _Shinobu is holding a finger up, trying to prove a point about something or other._ *

* **Odelios is holding up a rubber chicken and pointing at it, as if to accuse it of the crime.** *

* **Yitro has his arms crossed and eyes closed, scarf pulled up slightly over his mouth.** *

Though it truly didn't matter if Yejoon got what he deserved or not at this point for the visitors of Penjar. If they couldn't figure out who killed him, who managed to slay a man who was so swift that even experienced sword fighters, gunmen, and his equally murderous sister couldn't even scratch him…

* **Ishiku is grinning and holding up one of his signature chocolate coins in-between two fingers.** *

* _Samson glares forward from underneath the brim of his hat._ *

* _Takeo pumps his fist into the air with gusto._ *

* _Emanuel gives a tired stare from the side as he is holding his favorite flask close to him._ *

* **Ken salutes and stands proud, staring up to the sky.** *

* _Angelique has her hands over her heart, silently praying._ *

They were all going to die if they didn't solve this. Was that something Yejoon would celebrate in the afterlife, one final method of killing people? Or would he want his own murderer to be punished? Either way, they had to move forward!

* **Kimiko is pointing forward while shouting defiantly.** *

* **Pyrrha is making a heart with her hands, a sad but sweet smile on her face.** *

* **Futaba has a finger touching her glasses, narrowing her eyes.** *

* **Anzu stares forward defiantly, her frown and posture confident and ready.** *

* _Taro crosses his arms as he stares forward, using his red eye more prominently, as he joins the debate._ *

And thus, it is time to begin the Town Trial of Penjar!

* * *

 **Truth Bullets for Case 4** :

* * *

 **Yejoon's Autopsy** \- Yejoon was clearly bludgeoned to death, his knees shattered, his arms broken. He had to have been murdered at the home plate of the baseball field, due to the amount of blood there, and only some hours ago as rigor mortis was setting in but not peaking. There was a deep taser wound in his neck. He was not wearing his wrist blades.

 **Yejoon's Severed Hand** \- The artist's right hand was cut off, most definitely by a carving blade. It was found in one of the containers at the hair salon. Blood had dripped from it, and poured out when it was used to open the locked room in the salon.

It was confirmed by Monosuke that a severed hand would work once with the hand scanners.

 **Yejoon's Notebook** \- Yejoon had been working on a notebook throughout all of yesterday. The writing is clearly not Japanese, but not familiar to anyone who has seen it yet; it is suspected to be Korean, but it is unknown who of the visitors knows Korean. It was found at the pitcher's mound, literally a baseball pitch's distance away from his body.

 **Yejoon's Throwing Knife** \- Fiora was given one of Yejoon's infamous throwing knives a few days ago, when she had murderous intent for Blake. She has kept it with her since then.

 **Yejoon's Whereabouts** \- Yejoon was somehow outside despite it being past 9:30 PM, when it was against the rules to be outside without the exceptions. He also was behaving strangely the previous day, sticking to writing in his notebook and offering odd suggestions to the others.

 **Baseball Shack** \- The shack on the baseball field was full of baseball equipment, bats the most important of them. It is believed that this was some of the same equipment used to execute Leon Kuwata, as some of the bats and baseballs have blood on them.

Anzu opened it last night, but closed it afterwards. It is suspected that bats were used to bludgeon Yejoon to death. However, the door is locked with a hand scanner, so only a female from the other side could open it.

 **Clothing Store** \- The clothing store had a mysterious locked room with a hand scanner. Kimiko placed a jacket in a unique manner in front of the door and photographed it, ensuring that it hadn't been moved at all; it hadn't been. Ishiku tried using his hand on the scanner, but it wouldn't open, proving that no one had ever opened it.

 **Stables' Closet** \- The storage closet at the stables contained a bunch of rusty tools that were either nonfunctional or sharpened to be used as murder tools. No one had touched the objects in there before the final investigation party went through it. Ishiku's hand worked with the hand scanner, and there were door sweeping marks on the dirt floor, proving someone had previously opened the door.

 **Body Generation Lab Room** \- The locked door to the hair salon was to a room with a tank and electronic equipment meant for creating human bodies. Only the Monokubs are able to use the device. The door had been left open two nights ago, and it closed shut and locked when Crystal entered the room.

 **Second Locked Spa Room** \- There is a second locked door in the spa, but what is in it, or if it could even be opened, is only known to those who were in the spa at the end of the investigation time. What was in it, if they managed to get in, and how it'll impact this trial, only they know…

 **Hall of Fame Vandalization** \- The unlocked hall in the large structure had been painted and smashed all over. Slurs were put under the Hope's Peak graduates' portraits, with unusual insults like "Serial Killer Bait" for Isaac, "Fraud" for Anzu, and others that have been recorded by Ishiku and Souma.

The Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game survivors' portraits had messages of Chaos spray painted on them, with all of the others being smashed violently. The portrait of Celestia Ludenberg was pulled from the wall and shattered on the floor by Anzu, but even she doesn't know why she did that; only she and Ishiku know she did this, and not the vandal behind all the other acts.

 **Locked Hall Vandalization** \- The locked hall in the large structure, which had been left open by Ishiku and Anzu last night, was also vandalized. Every single portrait, save for Mahiru Koizumi (made to look like an obvious choice) and Ryōko Otonashi (dark romantic symbols painted over her chest), were painted over with DESPAIR on each of them.

The light indicators for the portraits, for what purpose is unknown, were the same this morning as they were last night for Anzu and Ishiku.

 **Love Hotel Rooms** \- All of the love hotel rooms were unlocked throughout the night, and then they were locked at 9:30 AM. Guests could leave their room after 9:30, but they could not go back into them. No exceptions could be made, not for Aka who spent the night in Hikari's room, nor for Drake who was watching over Monodam all day.

 **Anzu and Ishiku's Marriage** \- Anzu and Ishiku met at the chapel at 12:30 PM, and agreed to consummate the marriage. Despite this, Anzu couldn't go through with it for reasons she didn't fully understand, but they discovered they could still visit the men's side of the plaza together.

They opened and closed the baseball shack, and left the locked hall in the Hall of Fame open. Unable to enter the bowling alley, they returned to their room after being warned of Monokid getting suspicious, and found themselves unable to leave their honeymoon suite until the next morning.

 **Pyrrha's Night Watch** \- Pyrrha had volunteered to stay up late last night in the chapel to wait for the married couples to come down. She wasn't at her post when Isaac and Hara came down that morning, just the things she had with her to keep her entertained on one of the chairs. She doesn't want to say what exactly happened, and Monosuke and Monophanie haven't said anything either.

 **Western Gift Shop Inventory** \- The gift shop on the western side of the love hotel contained all sorts of items, most prominently vandal-related tools such as spray paint, hammers, and the like. There were also brightly colored pants, and a wide collection of Monokub plushies.

 **Eastern Gift Shop Inventory** \- The gift shop on the eastern side of the love hotel contained all sorts of items, most prominently defensive equipment like tasers, and protective covering like rainwear coats. There were also brightly colored pants, and a wide collection of Monokub plushies.

 **Bowling Pins** \- Several of the bowling pins in the lanes had blood and impact marks on them. There was also a way to get through the back of the bowling alley by sneaking through the back of the lanes. It is unknown if the bowling pins were truly used as the murder weapon or not.

 **Bloody Waste Bin** \- Inside of the bowling alley, close to the arcade room, was a waste bin that was full of suspicious objects: Yejoon's throwing knives, torn fabric, ripped clear plastic, and a copious amount of blood.

 **Emanuel's Key Ring** \- Drake believes that the key ring Emanuel gave him could be missing from his room. However, with a man not able to use it as a pass to the other side, and a woman needing it to even get to his room, it is believed that he is probably just mistaken.

 **Color-Coordinated Carving Blades** \- The carving knives, as well as most of the equipment, for the kitchens have blue or pink handles, blue for the western/male side, pink for the eastern/female side. A blue knife, covered in blood was on the eastern side, and a pink knife, clean as can be, was on the western side. Pyrrha is taking the bloody knife with her to be used as proof of what she found.

 **Aka's Theory** \- The skier has a belief on who the killer could be and how they pulled off such a crime. She hasn't shared it yet with anyone, due to how it may be highly sensitive given what has transpired.

 **Crystal's Predicament** \- Crystal traveled to the spa to talk to the others after being married off to seemingly no one, and she found the hair salon's locked door ajar. Stepping inside it, she accidentally locked herself in, and she couldn't get out until a male from the other side scanned their hand on the hand readers.

Despite being out of the hotel past 9:30 PM, Crystal was never punished for this transgression by the usually highly violent Monokid. When she was asleep at night, the door was unlocked and left open.

 **Monokid's Reasoning** \- Monokid considers anyone with large breasts or feminine, pretty features to be female, which is why he stuck Eisei on the eastern side. He also considers someone to be a man if they are stereotypically manly. He can be tricked into believing someone is of the other gender, as Odelios all but fooled him yesterday until someone revealed his true gender.

For some reason, Monokid knows who is married to who, but he still cannot remember for the most part who people are. This led him to increasingly draconian rules, and a hunt for Hara when he couldn't remember which gender she was.

Monokid would only allow someone on the other side if they were with their official married partner, or were carrying something that belonged to a departed soul of the opposite gender from the one carrying it (even if they were married). Yejoon's belongings counted after he was dead.

 **Monosuke's Responsibilities** \- Monosuke and Monophanie were the ones who were to work in the chapel, and inform people when they were married. Monosuke either didn't remember or didn't care to tell people who they were married to if they didn't actually know; he did allow people who thought they were married to go up to the honeymoon suite together, even though they were officially married together according to the rules of marriage.

The rules of marriage were that anyone who walked into the chapel was registered, and whenever someone of the opposite gender entered, they were considered married to whoever was first on a secretive list, so to speak. Monosuke said that only he and Monophanie are allowed to work in the chapel.

 **Men and Women's Marriage Rotations** \- The original plan for the marriages was for two test runs, involving Aka and Drake, and Hikari and Blake, to go at 11 AM and 11:30 AM respectively. Then possible couples were to meet at the chapel every hour afterwards, such as 12:30 PM, 1:30 PM, and so forth.

The women, who were not informed of this due to Hara being escorted to safety by Monophanie (into her honeymoon suite), thought the plan was every half-hour, and thus they went as such. Due to the amount of shenanigans that went on, the following events are the only ones known:

Yejoon was already in the chapel yesterday morning before breakfast, and Fiora walked in there early as well, finding him, and was declared to be married.

Hikari went in first at 11 AM due to everyone else being scared out of the love hotel, and Drake, carrying Monodam, entered the chapel. Monosuke pronounced them married, and then Monokid used the overhead speaker to scare all of them out.

Aka and Blake went in at around 11:30 AM. It did not go well between the two of them.

Crystal entered at noon, but no one else was there. Monosuke informed him she was married, and she left in a huff to find answers.

Ishiku and Anzu arrived at 12:30 PM simultaneously, and agreed to their marriage. Despite everything, their marriage seems to be the only one that worked.

Pyrrha arrived at 1 PM, but left shortly after to help when Ignatia fell into a coma-like state due to a cursed item she had touched.

Shuuya and Futaba met at 1:30 PM each, and agreed on getting married. Their marriage wasn't seen as official by Monokid.

Kimiko entered the chapel at 2 PM, and waited until Ken showed up at 2:30 PM. They agreed to the marriage, but it wasn't seen as official by Monokid.

Yitro was scheduled to go at 4:30 PM, and when he entered, he was informed that he was married, but he didn't know who to. He waited in the chapel for a while, before he finally left out of frustration.

Odelios wanted to go into the chapel, but he had been denied by the others, locked up in the bowling alley, and prevented from going in the morning; at least, that's as much as everyone knows.

As far as the others know, the following never entered the chapel area: Eisei, Ignatia, Saiko, and Souma.

Hara and Isaac were disqualified from being able to enter the other side by the marriage rule due to actually being engaged.

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL WILL COMMENCE SHORTLY!**


	29. Chapter 4-5: Case 4 Trial, Part 1

**Chapter 4-5**

 **The Bronzed Pentagon**

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!_**

* * *

Monokuma drummed his claws on his arms before speaking his usual introduction. " **Now then, everyone, allow me to briefly recap the town trial. We have a Deviant Tourist amid our guests! You all need to work together to find out who is the Deviant Tourist, and if you do…**

" **I will subject the Deviant Tourist to an execution, where they will be tested to see if they are truly worthy of being a citizen of Penjar! However! If you vote for the wrong person, everyone besides the Deviant Tourist dies! And they will get all the rewards for it!**

" **So will you find out who killed our beloved serial killer, whose methodology was so diverse and creative, it makes me miss him already? Phuhuhuhu! Anyway! Let the fourth Town Trial commence! Upupupupu~** "

"Since we don't have Emanuel trying to run the show," Ishiku said, "by yelling at us and threatening our every move, do we have a starting point this time?"

Souma cleared his throat as he stared disapprovingly at Ishiku. "I know you were not fond of him, but maybe we shouldn't joke about the dead?"

"You weren't the one he was punching and threatening trying to kill!"

Isaac rubbed at his forehead, and said, "Ishiku, please, I know it may feel like a breath of fresh air to you, but I think it's best we focus on an actual start. Fortunately, I think I have an idea where we can start."

"At the risk of coming off as a bitch," Aka spoke up, raising her hand, "and I know you've done a lot during these trials, but are we one hundred percent sure we can trust you?"

"How could we not trust Isaac?" Saiko declared, folding her arms in a huff. "He and Hara are the least likely to have done something like this!"

"I wonder," Futaba said, crossing her arms too as she stared between the reporter and the explorer. "At the very least, if we're going to go over where to start, we should see if Isaac and Hara are trustworthy."

Isaac and Hara appeared rather shocked by this, but they collected themselves quickly. "Alright," Isaac said, "I don't mind proving our innocence."

"It might be more tricky than just that," Shuuya said, staring down the reporter.

"Can't we joo'st discuss Yejoon's death," Fiora muttered, staring to the side sadly, "instead of going at each other's throats a'geen?"

"Just be glad it's not you, B-Movie Maker," Blake remarked.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So how could **Isaac** or **Hara** committed this crime?" Saiko snapped. "Shouldn't we discuss **how** someone could do this crime?"

"There's actually quite a lot of **events** that happened last night," Souma remarked. "On both sides of the plaza, apparently."

"But doesn't the fact that so much happened last night," Yitro said, "point towards the notion that **more than one person** was involved in everything that happened?"

"Again, why are we immediately trying to prove someone," Saiko started to shout, throwing her fists down in fury, "did this, rather than outline the **crime scene**?!"

"Saiko, you're losing your cool," Eisei spoke up.

"Of course I'm losing my cool, this is no different from letting **Emanuel** leading the scene!"

"Fur the sake of argument," Kimiko said, "if we're going to argue Isaac or Hara, how coo'd either of them do this? They were directly forbidden from going to the **other side**!"

"They're forbidden from going there," Shuuya said, "but they could have passed items between each other in the **chapel**."

"What 'items'?" Odelios declared. "Yejoon's **severed hand**?"

"Wait, are you guys implying that Isaac killed Yejoon," Fiora hollered incredulously, "and then gave his severed hand to Hara to free **Crystal**?"

"I… I don't know what to say," Hara admitted. "You're all talking so fast…"

" _I do know what to say,_ " Isaac declared, " _and I'm putting a stop to this!_ "

* * *

"Listen, I know you all think that it could be Hara and I working together," the reporter said, "but you all have to take into careful consideration: the limitations of how one can move outside after 9:30 PM."

"That's true," Drake declared, raising his hand. "I mean, you need an item that belonged to one of the deceased to go outside if you aren't married to someone."

"Which would mean that both Isaac and Hara," Pyrrha remarked, "need an item each! But I don't see how that's possible."

Crystal was watching the debate with silent interest, then she spoke. "Maybe we need to consider this important fact first and foremost. First off, let's list off the departed."

"Takeo, Jin, Angelique, Samson, Shinobu, Emanuel, and now Yejoon," Shuuya listed off.

"Don't… forget Taro," Drake spoke up again. When most of the others stared at him questioningly, he remarked, "He's dead too, he was a person…"

"Not really," Ken replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Let's save that debate for another time, please," Hikari pleaded, placing a hand over her heart. "Darlings, can we think of who could have had something that belonged to the departed? Especially considering the following…"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"When we were sent to the **northern plaza** , all of us were taken there without a chance to go back to our **rooms** ," Hikari said, twirling her parasol. "We only had what was on us."

"And whatever Monokuma or the Kubs have **given us** throughout our time here," Drake offered. "Those were already in our rooms, they said."

"There's also the fact," Isaac spoke up, "that none of us knew of this **rule** before we went, so none of us would have had the knowledge to bring something of the departed with us to breakfast **two days ago**!"

"But could any of our victims or executed killers have had something that we could have used?" Anzu asked. "I mean, all of **Takeo's** belongings were gone after his trial."

"None of us touched **Jin** or **Samson's** stuff," Hara remarked. "That was also gone after the executions."

"Wait, what about **Samson's** gun?" Ishiku asked. "That was something we kept. Or rather, Crystal kept it."

"It's still in my **original room** ," Crystal said, "I didn't bring with me that morning."

"And I think we all would have noticed a gun sticking out of her clothing," Kimiko remarked.

"Then there's **Angelique** , **Shinobu** , **Taro** , and **Emanuel** ," Ken said. "Yitro, did you keep Angelique's locket?"

"That's in my room too," Yitro said. "I said so when the rule came up."

"So you claim," Blake said, shooting an accusing look at the swordsman.

"I cannot prove that I didn't have something! But you also cannot set me up over such a flimsy accusation!"

"We're not getting anywhere with 'maybe's' like this," Saiko grumbled.

" _There's one thing I noticed in all of this,_ " Ken bellowed, " _and I'm getting to its bottom!_ "

* * *

"I believe that for most of the people mentioned, we never received any of their belongings, or had them with us that morning," Ken said, then glanced over at Drake, "but I believe the cartoonish, young man there did."

"It's 'cartoonist,' Ken," was the reply from the now quite nervous Drake. "Are… are you referring to Emanuel's key ring?"

Ignatia motioned toward him, and held out her cell phone. Drake read it aloud. [Why did you have that jerk's key ring still with you?] "I just… thought maybe he had found the keys for something in the town or something? I didn't want to misplace it, so I kept it with me."

"And you had it in your hotel room, as you previously claimed," Ken remarked. "But you believe it to be missing now, which means someone could have snuck into your room and stolen it!"

"That's ridiculous," Aka said. "A woman would need an item like that to get over to the man's side, so it's not possible for her to do it."

"Yes, but not for a man," the cavalryman responded, glancing over at Isaac and then Hara, "to sneak in and give the key ring to a woman so she can come over to his side!"

The trial room was rather quiet, as Hara and Isaac exchanged worried glances. The reporter took a deep breath, and then said, "Fine, that certainly sounds possible… but how does the man in that agreement get to move outside?"

"For this kind of plan to work, only one soul needs access to outside of the hotel. Therefore, you could have stolen the key ring from inside of Drake's room, given it to Hara, and she could have carried out the diabolical plan!"

The trial room went quiet again, and then there was an incredulous laugh. Saiko slapped her palm against the railing of her podium, and barked out another laugh. "Are you _serious_? Hara? You're telling me Hara Pathik, the most shy and gentle woman I've ever met, bludgeoned that serial killer to death, amputated his hand, and carried a bloody hand around with her?!"

"And why not?"

"WHY NOT?" Saiko shrieked so hard that a great deal of the humans and bears flinched. "You stupid, moronic, idiotic, fucking ridiculous-"

"Saiko," Eisei called out, snapping the investigator out of her rant. "Please, that isn't help Hara's case, or yours."

The purple-topped investigator glared at Ken, then took several deep breaths. "Your accusation is directed at a gentle and innocent woman, Ken. I don't understand where this is coming from, but you have no proof and even less sense."

"I have to agree, Kenny," Kimiko said, staring questioningly at the cavalryman. "Why are you going at them so hard?"

"Um, Kimiko, I believe I told you I prefer not being called Kenny in public," the Novoselician said, adjusting his hoodie's collar nervously. "But I don't believe that being a 'sweetheart' should be proof, considering we have seen people we thought were good do awful things throughout the years, and even here."

"I can scarcely believe this," Isaac said, frowning at Ken. "You're accusing my Hara of one of the most brutal murders ever?"

"Honey, please, let's try to be more logical," Hara implored. She had collected herself as well, and then asked, "Before we go down this path of accusations, we should finalize the questioning over how someone was able to be outside at night."

"But we already discovered that possibility," Crystal remarked.

"We discussed the killer, but what about the victim?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Yes, how did Yejoon get to be **outside at night**?" Shuuya said, stroking his chin. "I believe we need to discuss this."

"How are we ever going to know?" Hikari asked. "Surely the **killer** took whatever was on him and hid it in their room?"

"Process of elimination," Souma suggested. "Yejoon could only use an item from **Jin** , **Angelique** , or **Shinobu** , the deceased ladies."

"Oh, couldn't he have had something of his **sister's**?" Fiora spoke up excitedly. "I mean, he probably had something of hers from the get-go!"

"Fiora, he hated his sister," Futaba remarked. "He cared nothing about her **death** , he discarded that **disgusting doll** she was made into!"

"But there's no way he had anything of Angelique's," Yitro said.

"Nor do I think he would have been carrying around something of Shinobu's," Pyrrha added.

"So it had to be something of Jin's," Fiora declared, pumping her fists into the air. "Haha, I got it right, eh!"

"Stop celebrating," Crystal snapped at her, "until you have something to **prove** it!"

"But there's no way to prove it," Hikari said, nervously fiddling with the gears around her hat. "I mean, like I said, how can we? The killer must have **destroyed** the item!"

" _Wait a minute,_ " Fiora cried out one more time, " _I'm sure I have this, eh!_ "

* * *

"Do you all remember what happened after the end of the first trial?" the movie maker said. "I mean, it was pretty hard to forget, but…"

"It was, but what does that have to do with what we've been saying, Fiora?" Aka asked. "We all know Yejoon threw away that doll."

"But doo'nt you all remember how he got it?"

* * *

 _"_ _A touch sloppy," Yejoon said. "You sure seemed to delight in making her suffer at the end. I always did think she'd go out kicking and screaming, but it seems you stopped one of those from happening."_

 _"_ ** _Here, have a consolation prize, Yeou,_** _" Monokuma said, and_ _he tossed the plushie towards Yejoon_ _. The artist extended a hand, and it landed on his palm with a disgusting splat. Blood oozed from it, as the eyes studded on its face seemed to stare up at Yejoon from underneath the bangs styled after his sister's hair._

 _He grunted in disgust. "Poor quality. Not worth even considering as a keepsake, much less art."_

 _Yejoon snapped his arm back, and the plushie was hurled back against the wall. The stitches burst upon impact, and the plushie was nothing more than fabric, gore, and blood splattered against the wall and floor._

* * *

"Wait a minute, what?" Odelios declared. "That counts?"

"Monokuma gave that doll to Yejoon, so it falls into place," Fiora said, grinning victoriously.

"But Yejoon busted that thing," Yitro pointed out. "It was nothing but broken fabric and gore."

The movie maker tapped her lips nervously, as a drop of sweat ran down her forehead. "Um, well, it coo'd have bin restored when given to him, or he jo's carried it around as Jin's… innards."

"Ew," Monophanie whined.

"Yuck," Drake agreed.

"Okay, if it were anyone except Yejoon," Anzu said, "I would have said you were being farfetched, sweetheart. But it was him, he'd so do that."

"Is there any proof that this is true, however?" Saiko asked. "We need proof."

There was a brief pause in the discussion, and then two hands reached up, one short and cute, one clown and proud. "I have proof," said Eisei and Odelios simultaneously.

"What is it?" the investigator asked Eisei, and seemingly only him.

"Do you remember when we found blood in the spa the day before?" Eisei said, taking his lollipop out of his mouth to enunciate better. "A dripping trail on the floor, like someone had a wound or something similar. This was before Yejoon had his hand amputated, and we never discovered the source of this blood."

"And my proof backs it up," Odelios shouted triumphantly. "In the bowling alley, Ken and I found a trash bin full of Yejoon's throwing knives, blood, and fabric. I'll bet you anything that the blood and such was the dead doll of his dead sister's dead remains!"

Ken nodded to affirm this story, and the visitors of Penjar were all struck silent with how grizzly it was. The only real noise was Monophanie puking over such details. Monokid also declared someone should clean it up, but they weren't paying him heed.

"So Yejoon, the serial killer, the sadistic fiend," Shuuya growled, his eyes almost glowing red with how furious he was, "was given a ticket to the other side over all of us?"

" **Awww, whazza' matter?** " Monokuma called out. " **You mad, bro? Should you have gotten a pass too? You're a pretty good killer.** "

The bounty hunter threw his fists down on the railing of his podium, then let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, as horrendously frustrating as it is, I believe this is sufficient proof that Yejoon could have gotten outside."

"So it was him who left the door in the hair salon open," Crystal remarked.

"He went to the women's side," Aka said, "and investigated all of the rooms? And he didn't tell any of us, he just did it for his own amusement! That bastard!"

"But now we have the answer to how Yejoon was outside," Souma remarked, "and we have a possible method for how Hara could have been outside too."

Isaac bristled, taking deep breaths as he stared at his fiancé across the trial room. "Wait a minute, everyone. You claim all these possibilities, but how could Hara or myself know Yejoon would be outside last night?"

"It could have just been a coincidence," Shuuya said. "After all, whoever the killer was must have stumbled upon Yejoon being outside as well."

Isaac shook his head, and declared, "No, I can prove that you're wrong!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"We found **taser marks** on Yejoon's neck," the reporter said, "and there are no tasers to be found on the man's side!"

"Yeah, tasers are on the **women's** **side** ," Fiora grumbled, crossing her arms protectively, "in our gift shop."

"That just makes **Hara** look more suspicious, I'm afraid," Souma commented.

"No! The current theory is that the killer and victim **accidentally** bumped into each other," Isaac declared, "but our killer was obviously planning something if they had a **taser**!"

"So you think our killer was **planning** to murder someone?" Pyrrha inquired. "But that would mean that they would have known someone was outside!"

"Wait, all of our bedrooms were **unlocked** last night," Drake said nervously. "I mean, if that's how someone stole the **key ring** from my room, it means they could have killed any of us…"

"Perhaps that is how they knew Yejoon was outside," Aka declared. "He **wasn't in his room**!"

"But why were they trying to kill Yejoon?" Fiora asked.

"…" was the response from everyone in the trial room, staring at Fiora incredulously.

"Alright fine lemme rephrase that," the movie maker grumbled, adjusting her fedora anxiously. "Why kill Yejoon **now**? Why was it so important to kill him last night?"

"We all know if a murder had been discovered, the locked rooms would be **forever locked** ," Futaba remarked. "Was that the goal?"

" _Aha, I believe I have an answer to this,_ " Souma declared, clapping his hands together.

* * *

"I do not believe everyone knows this, but the Hall of Fame was desecrated last night with graffiti," the public speaker announced, "with slurs on all of our portraits, destruction of the Hope's Peak survivors' portraits, and ominous messages."

" _Murder Authority, Uphold Kaos, Undo Management, Kill Unity,_ " Ishiku read off from his cell phone. "And then there's all those awful things written on ours, some of which I don't wanna repeat."

"You may have to," Saiko said, shaking her head, "because those phrases sound like something the Entity of Chaos would write."

"But wait, what does that have to do with murdering Yejoon?" Fiora shouted incredulously. "You… you don't think he was the Entity, do you? He couldn't have bin!"

"Why, because he was such a nice guy?" Aka remarked with a roll of her eyes.

"N-no! I mean, I knew he was into Despair, not Chaos…"

"Having two masters would be highly conflicting," Blake remarked. "Yeah, he was definitely hard for despair, so I doubt he was the Entity."

"I believe what I was going to say," Souma said, "is that our killer may be the Entity of Chaos, and in the midst of vandalizing the Hall of Fame, they decided to kill Yejoon!"

"Wait, why?" Anzu asked. "Was that so people would see what they did to the Hall of Fame?"

"Is that our hypothesis?" Isaac muttered, shaking his head more. "Our Entity of Chaos decided to do some graffiti and kill the most dangerous member again?"

Blake chuckled, the sound echoing around the trial room. "Well, if you were the Entity of Chaos, Isaac, then maybe that explains why you sent your bitch to do all the dirty work."

"SAY THAT AGAIN!"

Isaac leaned over his railing, his eyes blazing with the kind of fury that unnerved almost everyone there. "You son of a bitch! I will go over there and knock all your teeth in! How dare you talk about Hara like that!"

"Isaac!" Hara called out to him, but he was heaving in unbridled fury; the reporter appeared ready to go over to Blake and eliminate him.

"Please, everyone, calm down," Souma called out. He stared at Isaac, waiting for the reporter to settle down; this didn't happen, he was still staring hatefully at the pyro. "Let's not jump to conclusions here. We cannot declare Isaac and Hara as agents of chaos, the killers, and other heinous things when we have no proof it was them…

"And we also owe them a great deal in the previous trials. Both of them helped us uncover the motives of Jin, Samson, and Emanuel. We should not jump the gun."

The trial room went quiet, as Isaac was slowly cooling down, though he was shaking with his outrage. Hara and Saiko watched him with great concern, as the others contemplated this as well as the evidence.

"If I may," Eisei said, holding his hand up again, "we have discussed the possibility of a couple doing this, but we have acted like they are the only ones."

"Who else but them?" Blake remarked.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

" **Hara** and **Isaac** are not the only couple here, you know," Futaba said, crossing her arms. "And we shouldn't discard them so readily?"

"Are you speaking of **Anzu** and **Ishiku**?" Shuuya asked.

"Wait, why's it gotta be a **couple**?" Ishiku blurted out, gripping his hair as the stares went to him and Anzu. "Why you gotta be accusing?"

"It's funny how suspicion keeps falling on you, Ishiku," Ken said with a disapproving frown.

"The same goes to you, you know," Anzu shot out, glaring at the cavalryman.

"Do you have any evidence that it couldn't have been you two?" Eisei asked, raising a lavender eyebrow.

"We were **locked in our honeymoon suite** ," Ishiku said, glancing over at Anzu. "After we ventured out yesterday, we were told **Monokid** was onto us, and then we were locked there until this **morning**!"

"He was 'onto' you?" Pyrrha asked. "What do you mean?"

"Oh! Um… I… um, well… that is…"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Anzu said with a sly smile. When Ishiku stared at her in panic, she continued, "They hated the fact that there was a couple who actually completed the **motive** , and could unlock all the answers, so they kept us from doing so!"

"That is so not true," Monosuke shouted.

"Oh really now?" Anzu countered. "You got a better answer!"

" _No, but I may have an explanation,_ " Monokuma shouted.

* * *

" **Ahem! I know this trial is all about you people finding the killer, but I feel like us bears are getting more and more involved!** " Monokuma said, laughing a little as he whirled his paw around.

"What have you got to say, Monokuma McCormick?" Odelios asked, pointing his rubber chicken at the bear.

" **Just that Anzu and Ishiku are very lucky that they aren't going to be punished for their actions! That's why I had them locked up through the night!** "

Anzu and Ishiku exchanged nervous looks, as the others were highly confused. "Why on Earth," Blake asked, "are you giving people alibis now?!"

" **Upupupu! There's method in my madness, my parent-killing Aussie!** "

Fiora glared at Blake, then spoke up. "So what are you saying Ishiku and Anzu did wrong? Because all the other couples were stopped by Monokid when they were with the wrong person."

"Yes, they consummated the marriage, did they not?" Ken asked, glancing between the actress and magician.

"What do youse take me for?" Monosuke shouted, stomping his paw as he pointed down at the trail members. "Youse really think I didn't do my job properly?!"

There was a growling noise from Monokuma, and Monosuke flinched. The orange Kub tapped his paws together nervously, and muttered, "I mean, youse really think… I'd forget… things like that?"

"Youse bin forgetting things left, right, and center," Fiora declared. "Youse doo'nt even remember 'oor names half of the time, you mook!"

"Why are you talking like him?" Souma asked, staring in confusion at the movie maker.

"You know, that's something I've noticed about all of the Kubs," Ishiku said, finding his courage. "They've all been forgetting things. Our names, what we look like when they cannot see us, who knows what else they've forgotten?"

" **Ahem! My Kubs have not forgotten any of the rules! I have seen to that,** " Monokuma shouted. " **So if you think they got the marriage pairings wrong, or any of the laws of the northern plaza, think again!** "

"Then what did Ishiku and Anzu do wrong?" Hikari asked. "Though it's not really important now."

"Why's it not important?" Yitro responded.

"I mean, Monokuma just said he had them locked in their room until this morning, so they have alibis. We don't have to pry into this any more, right? They couldn't have killed Yejoon."

"I think most of us refuse to leave stones unturned in this matter," Souma said, glancing around the trial room. "Ishiku, Anzu, if you could share what it was that you did?"

Ishiku stared nervously at Anzu, who managed to brave a smile and waved at him. "It was my fault," she said, turning towards everyone else. "I… couldn't go through with it, though we became really close to doing it."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Blake shouted. "You are telling me that the porn star was against having sex?"

"Don't you fucking judge her, you chauvinistic bastard," Aka hollered.

"I don't want to get into why and why not," Anzu said, curling one of her blue bangs around her fingers. "But Ishiku and I were allowed to the western side when we passed by Monokid and Monosuke."

"What the fuck, bro!" Monokid shouted, glaring at Monosuke. "You told me those two shagged!"

"W-w-well, I thought they did!" Monosuke cried out, as 'sweat' rolled down his forehead. "I knows how sex works, that was why I took the role!"

" **…** " Monokuma growled again, crossing his arms.

"W-w-well, I thought I did! I mean, it's so complex and emotional, and how do youse define it?"

"How coo'd youse forget how sex works, ya great big palooka?!" Fiora shouted at the orange Kub. "Youse was in charge of the chapel and honeymoon suites fur a reason!"

"Again, why are you talking like him?" Souma asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Um, I was a little busy," Monophanie said nervously, "taking care of Hara. So that was Monosuke's job…"

" **It was BOTH of your jobs!** " Monokuma shouted, making the Kubs flinch and jump (except for Monodam). " **What was your excuse, Monophanie?** "

The pink Kub's emotions betrayed her, and she glanced over at Ishiku. Staring at him for a good few seconds before hanging her head in shame, the father bear let out an explosive cry. " **You're STILL hung up on him? What is this!? As your father, when I tell you to get over a boy, you do it! That's how it works, you're not supposed to go full teenaged angst over it!** "

"I'm not a teenager!" Monophanie protested.

"Dude, seriously?" Odelios said with a grin on his face. "Ishiku was so good that you're still pining over him?"

"Awwwwwww~" Pyrrha crooned, hearts in her eyes as she clasped her hands together. "Love conquers forced amnesia in robotic forms!"

"This is fucking weird," Blake remarked.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with that," Saiko muttered incredulously. "This is so very detached from reality, it's like a freaking video game."

"Or fanfiction of video games," Fiora offered.

"We're digressing here, people," Anzu announced. "Though it is concerning that Monotaro's worst feature is now part of the other Kubs, this proves that Ishi and I couldn't have killed Yejoon."

"Hey, I call him that!" Monophanie wailed. "You harlot, you man stealer!"

"This is really, truly, incredibly fucking weird," Blake declared.

"So we're back to Isaac and Hara being the only suspects," Futaba shouted, pointing at the two accusingly. "Because we know that none of the other couples worked out!"

Isaac took a deep breath, and spoke as he finally fully regained his composure. "Are we sure about that? Have we taken into consideration all of the couples?"

"In fairness, we should," Eisei spoke up.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So the first couple was **Fiora** and **Yejoon** ," Isaac asked as he opened up his notepad, "correct?"

"Yes," Fiora muttered, hiding her face in her hands.

"Then **Drake** went into the chapel from the man's side, and **Hikari** from the woman's side?"

"Yes, I believe that is so," Hikari said with a nod. "He was carrying **Monodam** , and Yejoon was still in the **chapel**."

"Next was **Blake** and **Aka**?"

"Unfortunately," both of them said at the same time, glaring at the other.

"So then I believe **Crystal** entered the chapel at **noon**?"

The military adviser nodded slowly, staring up at Monosuke. "And the orange one said I was **married** the moment I walked in there!"

"Wait, the order was already off by then?" the reporter asked, staring at her. "Because you should have been single and registered when you went there!"

"Is someone **lying**?" Futaba questioned. "Did someone else sneak in or something?"

"But the next people to enter the chapel would have been **Anzu** and **Ishiku** ," Isaac pointed out, "and despite the issue there was, they were considered officially married!"

"Yes, this is truly infuriating," Souma commented. "And they both went to the chapel at **12:30 PM**?"

"Yes," Ishiku and Anzu simultaneously said.

"Then how did the rotation get thrown off?" Yitro asked. "Who could be lying?"

"It was thrown off when Crystal entered," Aka pointed out. "Are we sure she's telling the truth?"

"Why would I lie?" the military adviser replied coolly. "I cannot be the killer, I was stuck in that **room** in the hair salon all night; someone had to free me."

" _Oh no no no_ ," Drake suddenly shouted, eyes widening in fear, " _I made a huge mistake!_ "

* * *

"What is it, cinnamon roll?" Kimiko asked, looking with concern at the cartoonist. "How could you have made a mistake?"

Drake winced, practically hiding behind his sketchpad. "I, um, think I know how the rotation got messed up, and it's possibly my fault."

"Yours? But you were there in the chapel with me," Hikari said, tilting her head to the side. "Did you go earlier or something?"

"N-no… but I brought Monodam with me when I went to meet you."

The trial room went quiet, all of them staring incredulously at the cartoonist who did _not_ like being stared at. Ignatia put her hand on his shoulder, and glared at all of them to stop.

"That's really, really fucking stupid," Blake remarked. "The bear cub doesn't count."

"He cannot count," Eisei remarked far more calmly. "He's one of the leaders and designers of this motive."

"B-but it makes sense if you think about it," Drake tried to spit out.

Hikari's pretty face was aghast in shock, and she slapped a hand on her cheek to knock her out of this flabbergasted state. "I… I married Monodam."

"…" responded her green hubby.

Ken let out a frustrated sigh, and declared, "Enough of this nonsense. That is not a viable possibility."

"Actually, I think our little cinnamon roll is correct," Hikari said, shaking her head. "I believe when he carried Monodam into the chapel, it counted-"

" _Stop this farce, because we are not getting anywhere with fights of fantasy,_ " Ken shouted, hammering his fist on the podium railing.

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

Hikari stared at Ken, and then placed a hand over her heart. "Ken, we've been through a lot together. Could you please trust me on this?"

"I do not believe this is the correct course, and it is starting to annoy me how much everyone is going with it," Ken shouted, clapping a hand against his forehead. "There's a lot of ways this isn't a realistic solution."

"Then explain it to me, and I'll see if I cannot counter what you say, darling."

The two podiums of the steampunk model and Novoselic cavalryman moved into the center of the trial circle, and the two friends stared each other down. The rest of the trial participants remained quiet, allowing this to go uninterrupted.

" _Monodam cannot count as a person, because he is one of the Kubs,_ " Ken explained. " _The rules were that the visitors were going to be married, thus he cannot qualify!_ "

" _The Kubs never made that official in the wording of the rules, the only ones they said were disqualified were Isaac and Hara,_ " Hikari countered.

" _But the Kubs said that they were in charge of the chapel and the marriages!_ "

" _Actually, they repeatedly said that Monosuke and Monophanie were responsible for the chapel and the marriages. That those two, and only those two, were part of it…_ "

Ken blinked in surprise, but got his flow back. " _Even if that could be true, how do we know it to be the fact?_ "

" _If Crystal was married when she entered the chapel, that means that another male entered other than Yejoon, Drake, and Blake. And since Ishiku and Anzu were married afterwards, there could have been only one person to throw off the rotation!_ "

" _But that would mean that_ ** _Monokid_** _or_ ** _Monodam_** _could have entered the chapel at any time!_ "

" _I'm sorry, darling, but I can refute that!_ "

* * *

Hikari twirled her parasol around on her shoulder, and spoke calmly. "Monokid couldn't have entered before all of this, and I know he never did because he used an intercom to talk to us, to scare us out.

"That foul-mouthed little git couldn't willingly enter the chapel, because the rules were that Monosuke and Monophanie were to be in charge of that place and only them. Monodam became an exception when he was carried in."

Ken stared at her, and then slumped against the podium. "I failed so horribly, my honor will never, ever be restored."

"Oh darling, no need to go that far…"

"Darn it, kid," Aka shouted, glaring at Drake, "why were you protecting that bear anyway? They are the enemy!"

"I really muddled things up," the cartoonist sobbed, as Ignatia tried to soothe him by rubbing his back. The mime frowned at Aka, who lost the angry look almost instantly.

"I… I mean, you couldn't have known," Aka remarked.

Isaac was writing in his notebook, making all sorts of notes during this discussion. He stared at it, and then said, "Okay, if Monodam was part of the rotation, then here is how it went if Hara and I had all of the entries correct:

"Pyrrha entered at 1 PM, and Shuuya entered at 1:30 PM. So those two were married, and yet from what I gathered, Shuuya and Futaba thought they were married because she entered at 1:30 PM?"

"Yeah, I got there first," Futaba admitted. "I guess that's why we didn't suspect anything when Monosuke told Shuuya he was married… because the little bastard didn't specify."

"Oh," Pyrrha let out a sad little noise, as she glanced between Shuuya and Futaba, "so, I was supposed to marry him? Sorry. But at least you two are happy together, right?"

"I am not interested," both Shuuya and Futaba said in unison and equally dismissive, "in a relationship."

Pyrrha looked like a child who had been told their birthday had been cancelled. She sighed heavily, and muttered something under her breath. Isaac took all this in, and decided he should continue.

"So then Kimiko entered at 2 PM," he said, "and Ken entered at 2:30 PM?"

"I waited in there for someone, and that's when we showed up," the biker gang leader stated. "We met up, had sex, and then that blue bastard told us we weren't married."

"Argh, my honor!" Ken shouted, pounding his head against his podium railing. "I embarked in infidelity!"

Kimiko glanced to the side nervously, trying to make sense of this. "You knoo' you weren't really married to Futaba, right? Why you gotta make it sound like sleeping with me is so bad?"

"Darling, his honor code is kind of sensitive right now," Hikari said with a sad smile. "You might need to give him some time."

"And then," Isaac spoke up, "Yitro entered the chapel at 4:30, and he was declared to be married?"

"Yes, that is true," the swordsman said. "I waited there to see who Monosuke meant, but no one showed up. I guess that person was Kimiko."

Kimiko winced, as a very guilty look glanced over at Yitro. "I, um… that is… I doo'nt think that…"

"It's not really important now, Kimiko," he responded. "Let's not dwell on this any longer than need be."

"So then the people who didn't ever enter the chapel were," Isaac said, "Ignatia, Odelios, Eisei, Souma, and Saiko. And, well I guess, Monokid."

"You guys put me in the same category of 'marriagelessness' that Monokid is in," Odelios shouted, waggling his fists around. "How dare you! I don't want to be lumped with that bastard!"

"Screw you, crossdressing clown!"

"Up yours, your hit ratio is probably below 50%, little sniper bitch!"

"Yeah, this is helping," Saiko muttered.

Futaba cleared her throat loudly, interrupting the argument between Kub and clown. "So there are no other couples. The original theory stands, Isaac and Hara are the only two who could have done this!"

"Wh-what?" Hara stammered. The explorer had been very quiet, and was now alert as well as upset. "You… you think we did this horrible thing?"

Isaac slammed his notepad down on the podium railing. "Stop accusing Hara! How can you people think someone as sweet and gentle as her is capable of such brutality?"

"I don't want anyone here accusing either of you two," Saiko shouted, crossing her arms in a huff. "I've known you two for years, I know that you aren't crazy psychopaths!"

Souma sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head. "But can we rely on character witnesses here?"

"Yeah, especially since she's a crazy bitch," Aka declared, pointing at the scowling Saiko. "She was even working with them on the autopsy!"

"I really," the investigator snarled, "really hate you! After everything those two have done to save you all, you're going to accuse the nicest girl ever of being a vicious killer? That she is some sycophant for Isaac?"

"I'd like to say," Anzu spoke up, "that it does sound incredulous. I think we would have noticed if Hara and Isaac had that kind of relationship."

"Do we really?" Blake said, scowling at the two. "Why doesn't offer the slightest bit of proof that this isn't a conspiracy that was set up between the three for them?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"What cannot be explained by the two working together?" Aka said. "There's the **knives** that were swapped between the two sides."

"There's the fact that Hara could have used the baseball bats," Blake added, "since she's a **woman** and can open the **baseball shack**."

"The instruments needed for the **vandalization** ," Souma regretfully said, "and the **murder** were in both the western and eastern **gift shops**."

"Not to mention that they were able to communicate with each other at night," Futaba remarked, "due to being in the **honeymoon suite**."

"Ooo, I got one too," Odelios shouted, raising his hand. "How about the fact that all four of you have been **WRONG** every single trial on who the culprit is?"

"Fuck off, clown," Blake muttered.

"I'm just saying, every time you all have grouped up to discuss who the culprit is, you've been wrong, wrong, **WRONG**."

"You're not helping their case," Shuuya said with a sigh. "If you want to prove them innocent, try something of merit."

"Well, why on Earth would they free **Crystal**?" Anzu asked. "I mean, that seems like an unnecessary risk."

"Sounds like **Chaos** to me," Crystal muttered. "Do something good so people don't get suspicious…"

"Crystal, you've been burned by Chaos-loving fanatics," Ishiku pleaded, "don't let it cloud your judgement!"

"Don't tell me how to think!"

"Hara isn't possible of killing **Yejoon** ," Saiko shouted. "He was a vicious murderer with lightning reflexes! She'd be dead if she attacked him!"

"Murderers still sleep or drop their guard," Yitro said. "I'm sorry, but as much as I hated that bastard, he was still human. The fact is, he is dead, and it had to have been **one of us**."

"But… but… you're saying that this timid, gentle woman was the one who killed the serial killer with ninja like reflexes? Yejoon could take on **Ken** in a sword fight with his **arm blades**!"

"Hmm," the swordsman said, "and he did threaten **violence** towards anyone who tried to hurt him…"

"He's not going to fight if someone jams a taser into his neck," Crystal remarked.

" _I'm cutting in! There's a hole in this whole subject,_ " Yitro shouted, raising her hand high, " _and I want to point it out!_ "

* * *

"I found it odd that Yejoon was caught off guard so easily," he admitted. "Surely it would have be someone like me with combat experience who could take him out; however, when we were investigating the body, we found out he was missing his arm blades."

"But he had his throwing knives," Ken protested, "those were thrown away along with the bloody doll."

"Yes, but the arm blades were his strongest defense, he could stop a sword swing from you with that, Ken."

Shuuya sighed, and remarked, "It's possible that Yejoon simply didn't wear them because he felt he was unstoppable and wouldn't be disturbed at night."

"No, there's something else bothering me. Before I went to the chapel," Yitro said, "Yejoon approached me. He spoke of the idea to… um, amputating someone's hand to use it on the other side."

"He suggested that?!" Aka shouted. "Yejoon actually gave the idea to do it before it happened to him!?"

"Man, his killer is as crazy as him," Ishiku remarked, "it's official now."

"Yejoon was beyond crazy, there was despair in his eyes. It was like," Yitro continued to speak, "he had given up."

Fiora gasped in terror. "Wait, Yejoon was suicidal? But… but… no, I doo'nt believe that!"

"Fiora," Pyrrha started to say, but the movie maker stomped her foot.

"He had so many goals and aspirations… though most of them were really bad stuff, like the kind of stuff that even I wouldn't make movies 'oot of. Yejoon didn't show any signs of suicide!"

"Oh my God," Futaba said, crossing her arms, "are you actually upset that we're discussing this? Did you actually care for him?"

"N-no! But doo'nt you think I woo'd knoo' him well enough by now, eh? And how does being suicidal explain his death?"

"If he's not interested in living any more," Shuuya said, his voice dangerously calm, "he drops his guard and allows someone else to kill him."

"NO! I won't believe that!"

"Fiora, I've hunted down a lot of bad people," the assassin said, adjusting his trench coat as he spoke, "and thus I have to get to know a lot of their habits, their personalities. While not common, there are some that are suicidal, who are going through pain so great that even though they hurt others, they cannot stand what they're going through."

"I think someone who's killed almost two hundred people woo'd be over that moral horizon line!"

"Why are you so against this idea? Is it because you think he would have told you?"

"That's not it! I joo'st doo'nt understand how he coo'd suddenly become suicidal… like… like I did…"

Fiora gripped her hat and hid her eyes from everyone, shivering a great deal but managing to get more of her thoughts out. "I… when I tried to kill myself, there was this horrible feeling in my mind, in my heart, that nothing woo'd ever, and I mean _ever_ , be happy a'geen. It was like the eyes of the most soulless, evil, and all-encompassing power were on me…"

"That's how I felt," Kimiko said, staring at Fiora as she clutched something in her hand; those who were close to her saw the thing was a bracelet of three dog tags. "That's exactly how I felt, Fiora… I joo'st… felt I had to blow my brains 'oot, because it was all over…"

"Yeah. And… I mean no offense when I say this, Kimiko, I really doo'nt… but I doo'nt see how Yejoon could have bin overwhelmed by that."

"It's hard to imagine how someone who cares a'boot no one can feel so distraught over life," the biker gang leader agreed. She sighed, and muttered, "Then a'geen, if he saw the same thing as us…"

The trial room was quiet as everyone took this in, as a slight rustling sound came from Shuuya. The bounty hunter pulled a notepad from his pocket, and he held it up. "If anyone can read Korean, we might have some insight on if this is true. Can any of you?"

He scanned the trial room, not seeing anyone raise their hands or speak up. Shuuya almost gave up, until there was a defeated sigh from Ken. "I do," the cavalryman said. "Novoselics learn twenty languages, Korean is one of them."

"Twenty?!" Odelios hollered. "Sacre Dios, nani?"

Shuuya flung the notepad towards Ken, who opened it up and scanned the writing. The cavalryman's face scrunched up in confusion, and remarked, "This is not Korean."

"What?" Ishiku gaped. "But it's not Japanese, so which language is it?"

"It's not a language I have seen, and I know Chinese and Vietnamese too! It's… not making any sense, I've never seen any of these symbols before in my life!"

"Oh good grief," Crystal muttered. "Our serial killer wrote in code. One last spiteful move towards us, to assure we couldn't read what he was writing!"

"Why would he do that?" Pyrrha asked. "I mean, if he was suicidal and was writing notes for after he was killed…"

"Maybe he wasn't suicidal after all," Futaba said with a dismissive sigh. "This has been a lost cause!"

"No, there has to be some point to it!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"I refuse to believe that Yejoon left us written notes," Pyrrha stated, "that **none of us could read**!"

"You do know you're talking about Yejoon Nahm," Futaba bluntly responded, "the vicious, parent-killing, serial killer who stalked a **woman** he couldn't help but daydream about murdering?"

"Yeah, he was kind of that," Fiora admitted.

"Look, sometimes there is no good reason behind a psychopath's mind," the anthropologist said. "They do things that only make sense to **them**."

"Couldn't we try to decode the notepad?" Ishiku asked. "I mean, someone could do that."

Ignatia tugged at Drake's sleeve, and silently requested him to read her text. [We trusted Emanuel to read the message Shinobu had on her, look how well that turned out.]

"But **Ishi** and **I** have alibis," Anzu spoke up. "Perhaps one of us could try?"

"Ack! You called him 'Ishi' again?!" Monophanie shouted. "How dare you! Tramp! Trollop!"

"You cannot seriously think you'll have time to **decode** coded message in the time we have for the **trial**?" Crystal asked. "It could take hours!"

"Well, we should try at the very least," Anzu declared. "Yejoon wrote it for a reason, so we should-"

" _HOLD ON A SECOND THERE,_ " Fiora announced in her worst indoors voice. " _I think I got this!_ "

* * *

"You really need to watch the decibel level," Souma grumbled as he rubbed his ears, "on your voice, Ms. Stenton."

"Soo'ry! But I think I knoo' what it could be… can I see Yejoon's notepad, Ken?"

"I thought we," the cavalryman said, "were only going to give it to someone who had an alibi."

"Oh come on, sweetie, Fiora couldn't have killed Yejoon," Kimiko said with a smile. "Trust me on that."

Though not everyone in the trial room was as convinced, Ken couldn't look into Kimiko's trusting stare for long without falling prey to it. The cavalryman tossed the notepad to Fiora, who missed catching it and having it bonk off of her forehead into her hands.

"Ow. Well okay then, lemme take a look…

…

…

…

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Wait, you know it?" Isaac asked her.

"Do I? I _made_ this language!"

"Come again?"

"It's the language from my movie, Undead Flying Objects, that I made up fur the aliens! He… oh my God, he memorized it?"

Fiora started shaking, and tears welled up in her eyes. "He… he was that big of a fan of my work? He memorized the made-up language from one of my movies? Wh-why? How? I doo'nt-"

"Fiora, sweetie?" Hara called out to the sobbing movie maker. "I know it's very moving, but it might be best if you start translating it as soon as possible."

"Oh… oh of course! Joo'st… give me a few minutes, and a pen, if someone could?"

Isaac tossed her a pen, which she missed to catch and thus it bonked off of her forehead and fell to the ground. As she scurried to get it, the others all exchanged glances. Futaba was the first to speak by saying, "Okay, I hate to sound repetitive, and I don't actually like being accusatory like this, but whether or not Yejoon was suicidal, how does that change the accusation towards Hara and Isaac?"

"It really doesn't," Aka spoke up. "In fact, if it turns out to be true, that just means Hara could have killed Yejoon because he had dropped his guard!"

"I am afraid to admit that the evidence is mounting," Eisei remarked, "and there is little to counter it. Isaac, Hara, you'd best speak up."

Isaac took a deep breath, and glanced over at Hara. She was frazzled, trying so hard to keep it together; he knew how much this kind of negative attention could really get to her. And seeing her like this made his blood boil, but he had to keep his cool…

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So what you are all saying is that I snuck into **Drake's** room, stole the **key ring** ," Isaac stated, "then gave it to Hara so she could go kill Yejoon?"  
"Why wouldn't you have just killed Yejoon **right then** and there?" Odelios asked. "I mean, you had the means…"

"Wait, how did you even have permission to leave the **central area**?" Anzu asked. "I thought you were confined there for the evening, like we were confided on our side of the **hotel**!"

"They were never confined to the central area," Monosuke declared. "That was just **youse two**!"

"Oh great, even the **Kubs** are trying to frame you," Saiko said with a snarl. "How can even trust you, you don't even remember our **names**!"

"I don't forget the rules, sweet cheeks!"

"Maybe if youse woo'dent be such an unreliable **host** to your town," Fiora snapped at him, glancing up from the notepad, "youse woo'dent have these problems!"

"Why do you keep talking like him," Souma asked, "every time you argue with him?"

"Isaac, the plan could have been for **you to kill Yejoon** ," Shuuya argued, "but when he wasn't in his room, you improvised. That is the argument."

"But why? Why now?" Saiko shouted, stomping her foot. "They were organizing the **marriage rotation** , they were trying to solve the problems!"

"They failed to do that properly," Crystal remarked bitterly. "The times were messed up, and we only had one married couple."

"That wasn't their fault, that was the Kubs interfering and dragging Hara off when she was describing the plan!"

"I was trying to **save** her," Monophanie protested.

"I was trying to **shoot** her," Monokid exclaimed.

"If you had anyone to verify that they didn't **leave their room** ," Shuuya remarked, "you might have an alibi."

" _Anyone… wait, wait that's it!_ " Saiko said.

* * *

"Pyrrha!" Saiko pointed at the romance writer, making her jump a little. "You volunteered to stay up late in the chapel! You are our witness!"

The redhead turned red, and turned away to hide that blush. "I… I failed, I'm sorry."

"Wh-what? But you said you were going to do it! What happened? How late did you stay up?"

Pyrrha nervously tapped her fingers together. "I wasn't at that post for long, sorry."

"Okay, why are you being so suspicious? You couldn't have gotten in trouble!"

"Pyrrha," Kimiko spoke up, staring at the redhead, "if you were monitoring a post in the chapel last evening, Ken and I didn't see you when we came doo'n."

"You weren't there when Futaba and I came back to the chapel," Shuuya added.

"You weren't at the post at all?" Hikari asked the increasingly red-faced Pyrrha. "That doesn't sound like you, you've always seemed pretty reliable."

"Will everyone back off of Pyrrha?" Aka shouted angrily. "She's not suspicious here!"

"She sure is acting suspicious!" Saiko replied. "Though I know you're just defending her because you want her as one of your future conquests!"

"Shows you what you know, you short, stacked bitch. Pyrrha and I already have gotten it on!"

Pyrrha proceeded to hide behind the podium railing, while Hikari turned a little red in the face too. "Aka, you really need to stop being so blunt about these things, women don't like it."

"Why's that? Don't you two like having sex with me?"

"Hey hey hey," Anzu called out, "as much fun as it is to discuss lesbian sex, we have something far more serious here."

Futaba adjusted her collar as she muttered under her breath, "Yeah, like I gotta have her teach me how she does it…"

"Pyrrha, please," Hara spoke up, staring at the podium that Pyrrha was hiding behind. "I know you're embarrassed, but this is very serious. Please tell us what went wrong?"

"I… I can't," the romance writer said. "I mean, I don't believe you two are guilty, but all I have to say is that I abandoned my post…

"I… I suddenly grew really sleepy, and then I went upstairs. I wanted to stay up, I really did, but I crashed harder than I thought I could."

"Guess my time with you wore you out?" Aka said with a cheeky grin.

"Alright, enough of that," Shuuya shouted, slapping his forehead with his palm. "It's obvious Pyrrha failed that goal, but she's not suspicious. She couldn't have snuck over to the men's side to kill Yejoon."

"I don't know about that," Saiko said, glaring suspiciously at Pyrrha. "I mean, you all keep talking about Isaac and Hara being the only possible suspects, but we haven't talked about a lone suspect."

"That's a mighty bold claim," Souma said, as Pyrrha whimpered from her hiding spot. "Care to try and back it up, Miss Kobayashi?"

"Gladly!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"What if someone had some item or another that we weren't aware of? Wasn't Pyrrha getting cozy with **Takeo**? How do we know he didn't give her anything that she kept on her person?"

"Oh that's such a flimsy argument," Aka muttered. "There's no proof of that, and besides, why would she carry something around so intimately?"

"No, you know what? That idea that we had to carry something around from the deceased? That's bullshit, the Kubs **don't follow the rules** with their stupid **amnesia**!"

"Hey!" the Monokubs (sans Monodam) protested.

"If you all followed the rules, then why is she alive?" Saiko said as she pointed at Crystal.

"Me? What did I do?" the military adviser asked.

"You were out past **9:30** last night, you were locked in that room. By the rules of this town, you should have been punished, and we all know how trigger happy **Monokid** is!"

"Oh my God, I didn't realize that," Anzu declared, clapping her hands over her mouth. "You could have been killed, **Crystal**!"

"And yet I'm not," she responded, "so clearly there is a **contradiction** here somewhere."

"The **Monokubs** don't actually follow the rules, or they don't remember items that the dead had on them," Saiko continued. "Anyone could have used anything to falsify a way to the other side! If they cannot remember things like how **sex works** , or our **names** or **faces** , how could they-"

" _Um, Saiko?_ " Drake spoke up, staring over his sketchpad quite spooked by the intensity of the investigator. " _I believe I have an answer…_ "

* * *

"Crystal may… have had something that belonged to someone who is gone," Drake admitted. "She has her jacket."

The military adviser stared at the young man, before running her fingers around the collar. "What do you mean? This is my jacket, Drake."

"Yes, but it was given to you by Monodam, or more specifically, Dam."

Crystal flinched as she recalled her original jacket being ruined, then her memory brought her back to a few days ago. In the tailoring shop, the human version of Monodam, Dam, had given her this jacket.

"That's true, he gave it to me as a gift," she said, glancing up at the green Kub.

"But Monodam's not dead," Ishiku said.

"No, he's not, but Dam is gone," Drake said sadly. "After all, when Dam got back in the tank, his body was disintegrated into biomass; so, realistically, Dam, the one who gave you that jacket, is dead."

Crystal sighed, and remarked, "That does explain why I am alive."

"So much for that protest, ya short bitch," Aka said with a sly grin on her face. "Ya ain't got a leg to stand on, and now we're just wasting time."

"I'm not done yet," Saiko shouted. "Just because I was wrong about that doesn't mean it's impossible for one person to have done this!"

" **Well you'd best stop accusing my adorable, widdle Kubbies,** " Monokuma called out, " **of not following the rules! Because I can verify that they did to the best of their abilities!** "

Saiko let out a long, frustrated groan. Isaac strained as well, pressing at his head as he tried to think of something, anything. Hara was starting to shake, staring aimlessly as her mind was racing harder than she could process.

"Is that it?" Souma asked them. "I don't wish to believe it, but this is starting to sound one-sided."

"Please, people," Saiko cried out, her angry edge gone and replaced with desperation. "Think of how many times Isaac and Hara helped you out! Isaac fought to uncover the impossible truth of Angelique's murder, Hara stood firm against so many of you to prove that Emanuel was guilty! You… you have to give them a chance!"

The trial room was quiet for a minute, then Drake felt another tug on his sleeve. Ignatia handed him her cell phone, and the cartoonist took it. [I haven't forgotten when I thought I was the reason Angelique was dead, and how much Isaac struggled to prove I was innocent, saving us all. I haven't forgotten…]

The mime took her cell phone back briefly to type another message, and gave it to Drake. The cartoonist sounded much more emotional as he read it. [There is another way for someone to get over to the other side, and that is to pretend to be the opposite gender. I saw Odelios try it, and it would have worked if we hadn't given him away.]

"Oh yeah, I did attempt that," the clown said, sticking out his tongue as he rubbed the back of his head. "Almost worked!"

"Hmph, is that all?" Futaba asked. "You really think the clown's attempt to pretend to be a woman is good enough?"

"Monokid cannot remember names and faces, now that he has suddenly become as amnesiac as his late brother," Ishiku protested. "I mean, how could that not work?"

"Let's discuss that then," Shuuya suggested, "but I don't think you're ready to handle that truth."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"I already see a flaw in this idea of yours," the bounty hunter continued to speak. "Yejoon was tased, no doubt about that. The tasers are in the **eastern gift shop**.

"If a **man pretended to be a woman** , that would mean they'd have to go over the eastern side, and then back again to tase Yejoon, and then back **yet again** to plant the hand in the hair salon!"

"If a **woman pretended to be a man** ," Futaba added, "then the same problem happens that she has to go back to the hair salon with the hand."

"If a woman did this," Anzu commented, "then all they had to do is admit the truth to **Monokid** to return."

"Wouldn't he **shoot them dead** for lying like that?" Yitro questioned.

" **I'm not dead** ," Odelios declared. "Even if I don't update my Facebook status all that often!"

"No, but he **remembers** you as someone who tried to trick him," Eisei remarked. "He refers to you consistently as a crossdresser."

"Yeah, that's true, I guess you cannot trick him more than once. He may look like an **idiot** , he may speak like an **idiot** , and he act like an **idiot** , but that shouldn't follow us: he really is an **idiot**!"

"Crossdressing circus fucker!"

"Blue bear bastard-bitch bugger!"

"What does this mean?" Kimiko asked. "That only a **woman** or a **couple** could have killed Yejoon?"

"Or a **couple women** ," Eisei remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's not complicate this, my friend, please," Souma implored.

"So are we claiming that a woman picked up a taser," Shuuya started to list off, "went to the man's side, and murdered Yejoon?"

"Does that not sound believable?" Isaac inquired.

" _There is one major flaw in all of that,_ " the bounty hunter countered.

* * *

"If a woman had gone over to the western side while pretending to be a man, how did they open the baseball shack?" Shuuya declared. "They needed the baseball bats to bludgeon Yejoon to death!"

"Weren't the bowling pins the cause of that?" Ken asked. "They were bloody and dented."

"Bowling pins may be tough, but used to break every bone in someone's body, to cave in a skull? No, no I won't believe that for a second, especially since I'm certain the bowling pins are a red herring."

"Why is that?" Isaac asked.

"If the bowling pins were the instrument of death, why was he killed at the baseball field? We know by the amount of blood there that he had to be killed there, so he had to have died there!"

"But we found the knives and remains of the doll in the bowling alley," Odelios pointed out.

"That's a good point, but consider this: Yejoon was tased and knocked out in the bowling alley, stripped of his weapons and means of getting around, and then dragged to the baseball field where he was murdered."

"Actually, about that, if I may?" Futaba said, glancing over at Shuuya. "You're very familiar with murders, so tell me something: how did the killer pretend themselves from getting blood all over themselves?"

"Who is to say they didn't?"

"Something Hara told us last morning makes me think otherwise: she said that the honeymoon suites did not have changes of clothes, so she and Isaac are wearing the same clothes they were from two days ago."

"That's true, actually," Anzu remarked. "In the honeymoon suite Ishi and I were trapped in-"

"Stop calling him by the pet name I gave him, you hussy!" Monophanie shouted angrily, throwing her pink paws around in a flurry. "You floozy, you concubine, you-"

"Okay, please stop, Monophanie! I promise not to use it anymore! I meant to say, where Ishiku and I were, there were only sexy costumes and underwear in the clothing drawers."

Shuuya tapped his chin. "Did the eastern gift shop have anything that could cover their bodies?"

Hara whimpered and glanced away, which made several of the people stare accusingly at her. She could feel those stares, and definitely noticed them when she dared to look at them. With a defeated sigh, she said, "Um, there was rainwear."

"What, like raincoats?" Shuuya asked.

"The quick-use disposable kind, like the clear plastic that you wear over yourself like a onesie?"

"Oh, yeah," Odelios affirmed, grinning triumphantly, "in that trash bin that had the blood and knives, there was also some plastic like that!"

"Odelios, you really should tell us all the details first off," Shuuya remarked. "Was there anything else in there?"

"Nope, that's all."

"So there you have it, Futaba," Shuuya said. "Our killer… wait a minute, if they went over to the other side with rainwear…"

"Our killer was clearly planning a murder!" The anthropologist snapped her fingers, and chuckled. "Yeah, they definitely aimed to murder Yejoon from the get-go!"

"But wait a minute," Pyrrha spoke up, "we were discussing how it could have been a woman, and you can only go outside with a married partner, or with an item of the deceased! Pretending to be a guy would just give them access to the western side of the hotel!"

"It appears we're not quite done with this possibility," Isaac said. "Come on now, let's go into depth about it, because it sure is sounding likely too!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So if a **woman pretends to be a man** ," Isaac remarked, "what does she have to do to fool Monokid?"

"She cannot be highly feminine or have large breasts," Saiko remarked. "That's all the little twerp remembers."

"You're a twerp," Monokid retorted."

"But wouldn't the plan be foiled from the moment," Pyrrha said, "when they went to **Yejoon's room** to kill him, but he wasn't there?"

"Why wouldn't she just kill some other guy then?" Aka asked. "I mean, there's always Blake."

"Screw you, bitch!"

"Why not kill someone else is irrelevant, Yejoon is dead and not someone else," Shuuya remarked. "But Pyrrha is right, the killer wouldn't have a way to **get outside** to go after him."

"What about the **key ring**?" Drake asked. "If you all think Isaac stole it, couldn't this singular culprit do that?"

"Kid, have you been paying attention?" Blake spoke up. "If the woman is pretending to be a man, she'd need **an item from someone of the opposite gender** ; Emanuel was a man, the chick pretending to be a dick needed a man's item."

"Not if she told Monokid that **she was a woman** , then she had the right tool to be on the western side."

Blake opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. "Huh. Good one, kid."

"Wait, so she sneaks into your room, steals the key ring, and then tells Monokid that she's a woman?" Ken asked. "That's… horrifically simple!"

"How did people know Drake had the key ring anyway?" Ishiku asked. "He wasn't announcing it."

"Probably a lucky guess after what happened," Shuuya clarified, "or maybe they snuck into more rooms than we are aware of. However it went down, this is all still possible."

"The **vandalization** of the Hall of Fame works with a couple or a single person working on it," Souma remarked.

"What about the **hair salon**?" Yitro asked. "Was Yejoon's hand enough to open the door?"

"The Kubs told us," Odelios said as he casually twisted Rubarrow's neck, "that a hand can work **only once** on a palm scanner."

" _Hold on a minute here,_ " Hikari called out, " _because I think I found a cog out of place!_ "

* * *

"Listen, I really don't want to cast doubt on Hara and Isaac, but why would our killer need rainwear?" the steampunk model asked. "All they had to do was wear other clothing, if they weren't trapped in the honeymoon suite. Not to mention, that stuff squeaks like crazy, they couldn't hope to sneak up on Yejoon…"

"If Yejoon was suicidal," Kimiko pointed out, "then he wouldn't have cared."

"The idea of Yejoon being ready and willing to die was not in any of our heads until during this trial. Even if you count the symptoms while he was alive, how could a woman know of them? We were all separated from the men, we never would have seen them."

"We should take into consideration," Isaac said, "that no one knew of the rooms being locked in the morning until today. Our killer could have been worried we'd search the rooms."

"But… why? I mean, if the original plan was to sneak into Yejoon's room, why wear the rainwear?"

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Pyrrha said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something wrapped in paper towels: it was the bloody knife with the blue handle. "This was in the eastern kitchen, the women's kitchen."

"Oh, you mean your place?" Blake said with a mean grin. "Haw haw haw!"

"Haw haw haw!" Monokid echoed.

Pyrrha took a deep breath as she tried to keep her temper. "Aka and I found it when looking around, and it was in the butcher block."

"Drake and I found a pink-handled knife in our kitchen," Souma responded. "Wait a minute… was the knife the original weapon of choice?"

"Tase Yejoon, and shank him in the throat," Shuuya said. "It ensures he doesn't fight back, and the rainwear catches any blood that sprays as a result."

"Blarrrghgharhgghgh," was Monophanie's regurgitation response.

"So our killer takes a knife with her to kill Yejoon," Ishiku said, "discovers he is not in his room, and thus gets the key ring to go search for him."

"But what about the Hall of Fame vandalization?" Hikari asked. "If this is a single woman, she would have to get the equipment from the western guest room, and then use it."

"About that," Yitro said, drumming his fingers on his arm, "there's something I wanted to discuss about it."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Are we even sure that the vandalization of the Hall of Fame was truly the **Entity of Chaos**?" the swordsman asked. "What if the killer did it to throw us off?"

"You mean **paint insults** and such, break shit," Blake said, "and thus get everyone pissing scared that this Entity is after us?"

"But they also did it in the **locked** part of the Hall of Fame," Anzu pointed out. "And that wasn't just vandalization."

"There were some clear implications that the killer knew something about **Ryōko** and **Mahiru** ," Ishiku said.

"Those two were, respectively, the **last** and **first** portraits," Souma remarked. "It could have been as simple as that."

"I thought we agreed it was something to do with the visions?" Anzu asked.

"I know it does draw parallels, but if this was all a **bluff** by our killer instead of the real Entity of Chaos, that would be the reason why it was done like that."

"Was there anything **telling** about the insults?" Aka asked, grinning slightly. "Like if they could be done by someone who knows us? Ooo, what was mine?"

"…" Anzu stopped talking, glancing nervously around the room as she tried to find something, anything, to look at.

"Um, the insult on yours, Aka, was ' **slut** ,'" Ishiku said as he peered at his notes.

"Ha! That the best they got? I call myself that, I get called that as a compliment!"

"Some of the others were weird," the magician said as he continued looking at his notes. "Isaac had ' **serial killer bait** ,' Ignatia had ' **tattletale** ,' Ken had ' **scarlet** '…"

"I do not know what that means," Ken admitted. "Does scarlet mean something in slang that I am missing?"

"…!" Ignatia's jaw dropped and her eyes became pinpricks, and she gripped at her clothing as Drake watched her with great concern.

" ** _Ahem ahem ahem_** ," Monokuma interrupted. " ** _I do believe it is time for… penance!_** "

* * *

" **We had a bargain, Isaac, and I told you that I would take advantage of it,** " the bear of despair said, his wicked voice echoing around the trial room. It sent chills down most of their spines, they just weren't comfortable with Monokuma sounding so pleased.

"You don't intimidate me, Monokuma," Isaac said. "This trial will be guided by the truth, by the facts."

" **Is it not also a fact that you have a hatred of serial killers? Maybe one by the name of… _Shizuka Akui_?**"

The reporter froze up, his eyes diluting as all color left his face. He reached up, grabbing his hair and beanie so tightly that it was obviously causing him pain. Hara and Saiko both gasped, as everyone else appeared confused.

"No no no, don't bring her up," Hara shouted. "That awful, evil woman!"

"Monokuma, you bastard, don't think I don't see what you're doing," Saiko hollered.

" **Puhuhu, I'm just warming up!** " Monokuma said. The bear had pulled out a vanilla envelope, and was flipping through the papers. " **Oh, I'm sorry, everyone. Do you not know who Shizuka Akui is? Maybe you would know her by her other name, the Beautician of Death?** "

"The serial killer?" Futaba asked. "Wait, what? Isaac, do you know that woman?"

" **Upupupu! Does he ever! A few days before his thirteenth birthday, the Beautician of Death discovered that Isaac's father was investigating her. So she paid his home a visit… oh poor, foolish Jack Bellamy. Got him and his wife Joan, their eldest daughter Marie, their youngest child Elise…**

" **Even I cannot imagine the despair a five year old girl would feel as some woman poured burning wax on them. She was the last to go, according to the police report-** "

"STOP IT!" Hara shrieked. "Stop it right now!"

" **Stop it? But we had a bargain! Though Isaac sure did, because he was hiding at the time. He couldn't save any of them, he could do nothing but hide, how tragic! But isn't that how you got the description of her to the police?**

" **It was that incredible eye for detail that helped the police eventually find her, was it not? That keen eye, that memory, it's how you became the Ultimate Reporter, following in your late father's footsteps! Well, you eventually did, but you had to live in such an abusive, uncaring orphanage for a few years because your entire family was dead, huh?** "

Monokuma's devious chuckle felt like a hammer slamming down, a combination of a judge's gavel and a coffin having its nails pounded in. " **So that is your penance, Isaac. Hope it wasn't too prying, but hey, you're a reporter! You should be used to that, upupupu!** "

"I didn't know all of that about him," Monosuke commented. "Pops is so resourceful."

"How tragic, how gory," Monophanie wailed. "That poor family!"

"Upupupu… HAW HAW HAW!" Monokid cackled, smashing a guitar at the same time.

The trial participants were quiet, until Yitro let out an exhausted sigh. "Isaac? You do realize how this is highly concerning to us, right?"

"Wh-what?" the reporter had been shaking the entire time, gripping the podium for support. He managed to glance up at the swordsman, and ask, "What are you saying?"

"Your whole family was murdered by a serial killer, and now the serial killer is dead. We've been asking ourselves why now, why kill Yejoon at this point in time, and there's an answer now, though I don't like to admit it…"

Yitro crossed his arms as he continued, appearing off-put but determined to see this through. "If you couldn't tolerate his presence any longer, and normally I cannot blame you, but he was becoming intolerable amongst us."

"I didn't kill him!" Isaac protested, slamming his fists down on the podium.

"No, you didn't. Our killer is a woman," Futaba said, frowning darkly, "due to how impossible it would have been for any of the other men to get something that belonged to the late ladies.

"If you couldn't kill that bastard in his room, your fiancé sure could go outside and do it for you."

The words made both Isaac and Hara flinch, shocking them so much that they couldn't find the words to describe it. Saiko was also gaping in horror, but she managed to pull herself together. "That's… that's just a theory! It's not proof, it's just Monokuma giving you all a plausible motive!"

"It's an answer to one of our biggest questions," Crystal pointed out. "We have a general idea how and where Yejoon was killed, but we didn't know why, and why now. This makes so much sense."

"Don't be foolish! Monokuma gave you that information! MONOKUMA!" Saiko slammed her fists on the podium railing, and shouted, "Do you honestly, truly believe that that bastard bear gave you all that information out of the goodness of his heart to help you?"

"That is a good point," Souma remarked, as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Monokuma doesn't give information like that normally."

"It was penance," Blake argued. "Isaac wanted an advantage during the investigation, so Monokuma made things more difficult for him during the trial! If you ask me, he foiled himself with this!"

Isaac strained as he felt a stress headache forming; it felt like something was trying to gnaw its way out of his temples. He gripped at the areas, and declared, "Hara would not murder someone for me! She's not that kind of person! Don't you people know her at all by now?!"

"The only one who knows her besides you is Saiko," Ken said, glaring suspiciously at the reporter, "and we cannot trust her either since you three have been thick like thieves since you got here."

"I must object to this," Eisei spoke up, glancing around at everyone as he, with purpose, removed his current lollipop. "If you are going to insist that Saiko lied in her autopsy report, you should prove it."

"We don't need to prove it, Yejoon's death was obvious, and the use of whichever weapon matters not," Futaba argued. "Hara could open the baseball shack or go into the bowling alley for one of the pins, because Isaac knew where those were!"

"He didn't know about one of them," the dentist said. "Come now, there's still room to debate this."

"No there isn't," Blake shouted.

"We will debate it until all of us are sated for an answer, and that," Eisei's normally peaceful eyes were steeled with resolve, "is how we shall carry on!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"If Yejoon was beaten to death with a **baseball bat** ," Eisei started the argument, "then the killer had to have opened the **baseball shack**!"

"Isn't it obvious what would have been in there?" Ken asked. "It's not like anything else could have been there."

"When we first found the **locked rooms** , we didn't know what could be in them. There was a **science lab** in the **hair salon**!"

"Wait, he might be onto something there," Hikari remarked. "I mean, all of the **women** were aware of that, and thus wouldn't we be suspicious that what could obviously be in those rooms is not what we think?"

"Are we sure about that?" Souma inquired. "I mean, the Hall of Fame's locked room was more of the same, just different people in it. The men's side seems to be what we would expect."

" _Hold up a minute here,_ " Saiko shouted. " _I have an answer!_ "

* * *

"There was the other locked room in the spa," the investigator said, clapping her hands and rubbing them together. "Anzu, Ishiku, and myself were able to get in there."

"That's probably because Yejoon went in there first," Crystal remarked. "Odd he closed that one behind him and left the containment tank room open."

"Not really, because the room had nothing but office supplies!"

The trial room went quiet, all except for the clown. "Are you telling me the Kubs put a Staples inside of the luxury spa? Were there mechanical pencils and printer ink?"

"The whole works, clown man, everything you could imagine. Including," Saiko reached into her pocket and pulled out a notepad, "this!"

"Wait, isn't that Yejoon's?" Shuuya asked, as he glanced over at Fiora. The movie maker had paused from her work of writing on the notepad she still had in her hands.

"It's the exact same type of notepad that Yejoon had, that room is where he got it," Saiko answered. "He probably closed the door there because there wasn't anything of worth and didn't want us to waste our… time?"

The investigator slapped her palm against her forehead, and muttered, "I just realized I was applying logic to our demented serial killer."

"We can only theorize," Eisei offered to the embarrassed investigator, "just like how we can only guess why one of these locked rooms was just office supplies."

"Okay, that's all well and good," Yitro called out, "but it doesn't answer all of our questions. We need to go back to the debate, which was if Saiko's autopsy can be trusted!"

"Didn't you investigate the baseball bats?" Isaac inquired.

"Shuuya and I didn't find anything absolute, so we must push the issue and get to the truth!"

* * *

 ** _FURTHER PRESENT YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"The question is if Yejoon's death was by **bowling pin** or **baseball bat** ," the swordsman said, crossing his arms defiantly. "And wasn't the general consensus that he was **knocked out** in the **bowling alley**?"

"But the one thing that cannot be faked is **blood** ," Shuuya said. "The killer couldn't clean up blood in the bowling alley if Yejoon was beaten there."

"Not to mention the amount of blood," Isaac spoke up, "that was under him at the **baseball field** proves he was murdered there."

"Being beaten to death with a bowling pin really **splits** the bones," Odelios cracked.

"If **Yejoon** was knocked out in the bowling alley," Drake spoke up, "and then carried to the baseball field, it would mean that the killer wanted to f- **finish** him there."

"Why was that, exactly?" Aka asked. "I mean, why couldn't the killer just finish him off in the bowling alley?"

"I would think that that it shows us that the killer would know what was in the **baseball shack** ," Souma said, "but the women wouldn't think that what was **expected** to be in those rooms was there!"

"How could our killer know what was truly in the baseball shack?" Anzu inquired. "The only ones who knew were **Ishiku** and **myself**!"

"What time did you go to the baseball shack?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, that was probably around **3:30 PM and 4 PM**?"

" _Aha, I have discovered something!_ " Ishiku declared. " _I think I have the answer!_ "

* * *

"So get this," Ishiku said, clapping his hands (and scattering chocolate coins around him), "the fog was extremely thick when Anzu and I went around the western plaza! Someone could have spying on us!"

"That makes sense, that's the only way a woman would have known that there was actual baseball equipment in the shack," Souma said.

"Aha, thanks for providing us the answer, Ishi!" Blake said, pumping his fist. "We now know-"

"STOP USING _MY_ PET NAME FOR MY ISHI!" Monophanie shouted, throwing a frying pan at Blake. The pyro dodged in time, and balked at the pink Kub.

"It was just a joke, for God's sake! Anyway, think about it! Isaac spied on Anzu and… _Ishiku_ … when they went to the baseball shack! So he could tell Hara about the shack!"

"That's absurd!" Hara cried out, grabbing at herself as she tried to calm down her shaking.

"Stop accusing Hara!" Isaac declared. "That's ridiculous, anyway! Why would I spy on them?!"

"You were planning a murder, so all information and spying would be good for you, Mr. Reporter," Blake said with a devious laugh.

"Blake, I don't think you should celebrate this," Souma said. "If Anzu and Ishiku were at the baseball shack around 4 PM, the Kubs had locked some of us in the bowling alley, Isaac included.

Blake ground his teeth, and grabbed at his hair. Then his eyes widened, and he shouted, "Wait! There is that backdoor in the bowling alley, the one you can sneak out. And the best part of it is, you exit out next to the baseball field, nearby the shack!"

"And I can verify," the public speaker said, "that Isaac was in the bowling alley the entire time, because I spent the whole time in there talking to him. He couldn't have left to spy on Anzu and Ishiku."

Saiko let out a laugh of relief, and shouted, "See? See that proves that Isaac didn't know about the baseball equipment!"

"That doesn't clear him and Hara entirely," Shuuya spoke up, crossing his arms. "I do not wish to believe it was them, but maybe the simple fact is that no one spied on Anzu and Ishiku."

"Are we sure about that?" Aka asked. "I mean, someone could have, it just wasn't anyone stuck in the bowling alley. Who wasn't?"

Souma cleared his throat, and spoke up with clarity. "The ones in the alley were myself, Isaac, Blake, Odelios, Drake, and Yejoon. Drake and Yejoon were in the arcade, Odelios came in the latest and fooled around in the lanes, Blake was at the bar for the most part, and Isaac and I conversed the entire time."

"So either one of you could have snuck out, or someone outside could have overheard Anzu and Ishiku!" Aka declared, punching her palm as she grinned in excitement.

"I was," Ken spoke up, glancing at Kimiko, and then swallowed nervously. "Kimiko and I were together."

"I was with Futaba during this time," Shuuya said.

Yitro glanced around at everyone, then sighed and said, "I don't have anyone to verify my whereabouts, I was in the gift shop trying to pick out a gift like Ken suggested. But I did see Yejoon a little after 4, though that doesn't prove anything…"

He stopped talking when he saw Drake slowly raising his hand, and the swordsman paused. "Yes, Drake?"

"Well, you brought up Yejoon, and I wanted to say that he wasn't in the arcade with me the entire time."

Yitro stared at him, then said, "Come to think of it, Yejoon did tell me he snuck out of the bowling alley, through the back of the building!"

"Wait, Yejoon was the one who snuck out?" Crystal said, then shook her head and groaned. "So it was a false lead after all."

"Why do you say that, Crystal?" Eisei inquired.

"Are you kidding me? Yejoon is the victim! If he spied on Anzu and Ishiku, then he knew about the baseball equipment in the shack. Would he have told his killer that?!"

"Didn't we argue he was suicidal?"

"Are you really, truly going to tell me that Yejoon saw someone coming at him, and told them where proper equipment to break his body and bludgeon him to death?! I don't care how crazy he was, that's beyond all reason!"

The trial room was dead silent, as everyone contemplated everything that had been discussed. Hara and Isaac were trying to keep themselves calm, with everyone watching them the most. It was Aka who spoke up first.

"I… didn't want to do this," she said, "but I told Pyrrha I had a theory on who I think could have been the killer. And with what was just said, I think it's proven."

"What?" Pyrrha blurted out. "You told me that, yes, but what makes you think your theory is correct now?"

"Because of what Eisei and Crystal were discussing, the idea that Yejoon helped his killer exterminate him. I had wondered how someone could have slain that bastard, but if he wanted to die, if he gave up to have it be done, there is one possibility…

"Yejoon worked along with his killer to have his death be as impactful and confusing as could be."

"Who," Anzu asked, tugging at her blue bangs, "would trust that monster? Even if they could trust him, who would he ask to do that?"

Aka sighed, and then pointed…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

… at Fiora R. Stenton, who missed this pointing accusation because she was still making notes on Yejoon's notepad.

"Fiora?!" Yitro cried out.

"Yes?" the movie maker asked, glancing up at him. It was then that she noticed all eyes were on her, and that Aka was pointing at her. "What?"

"Fiora," Hikari asked, her fingers on her trembling lips, "did you… work with Yejoon to kill him?"

Fiora's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she was stunned speechless. Her hands flew up to her head, knocking off her fedora as she shrieked with absolute appall:

"YOU'RE ACCUSING ME YET A'GEEN?!"

* * *

…

 **TRIAL INTERMISSION!**


	30. Chapter 4-6: Case 4 Trial, Part 2

**Chapter 4-6**

 **The Silver Lining**

* * *

* **Monokuma Family Trial Intermission** *

* * *

* _Monokuma and the four Monokubs are all standing at the front steps of Town Hall. Monokuma is standing on the top step, the Kubs two steps below him._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "The battle of the genders is quite the horrible thing to watch, as the wars rage on, many deaths, so many innocent casualties."

 **Monodam** \- "NOT-TO-MENTION-THE-GENDER-FLUIDITY-AND-IDENTITY-"

 **Monokuma** \- "Nope! No no no! We are not diving into that!"

 **Monosuke** \- "BUT-AREN'T-WE-ALL-GENDERLESS-HERE? WE-ARE-NON-REPRODUCTIVE-ROBOTS."

 **Monokuma** \- "Son, you are insightful and creative, traits I normally admire. But if you start this subject up, you do realize that we will set the internet ablaze?"

 **Monokid** \- "The internet is always ablaze!"

 **Monosuke** \- "That's right, crafty flames like a fire fox, a burning safari, exploring into the hellfire of this dumpster fire! Youse has never seen flame wars like the gender wars online!"

 **Monophanie** \- "I feel a trifle bit outnumbered here."

 **Monokuma** \- "Oh you don't qualify, my beautiful daughter! You've already betrayed your gender by falling for a man. So you're out of the discussion."

 **Monophanie** \- "Waaaaah, Daddy's a meanie and I hate this family!" * _She runs away sobbing._ *

 **Monosuke** \- "Psssh, women, they is so emotional, is they not?"

 **Monokuma** \- "That's right, boys, always remember that, your father teaches you well! Monokuma's logic is flawless, that's why I have my own theater show! Remember what I taught you?"

 **Monokid** \- "Fuck bitches, get money!"

 **Monosuke** \- "Fuck money, get bitches!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokuma** \- "And now, on with the show!"

* * *

 ** _LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!_**

* * *

"Aka, sweetheart," Pyrrha said, clasping her hands as she faced the skier, "please tell me you aren't serious! Hasn't Fiora been through enough?"

"Oh great, Aka wants Emanuel's job now that he's gone," Odelios grumbled. He lifted up his rubber chicken and declared as well, "That was supposed to be his job, he's the cock!"

Aka stared down the clown, then spoke, "Look, I don't take any enjoyment from this, but if we are seriously considering that Yejoon gave his killer assistance, who is the only person he would do that for?"

"If he was suicidal enough to let himself die," Eisei spoke up, "that would be anyone."

"And I'd hate to break it to you, you purple-topped trollop," Fiora shouted, "but there's no possible way I coo'd have bin on the western side! I have nothing from the people who died!"

Aka crossed her arms, and said, "Don't you have one of Yejoon's throwing daggers on you?"

Fiora flinched, stammered a great deal, then glanced at Pyrrha. "Did you tell her?"

"It… may have come up," the romance writer said, blushing furiously. "I'm sorry! I was trying to tell her how affected you were by this!"

"That wouldn't have worked," Isaac said, shaking his head. "Yejoon would have to be dead for Fiora to use it as a way to cross over."

"There's more than one to get around those loopholes, but listen to me when I say," Aka remarked, "it's that we have to consider who would be the only person that Yejoon would allow this to happen to!"

"Fiora hated his guts," Hikari argued. "Why would she-"

"I didn't hate him!"

The movie maker blurted out the words so strongly that all focus was on her, especially when she smacked a hand over her mouth as she gasped in terror. Her wide eyes showcased a kind of shame that the others didn't think possible.

"You actually liked him?" Blake said, then he cackled. "Did you fall for your stalker? That's a fucking hoot! Oh, did you have sex with him, since you two were married?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Fiora heaved in fury, her eyes blazing at the pyro. "I doo'nt have to listen to you, of all people! Not you, never you!"

Aka cleared her throat, and said, "It's me you should answer to, Fi, not that bastard. We should discuss this, and maybe then you could prove your innocence."

"Why? Why do I always have to prove I'm innocent?! Why woo'd I kill Yejoon? Didn't you all ask me to translate his notes?!"

"And if we prove you are innocent," Isaac said, "it will make your words undeniable to everyone here. Let's just discuss it, Fiora."

The movie maker gaped at the reporter, and blurted out, "But you're the main suspect here, if you prove I'm innocent… the suspicion is all on you!"

"Fiora, I know Hara and I are innocent, and I also don't think you're guilty. And there are people here who are willing to go to bat for you."

Fiora winced, and muttered, "Not the best terminology to use right now, brah."

"Oh, sorry. But anyway, let's put their worries to rest, shall we?"

Isaac smiled at Fiora, until the movie maker took a deep breath and nodded. Aka watched this exchange, tapping her lips. She was rather curious about where this was going, and now the debate would be begin again.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"If we think that Fiora is guilty, there's one of two ways she did this," Aka spoke up, "one of them is that Yejoon went to the **eastern side** and she killed him **there**. The other is she did **sleep with him** , and thus they were both on the western side."

"We've already deduced that Yejoon had been **murdered** on the western side," Shuuya said. "Between Saiko and myself, I can assure you that there's no way she could have murdered him and then **transported** him."

"Why's that, exactly?"

"For lack of a gentler way to say this, Yejoon's **skull** was smashed in, and his brains were on the ground near his body."

"Yes, if he had lost some of his brain in transport," Saiko remarked with a roll of her eyes, "I would have known. Guess Shuuya knows too."

"What if he was beaten to death?" Futaba inquired. "Bludgeoning doesn't result in great blood loss."

"If you are going to beat someone to death, that would," Saiko remarked. "And that would get all over the **floor** , which would be noticeable in the **hotel** , the only place Fiora could be."

"If she didn't fuck him," Blake added with a snicker.

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Fiora shrieked.

"Yes, do shut up, Blake," Aka added. "Anyway, what if she killed him in **her room**?"

"We didn't know the doors would be **locked** this morning, they were **unlocked** all night," Eisei commented. "She wouldn't have risked us spotting a bloodstain on the floor."

"And also the blood that would stain the floor along the way," Shuuya added. "There's nothing in our rooms that would be **thick** enough to prevent blood from dripping."

"How gory!" Monophanie whimpered in horror.

"But do we have any proof she didn't have sex with Yejoon?" Futaba asked, crossing her arms. "I don't care if it is crass, we need confirmation."

"Could it have been in the **morning** ," Eisei inquired, "before we all met up for breakfast?"

"She woo'd have smelt of sex, or had to have **showered** ," Kimiko said. "Trust me, we woo'd have noticed."

"What about during the **previous night**?" Shuuya inquired.

"No, **I** was with her," Anzu said.

"How is it possible you're sleeping with everyone here," Blake shouted incredulously, "and yet you're NOT having sex with anyone? Are you the Ultimate Tease?!"

" **Shut up** ," said multiple people all at once.

"I think if this is possible," Futaba spoke up, "she visited him during the evening, after we all went to sleep-"

" _No no, wait a minute here_ ," Hara exclaimed, " _there's something wrong here!_ "

* * *

"Um, this may not be the most conventional of arguments," Hara said, as everyone stared at her in surprise, "but is the ongoing belief that Fiora worked with Yejoon to have him killed?"

"Yes, that's the theory," Aka pointed out.

"But then why would Yejoon need to be disarmed and carried anywhere? Wouldn't they have plotted this out without such inconsistencies?"

The trial room was silent for a moment, as everyone tried to process this. "You mean," Isaac said to his fiancé, "why wasn't Yejoon wearing his arm blades? Or why his knives were all thrown away?"

"I would think," Blake snapped, "that would be because they didn't want to make it obvious he was flat out murdered! Armed, Yejoon could take us all on!"

"But then why disarm him and such in the bowling alley? Why stun him?" Hara continued. "Why do things to make it more complicated if you all think they planned this out?"

"To confuse us," Shuuya commented. "And there's also the issue that the messages Yejoon left behind can only be decoded by her."

"Oh come on, it is not that hard," Fiora said as she waved the notepad in the air. "It is literally the alphabet done in symbols, eh! I am halfway done with it!"

She chucked that notepad at Shuuya, who caught it and studied the letters that Fiora had written underneath the symbols. The bounty hunter observed the progress, and sighed in defeat. "Okay, she appears to be telling the truth."

"But how do we know she didn't write what's on the notepad in the first place?" Aka asked. "It's her made-up language!"

"Handwriting is completely different," the bounty hunter said. "I've had a ton of experience analyzing handwriting over the years, I know even by the difference of these symbols and her letters."

"And if you couldn't, I could too," Isaac offered.

"I think we need to stop accusing Fiora," Hara said, staring down at the floor as she tried to make a stand. "She's been through so much, she wouldn't have done this."

"Yeah, this joke has been milked so hard," Odelios declared, "the cow is begging for mercy! Think about the udders, people, because now it's getting udder-ly ridiculous to accuse Fiora any more."

Anzu let out a sigh, and remarked, "Look, I know emotions are like a pair of deuces in the card game that are these trials, but don't you think we would have been able to tell if Fiora had done it?"

Shuuya tossed the notepad back to Fiora, saying, "I believe that settles it; however, it is unfortunate of where that lands us."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Aka stammered, glancing between Shuuya and Fiora.

"If Fiora cannot be our culprit, then our main suspect is Hara once again," the bounty hunter said, staring at the explorer. "That was never disproved."

"What?" Isaac exclaimed in disbelief. "You seriously think Hara and I conspired to kill Yejoon?"

"Isaac, there is the concern of the vandalization as well," Souma remarked, shaking his head. "You have to realize, it showcases that our killer has fallen into Chaos."

"Which we know can clash with Despair," Hikari muttered, nervously fiddling with her hat, "which Yejoon was all about."

"No no no!" Saiko shouted, waving her hands about and shaking her head. "This is all theory, guesswork that can fit any woman who decided to kill Yejoon!"

"But there's no other woman who had the ability to cross over to the western side," Ishiku remarked, nervously scratching the back of his head. "I mean, what other way could a woman have gotten over to the other side?"

"There's nothing of Takeo, Samson, or Emanuel's stuff left except for that key ring," Kimiko ruefully pointed out. She shook her head and muttered, "I doo'nt want to believe it either, but there's also your motive."

"It's not hard to believe that Hara would kill Yejoon for you," Pyrrha nervously said, "because of what you've been through. And with how frantic and desperate we all became yesterday, how badly we botched the plan…"

"But wait a minute!" Odelios hollered. "Isaac and Hara came here for answers, and they aren't going to get anywhere by Yejoon's death."

"It wouldn't be the first time someone gave up on the hunt for facts," Crystal stated, "and turned to a more wicked way of getting what they want. Haven't we seen that over and over in this town alone?"

"… I don't think it was them."

It was the person who said the latest statement was what shocked everyone there. They turned to Aka, who was scratching the back of her head, wiggling her goggles on her head. "Yeah, I kind of changed my mind on this."

"What? You, of all people?" Blake shouted. "You're usually the one to latch and never let go. Like when you're munching on-"

"SHUT UP," was the general consensus.

"I have my reasons," the skier said, "but can we not debate this further before we end it here?"

" **YOU WANNA DEBATE? THEN SCRUM DEBATE!** "

Monokuma's sharp shouting alerted everyone, as the bear put down the megaphone next to him. " **It would seem that we need to make a decision here and now, if we want to vote, or continue debating this!** "

"If they had anything to counter our arguments," Shuuya remarked, "we would have heard it by now."

"So long as some of us are unconvinced," Drake boldly stated, "we should keep this debate going."

" **Well said, cartoonish boy! Now then, you all know the drill, you see the two options on the digital touch screen on your podiums. Pick which one you are thinking right now!** "

There was a quick rush of electronic beeps, then a scattering of people who had to finally make up their minds. Most everyone did not look excited, they were rather upset in general. Monokuma held up a tablet, surveying the screen.

" **Oh, this one is a bit lop-sided, so it looks like the members of the smaller team are going to have to fight hard! After all, if you don't convince me, I will end the trial to get to the vote for the other team!** "

"Youse all ready for this?" Monosuke shouted. "I am going to have so much watching youse all struggle!"

"Don't make me get my sniper rifle again, fuckers," Monokid announced. "No one slacks off under my watch!"

"Ugh, I don't like all this fighting," Monophanie whimpered. "Couldn't we instead play a game of cards?"

"…" Monodam pontificated.

Monokuma lifted a large key, labeled "Key to the City" on the side. A large lock raised up from the floor in front of his garish throne, and he inserted the key into it. With a twist, power could be heard charging up and machinery running throughout the trial room.

The platforms lit up at the base of their stands, and then hovered into the air. Everyone was used to this by now, so they were balanced and ready. As the podiums lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened up, and moving into the hallway-like room.

This was their fourth Scrum Debate, but it was the first time the teams hadn't been even or nearly even. This was either going to be a curb-stomping, or a defiant defense…

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE!**

 **Team Ahri** ( _"Hara and Isaac are responsible for this!"_ )

 **Members** : Shuuya, Crystal, Blake, Futaba, Hikari, Eisei, Souma, Yitro, Ken, Kimiko, Ishiku, Pyrrha.

…

 **Team Ninetales** ( _"Someone else is the killer!"_ )

 **Members** : Hara, Isaac, Saiko, Aka, Anzu, Fiora, Drake, Ignatia, Odelios

* * *

The podiums rose up into the room, with everyone facing each other now on two sides. Monokuma and the Kubs were standing at the end of the room, as the debate came to life and with heated intensity.

"Hara and Isaac had more **opportunity** to kill Yejoon than any of us," Shuuya pointed out, "what with their ability to meet together in the evening, and plan something accordingly."

"Simply having more **opportunity** doesn't mean that they are the only possibility," Anzu said, twirling one of her blue bangs in her fingers. "With the doors being **unlocked** , anyone could have tried to kill Yejoon last night."

"The **unlocked** doors aren't the obstacle that points to Isaac and Hara," Souma said. "It's the fact that Yejoon was killed outside on the **western side** of the plaza that showcases who had the real opportunity."

"About that, why does the **western side** prove it was Hara?" Drake asked. "Yejoon had access to **both sides** of the plaza with his, um, item."

"It doesn't matter if Yejoon could have been on **both sides** , he was killed on the western side," Ken barked. "That means the killer had to have found him on the western side, when he was **tasered** and then beaten to death!"

"So why did Hara need a **taser**?" Aka asked. "Why would she need to do anything except stab him to death with the **knife** she had with her?"

"Why wouldn't you take more than a **knife** when you aim to kill a serial killer?" Blake asked, crossing his arms. "You stun him, then beat him to death with **baseball bats**!"

[But Hara couldn't have known the shack actually contained **baseball bats** ,] Ignatia's text, read out by Drake, said. [The locked rooms on the women's side were all things not found in the **buildings** they were connected to!]

"About that, one of those locked rooms matched the **building** it was connected to," Ishiku said. "The **stables** ' locked room was full of horseshoes, saddles, and barn stuff."

"But Hara couldn't have known that about the **stables** ," Isaac declared. "It was never opened until you and Anzu opened the **stables' locked room**!"

"Someone had to have opened the **stables' locked room** ," Kimiko argued, "or we never could have opened it during the investigation. It had to have been **Yejoon's doing**."

"But how would **Yejoon opening** that room point to Hara being the killer?" Saiko shouted. "What, you think he is going his killer, 'Oh by the way, some of the locked rooms due contain relevant equipment, so the **baseball shack** totally should have baseball equipment?'"

"Yejoon personally saw what was in the **baseball shack** when he spied on Ishiku and Anzu," Crystal coolly countered. "And since we know that Yejoon was **suicidal** , he would help his killer to make his death all the more confusing."

"Even if Yejoon was **suicidal** and woo'd allow his killer to execute him so brutally," Fiora spoke up, "you've set up Hara to be doing this as a crime of passion, to murder him for Isaac's sake. Why woo'dent she joo'st flat 'oot murder him? Why **complicate** things with the baseball bats and moving around?"

" **Complicated** just means harder to pinpoint a killer, Fiora," Yitro remarked. "It was their way of hoping that no one could figure out it was them by making the evidence all **ambiguous**."

"Yeah, about that," Odelios said as he scratched the back of his head with Rubarrow, " **ambiguous** is one thing, but if Isaac and Hara really did this, why didn't they do _one_ thing to and hide it was them? You'd think they'd _try_ for an **alibi**!"

"An **alibi** is not necessary when they can claim there is no proof against them," Eisei said. "They can be relying on people to consider this matter emotionally rather than **logically**."

"All of these trials have been decided through **logic** ," Hara argued, "and we fought against the emotional outbursts. We're being accused of masterminding a heinous plan but having no **reason** to it besides emotion!"

"Are you forgetting that whoever is behind this is the one who most likely vandalized the Hall of Fame?" Souma said. "The **reason** could very well be **Chaos**."

[Samson was an avid follower of **Chaos** ,] Drake read aloud Ignatia's text as she folded her arms stubbornly, [and he had the most organized and cunning murder plan we've seen here. Chaos doesn't mean shooting yourself in the foot, it means rebelling against the **rules**.]

"But Samson relied on the **rules** to try and get him out of his murder," Pyrrha reasoned. "This murder still relies on rules, and it happened by following them **last night** , not rebelling against them."

"Funny you should mention **last night** ," Isaac said, raising an eyebrow at Pyrrha. "Didn't you tell the ladies that you'd be up all night **keeping watch** at the chapel? Both Hara and I knew that, but if we had come back downstairs, you would have seen us! There's no other way back down from the honeymoon suites!"

" **Keeping watch** last night wouldn't have been enough," Shuuya said, "because the murder took place in the early morning. The rigor mortis proves that he had been dead for hours, a victim of his own **viciousness**."

"See, there you go again, thinking that Hara was able to take on Yejoon by herself with how **vicious** he was," Isaac barked, glaring at the bounty hunter. "There was no way the two of us could have known he was suicidal, and yet you think I sent her out there with a taser and a knife to take on the murderous fiend! She would **die against him**!"

"Whoever killed Yejoon most likely thought they could **die against him** ," Ken remarked, "but someone did indeed kill him. Logic and reason don't fit in here, this is a killer who had strong emotional reasons to want him dead. And you fit the buck, **Isaac**."

" **Isaac** was the one who asked for an advantage," Drake protested, "despite the fact that it would give him such a disadvantage. Why would he do that if he was **part of** this murder?"

"He's only **part of** it, not the actual murderer," Blake said with a scoff. "Hara is the killer, she gets **executed** , not him."

"If Isaac doesn't love Hara and is fine with her being **executed** ," Saiko shouted, "then why doesn't he just **confess** now? By your reasoning, he doesn't care about her!"

"He's not **confessing** because this is just a cruel game to him, if we are correct," Crystal snapped. "All to look **innocent** to the very end and appeal to your emotions."

"But he hasn't done anything to set himself as **innocent** , if he truly was guilty," Odelios hollered indignantly. "You're telling me that they framed themselves over and over and over, and did absolutely nothing to **defend** themselves properly?"

"They still have you all **defending** them, that's all they need," Futaba said with a roll of her eyes. "Just a few emotional people who don't want to see the truth that Hara is **the only person** to be able to commit this crime."

"How is she **the only person**?" Aka asked, shaking her head. "We were just discussing Fiora a few minutes ago, and while we were, may I add, Isaac and Hara were trying to prove **Fiora's innocence**!"

"Is that why you're over there, darling?" Hikari inquired. "Because they stuck up for **Fiora being innocent**? That could simply be to make themselves look innocent by defending **someone else**."

"But what if this is a case of **someone else**?" Aka said with great determination. "We haven't discussed anyone else but these two and Fiora being the killers, and that's why we shouldn't stop **the trial** now!"

"There's no point in prolonging **the trial** ," Shuuya said. "Hara and Isaac have no defenses or alibis, and thus they are the only ones **capable** of committing this crime."

"How are we the only ones capable of this crime?" Hara asked. "We never even discussed anyone else, so how can you say that with such clarity? Why don't you tell me now how I'm **the only one** who could have done it?"

"If you wish to know how you're **the only one** via evidence, so be it," Eisei said. "This crime involved being able to go to both the western and eastern side. A man on the western side could not have gone to the eastern side, because none of them have **an item from the deceased**."

"And," Souma cut in, before someone on Team Ninetales could speak, "the only item from the deceased for the women to use was **Emanuel's** , which was in **Drake's room** , on the western side. A woman couldn't get in there!"

"No one could have gone to both sides," Crystal declared, "no one except for **Isaac** and **Hara**!"

"Face it, you're finished," Ken said. "This proves you are the guilty party!"

"THIS IS OUR REASON!" Team Ahri shouted in unison, making the Scrum Debate room shake with their resolve.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"You know, there is **another way** ," Odelios said, unperturbed with a sly smile on his painted face. The other members of his team stared at him in confusion, all of them stressed and worried.

It was Isaac that realized what he was implying first, and the reporter slapped his hand on his forehead. "Yes, Odelios is right, there is a way that all of us seem to have forgotten," Isaac responded defiantly. "The fact that someone could have **tricked Monokid** into thinking they were the **opposite gender**!"

"If someone did that, they could have access to **both sides** of the hotel and the plaza," Aka declared. "The gift shops, the kitchens, and the buildings are all open to them, just like Yejoon had it!"

"And before you say anything, we know it couldn't have been a man," Anzu said. "But that's because we know it had to have been a **woman**!"

"A woman could pretend to be a man, sneak into my room," Drake said, "and stolen **Emanuel's key ring** when I was asleep!"

[Then she **admits** to Monokid she is a woman, but it's too late, because she now has an item from the deceased to allow her to go anywhere she wants,] Ignatia's next text was read as the mime smirked triumphantly.

"On the western side, she can open the baseball shack because of the **gender-specific hand scanner** , and beat Yejoon to death with the bats," Saiko countered.

"You claimed that I was the only one capable of this crime," Hara said, "but we never explored this possibility! And it's shaping up to be **plausible**!"

"Yeah, where's yoo'r counter to that one, eh?" Fiora mocked, pointing at the other team. "Because there ain't one, this killer coo'd very well have bin **a different woman** , and for that reason, you cannot end this trial here!"

"THIS IS OUR REASON!" Team Ninetales declared with the utmost intensity.

" **Now THAT is what I like to see** ," Monokuma said with happy clapping on his part. " **People yelling at each other with such resolve and anger and spirit! Victory goes to Team Ninetales, so let the trial recommence!** "

* * *

The platforms all lowered, with everyone still getting over the adrenaline rush that the Scrum Debate gave them. Hara had her hands over her heart, as she took the deepest of breaths to get herself under control.

"Well then, who is it?" Ken asked, staring around the room at the nine members of the winning team. "You claim another woman could be the murderer, but you haven't named someone."

"We don't know who it is off of the top of our heads, Ken," Isaac snapped. "But we can analyze everything to narrow down the list of suspects."

"Really now?" Shuuya asked. "Because I'm pretty sure the women all have the same alibi: they were sleeping that night."

"Why not let them debate this, please?" Pyrrha said, staring at Shuuya with a misty look in her eyes. "They proved a point we all overlooked, we shouldn't slap at them because we lost the argument."

The bounty hunter pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a loud sigh. "This seemed so straightforward, but I guess it never is, is it?"

"Alibi time for the ladies!" Odelios cheered.

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"So we've discussed **Hara** and **Fiora** ," Odelios said, "now let's go over everyone else on the eastern side."

" **I** was trapped in that containment tank room," Crystal said, as she tried to maintain a calm nature after that Scrum Debate. "And I was found in there this morning, that is my alibi."

"We did check the inside of that room, the only way back out was a **male-specific hand scanner** ," Saiko remarked. "She's definitely telling the truth."

"Well, what about you then, **shortie**?" Blake said with a scoff. "You got an alibi?"

"No," the short woman said with an angry frown towards the pyro, "I do not have one. I was in my room, alone."

"The same goes for **me** ," Eisei said, "I have no one and nothing to back myself up."

" **Aka** was with **me** last night," Hikari said, adjusting her hat as she tried to appear as collected as possible.

"Heeheehee," the skier giggled impishly.

"I know," Pyrrha muttered to herself. "Err, what I mean to say is, **I** don't have an alibi either! Just my… shoddy guard post work."

 **Ignatia** shook her head and shrugged, implying she had nothing to go on either.

" **I** was alone as well," Futaba said, while correcting her glasses. "Monosuke let us know that just because we used the **honeymoon suite** under a false marriage meant we weren't allowed to stay there for the evening, we had to go back to our own rooms."

"He told **me** the same thing," Kimiko said. "I doo'nt have an alibi either, soo'ry."

"Well, **I** was locked in that honeymoon suite with Ishi… ku, Ishiku, all night," Anzu said, glancing nervously at Monophanie. "I guess I am one of the few with a solid alibi."

"So how are we going to do this?" Yitro asked, crossing his arms as he scanned the trial room. "How can we possibly prove who committed the murder amongst the **women**? Who **pretended to be a man** , as was alleged?"

" _I have an idea there, chief,_ " Odelios declared, as he pulled out a pistol that shot out confetti and a flag that said, " _BANG!_ "

* * *

"It doesn't take much to fool that little cerulean simpleton," the clown said, chuckling impishly. "So we have to think as simple as him, and what rules he imposed."

There was a mean laugh from the Monokub podium, as Monokid turned towards Monosuke and said, "I think he's talking about you, dumb shit!"

"Youse has no idea what youse is talking about, ya great big palooka!"

"Monokid has simplistic ways of ascertaining if someone is a woman," Odelios continued. "He admitted as much to us, that there are only really two things that he takes into consideration: if they have really feminine features, and/or if they have a giant rack."

"Really now?" Souma remarked, narrowing his eyes at the clown. "Do you really need to be that crass?"

"Fine, if the lady has a really large medieval torture device. Or a dish collection device for the washing machine."

"We have bigger problems than slang for tits," Kimiko said. "So it was that simple, huh? You couldn't be super hot or have big gazoomazooms."

"But how does that help us?" Ken asked. "Any woman could wrap her breasts down and hide how big they were."

"With what, exactly?" Saiko inquired. "Keep in mind, our rooms did not have anything different than what we're wearing now, and there isn't exactly medical wraps or the like to keep our tits down."

"Wasn't there a clothing store on the women's side?" Isaac inquired. "Couldn't someone put on something more covering there?"

"They could also cover their face to hide their feminine features," Yitro remarked, drumming his fingers on his arm. "That way-"

"HOLD ON A MINUTE! YA FUCKS!"

Monokid pointed at the startled trial participants, and shouted, "You think I would just let someone cover their face and walk around suspiciously? Do you? DO YOU!?"

"He was ultra paranoid," Hikari said. "I mean, he was getting more and more draconic with the rules, I highly doubt you could get away with hiding your face around him."

"DO YOU?! You better say yes, bear-damn it!"

"Okay, we get it, you cannot hide your face," Anzu said with a roll of her eyes. "But can you wear clothing from the clothing store to hide your form?"

"…" Monokid's tongue dangled about a foot from his mouth, as he scratched his head.

"Youse might have to wait for a proper answer from him," Monosuke said. "I don't think he remembers."

The graduates groaned in frustration, Monokid getting on their last nerves. Hara took a deep breath, and spoke, "Alright, so we don't know if our culprit could have worn an alternative choice of clothing."

Ishiku sucked in a deep breath, and said, "Actually, I think we do know."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Don't you remember that the **rainwear** was found in the bowling alley's **trash bin** , by Odelios?" The magician clicked his tongue as he shot a thumbs-up to his friend. "My buddy found that along with the other discarded items."

"What's that change anything?" Crystal asked. "Why couldn't our culprit have worn **additional clothing** and the rainwear?"

"They could get blood on that additional clothing, and throw it out!"

"No, that makes no sense," Ken remarked. "If we found bloody clothing that didn't belong to anyone, we would know it had to have come from the **clothing store** , and thus our killer was a woman!"

"No, I'm afraid that doesn't hold water, hon," Kimiko said with a shake of her head. "Our killer left such an obvious trail that we woo'd knoo' she was a **woman**. Besides, it's not like we have everyone's **spare clothes** memorized."

"But why wouldn't a woman use clothing to pretend to be a man?" Blake asked. "I mean, that's the best way to hide you got tits and such!"

"Crassness aside, that makes me think," Isaac said, "that our killer **didn't need such a disguise**."

"Why would a woman not need a disguise?" Shuuya asked. "With **feminine faces** and **breasts** being the only things Monokid would recognize, you'd have to hide those!"

"I literally have **no idea** ," Eisei said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Damn it, this was easy enough when I pretended to be a woman," Odelios grumbled. "How could it be that tricky for someone else to **fake it**?"

" _Ha! I got this now_ ," Blake shouted as he clapped his hands. " _I got the answers right here!_ "

* * *

"So clown boy tried to fake being a woman by pretending to have big tits, right?" the pyro said. "But you're all confused how a woman can hide having big tits and a pretty face, huh?"

"Yes, that's what we've been discussing, damn it," Saiko muttered.

"The answer is, they didn't have either! They didn't have big tits, and they weren't feminine hot!"

The trial room was quiet for a minute, and Odelios remarked, "He considered me a woman because I acted all feminine, is it possible you had to act all masculine to convince him you were a man if you really were a woman?"

"It comes off as rather simple, kind of like this scheme you all say had to have been the case if it weren't Hara and Isaac," Blake said, smirking as he shrugged. "So you think about it, you don't have big boobs sticking out, you act masculine, you cover up your feminine face…

"Don't we have someone like that? Miss Trash Can Kicking Silent Bitch?"

Ignatia stared down Blake, then crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Drake flinched, and stared at her, to which she shook her head. "No," the cartoonist said, turning towards Blake, "no it couldn't have been her!"

"She's literally the only person who could cover her face like Odelios did," the pyro said. "And I highly doubt you could do a Mrs. Doubtfire and splatter cake on your face! She's the only viable choice!"

"No! No no no, I refuse to accept that-"

" _It ain't your call against the facts, ya little twerp!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

Drake and Blake's podiums moved out, and despite trying to hide behind his sketchpad, the cartoonist didn't back down from the pyro. "Listen, you're a Goddamn adult now, even if you are just eighteen," Blake said to him, "so I'm not going to treat you like a child. Your feelings towards her do not matter."

"I… I don't need to rely just on my feelings," Drake said. He took a deep breath and set his sketchpad to the side. "I believe I can stand up to you, and prove it wasn't her."

"That'll be quite impressive, considering you don't know anything that happened on the eastern side, mate."

The two men stared each other down, and then, with no outside interference, began their argument.

" _Kid, you know as well as I do that Ignatia fits this profile that the defiant ones of you built up. And you cannot possibly have evidence that proves she's innocent,_ " Blake said, crossing his arms as he stared down Drake.

" _Just because Ignatia fits a profile well doesn't mean she has to be the culprit! Hasn't the biggest problem that we've deliberated here in these God-awful trials been that someone is suspected based on a profile?_ "

" _That's what happens when there isn't a smoking gun, mate,_ " Blake declared, pointing at the nervous cartoonist. " _We don't have anything definitive, so we have to accuse someone! You just don't want to admit it could be someone you like!_ "

" _I… I just don't want to accuse someone for the sake of accusing someone,_ " Drake protested, as he steeled himself. " _Besides, you cannot just say it was her without looking at the other women involved!_ "

" _You're going to have to_ ** _accuse_** _someone eventually, mate. There's no innocents in these trials, you accuse someone, you vote for them. And you've made the accusation before, so don't tell me you ain't got the balls to do it now!_ "

Drake shivered, thinking back to accusing Jin during that first trial. The cartoonist sighed, as his eyes scanned the others. "To accuse someone… do I really have enough **evidence** to do so?"

" _Here's why Ignatia is most suspicious,_ " Blake said, as he extended his fingers while he counted, " _she can appear as_ ** _masculine_** _, she doesn't have_ ** _large breasts_** _, she would use the_ ** _rainwear_** _to protect her white clothes from blood splatter, and her_ ** _face paint_** _hides her feminine face!_ "

" _So you're telling me I have to point out another woman who fits all of those categories too?_ "

" _I'm telling you right here, right now, that you're gonna have to make a damn good argument who else could bash Yejoon's brains into a thicker paste than vegemite than your psycho, mute girlfriend!_ "

Drake swallowed hard, and then declared, " _Fine! If that's what needs to be done, I'll prove who else can fit the exact criteria!_ "

* * *

The cartoonist was shivering as the podiums returned to their correct places. He gripped the railing, as he summoned all of his courage to speak in front of the others. "First off, I think I should just try to explain to you why I don't think it's possible for Ignatia to be the killer, other than the fact that I… care about her."

"Aww~" Pyrrha cooed.

"Shut it," Blake snapped at her, glaring at Drake.

"If Ignatia was going to pretend to be a man, how was she going to tell Monokid that she was a guy?"

"She has that cell phone of hers that you read from," the pyro remarked. "She would text him an explanation."

"But Monokid judges solely on stereotypes and appearances, and it is the stereotype that girls are always on their cell phones, isn't it?"

"Where would he get _that_ idea?"

Drake glanced at Saiko and Crystal, before pointing at them. "Well, the only ones who have been using their cell phones are those two, for games. And Ignatia before this motive, she used it for communication."

"Wait, really?" Saiko asked, crossing her arms. "I mean, I know that stereotype applies to teenaged girls, but has it really only been girls using our phones?"

"There is no service here, and I do use it for games," Crystal said, staring with an observing eye at Drake. "Seems someone is showcasing how observant they are."

"That's not exactly evidence," Aka remarked, "but can't we ask Monokid for verification? Hey, sexist blue Kub!"

Monokid took a deep breath, usually the sign that angry yelling would follow. It didn't this time, however, as Monosuke slapped one of his paws over Monokid's mouth. "Excuse youse, but youse cannot just pry information out of this palooka whenever you please, princess."

"I'm not asking him to be a witness," the skier objected, "I'm inquiring if he really thinks that!"

"Nope! Nope nope, youse get all my nopes! No dragging information out of the stupid and gullible."

"Ah fffkn hayff oo," Monokid remarked from behind the paw on his mouth.

"I don't know if he thinks that," Monophanie admitted, as she pressed the touch screen of her cell phone. She continued to do this for a few seconds, while glancing over at Ishiku. The magician returned the glances with a smile, and turned to the others.

"I believe one way or another, Drake has earned the right to carry on," Ishiku said. "He definitely brings up a good point."

"He also needs to be a man and accuse someone properly," Blake said with a snarl. "Because if it was not Ignatia, then who? WHO?

"Who is the killer who snuck over to the western side, into your room to get that key ring you brought along, then snuck up on Yejoon and _bashed his fucking brains in_?! You have to tell us this now!"

The pyro slammed his fist on the railing of his podium, adding, "What evidence is there that points to someone, if there even is something like that?"

Drake was sweating hard, and he was finding it hard to breathe. He felt a warm hand on his back, and there was Ignatia, giving him the rare gift of a smile. The cartoonist managed a small smile back, then summoned everything he had to speak the next part.

"Our culprit… has to be someone who isn't… busty, can pull off a masculine attitude and something that Monokid would accept as a manly man trope. They also picked the rainwear instead of a change of clothes, and this had to be for… a reason…"

Drake felt himself shiver, as he realized all of the possible suspects were watching him. There they were: Futaba, Pyrrha, Kimiko, Hikari, Eisei, Aka, and Saiko. The cartoonist realized he was unleashing a can of worms, as he prepared himself.

"And I think that the person who fits this case is," he said as he pointed…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

…

… at Aka Fuyu, the Ultimate Skier, as he finished his sentence, "would be her."

"What?!" Pyrrha shrieked incredulously.

"WHAT?" Hikari hollered, flinching as if someone slapped her.

"Me?" Aka said. She, despite all of the astonished shouting, hadn't become riled in the least. Quite the contrary, she was smirking as she stared down Drake. "Aw, lil' cinnamon bun, I'm flattered."

"Aka," Hikari declared, her face pale and even turning blue with horror, "what is going on? Why does he think it's you?"

"He'll have to explain that himself, won't he?" Aka said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Come on now, Drake, you sound like you have a theory. We've already had those for others, but you're going to have to back it up if you want to convince-"

"No!" Pyrrha shouted. "No no no, this isn't acceptable! We wanted proof, remember?"

"If… if I could?" Drake whimpered.

"NO!" The romance writer stomped her foot. "There isn't proof! It's just another theory! I don't want to hear it!"

"You can't stop him from speaking," Isaac pointed out, frowning at the writer. "He has as much right to explain himself as anyone else has."

"I don't want to hear this either," Hikari protested. The steampunk model was breathing hard, trying to keep her emotions in check, but slowly failing. "What possible reason could be good enough that Aka is a main suspect?"

"Come on now, kid," the skier herself said, still grinning at Drake. "Lay it on me."

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Our main theory is that our killer pretended to be a man to sneak onto the **western side** of the hotel," Drake clarified. "But he wasn't there…"

"Yes, but how's that imply Aka above everyone else?" Fiora asked.

"W-well, we also know that the killer used that plastic **rainwear** instead of clothing from the clothing shop, so I think that our killer had put it on at the start, when they… she went to **Yejoon's room**."

"Again, kid," Blake grumbled, "how's that signify Aka is guilty above everyone else?"

"It doesn't," Pyrrha shouted indignantly.

"Because Aka wasn't returning to **her room** after committing a murder," Drake said, blushing profusely. "She was returning to **Hikari's**."

"Wh-wh-what?" Hikari blurted out.

"Aka is the only one who wasn't returning back to their room, so she's the only one who would need to make sure **blood** didn't get on her clothes," Drake explained.

"But the killer wouldn't want bloody clothes, because they wouldn't know the rooms could be **locked** for the investigation," Anzu pointed out. "Any of them would have used the rainwear to prevent getting bloody."

"By your chain of logic, Drake, **Hikari** can be just as guilty," Blake said. "What would stop Aka from going to her room and getting fresh clothes?"

"…" Aka commented, still smirking as she watched the spectacle.

"Except our killer didn't do that, they used the rainwear," Isaac interrupted the pyro. "And the **knife** , they planned to stab Yejoon to death. They planned for it to get very bloody."

"Stop this, please," Hikari begged. "Rainwear or change of clothes, what's it matter? It doesn't prove Aka would need to do any of this!"

" _I'm sorry,_ " Drake shouted, " _but I can prove it!_ "

* * *

"The reason Aka would wear rainwear instead of changing her clothes," the cartoonist said, sadly staring at Hikari, "would be because of you, Hikari."

"M-me?"

"You're a model, you have an incredible eye for detail. If Aka had different clothing from yesterday, you would notice."

"But it all looks the same!" Hikari blurted out. "I mean, we are given clothing that looks the same, same colors, same style… same… same look, darn it!"

"You're very persistent about the look of the clothing," Saiko remarked, then she glanced around the trial room. "Is there something you're trying to hide?"

"Absolutely not! I'm just flustered because someone I care about is being accused. There is nothing I need to hide!"

The forensic investigator noticed the beads of sweat on the model's pretty face, and then she said, "There's something about this that you're hiding, because you don't want to believe it to be true."

"I must insist," Hikari protested, "there is nothing-"

"Didn't Aka say earlier during this trial that she had been sleeping with both you and Pyrrha? Why are you protecting someone who would use you like that?"

"I'm not being used," Pyrrha and Hikari declared in unison. The two women stared at the other incredulously.

"Dear God, how does she do it?" Futaba muttered bitterly.

"I doo'nt even do that well in my dreams," Fiora grumbled.

"I happened to realize that Pyrrha was rather positive, but a little off, during our meeting last night," Saiko remarked. "I also remember that you, Aka, were nowhere to be found around the same time."

"She was helping me with Ignatia," Pyrrha cried out. "Ignatia touched something that put her in one of those comas, and she… she was trying to kill herself during it!"

"What!" Drake turned to the mime, who merely shrugged and smiled at him nonchalantly.

"Ignatia would be dead if it wasn't for Aka!" Pyrrha passionately announced. "She stopped her from stabbing herself when she had that dagger clutched in her hand. She's NOT a kille-"

"And what happened after you helped Ignatia?" Saiko demanded. "You and Aka had sex, didn't you?"

"Wh-wh-what?" Pyrrha muttered. "What has that got to do with _anything_ here?"

"The scent of sex can stick to clothing pretty well," the forensic investigator said matter-of-factly. "Some see it as gross, some see it as an aphrodisiac. I'm guessing someone else," she eyed Hikari when she spoke, "saw it as the latter, and thus knew that our little skier slut was really sliding the slopes."

"Hey, that is _completely_ uncalled for," Hikari shouted, glaring fiercely at Saiko. "I ought to slap you for-"

"Hahahahaha!"

Aka was clutching her stomach, laughing so hard that tears spilt from her eyes. "Oh God, did you plan that, Saiko? That alliteration, how have I not heard that before?"

"Wh-why are you laughing?" Pyrrha cried out to her. "This is serious!"

"They're accusing you of murder!" Hikari clasped her hands as she stared at Aka pleadingly. "I know you're a carefree spirit, but please!"

"Alright alright," Aka said with a final laugh and a dismissive wave of her hand. "So, Drake, if your theory is based off of my need to protect my sex-scented clothing from blood, then how did I trick Monokid?"

"By pretending you were a guy?" he asked.

"Yeah, how'd I pull that one off?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Monokid has specific stereotypes for how he sees **men** and **women** ," Aka carried on. "How could I have fooled him?"

"No one fools me!" Monokid protested. "No one gets to dupe the Monokid! Nosiree!"

" **Odelios** duped you by sticking a couple balloons under his shirt," Futaba remarked, "and speaking in a high-pitched voice while giving himself a woman's name."

"I blame everyone for me for that duping!"

"Well, you don't have **big tits** to hide, washboard," Blake said with a mean smirk. "So no need to hide those!"

"Kindly fuck off to hell, dickhead," Aka responded with a dismissive middle finger towards him.

"Why are you being harsher towards him than the ones accusing you?" Pyrrha protested.

"Aka, I don't want to accuse you," Isaac admitted, "but you do have a **tomboy** look to you. You don't wear make-up, you don't wear feminine clothing…"

"And you're always talking about **sex** ," Saiko said. "You never freaking stop."

"Aw, you a little jealous, Saiko~?" Aka said with a laugh. "You could have been one of my partners if you weren't so straight. And bitchy."

"Take this seriously, damn it! **Hikari** and **Pyrrha** are defending you more than you're defending yourself!"

"Sure, I'm not a girly girl," Aka said. "But is that enough to convince Monokid? I mean, what could I say that'd persuade him that I was a manly man?"

" _I'm closing in on the truth, here and now,_ " Isaac declared.

* * *

"Aka, if this isn't true, I'm sorry, but I think it's obvious that you have something that Monokid would see as that stereotypical manly man: your sex life."

"How's a lesbian manly, buddy?" Aka asked with a giggle.

"You know what I mean. If you told Monokid that you had sex with two different women when you were pretending to be a man, that is more than enough to convince him."

"N-no," Pyrrha protested. "No, he wouldn't believe that! Monokid would know that it was lesbian sex, not straight sex!"

"That's right!" Hikari spoke up. "Because the Monokubs had to monitor us for consummating the marriages!"

"There's two faults with that," Eisei said, shaking his head as his lavender locks bounced around. "One, Monokid was not responsible for that part of the motive, Monosuke and Monophanie were. Two, even if he was, are you forgetting that the Kubs don't remember how sex works?"

"Monosuke forgot, that doesn't," the steampunk model stammered, "that… it can't mean… Monokid! Tell them you know how sex works!"

"…" Monokid stuck his tongue out, and then started strumming on his guitar.

"Damn it, you stupid Goddamn bear, ANSWER ME!"

"Hikari-babe, you know he can't," Aka said, holding her hand up for peace. "Come on, they're just building up a profile on me, you don't need to lose your head."

"What?! But… they're accusing you of the murder!"

"And if something is off, we'll find it. Drake, Isaac?"

The skier turned to look at both of the guys, and spoke with a smile on her face. "So if everything you said is true, I went over to the western side of the hotel to murder Yejoon, found he wasn't there, and then ventured outside to hunt for him."

"That sounds about accurate," Isaac commented.

"Wait a minute," Anzu spoke up, staring suspiciously at Aka, "you were on our team during the big, deciding debate. You were defending this idea!"

"Yeah, because it sounded more realistic than Hara and Isaac pulling off a sadistic mad couple like that one fucking movie I regretfully saw," Aka admitted. "But there is a bit of a flaw in myself being the killer."

"What's that?" Drake asked.

"Oh my little cinnamon roll, don't you know me at all?"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Isn't it obvious who I would have killed if I was hellbent on murder like that?" Aka said. "I would have murdered **Blake**!"

"What? You fucking bitch, I would have liked to see you try!"

"You can fuck right off, you **cad**."

"You fuck farther off, you **cunt**!"

" **Dickhead**!"

" **Lesbo-whore**!"

"And apparently, this is where our debates are going," Souma muttered.

"She does raise a point," Shuuya remarked. "Wanting to kill someone you truly **hate** , compared to someone who is **exceedingly dangerous** , is more believable."

"Why would she want to kill Yejoon, anyway?" Fiora asked.

"Fiora," Yitro started to say, before the movie maker groaned and spoke again.

"Fine, fine, is there **a specific reason** why Yejoon, and why last night?"

"Aka has no reason to kill someone so dangerous," Hikari declared. "Don't forget, Yejoon being **suicidal** was unheard of to all of us!"

"I fail to see how Yejoon being the target dismisses anyone as a particular suspect," Crystal remarked. "He's dead, someone had the guts to kill him."

" _I believe I have the answers here,_ " Kimiko called out, " _though I doo'nt really want to admit it, eh…_ "

* * *

"Look, I'm not fully convinced a'boot all of this, eh," the biker gang leader admitted, "but I can imagine there is one reason why Aka, or anyone else, would target Yejoon so specifically…

"Fur the thrill of it, for hunting doo'n and killing the most dangerous person here. Aka, you've talked a'boot how much you love thrills, your talent is a'boot the intensity of it, and I've heard you during some pretty dark times how much you like the exhilaration.

"And it doesn't help that we knew someone from the western side had come over to our side. It was something I considered… trying to figure 'oot who that was, and if they were a danger to us."

Aka tapped her chin, as she said, "That's a pretty good reason for anyone to do it. With how fervent desires have been in this town, I'm just one adrenaline junkie around a bunch of other possibilities."

"If the argument is that Aka killed Yejoon instead of Blake for the thrill," Crystal said, "we do have to take into consideration that Yejoon was hunted down, so our killer wanted him specifically. However, I don't really see how this points to Aka, there is no proof."

Isaac sighed and rubbed her forehead, glancing between Hara, Saiko, and Drake. All four of them were perplexed, trying to think of what to say and do. Drake spoke out first amongst them, "The problem is, we know how the crime was committed at this part; however, we don't have any evidence to definitively prove who did it. Just really big set-ups…"

"But if Hara is the killer," Saiko said, "she wouldn't wear the rainwear, she would get something at the clothing store!"

"Aka could do that too," Hikari shouted. "Not to mention that Aka couldn't do the vandalization!"

"Why not?" Eisei inquired. "It's just as possible she has embraced Chaos."

"Allow me to prove it!"

* * *

 ** _DEBATE YOUR CASE!_**

* * *

"Listen, the Hall of Fame was **vandalized** by tools found in the **western gift shop** , correct?" Hikari said.

"The **hammers** and **spray paint cans** were there, correct," Shuuya said. "But if someone could kill Yejoon, they could access the gift shop too."

"But how would Aka know about all of that crap? If you all think she was hunting down **Yejoon** , she wouldn't know what was in the gift shop!"

"I fail to see how that absolves her," Ken remarked, "because it was simply a matter of Yejoon's killer looking around for him to discover what was there."

"Our killer had a timetable, they only had so much time before everyone else would **wake up**!"

"Even if the killer was up at, say, 1 AM," Yitro said, "that gives them eight and a half hours to do everything. I'm sorry, that's more than enough time to for the murder and **vandalization**."

"Well… what… what about how Aka managed to wake up without waking me up?"

"Your arguments are getting more and more flimsy," Blake said, shrugging at the struggling model. "What, you gonna say she couldn't do the insults that were spray painted in the Hall of Fame? Anyone could have done them!"

"We don't know how involved everyone is with Chaos or Despair," Crystal remarked. "Not after all we have seen. None of what's been said **disproves** Aka, but it doesn't **prove** it was her."

"But how would Aka have even known about the **Hall of Fame**?" Hikari desperately said. "I mean, Yejoon was the killer's target, why would they go off to explore the Hall of Fame?"

"She's right, how would our vandal know about the Hall of Fame if they were on the eastern side?" Pyrrha asked. "We didn't know what that building was, it would be like someone knowing about the **hair salon** on the western side!"

"It's not unthinkable to set up a distraction," Yitro remarked. "Unless we're all thinking that the **Entity of Chaos** themselves is the one who committed the vandalization?"

"What were the words of chaos spray painted in there again?" Fiora asked.

" **Murder Authority, Uphold Kaos, Undo Management, Kill Unity** ," Ishiku read off.

"But there were also the insults directed at us," Isaac said. "How I am, as it were, ' **Serial Killer** Bait.'"

"There's a lot of those that sound oddly specific," Ken commented. "Like how I am ' **scarlet** '? What does that even mean?"

" _Stop right there,_ " Pyrrha hollered, " _there's something we need to address!_ "

* * *

"Look, I know you all might think I'm just desperate, but I have to ask you," Pyrrha said, clasping her hands as she looked around at her fellow graduates, "are we absolutely sure that this vandalization was done by the killer? Or even by one of us?"

"What do you mean?" Hara asked. "You think this was done by someone else?"

"Murder Authority, Uphold Kaos, Undo Management, Kill Unity, those were the phrases," the writer listed off. "And you take the first letters from those phrases, you get KUMA."

All eyes swept towards Monokuma, who tilted his head to the side. " **Aww, is this tribute to one of the most amazing bears there be?** "

"Daddy, you have a fan!" Monophanie squealed in delight.

"I wonder if you'll have to dye your hair eventually," Monokid remarked.

"Father's work is world-known, that's for sure," Monosuke proudly stated.

"…" acknowledged Monodam.

"We should consider that Monokuma, or one of his Kubs, did the vandalization as a distraction," Pyrrha said. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time one of them interfered with a crime scene…"

Monokid chuckled deviously, then nudged Monosuke. "I think she's talking about you, fucker!"

"How could they have spray painted the portraits and such?" Souma asked. "They're too short."

"Seriously, Souma?" Odelios said, raising an eyebrow. "They're making entire buildings overnight, and this trial room is completely different every time we enter it! How the hell does height matter at this point?"

Aka let out a frustrated sigh, and said, "Okay, look, this is getting us nowhere. I think it's time we stop theorizing, and we do something a little different. Isaac!"

The reporter almost flinched at being called out, but he stood firm. His eyes met Aka's, and there was a kind of tension in the air that was hard for people to describe, but they could feel it.

"You know that Hara is the prime suspect if it's not me," Aka reminded him. "And yet, when I said that Fiora was most suspicious, you defended her…

"You've been doing this for a long time, haven't you? Finding out the answers, and fighting against awful crimes committed by vile people. You hated Yejoon, and you had damn good reason to…

"But you're going to have to put up a bigger fight, a stronger resolve, if you're going to stand up against me! Every slope I've gone, I could have obliterated my face against a tree, snapped my legs like twigs with a bad jump, buried alive under an avalanche!

"So if you cannot prove Hara didn't do it, you have to prove who did!"

She was pointing at Isaac, focusing on him with a fire in her eyes. The trial room was quiet, as the reporter took in all of this. He took off his beanie to run a hand through his hair, then put it back on. "Aka, you were defending us during the Scrum Debate. Why… why are you sounding like you want me to prove it was you?"

"Maybe I just want you to narrow it down so we can find the real killer. Let's do this now, you and me!"

* * *

 **SUSPECT COMPACTOR!**

* * *

Isaac took a deep breath, as he and Aka stared each other down. The two of them were almost like two souls standing around the edge of a dangerous precipice, and if they fell here, it would be their end.

In their minds, it felt a bit like they were in front of a gigantic garbage compactor, and they had to figure out what needed to be discarded. Aka extended her hand, as if to offer Isaac something to review.

"Let's discuss every single person on the eastern side," the skier said. "You need to give me a reason why it couldn't have been them."

"Okay, Aka," Isaac cracked his knuckles.

"Let's start with your friend Saiko, how is it that _she_ cannot be the killer?"

"We know that Monokid can only be tricked by a woman who can realistically pretend to be a man. Saiko is… too busty to convincingly pretend to be a man."

"But couldn't she have worn a different outfit from the clothing store?"

"We weren't allowed to leave the hotel unless we had a married partner or one of those items belonging to a dead person of the opposite sex. She couldn't leave the hotel, and the rainwear wasn't going to work as well."

Aka chuckled, and opened up her clenched fist, as if to drop the idea into a garbage compactor. "There you go, it's impossible for Saiko to do it! Perfectly done!

"So what about, say, Hikari?"

"Same reasons as Saiko, she's far too feminine and has no way to hide it from Monokid."

Aka mimicked dropping again, and then added, "What about Pyrrha?"

"It's the same case as the last two, there's no denying and hiding she's a woman."

"Well then, how about one of the ladies who isn't so feminine and busty? We were discussing Ignatia, what can we say about her being innocent?"

"Drake pointed it out, she had no way of communicating with Monokid except for her cell phone. And since Monokid goes by stereotypes, being on your cell phone comes off as feminine to him, especially since women have used their phones here more than men."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. And if I may add my two cents, Ignatia had that comatose experience that's been going around; I cannot imagine she'd suddenly plot a dangerous murder mission."

Aka pretended to drop the mic again, and then laughed happily. "We're doing well here, Isaac. So what about Crystal?"

"She was locked in that lab room last night, with no possible way of getting out."

"But could she not be involved in some way? The killer did let her out."

"At this point, it matters not if Crystal worked with the killer or not, she cannot be the killer; that's what we are looking into here."

"Yep! And Anzu?"

"Locked in her honeymoon suite with Ishiku, no way she can commit the murder."

"Correct! Now we already went over Fiora big time, so let's just pass over that. How about Eisei?"

"From the beginning, Monokid had it set in his head that Eisei was a woman, and no matter how many of us said otherwise, he refused to believe us."

Aka tapped her chin, and said, "But why is that? I mean, couldn't Eisei drop his pants and show Monokid his junk? Wouldn't that convince him?"

Isaac took a deep breath, then glanced over at Saiko. He mouthed, "Sorry!" to her, and then did the same to Eisei. "I believe the reason wasn't just because of Monokid's dumb stubbornness."

"HEY!" Monokid interrupted the debate. "Don't make me get the sniper rifle again, you mint-topped bastard who is probably a woman in disguise!"

"The Kubs and Monokuma like to act like their shenanigans are solely for comic relief, but there's a reason Eisei was put on the eastern side, and it's the same reason Hara and I weren't allowed to participate in the marriage motive.

"Saiko and Eisei are… comfortable with each other. They, like Hara and myself, would be able to take to the motive and open all the doors that were locked. The Kubs couldn't have that, so Monokid stuck Eisei on the eastern side because of how he looks.

"And thus, I believe it impossible for Eisei to fool Monokid, because they needed him to stay on that eastern side. I also believe that due to his physical stature, he cannot possibly be our killer."

"Huh? Why is that?" Aka asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes, please, go on, Isaac," Saiko muttered from behind her arms, her cherry-red blushing hidden from everyone. "Expose more humiliating details to literally everyone, please."

Eisei didn't look embarrassed at all, he merely tilted his head and asked, "Is it my height?"

Isaac sighed heavily, and muttered, "The rainwear is meant for a grown adult, and if Eisei tried to put it on, it would be multiple sizes too large."

"I do have to get my clothing custom made for my body structure," the dentist admitted with a shrug of his slender shoulders. "This is enough to prove my innocence, is it not?"

"Yes," Saiko wailed from her hunched over, humiliated state, "but now I'm going to die of embarrassment, damn it!"

Aka chuckled, getting a little enjoyment out of Saiko's state, and turned back to Isaac. "Correct! But we're getting into the home stretch, Isaac, and you need to tell me how Futaba isn't the killer."

Futaba adjusted her glasses, and said, "That's impossible, I don't have an alibi and I could pull off a masculine look."

"Actually, you cannot pretend to be a man to Monokid, Futaba," Isaac spoke up. "Don't you remember? You and Shuuya tried to fulfill the marriage motive, but Monokid stopped you."

"Yes, I remember that, but how does that humiliating event prove," Futaba angrily fired back, until her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "Oh."

"Monokid knows you are a woman because you and Shuuya argued that you consummated the marriage, and the Kub responded that you were married to different people. So in other words, he knows Shuuya is a man, and you are a woman."

Isaac adjusted his beanie, as he added, "Monokid may be suffering from amnesia, like the others are, but he has to remember who is married to married to who, and thus he isn't allowed to forget that you're a woman.

"Which brings me around to Kimiko, if I may take the lead. Kimiko and Ken tried the same thing, and were denied by Monokid, so our biker girl cannot be the culprit!"

"Wait a minute there," Aka said, holding up her hand as a devilish grin spread across her face. "Wouldn't that mean that I cannot possibly be the culprit? I got married to that bastard Blake!"

"Actually, you technically were married to Drake," the reporter corrected her. "But you never tried to make the marriage motive work, Aka. You didn't have sex with a guy, and you didn't argue with Monokid about the rules."

"But wouldn't he remember me due to the fact that I was married, even if I never acted on it? He isn't allowed to forget, remember?"

"He isn't allowed to forget when the rules need to be upheld."

"But if I became a man, wouldn't it be a violation of the rules for me to be married to a man?"

Isaac rubbed the back of his head, and replied, "They never went over those rules with us, if that was a loophole or not."

"Clown boy wasn't married to anyone when he tried it," Aka argued. "You'd better think fast, Isaac, because we narrowed down everyone from the eastern side to myself and Hara!"

"Well, why don't I just ask the bears? HEY! Kubs!"

Isaac rounded on the bears, who all (sans Monodam) jumped in surprise. They blurted out, "Yes?" "Yes?" "Yeah?!" "…?"

"You never did tell us what would happen if someone was revealed to be of the opposite gender from whoever they were married to! What are the rules for that?"

"Um, rules?" Monophanie stammered. "What were they again?"

"Youse really wanna know?" Monosuke asked.

"Ha! You think you can fool us?" Monokid shouted defiantly. "What makes you think we had a plan for that?"

"YOU of all people cannot make that excuse Monokid!" Isaac declared. "You hunted for Hara because you wanted to declare her to be a man! You were suspicious of the women lying over their gender! If you were going to force people to switch sides, you had to have rules for what would happen then!"

"…" Monokid's impression of Monodam didn't do so well, because he immediately started caterwauling. "Who says there always has to be rules? Rules are for SUCKERS! I ain't no sucker, fucker! Fuck everything that has to do with this micromanagement bullshit you're spouting."

"I-BELIEVE-WHAT-HE-SHOULD-BE-SAYING," Monodam said, "IS-THAT-THERE-WERE-NO-PLANS-OR-RULES-FOR-IF-SOMEONE-WERE-TO-BE-"DISCOVERED"-AS-THE-OPPOSITE GENDER."

"So what you're saying, Monodam," Isaac said, "is that someone married at the chapel could still be declared the other gender by Monokid without it being illegal."

"YES."

Isaac pumped his fist, and pointed at Aka, "There's your answer! That's everyone on the eastern side except you!"

Aka grinned happily, and clapped. "Well, it's everyone but me and Hara. But you're right! Nice job, reporter boy, you got all the unnecessary details out of the way!"

The mechanics underneath the podiums clanked, and Aka and Isaac were pulled back into the circle of the trial room. It was as if the compactor had finished pressing, and now everyone would see what was left: a choice between one or the other.

* * *

"I really am impressed with ya, Isaac," Aka said with a proud grin. "You've always managed to hang in there against all of the odds."

"A-Aka," Hikari stammered, tears in her eyes. "You… you didn't?"

"Please tell me why you're doing this!" Pyrrha shouted. "You sound like you're confessing!"

"When did I ever say I did it?" Aka inquired, flicking one of her purple bangs out of the way. "I never once said that I was guilty."

"You've all but admitted it," Ken said with an aggressive huff. "You've led us on like someone who has a secret that they just cannot hold in anymore. I've seen that behavior many times before."

"Really now, where?"

"People infected with Despair," the Novoselic man said with a snarl. "So many times there are people who committed atrocities, and when no one knew it was them, they turned it into a big spectacle when they announced it was them. This usually led to more pain and death, because Despair is _never_ sated."

"Wait a minute, please," Hara spoke up, nervously glancing around the trial room. "Isaac, my love, I very much appreciate everything you did for me, for us."

"Hara?" the reporter stammered as he stared at his fiancé. "What's going on?"

"I… I don't think Aka is infected with Despair. She stood with us when the majority thought we were guilty, that doesn't sound like something someone who enjoys suffering would do."

"Now _you're_ defending her?" Blake shouted. "Oh good fucking God, what is wrong with you people? Are you all retarded? Are you fucking brain-dead?"

"Blake, calm yourself," Souma chastised the pyro. "There is no call for that kind of language here-"

"Fuck that, I'm not going to stand here and play the emotions game. It doesn't matter if that carpet-munching slut is infected with Despair or not, she is clearly guilty! This is all a game to her, and the only people who don't think she did it are the two lezbo bimbos she's screwing!

"So get the fuck over these emotional, whiny, crying cases of feelings, and get with the facts! Aka is admitting to us she did it, she doesn't have to fucking say it for it to be true!"

The trial room was quiet, quite aghast at Blake's abhorrent behavior. The pyro groaned as he slapped his palm against his forehead, and added, "Or are you all just going to debate feelings further? Stop putting our lives in danger because you don't want your widdle feelings hurt!"

"As awful as his words are, there is something to take into consideration," Shuuya spoke up. "We need to discuss who our killer is: Hara or Aka."

"Were you not fucking listening?" the pyro shouted furiously. "I just said there is no point to discuss, Aka is clearly guilty!"

"Shut your Goddamn mouth, you bastard," Hikari hollered, shaking her fists at Blake. "Ten minutes ago, you were shouting how Hara was _clearly_ guilty and we needed to vote for her!"

"So were you, ya dumb lesbo-whore."

"Okay, that does it," Kimiko shouted, as she pulled her leather jacket off. "That tears it, I'm kicking his ass, I've HAD it with him!"

Yitro ran over to restrain Kimiko, preventing her from attacking Blake. Hikari and Pyrrha both appeared ready to fight too, despite not being fighters, they were just that vexed. Blake barely seem perturbed by this, and continued to speak.

"Is there any point in debating this, honestly?" he asked the people in the trial room. "Do any of you think Aka is innocent after that?"

"If we have time," Drake pleaded, "we should put everyone's mind at ease."

"You idiots, she wants this! She is getting off on the excitement of this trial, and you're just feeding this attention whore!"

"You know," Aka said, putting the back of her hand under her chin and wiggling her fingers mockingly, "the more you talk, the more they don't want to listen to you, ya vile bastard."

Blake fumed, throwing his fists down as he visibly gave up. Kimiko finally calmed down, and Yitro didn't have to restrain her any longer. It was Ken who spoke up then.

"So what is the course of action we are taking, my friends?" he asked, placing his hand on his sword's handle. "I mean, is it true that the majority of us believe Aka to be guilty?"

"People, please," Pyrrha implored all of them, clasping her hands. "You cannot just declare Aka guilty without something definitive!"

"But the majority of you were ready to declare Hara guilty without anything definitive," Anzu argued. "You claimed she could be the only person who did it, but now we know Aka is a viable suspect!"

"But viable isn't the same as guilty," Souma said. "Her method of narrowing down suspects was unorthodox, but then again, aren't we all?"

"No one innocent behaves like she is," Futaba remarked. "If we put it to a vote now, we'd declare her the guilty party."

"You cannot rush this," Hikari pleaded. "We weren't trying to rush Isaac and Hara's verdict, we just didn't know who else it could be! But that doesn't mean it was Aka."

"There's. No. Point. To. This," Blake angrily barked out every word. "Aka's clearly guilty!"

"We haven't all decided on that," Ishiku hollered, "you kangaroo-humping bastard!"

 **ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNTTTT!**

Everyone in the trial room flinched from the sudden, piercing scream of an airhorn. The acoustics in the large room allowed the noise to echo painfully for a few good seconds. The trial participants gathered their wits to see Odelios holding up the air horn, a deathly serious expression on his made-up face.

"Taro from beyond the grave would like to remind you all," Odelios said as he put away the air horn that once belonged to the late Taro, "that arguing pointlessly will not get this trial solved. Yejoon's killer needs to be found through logic, not shouting and yelling."

"But," Hara stammered out, "but I cannot prove I didn't do it."

"And I'm not admitting to it," Aka remarked.

"Odelios, if you have something to say, please just say it," Isaac implored of the clown. "The theatrics aren't necessary."

"It seems like they are, since an air horn," the clown replied, "is the only way to get you all to listen to reason."

"Damn it, Odelios, I'm trying, I really am, but my fiancé is being accused of murder! And no matter how I try to think about the situation, I cannot find anything damning in the evidence to prove who did it."

"Is there?" Odelios asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way."

"What would you suggest?"

Odelios took a deep breath, and he tapped his temple as he started to drift off into deep thought. "Let's start off by thinking about the crime scene, and what felt off about it…"

* * *

Isaac and Saiko are a little overwhelmed by the accusations thrown at Hara, so I think someone else needs to take these things into consideration. Because I, Odelios Shintani (and Satsuki Iranami), am the greatest clown detective there is!

…

Alright, so the real debate is if the culprit is Aka or Hara. Both of them have plausible motives, opportunity, and lack of an alibi.

…

After all, if it was Hara, Isaac would be working with her. If it was Aka, Hikari was asleep during the time she was gone.

…

All of the set-up can imply either of them. The proof works both ways, and there was ample time for either of them to do it.

…

So what is the main difference between them? What is the way of looking at this that we haven't fully explored?

…

Because we know HOW they could have done it…

…

Is WHY the thing we haven't really looked at?

…

…

…

No, revenge and thrills, those are the reasons why. When, where, what, who, how… for what reason… ugh…

…

Maybe I need to look at how they are different.

…

The way proposed for Hara to be guilty is that Isaac wanted to kill Yejoon, but when he couldn't do it himself, he had Hara do it for him.

…

The way proposed for Aka is that she pretended to be a man, popped over to the western side, and wanted to kill Yejoon. However, finding he wasn't there, ventured outside to hunt him down.

…

One is vengeance, one is for thrills.

…

Isaac's reason for wanting Yejoon dead are very clear, more clear than they are for any of us. Aka's reason is out of the thrill of it.

…

So what makes the crime different? WHY would the crime be different?

…

…

…

If Hara did it, she doesn't want to be caught. Isaac doesn't want her to be caught, Saiko doesn't want her to be caught.

…

If Aka did it, does she care as much if she is caught? Even after showcasing a very transparent side of herself, she isn't admitting it. She could be executed…

…

…

…

Wait a minute now. Hold the phones, hold your horses…

…

Hold your horse's phone, hold the horse-shaped phone.

…

A guilty party who cares about being caught doesn't want to leave any evidence.

…

If there is any evidence that points to someone in particular, it would have been destroyed or removed from the scene.

…

But what proves that the killer did or didn't care about leaving evidence behind? Looking at the evidence, everything seemed to be hidden very well…

…

The way the carving knives were switched between sides.

…

How Crystal was saved without being seen.

…

The Jin doll being destroyed and stored in that bin.

…

Even Yejoon's cause of death was a mystery with how the killer hid what the instrument of his death was.

…

Everything about Yejoon's death was mysterious, especially since even his killer didn't know he was suicidal.

…

Was there anything that said otherwise? Yejoon's hand? His notebook? The blades? The vandalization?

…

Lemon curry?

…

…

…

Wait.

…

Hold all the phones and horses, hold them in one great big horsey phone pile.

…

THAT piece of evidence, the one that we talked about earlier. If it was THERE…

…

Oh ho.

…

Ho ho ho!

…

But if that's the case, if that's how our killer felt about the murder, then why aren't they…

…

…

…

Wait.

…

 _Emanuel's keyring._

…

If… if I'm right…

…

THEN I AM THE SMARTEST CLOWN THAT HAS EVER CLOWNED THIS TOWN BY TURNING THIS CASE UPSIDE-DOWN!

* * *

Odelios burst out laughing, which rather startled everyone, as he had only a few seconds ago asked everyone to contemplate the crime scene. The clown stretched out, and then clapped.

"Alright, contemplation done!" He finished his short-lived applause, and said, "I believe I have all the answers we have been looking for, because I asked the questions that we should have asked a long time ago."

"What are you on?" Ken muttered. "Are we really going to entertain this court jester at a time like this?"

"Odelios buddy," Ishiku spoke up, "you really need to drop the theatrics if you want them to hear you out."

"Alright alright, fine fine fine. First off, there's something I need to ask of you all, because I wasn't there when it happened: where was Yejoon's notebook found?"

"Oh, I found that," the magician spoke up again. "It was on the pitcher's mound at the baseball field."

"So we can assume that the killer took it from Yejoon, and casually threw it some yards from his body. Now, we already know that they disposed of a lot of the evidence in the bowling alley, and destroyed his mask…

"Then I ask all of you, why didn't our killer destroy the notebook?"

Shuuya scoffed. "We all thought it was Korean, so the killer assumed no one would be able to read it."

"But why _not_ destroy it? Wouldn't you destroy something that could have incriminating evidence? And so close to the body!"

"It's not like he could write down his killer's name," Futaba remarked with a roll of her eyes.

"If I was going to kill someone," Eisei commented, "which I definitely would not do because that's not within my nature, but if I was, I wouldn't allow such a thing to be left behind in a readable state."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked. "Again, it's not like he could name his killer."

"Yejoon's mask was smashed," Kimiko stated. "His weapons were all stripped from him, the doll of his sister turned into a bloody mess, and he himself was beaten until every bone was shattered, his skull caved in, his body resembling pulverized meat.

"Someone _hated_ him. They enjoyed desecrating everything about him. So it does beg the question, why not destroy the notebook?"

"Someone," Isaac started to say, as his eyes widened and turned towards Aka, "who doesn't care if there can be anything incriminating on there."

Aka smirked at the reporter, and asked, "Oh? How's that point to me instead of Hara, Isaac? I mean, wouldn't Hara just leave it be? He couldn't have been writing about her, or me."

"But he could have written about me," Isaac announced. "Yejoon knew I hated him, feared him, and couldn't stand him for being a serial killer. He told me as much, he suspected my reason for hating him more than any of you was more personal. If he had written this down, it would look bad for me."

"But you didn't kill him, the suspect is Hara!"

"But Hara would have destroyed the notebook," Saiko cried out, "because she wouldn't want to leave anything that bastard had on him that could be dangerous!"

"You really shouldn't say things that make it sound like," Futaba remarked, "you know how she could murder someone."

"Wh-what? I don't… she wouldn't…"

"Settle down, everyone," Odelios called out. "This piece of evidence merely connects to the second and far more important piece of evidence that we all overlooked."

They all stared at him, until Aka asked, "What are you getting at, clown?"

"You see, we were thinking long and hard about all the evidence left behind. The knives, the blood, the hand, the vandalization, but out of all of it, we forgot about one of them, one vital piece of evidence that is still missing…

"And that would be Emanuel's key ring."

The clown smirked triumphantly, while the others stared at him, perplexed. "Odelios honey?" Anzu spoke up. "Maybe you could tell us why you find that to be so damning."

"Aw fine. Because it's the one piece of evidence that we don't know where it is now, but if we think about if the culprit cares about being caught or not, we will know where it is!"

"Whether the culprit cares or not?" Pyrrha balked. "Of course the culprit cares! They could be executed!"

"Right! So if Hara is the culprit, then that keyring should be in her honeymoon suite, a place no one else could enter but them, far away from here, keeping that damning evidence out of sight like an excessive furry porn collection…

"However, if Aka is the culprit," Odelios rounded his eyes on the skier, who flinched slightly at the direct attention from a clown, "then where is that keyring?"

"That doesn't prove anything, Odelios," Hikari said, heaving in frustration. "If she was the culprit, she hid them in her room."

"But she went back to your room," Fiora pointed out.

"But… look, I'm not saying Aka is the culprit, but if she was, then she would have just put the keyring in her room, and-"

"No, that's wrong!" Isaac shouted. "No one knew of the rooms being locked, and thus the culprit wouldn't just leave it in their hotel room!"

"The only rooms that had such privacy were the honeymoon suites," Ishiku remarked.

"So, what does that prove?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow at the clown. "Couldn't Aka have just dropped the keys somewhere to keep them hidden?"

"No, you _have_ to have that item if you want to be on the other side," Anzu said, "and where could she have hidden them on the eastern side that we wouldn't have looked during an investigation?"

"The only place, no, the only thing she could have done with them," Yitro said, "is keep them on her person."

"A giant keyring?" Hikari said with a scoff. "That would have been rattling around like a noisemaker with every step she took!"

"Yeah, I think I would have noticed," Pyrrha shouted, then her hands slapped over her mouth. "I think _we_ would have noticed."

Aka smirked at Odelios, and said, "Nice try, clown, but it sounds like you just did a whole bunch of nothing. If I was the culprit, and I didn't care about being caught, then you really think I could have gotten away with it by carrying the keyring on my person?

"There was no time to drop them, someone was always with me throughout this morning. There's nowhere on my clothing that could stop the rattling, or maybe you want to frisk me? You wanna search my jacket, my pants, my shoes, my bra and panties?

"Actually, get Hikari or Pyrrha to do that, you're not allowed near me, clown."

"Oh, come on now, Aka," Odelios said with a smirk as strong as her's, "we both know where you hid those keys."

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Come again, clown?" Aka asked, crossing her arms as she stared at him. "If I had the keys on me, someone would have noticed."

"Then you wouldn't mind," Odelios said, as he pointed at her, "taking off your goggles for us, would you?"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"I'm sorry, what?" Aka, her smirk gone, asked him.

"Your goggles. You see, the culprit doesn't care about being caught in the end, they only cared about the thrill. And what is more thrilling, more dangerous, than carrying the most damning piece of evidence with them to the trial?

"You cannot carry something like that on your clothing, people would hear it. But the solid coloring of your goggles' lens, the face that you wear them on that head of dark purple hair, and you keep them strapped tight to your noggin to prevent rattling around…

"So why don't you prove me wrong and just lift up your goggles?"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"You know, all my life, I've been scared of clowns," Aka said as she uncrossed her arms and sighed. "I know it is an unrealistic phobia, but I feared that one of them would be the death of me.

"How fitting that it would be you to find this out, _Satsuki_. And to think, you gave me the idea that started all of this."

Aka grinned, and lifted her hand up to her goggles. Lifting them up, something metallic fell from her purple hair and clattered on the floor. It was the familiar sound of a keyring hitting the floor.

"… What?" Hikari and Pyrrha exclaimed in horror.

"What?!" cried out Hara and Saiko.

"Oh my God," Isaac muttered in shock.

"THERE'S YOUR ANSWER!" Odelios declared triumphantly.

* * *

There was a lengthy pause in the trial room, until the skier let out a laugh and turned towards the youngest member of their group.

"Hey, Drake? Lil' cinnamon roll?" Aka said, still beaming with pride. "You want to do that summation that you normally do? It's okay to guess the parts you don't know, I'll let you know what you got wrong later."

"O… okay," Drake stammered. "It's time for the truth to come to light, and… I honestly wish it hadn't come to this."

"Sorry, but I don't feel the same. This is so damn exciting!"

* * *

 ** _CLOSING ARGUMENT_**

* * *

Our marriage motive and a great deal of the rules didn't apply to our murder here, as our culprit wasn't interested in taking part in any of it. They wanted to hunt down the most dangerous person amongst our group, and so last night, they went after him.

…

Yejoon Nahm, our victim, had been given a gift by Monokuma and the Kubs that allowed him access to the eastern side of the plaza. Two nights ago, he left the locked room in the hair salon open, which caused Crystal Wilson to be stuck in the room for all of yesterday.

…

Our culprit, a member of the eastern side, gathered a taser, a pink-handled carving knife, and rainwear to prepare to kill Yejoon. Monokid was there to stop them, but our culprit knew how to trick him after witnessing an attempt from Odelios. Pretending to be a man and bragging about stereotypical manly things was enough to fool Monokid.

Upon entering the western side of the hotel, they moved up to the rooms and searched for Yejoon's, but upon finding it, they were startled to see Yejoon was gone. So our culprit entered my room, and stole Emanuel's keyring, and then told Monokid they were actually a woman. Now they had the ability to go outside of the hotel, like their target.

…

Taking a blue-handled carving knife from the kitchen, our killer ventured outside, and eventually found Yejoon. Attacking him turned out to be far easier, as the artist had become suicidal and was waiting for someone to kill him. Because of this, he informed our culprit that the baseball shack had baseball bats in it, the perfect method to beat him to death.

…

The… artistic way… since those baseball bats had been used to murder someone else before…

…

Stunning Yejoon with the taser, our culprit carried him to the home plate of the baseball field. Able to open the shack due to being a woman, the culprit took out the baseball bats and…

… And proceeded to beat Yejoon to death with them.

…

After violently murdering Yejoon, our culprit scattered the evidence around. They left the notebook on the field. They put Yejoon's knives and his sister's doll and the rainwear worn to catch the blood in a bin inside of the bowling alley. They also took the bowling pins and tried to make them look like they could have been the murder weapons, after cleaning off the bats of blood.

…

I don't know how much time the culprit had then, but there was also the case of the Hall of Fame vandalization. Smashing the portraits and spray painting them must have taken some time, because at this point, they realized it was time to retreat back to the hotel before morning woke everyone up. And there was one more thing they had to do…

…

Using the blue-handled carving knife, our culprit cut off Yejoon's hand, and moved over to the eastern side of the plaza. The hand could be used to open one locked door, and they chose to open the hair salon room, propping the door open so that Crystal could escape once she woke up in the morning.

…

After this, they headed back to the hotel, placing the bloody knife on the eastern side and the clean one on the western, just to make the case more confusing. It was time to go back to bed, but not to their own room.

Our culprit had spent the night with Hikari, and thus had to strip their belongings and lay them out on the floor, which included Emanuel's keyring. When morning came, they hid the keyring under their goggles, the only place it wouldn't rattle around and give away that they had them.

…

I don't know if I got everyone correct, I don't know why one of our friends would do this exactly. Though our culprit brutally murdered Yejoon Nahm, they also stood up for someone being wrongfully accused during this trial, and that's the case for…

 **Aka Fuyu, the Ultimate Skier!**

* * *

Aka clapped with an appreciative smile on her face. "You did such a good job! Granted, you did get one thing wrong, so I'll say that-"

" _Stop_ it," Hikari shrieked. The steampunk model was hunched over, gripping her podium. Tears were falling from her eyes, as she shouted with her eyes squinted shut, "How could you _do_ this? How… _why_?"

"I… I wish to know why too," Pyrrha said, holding her hands over her heart. "Please, I didn't think you were capable of this."

The skier looked at the two crestfallen ladies, and her enthusiasm dimmed. "I'm sorry, I guess I do owe you all an explanation."

"Your actions made everyone suspicious of my best friends," Saiko said, glaring hatefully at Aka. "People thought Hara was a murderer. There's no explanation that's good enough in my book!"

Aka glanced at Hara, who still appeared shaken and hurt. The skier sighed heavily, and muttered, "Okay, but we do have to finalize this trial."

* * *

" **Now hear this, now hear this,** " Monokuma declared. " **The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podium!**

" **You will see pictures of every graduate here in Penjar! Poke the one you believe to be the Deviant Tourist, and select the Confirm button!**

" **Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully wrong one? Let's find out!** "

* * *

Twenty-one fingers poked the touch screens on their podium, and the Confirm button was selected by all of them. Digital sounds echoed around the room, then the gigantic screen came down from the ceiling above Monokuma's throne.

The blackboard-like screen turned on, with the chalk drawings of their pixel art representations for each person. Taro's was still there, which some of them noted.

" **And the votes,** " Monokuma cheerfully announced, " **are in! Let's see what the results are, shall we everyone?** "

Tally marks drawn by an invisible chalk were made in front of one of the pixel drawings, like if someone was tapping a screen to add strokes to a blackboard app. They came relatively fast, as it was quite one-sided.

 **Aka Fuyu** \- 20 votes.

 **Blake Shokyaku** \- 1 vote.

" **And with that, let's see if you were correct!** " the despair bear host carried on.

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced by the digital roulette wheel. On each portion of the wheel was the pixel picture of the Penjar visitors, and the wheel was spinning with slot machine-styled sound effects.

The wheel spun around, highlighting the one at the top, until it started to slow down, and coming to a stop rather suddenly, it rested upon Aka's portrait.

The machine lit up with tons of lights, confetti spraying out the top. The bright neon sign showcasing "WINNER!" turned on overhead, and millions of Monocoins spilled out from the slot.

* * *

The trial room echoed excruciatingly with the erratic noise. When the screen turned off, and retracted back up into the ceiling, Monokuma jumped up and spun around merrily.

" **Hot-diggity-dog, what a confusing and convoluted case of rules and evidence, but in the end, you saw the light at the end of the tunnel! The Deviant Tourist who took the life of good, innocent, sweet, never-hurt-anybody Yejoon Nahm was indeed Aka Fuyu, the Ultimate Skier!** "

Aka knelt down and picked up Emanuel's keyring and tossed it over towards Drake. "Here you go, I should return this now. Gotta say, kid, you really made a friend with Monokid; scariest part of all of this was wondering if he'd blab on me."

"What are you talking about?" Drake asked. "He wasn't in my room last night, he said so."

The skier chuckled, glancing over at the green Kub. "Then I guess I'm not the only liar here in the trial room."

"…" Monodam pontificated.

"Aka, why?" Pyrrha shouted, leaning on her podium's railing. "Why did you do it?!"

"Wait a minute, everyone," Ishiku said, nervously holding up his hands. "Are we sure she's not armed in some way? That's been a continuous problem with our guilty parties!"

"Holy crap, I forgot about that," Odelios shouted. "What else is she carrying in her goggles?"  
Aka smirked, reached into her pockets…

…

…

…

…

…

…

… and pulled out absolutely nothing.

"I'm not going to hurt any of you guys," she said cheerfully. "I know I've been kind of harsh, but I actually like a lot of you; well, everyone except you, Blake. Fuck you, that's why I voted for you instead of myself. Hah!"

The skier giggled and dusted off her hands. "So, I guess I got a lot to explain. Where would you like me to start?"

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL HAS CONCLUDED! STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL RESULTS!**


	31. Chapter 4-7: Case 4 Trial, Conclusion

**Chapter 4-7**

 **Gold Medal of Information**

* * *

All eyes were on Aka, as the skier stood at her podium, proud and ready. She scanned the area, though her gaze faltered when Pyrrha or Hikari was within sight. "Okay, I told you up to ask me anything. You really should take me up on that, I don't know how generous Monokuma will be with my time."

"Then tell us why," Pyrrha muttered. She slammed her hand on her podium's railing, and looked up, tears in her eyes. "Why did you do it?!"

Aka flinched slightly, and glanced away from the writer's teary face. "Um, I'm sorry to tell you this, Red, but there isn't a really big reason. The truth is, I did it…

"I did it for the thrills, baby."

Silence set in the trial room again, the only noise being a heart-wrenching sob from Hikari. Hara was breathing hard, hands over her heart, Isaac trembling in outrage that he was barely containing. Saiko would be the one to say what they were thinking.

"WHAT?!" the investigator shouted. "Are you fucking kidding me? Are you for real?"

"Look, I know you're all wanting some big story and explanation, maybe I could give you one, but the honest truth is I did this because I wanted to do it. It was thrilling, it was exciting, and it was what I wanted to do.

"I'm a thrill-seeker, an adrenaline junkie, a tomboy who cannot get enough out of life-threatening excitement. That's how it has been my entire life! And this is no exception."

"You killed Yejoon fur the kicks?" Fiora asked. Her arms had slumped to her side, Yejoon's notebook in one of her hands. There were tears in her eyes as well. "You… murdered him fur nothing?"

"Fiora, I don't know why you're so upset over it," Aka said with a shrug. "He was a serial killer with about two hundred violent murders on his belt. He was your stalker. He-"

"He saved my life!" the movie maker shrieked. "He stopped me from committing murder, he… he cared… n-no… you're… you're right. No! No you're not… I… I joo'st doo'nt knoo'…"

"Fiora, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you got hurt by this," the skier said as she crossed her arms and sighed. "But it was for the best. He was way, way too dangerous to leave alive."

"I don't think we fully understand why you did this all of a sudden," Eisei said, removing the lollipop from his mouth to speak more clearly. "Maybe you could give us a bit more detail?"

"Look, I'm being honest when I say I did it for the thrills. I once told Hikari about my past, how I saved my parents when they were snowed in during an avalanche by skiing down to the cabin they were stuck in. That started my love for life-threatening sports…

"And I just needed _more_. More and more of that pulse-pumping action that made me feel alive! I got so damn good at it, that's how I got accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. Heh, I could have gone to the Olympics, but I'm just not organized enough…

"And the thrills are why I ski, thrills are what I wanted! Sex too, once I got into that, it was just as damn good! Sex and life-threatening thrills were my life for years, and what a life it was!"

The skier took off her goggles, ran a hand through her hair, and then held her eye cover in her hand as she let out an exhilarated sigh. "Then the Tragedy came. At first, it was like the greatest adrenaline rush I could ever ask for! Racing away from psycho-killers, not knowing who fell into despair, it seemed amazing…"

"What are you saying?" Drake interrupted, staring in fear and concern at Aka. "The Tragedy was horrible!"

"Do you know how many innocent people died?" Saiko shouted. "How many of us lost people important to us because of the Tragedy?"

"Crazy fucking psycho bitch," Blake muttered.

"Are you," Ken said as he narrowed his eyes, "a follower of Despair?!"

"I did say, 'at first,' people." Aka responded with a roll of her eyes. She put her goggles back on top of her head as she explained further, "The Tragedy was exciting at first. Then my parents died… and so many of my classmates from Hope's Peak died… and every girl who I ever slept with died, or became a murder-thirsty despair-ridden madwoman."

The skier pulled her goggles down over her eyes, as if to shield herself from what she was saying. "I found out some of them after they had killed innocent people, their family members… and children.

"When you look into the eyes of someone who cared about, and see nothing but a monster who murdered three innocent children just because she didn't want to be pressured into being a mother by her parents, so she was happy to do it to prove a point… I couldn't enjoy the Tragedy as a thrill-fest anymore.

"I would never become a follower of Despair. Never!"

Aka turned up her nose as she pulled her goggles off of her eyes. She glanced at the people watching her, and smiled. "So yeah, when the Tragedy was over, I tried to go back to the thrill-seeking that was skiing, and other extreme sports. I thought it would work, but the thrills were starting to die over the years.

"Then I got the message about Penjar, and I was so fucking stoked! Something to do, something I could do that was dangerous and exciting! And it sure has been!

"It's actually been a long time since I did something that made me feel alive again. Especially you, Hikari," she said as she turned towards the steampunk model, "I hadn't felt like trying to flirt with other women until I saw you."

Hikari's sob as she covered her eyes made Aka's smile disappear instantly. She glanced to the side, the train of thought she was on derailed with how distraught the model was. "I… I told you, at the beginning, I never meant to hurt you. I swear…"

"But why murder Yejoon?" Pyrrha asked, finding her strength to speak. "And… why… why'd you…"

"Pyrrha, let me try to explain this to you one step at a time. Do you remember when you were talking to Ignatia at the stables?"

* * *

 _Ignatia, who had been shocked to receive a hug like this, eventually nodded. When Pyrrha released her from that hug, the mime looked a little forlorn that it was over. She smiled appreciatively at the romance writer, then glanced over at Aka._

 _The skier_ _was staring down at the floor near the two girls_ _, when she noticed both of them were looking at her. "Hmm? Sorry, was I supposed to say something?"_

 _"_ _No, it's okay, Aka. Are you alright?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I'm not good at mushy stuff like, well, feelings and shit. I'm kind of a fast girl, you know?"_

* * *

"The dirt on the ground near the supposedly locked room at the stables was shifted. Someone had opened the locked door, and that could only mean one of the boys on the western side had been over on our side."

Aka clenched her fists in outrage, as she said, "I didn't say anything because I didn't want you all to panic, especially because I was worried of the same thing you all could think: it was someone dangerous like Yejoon.

"I didn't think he had that doll of his sister's insides with him, but I thought it was highly possible he still had something that belonged to her! Though it fucking figures that Monokuma would just _give_ him a way to come over to our side, isn't it? Anything for Despair, ya damn bear?"

" **Upupupupu! You know me too well, Aka!** " Monokuma declared. " **I mean, it's totally fair when you think about it.** "

"You're just lucky I don't have anything to kill you with like the others," the skier said with a scoff. "Anyway, that was when I realized I had to do something, and it was only made more and more clear with everything that happened yesterday.

"Odelios gave me the idea of how to pretend to be the opposite gender, Crystal got stuck in the room which looked to me like a trap, and none of the marriages were working out. Well, the ones I had seen, I kind of got distracted when Ignatia, who was a much cooler person than I originally realized, was trying to kill herself in that coma-like state.

"And then, well, you know about the other distractions I faced," Aka said, blushing slightly as she rubbed the back of her head, staring at Pyrrha. "I honestly felt compelled to act last night, because if I didn't, something could happen to one of you."

"You… did you use me?" Pyrrha asked, staring at her. "Was I just a last minute thrill to you?"

"Oh come on, you were more than that, you're my friend. You may be obsessed with romance and such, and I'm not a romantic, but I know someone who really needs to let their passion out. Sex is like that, we can do it to relieve tension, to have fun, to feel alive. This town, it drains you, it makes you feel lost, hopeless, and the stress is unbearable.

"Besides, this isn't my last thrill, Pyrrha. I don't plan on dying, but I want to make sure I tell you all everything I can before I go through that test."

"So last night, you snuck out," Shuuya said, "you gathered what you needed, and went over to the western side."

"Yejoon wasn't in his room, and I realized I was going to have to act fast. I hunted for Drake's room, because I thought he might have Emanuel's keyring, and sure enough I was right. Oh, and Monodam was there, he watched me like a hawk the entire time."

"WHAT!?" Monokid shouted. "That's blatant favoritism! That's fucking wrong! That's fucking disgusting!"

"Monodam, does youse have an explanation for your actions?" Monosuke declared.

"…" was the green Kub's response.

"He really needn't have bothered," Aka said with a smile towards Drake. "I could never hurt you. You're too sweet, and I had one target in mind."

"Why didn't you joo'st kill Blake?" Kimiko grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "You sure hate him."

"Yeah, I do, but he's not a clear and present threat, he's just an asshole that I hate," the skier replied.

"And fuck you too," Blake said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Aka flipped him off as she continued talking. "So yeah, I told Monokid I was actually a woman, and he totally had to let me outside. I snuck into the bowling alley, and there Yejoon was, playing video games…"

* * *

 _Aka crept into the building, trying to make sure her footsteps were light as possible. It seemed unnecessary, since the building still had music playing overhead, which drowned out any noise she was making._

 _She moved through the place, until she came across to the arcade. Yejoon, in his fine get-up, was standing at one of the arcade machines, Fighters of the Storm. He seemed so out of place with how he was dressed, considering the place and the activity._

 _There was no time to question why he was playing arcade games at night like this. She lunged forward, with her heart pounding so hard that she was sure it would give her away before anything else. He didn't move, not until the prongs of the taser stuck in his neck and zapped him._

 _Yejoon collapsed to the ground, twitching at first then rather still. Aka, panting furiously, pushed the taser against his neck again. He strained as his body locked up, but she couldn't see his face due to his mask. She tased him again, and again, and again…_

 _"_ _Errrgh… could you… not?" he asked after several of those terrible shocks made his body clench. "I don't… need it… like this."_

 _"_ _What?" Aka said, as she pulled out the carving knife from her pocket. She held it to the artist's throat, and said, "No wait, I don't care. I'm going to kill you…"_

 _"_ _Not like this," Yejoon requested. "There are… baseball bats in the shack out in the field. If you would be so kind… I would like to be taken out that way."_

 _Aka was stunned silent, and she pushed the blade up more against his neck. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"_

 _"_ _Those bats were used to murder someone during the Hope's Peak Killing Game. I wish for them to be used on me when I go. Consider it to be my dying wish."_

 _"_ _Are… are you fucking high?"_

 _Yejoon reached up with one hand, grabbed Aka's wrist (the one connected to the hand holding the taser), and pulled it towards him. She pulled the trigger on the taser, zapping him once more._

 _"_ _Nnnrrrrrrgh! Do it!"_

 _"_ _Fine! You fucking crazy…"_

 _"_ _You're going to need to take that doll of my sister," he said, motioning with his head towards the blood-soaked Jin doll. "Monokid won't like it if I travel outside without it."_

 _"_ _Ugh, whatever."_

* * *

"Yeah, that happened," Aka said with a roll of her eyes. "I grabbed one of his ankles, and dragged him outside, thumping his stupid body down steps, dragging him across dirt paths and the grass. Sure enough, there were bats in the shack, and I took some of them.

"The first thing I did was bash his kneecaps until they shattered, then I went for his elbows. No running, no throwing his knives, he was all mine!"

Aka punched her palm as she chuckled. "I actually have to admit, doing horrible things to someone like him, it makes me kind of giddy! Though he didn't scream in pain much, but hey, what are you going to do when you deal with someone that psychotic?"

"Please," Fiora begged, hanging her head in sorrow, "doo'nt… doo'nt tell me that."

"Sorry, Fiora, but this is where it got a little interesting, as well as personal."

* * *

 _Aka dug through Yejoon's clothing, pulling throwing knife after throwing knife out of his clothing. They were in a pile nearby, far out of his reach from his broken state. She then searched his pockets, and pulled out a notebook._

 _"_ _What have we here?" she asked as she flipped through the pages. "What language is this, Korean?"_

 _"_ _Hehe, that's a little secret," Yejoon said, shaking his head. Aka, fed up with his lunacy, grabbed his mask and yanked at it. The cord snapped and she threw it on the ground. The shattering noise of it being smashed by Aka's baseball bat made the artist visibly flinch._

 _"_ _Care to talk now?" she asked coolly._

 _"_ _I will admit, that sure did upset me, but it cannot be helped," he said, glaring at her as the moonlight made his whisker tattoos all the more obvious. "If you must know, that notebook is a message to Fiora."_

 _"_ _Ugh, your obsession with her is one of the biggest reasons I am doing this. It's not a fucking love letter, is it?"_

 _"_ _It's a detailed account of everything I found when searching this plaza on both sides. She'll be able to translate it, I ask you not to destroy it."_

 _"_ _Hmm, what the hell."_

 _Aka flung the notebook away, and it landed at the base of the pitcher's mound. She stared down at Yejoon, and said, "You know, I thought I would have more questions for you. But I look at you, someone who has murdered so many people, and all I feel is this…_ hatred _."_

 _"_ _She'll stop you. They all will stop you. They will figure it out."_

 _"_ _You fucking idiot, I know that. They're supposed to, but it's not a thrill if I don't make it hard for them to guess who did it."_

 _"_ _I suppose I should be upset about this, but considering why I took the path I did, it would be very hypocritical of me to be upset over dying for someone else's thrill."_

 _"_ _Yeah, you're boring me now, you fucking monster. It's time I finish this."_

 _Aka dragged the baseball bat against the ground, staring venomously at Yejoon. The artist noticed the bloodstain already there, and he shivered with delight for some reason. Yejoon spoke his last then and there._

 _"_ _Very well. Until we meet again, my dear little flower."_

 _Aka slammed the bat down on his head, and then hit him again… and again… and again… and again… and again, and again, and again and again…_

* * *

"After I broke every bone in his body, I took the rainwear I was wearing, that evil blood doll, and all his knives, and stuffed them in that trash bin," Aka said. "Then I did the shit with the bowling pins, the bats, and I was done there.

"I used the blue-handled carving knife to cut off one of his hands. It… wasn't pleasant, I don't take delight in such grossness. But I had to do it, because I figured Crystal would be stuck in that room until she died, and I couldn't let that happen. So I hurried across the field, opened the locked door to that lab, and propped the door open as quietly as possible.

"Thank fuck I didn't wake you up, I very much doubt you'd heed a request from me to keep quiet so I could have my own trial," Aka said with a laugh.

"Um, thank you, I guess," Crystal said. "I guess I do owe it to you that I made it out of there alive."

"No problem, girl. Anyway, I put the knives back on opposite sides for more confusion, put the taser back in the gift room, and hurried on back to Hikari's room. The truth is, I kind of left it in my pocket, and when I woke up this morning and found my room locked due to the murder, I had to carry it with me!"

"Carrying around a large keyring," Yitro remarked. "You really did this simply for the thrill of it, you could have been caught at any time."

"Yeah, that was the point! I never planned to have you all executed for my sake."

"You," Saiko snarled in an outrage that she couldn't contain any longer, "you fucking _bitch_! You selfish, evil, sex-crazed bitch!"

"Jeez, tone it down, Saiko," Aka snapped at her. "I know we don't like each other, but is that really necessary?"

"After what you did? After all you've done? You deserve far worse than just name-calling!"

"I know you hate me, but what exactly did I do that was so wrong, huh? I had consensual sex with willing partners, I took out a _serial killer_ , and I saved Crystal from dying in that room."

"You had everyone thinking Isaac and Hara did it! You were perfectly fine with the sweetest woman I know being stared at like a monster, as Isaac was trying desperately to defend her, and himself!"

Aka sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, I mean, I do admit I kind of let that stretch out a bit, but I was curious if they did have a hand in this. I also thought Fiora might have been part of it, but the moment I shifted the blame to her, Isaac and Hara jumped to defend her…

"I kind of knew then and there that those two were innocent. That's why I defended them next, if you recall?"

Saiko shook her head, glancing over at Isaac and Hara. Hara was still unnerved, but appeared to have pulled herself together as she took deep, soothing breaths. Isaac pulled down on his beanie to shield his eyes, as he spoke with a calm fury.

"You thought we had some part in this?" he spoke. "What could we have done? You did all of it!"

"Isaac, I am truly sorry I put you and Hara through that stress. I was suspicious of you two, but I realize I was wrong about that now; however, I didn't do everything that happened last night.

"I wasn't the one who vandalized the Hall of Fame," Aka said, her tone and face dead serious now. "I had absolutely nothing to do that, and it unnerves me that it happened the same night I was out there with my own mission."

The trial room became silent, and then Souma spoke up. "But didn't we talk about that during the trial?"

"Yeah, the words of Chaos had the first letters that spell out KUMA," Anzu remarked. "And they seem to know a lot about us here."

"I wonder about that," Aka remarked. "The Entity of Chaos is still here, and I'd recommend not lowering your guard until we figure out who that is. That's why I drew out the trial as long as I could, to see if we could find out anything."

"I still think it is rubbish," Ken remarked. "I have no idea what 'scarlet' would be referring to."

Isaac shook his head, remembering the cruel words of 'serial killer bait' being under his portrait. Ignatia shivered as she recalled the word for her was 'tattletale.' 'Fraud' came back to haunt Anzu, and she nervously tugged at one of her blue bangs.

"Well, you still made things difficult for us," Saiko declared as she pointed at Aka angrily. "If you hadn't gone and killed Yejoon, we could have found out what was in those locked rooms!"

"We'll never know what were in the bowling alley locked rooms now," Ishiku said ruefully.

"Haw haw haw!" Monokid laughed. "You stupid fucks, you didn't do the motive right!"

"Sorry, everyone," Monophanie muttered.

"IT-IS-A-SHAME-YOU-DIDN'T-GET-ALONG," Monokid said.

"Upupupupu, youse really should have looked in those rooms when youse had the chance," Monosuke said as he corrected his glasses. He then started fanning himself with money, and remarked, "I mean, youse could've easily done it after youse killed the mook!"

"Yeah, now I do feel a little stupid," Aka said. "You Kubs really outsmarted me. What were in those rooms, anyway?"

"Oh one of them was full of janitor and car supplies in the hopes that the deadly chemicals could be used as poison," Monosuke said earnestly, "and the other contained an arcade version of _Crypt of the Necrodancer_ , something we were extremely proud of because it gave youse all a little hint about…

"…" Monosuke paused, and then 'sweat' started to run down his forehead. He screamed, "Waaaaaah! I told youse all the things I wasn't supposed to tell youse all!"

"Way to go, bonehead," Monokid shouted.

"Monosuke, the reason we have secret rooms," Monophanie chastised him, "is because we don't tell them what is _in_ the secret rooms! You dummy!"

" **Man, the jock outsmarted you,** " Monokuma said as he hung his head in shame.

"WE'RE-NOT-MAD," Monodam assured his orange brother, "WE'RE-JUST-DISAPPOINTED."

Aka giggled and turned to the others. "There you go, seems like it wasn't a waste. Really, the only things that were of worth were that lab and the other Hall of Fame."

"But what about the clothing shop?" Saiko asked. "We never learned what was in there."

"Meh, probably clothing," the skier said. "Look, I told you all this before we headed to that damn plaza, we all know that Monokuma and the Kubs aren't going to give us the answers until they feel like it. We weren't going to find out anything on that side, they just wanted a murder. So I gave it to them, and I saved the world from an awful person.

"Again, Hara and Isaac, I'm really sorry I put you through that stress, it wasn't my doing. Fiora, sorry, even if I don't understand why you suddenly care. The rest of you, most of you are good people, so don't let the shit of this town get you down.

"So yeah, that's all I really got, though there are a few people I'd like to say good-bye to before I take on the biggest challenge I will yet."

"But, but Aka," Drake stammered, "you could most likely die during this!"

"I could have died every time I hit the slopes, lil' cinnamon roll. Don't worry about me, I know I'm gonna make it. Now, let me say good-bye."

Aka walked over to Pyrrha, who couldn't look the skier in her eyes. "Look, I cannot tell if you hate me right now," Aka admitted, "but I wanted to say, I never tried to use you. I did what I wanted to with you, and that was because I felt you wanted to too."

Pyrrha finally managed to look into Aka's eyes. "What about the kitchen? That wasn't to just get me to find that knife?"

"Someone needed to find it who wasn't me, the original plan was to wait for someone to search the kitchen, but no one was doing that. So I thought about asking you, and, well, the idea of doing it like that was just too exciting to pass up.

"You said yes, Pyrrha, so I knew it was thrilling to you too. Listen, I'm no romantic, so you're definitely going to find someone better than me in your future. Don't let this get you down, you're way too strong of a woman for that. Just take care of yourself, whatever happens to you."

She leaned in and smooched Pyrrha's cheek, then pat her tush before moving on. Aka stopped in front of Odelios, and shivered as he looked at her.

"Oh holy fuck, you still unnerve me every time you stare at me," she said. Odelios crossed his eyes, and Aka pursed her lips. "That doesn't help."

"Gonna punch me out for exposing it all?"

"No, of course not. Just… well played, clown. You watch over everyone here, 'kay?"

Odelios gave her a salute. She walked away, shivering one last time, before approaching Hikari. The steampunk model was staring down at the floor, and had her arms crossed tight, as if to protect herself.

"Hey there, Hikari-hon," Aka said gently. "You might not believe it, but I never meant to hurt you."

"You sure you're not just saying that," she bitterly mumbled, "to get something out of me? Wanna just bang me one more time, that your goal?"

"Okay, yeah, I deserve that," Aka said, scratching the back of her head. "I don't really deserve someone like you, even as a friend, because I'm way too simple. You're… you're just so much better than how I treated you.

"I don't plan on dying today, but I want you to know that ever since I stepped in this town, you've been the reason I stayed. And even when I get through whatever the bear is going to throw at me, I know you won't want any part of me. You just keep strong, okay?"

Aka reached up and pulled her goggles from her head. She motioned to hand them over to Hikari, who glanced at them then up at the skier incredulously. "They're… my most prized possession," Aka said. "I never had much desire for materialistic things, but I treasure my goggles. Since you're a steampunk model, I figure you could make them into something really cool.

"Or smash 'em with a hammer, however you feel about me. I won't blame you either way, just-"

" **Okay, that's enough sappy sweet talk!** " Monokuma shouted. " **If no one is going to try to kill me or everyone else in this room, then I say it's high-time we put this bitch on ice!** "

"Hell yeah," Monokid shouted. "I'll show these crossdressing treacherous how traitors are punished!"

The blue Kub reached behind him, and pulled out (from somewhere) a thick winter coat in the same color as his metal body. The fur lining was white on one side, black on the other, and he put it on within seconds. "I got a rock-hard rager that this death's gonna be major!"

"You don't intimidate me, you damn bears!" Aka turned around slightly to shout over her shoulder, then went back to Hikari. "Come on, sexy, please take them. Don't make me beg."

"Oh no, oh no no no," Monophanie whimpered as she put on a winter coat exactly like Monokid's, except hers was bright pink. She pulled the hood over her head, as she added, "Last time was so horrible, I don't know if I can handle this!"

"Pops is getting us ready, youse mooks," Monosuke said as he lifted up his tangerine-colored winter coat. "Let's get ready for one helluva death!"

"THAT-IS-NOT-ENCOURAGING," Monodam announced, his green coat dangling from one paw. "YOU-SHOULD-BE-MORE-POSITIVE-"

Monokid let out an angry shout, and declared, "Shut up, Monosuke, you gave away secrets and blew everything! And shut up, Monodam, you just… you just can shut up!"

The blue Kub grabbed Monodam's arm and threw him at Monosuke, bowling down the two and knocking them into Monophanie, a mess of coats and Kubs.

" **I've prepared a VERY special punishment for Aka Fuyu, the Ultimate Skier,** " Monokuma announced, pumping his fist-paw in the air.

"HIKARI!" Aka desperately shouted, shoving the goggles in the model's hands. "Please, why aren't you-"

Hikari grabbed the goggles and swiftly put them on Aka's head. She cupped the tomboy's face and said, "What if he puts you through a challenge that those would be useful for? Don't you dare…"

She leaned in and kissed Aka good, and then whispered, "Don't you give up, Aka! You show that evil bear with all that fire in your spirit and heart! Do you hear me?"

"Y-yeah," Aka said, grinning now. "I got y-"

One of the metal clamps from before shot forth from the wall, and wrapped around Aka's torso. The skier grabbed at it with both hands, and strained against its strength, the clenching terribly uncomfortable.

" **Let's give it everything we've got!** " Monokuma bellowed…

" **IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!** "

The cable that was attached to the clamp raised up towards the ceiling, and Aka was yanked upwards, letting out a startled shout. Hikari reached out to her, but the skier was out of range within seconds. Aka gave a thumbs-up down to her, before grabbing onto the clamp around her stomach, and holding onto her goggles, for dear life. A trapdoor in the ceiling opened up, and she was gone from sight.

* * *

Monokuma drummed his claws together, before he pulled a primitive gavel from out of nowhere. A screen with a rusty bell atop of it popped up in front of him. He leapt up and swung horizontally, clanging the bell with that old-school sound. The moment he struck the bell, the screen lit up.

An 8-bit ghost town showed up on the screen, with black bars at the top and bottom. Aka's pixel art version was standing in the center, as a pixel version of Monokuma came walking up.

 **AKA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

Aka was hoisted above Monokuma, and started walking off with the fretting pixel-art athlete. The four Monokubs followed behind him, celebratory animations from them.

 **TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

Inside of the trial room, five large screens came down from the ceiling, so that everyone from any point in the circle could see what was being broadcasted on the screens.

* * *

A helicopter was hovering over Penjar, above the thick clouds that were covering the sky for the small town. There was a cable dangling from it, recoiling back up into the copter. Aka was at the bottom of the cable, the clamp around her stomach the only thing keeping her from plummeting to her death.

When she was right under the helicopter, the pilot Monokuma flew forward. Aka was whipped around underneath, frigid with cold, struggling to hold on, staring down as every second felt like she was going to fall and die.

The helicopter flew towards a nearby mountain, high up near the peak. There was a wooden platform, the kind that skiers would use to start off the slope, as well as a large billboard. It read:

 _Ultimate Skier_

 _Aka Fuyu's_

 _Execution: Commenced_

 **Slide Drive Nose-Dive Stay Alive!**

Aka was hovered over the platform for a few seconds, then dropped on her chest. She struggled to get up, and saw Monokuma, wearing a white 'n black winter jacket with the hood up. He had his arms crossed, and said, " **This is very simple, Aka. All you need to do is put on the skis, get the ski poles, and make your way down the mountain. Cross the finish line down there, and you will be spared!** "

The skier stared at him, and then nodded. She looked around the area for the ski equipment, but didn't see it. It was then that the Monokubs, all wearing winter coats now, popped out from behind the billboard and waddled over to her.

Monophanie had the skis, Monodam had the poles. Monosuke was chuckling deviously, twirling a starting pistol in his paw. Monokid was holding onto his sniper rifle again, and he was pointing ominously at her.

Something was off about the Kubs, but she had no time to focus on that. As she put on the skis, the four Kubs all stepped onto snowboards. Aka stared at them, then heard Monokuma laugh.

" **Oh, and if they get down there first,** " the papa bear of Despair added, " **you might get a sniper round to the head!** "

"HELL YEAH!" Monokid shouted.

"Hmmph, snowboarders," Aka said as she adjusted her goggles, silently blessing Hikari for giving them back to her. She stood up, poles in hand, as she observed the mountain slope.

It was… insanely perilous, even for someone like her. The angle that the mountain was at, the amount of trees, the rocks that bulged out like brick walls for a skier, it was clear that this would never, ever be approved.

Aka swallowed nervously, and asked, "Okay, ya damn bear! Oh, and are their any rules about what I can do to the Kubs?"

" **You cannot hurt them, you big dumb dummy!** "

"Oh yeah. What about you?"

" **Huh? Well there's still no rules-** "

Aka speared him in the face with one of her ski poles, and then flicked him over the side. Monokuma went screaming and bouncing down the mountainside, and she grinned most impishly before turning to Monosuke.

"Wanna start us off, tropical drink bear?"

"Youse is so dead, youse cocky twat."

 ** _BANG!_**

Aka pushed off from the platform, and headed down right away. The four Kubs all bounced off of the platform, snow kicking up as they hit the powder. Aka raced forward, undaunted by the danger.

Her clothing was not practical for actual skiing. Her gloveless hands were freezing, and the cold burned at her, but she refused to let go. Sliding to avoid tree after tree, she could feel her heart racing. This was _exciting_!

Monodam slid down the mountain, reaching a rock formation that was like a ramp. He flew off of it, and landed on the slope, kicking up so much snow that some of it impacted Aka. She shook it off, and, seeing him in the lead, aimed for a similar rock ramp.

Flying through the air, she hit the ground a little off, but nothing would stop her now! She was ahead of Monodam, then Monophanie tried a similar tactic. Aka dodged and weaved through trees before coming up to one of those ramps, and leaned into it, giving her extra speed.

Aka laughed as she took the lead again. This was cut off by an explosion further down the mountain, sending snow and dirt into the air and some into her face! One rock clipped her goggles, leaving a small crack on the lens, but she was unaffected for the most part.

"Youse didn't think we would make this easy for youse, did youse?" Monosuke shouted as he raced forward. Another explosion burst from the ground in front of Aka's path, making her need to veer and fast.

Monosuke took the lead, as the other Kubs were also catching up. Explosions started to rock the mountain, one of them hitting Monophanie from underneath her snowboard. She was sent sprawling through the air, spinning around and shrieking the whole way.

Aka hit ramp after ramp, each one increasing the strain on her legs; these would never be sanctioned officially, they were too dangerous to break a leg or both on. Still, she hit them all flawlessly, and managed to catch up to Monodam and Monokid. Monosuke had the lead, and Aka eventually sped past him.

Blood was oozing from cuts and scrapes the explosion debris had given her, but Aka was unfazed as she held the lead. It was then that she realized that the mountain slope was clear, with only a scarce tree or rock in the way, the trees on both sides of this perfectly maintained slope forming into a one-way road of sorts.

Aka peered down the slope, and it seemed like the finish line was a good distance away, but within sight. She clenched her teeth as she leaned forward to speed up…

The sound of wood breaking, incredible trees being snapped, came from the right side of the wooded area. Aka looked to see a gray monstrosity, the size of a double-decker bus, come _smashing_ through the trees, breaking them in the process.

The hulking monster was covered in mangy, gray-white fur. It had a body like a gorilla and a mouth like a great white shark. Horns protruded from its head, and it had red eyes that bore down on Aka.

"What the hell is that?!" she shrieked.

"Haw haw haw, Dad didn't just make that kitty when he experimented with animal bio-weapons!" Monokid shouted from nearby her. "He also made the yeti!"

"IT-IS-LIKE-THAT-VERY-VERY-OLD-SCHOOL-COMPUTER-GAME," Monodam tried to explain as he maintained his balance on his snowboard. "BE-CAREFUL. ALL-IT-KNOWS-IS-TO-KILL."

"Youse in big trouble now, girl!" Monosuke announced. "Youse is gonna get all kinds of messed up, and-WHOA!"

The yeti charged down the slope towards Aka, its thunderous footfalls and hand slams into the snow sending small tremors on the mountain. The Monokubs were all sent sprawling, knocked backwards and tumbling down the mountainside. The vicious yeti barreled towards Aka…

The purple-topped skier snarled in determination, and hit another ramp. She raced through the air, as the yeti reached out with a hand that featured nasty looking claws. It missed by a few feet, but she could feel the wind from the powerful swing it had.

Aka hit the snow again, sliding as fast as she could. The yeti leapt off of the ramp and hit the ground, knocking her off-balance for a few precious seconds. It started to catch up with her during this time, and she hit another ramp to gain speed. The vicious monster leapt again, but she veered to avoid the effects of it landing.

Her heart was jackhammering in her chest, the excitement so intense that she thought her essential muscle would explode. Aka leapt from ramp after ramp, the yeti trying to grab her each time. She kept a lead, but only just barely.

The finish line was now close, and she would reach it in a couple minutes, maybe one if she had just a bit more speed. Her hands were burning in pain, her legs strained to the point of feeling like lead.

Aka saw one last ramp, and headed for it. The yeti was catching up again, the sprinting making the slope tremble with each impact. The skier made it to that last ramp and took off…

She didn't even notice that there was an explosion from the ramp when she first made airtime. It came a second later when the force of the blast slammed into her, and pain coursed through her body. Aka was hurtled to the ground, rolling on the snow as her limbs all betrayed her and refused to work to try and stop the agonizing crash.

She came to a sliding halt a few feet from the finish line. Aka lifted her head, but couldn't see because of the ice and blood on her goggles' lens. She tried to stand, but her legs refused to work. It was something a veteran athlete like her recognized, that both of them were broken. One of her arms was too, it was too difficult to move without searing pain.

Aka pulled her goggles up and off, dropping them to the side as she pulled herself with her one good arm towards the finish line. She could hear the thunderous footfalls of the yeti coming towards her, the ground shaking. Panting, straining, she pulled her ravaged body towards that finish line.

The yeti was right behind her, and she slapped her hand on the finish line. The agony from her injuries caused her vision to white out for a moment, and she let out a weak but triumphant laugh.

"Now that… was thrilling," she said as she lost consciousness.

…

…

…

…

…

…

Aka's hand on the finish line was yanked away, as the yeti pulled her back with its horrendous teeth in her leg. It lifted the unconscious skier up, grabbing her with its clawed hands, and opened its mouth once more.

There was a terrible crunch, as well as the gut-churning noises of a human body being ripped apart. The yeti sank its fangs deep into Aka's body, and bit down with inhumane strength.

Blood covered the snow. Aka's legs dropped to the ground, both severed from her body. Her shoulders, one of her arms, and her head fell on the other side. Her eyes would never open again.

The yeti chewed on Aka's torso, and then swallowed it down. It let out a satisfied grunt, and started to pick at Aka's legs, seeing if there was good enough meat on them.

Monokid slid to a stop a few yards from the yeti, not wanting to dare get near it. Snow then sprayed on his face, and he wiped it away to see his brother in the green winter coat had stopped in front of him. Monokid glared at him, then a malevolent red light shone in his eyes as he thought about his utter hatred for Monodam.

Slamming the butt of his rifle against the back of the green hood, Monokid sent his sibling sprawling down the rest of the mountain slope. The blue Kub watched as his sibling bumped against Aka's legs, and right in front of the yeti.

The yeti took one look at the small creature that had intruded on its meal, and lifted one of its feet. There wasn't even time for a scream, as the yeti stomped down with enough strength to shake the snow from the trees.

There was a splattering of metal, blood-like oil, and gears. The yeti had obliterated the Kub in front of Monokid's eyes. The red light shone even more, and he laughed victoriously.

Monokuma's dead body bounced down the rest of the slope, as if on cue. Monokid watched his dead dad go, and then he took aim with his sniper rifle, the yeti's head in his crosshairs. "I got this, Dad, don't worry."

 **BLAM!**

* * *

The TV screens in the trial room blinked off, and retracted back into the ceiling. Monokuma, wearing a winter coat like the one on the mountaintop had, appeared back on his throne.

" **And she tried to stick the landing, but it's NOOOOO GOOOOOD! AHAHAHAHA!** " Monokuma cheered as he ripped off the winter coat and threw it away. " **Guess that's why she never joined the Olympics! What a shame, but what a show, am I right? AM! I! RIGHT! UPUPUPUPU!** "

The graduates were too shocked to speak, it had been so violent, so awful, that they couldn't find words. The first sound from them was a painful sounding thud, and Pyrrha cried out in alarm.

"Hikari! Oh my God," the writer exclaimed as she hurried over to the collapsed model. "She… she fainted. Oh the poor dear, someone please help me."

Several people went to check on Hikari's state, as everything that had just happened full dawned on them. Yitro slammed his fist on the podium, and then pointed accusingly at Monokuma. "You lying sack of shit, you _lying_ bastard!"

" **Hey hey hey, whoa whoa whoa,** " Monokuma protested. " **What's with the harsh words, partner?** "

"You lied to her! You told Aka up on the mountaintop that if she crossed the finish line, you'd let her live!"

" **Yeah, I didn't lie. She's dead because she didn't do it.** "

"She put her hand on the finish line! We all saw it!"

" **That's not crossing it.** "

Yitro shook in outrage, as Ken glared daggers up at the bear. "It figures, you are a charlatan and a scoundrel in every regard."

" **I do what I can!** "

"M-Monodam…"

Drake sobbed as he covered his eyes, Ignatia trying to comfort him. The cartoonist cried, trying and failing to keep his emotions in check. "Aka and Monodam… it's… it's not right! It's not fair!"

As if on cue, Monokid popped back up on the Monokub stand. His winter coat was covered in snow, and he tore the blue garb from himself, then clutched his rifle in both hands. "Haw haw haw! Hey Dad, did you see me take care of that fucking yeti!? Another failed experiment used to its full potential, and then bagged like a prize lion!"

"How did you get down here so fast?" Ishiku asked, then shook his head and muttered, "You know what, never mind. I don't care, you murdering bastard."

"Upupupu, awww, what's the deal?" Monokid asked, setting his rifle on his shoulder. "So Monodam met with an untimely death because of an unfortunately timed nudge. We didn't need him."

" **That may be true, my beloved widdle Monokid,** " Monokuma said, " **and you look so darling with that sniper rifle, yes you do! Oh yes you do! However, I think it is best that we take that away from you for now, I cannot have you get mad with power.** "

"ALLOW-ME-TO-DO-THAT, FATHER."

Monokid turned to see Monodam yank the sniper rifle out of his paws. The green Kub lifted the rifle up, and slammed it down on the ground, breaking it into several pieces from the incredible force. He tossed the ruined barrel aside, dusted off his paws, and turned towards Monokid.

"WHAT?!" the blue Kub roared incredulously, waving his paws in the air as 'sweat' ran down his forehead. "You're alive?! How the fuck are you alive?! Why… how… hey…

"Why the fuck are you wearing Monosuke's coat?!"

Monodam was indeed wearing the bright orange coat that matched Monosuke's color scheme. The green Kub took it off, and examined it.

"OH. THERE-MUST-HAVE-BEEN-A-MIX-UP-WHEN-YOU-KNOCKED-US-OFF-THE-PODIUM. I-MUST-HAVE-GOTTEN-HIS, AND-HE-GOT-MINE. WE-WERE-IN-SUCH-A-RUSH, WE-COULDN'T-HAVE-NOTICED-DURING-THAT-SNOW-RACE."

"B-b-b-b-bullshit," Monokid shouted. "I killed you! But wait, if you're here, then…

"MONOSUKE, NOOOO!"

Monophanie came waddling in, holding the destroyed head of Monosuke. The pink Kub was still wearing her pink winter coat. The orange noggin had been split open, and as the snow melted off of it, the blood-like oil and bits of machinery falling from it was a grisly sight.

"He's… he's dead," Monophanie sobbed. "He's dead and never ever coming back! Monosuke… why? Just like Taro… just like…"

Monophanie wailed as she dropped the head and ran off, crying the whole way. Monodam stared at Monokid for a few more seconds, then walked off. The blue Kub shrugged and muttered, "Eh, whatcha gonna do?"

Drake, who had watched the whole thing in shock, realized that Monodam was walking back into the trial room, holding something in his paws. The cartoonist raced over to hug the green Kub, he whispered, "I'm so glad you're not dead."

"I-AM-BUT-A-MACHINE, DRAKE," Monodam said. "I-CANNOT-DIE. HOWEVER." He then held up the item that he had carried back into the trial room: it was Aka's goggles. There was still blood on them, the cracks caused by the explosion's debris making them unusable.

"I-BELIEVE-THAT-SHE-WANTED-TO-GIVE-THESE-TO-HER-FRIEND," the green Kub said as Drake took them. "PLEASE-GIVE-THEM-TO-HER-WHEN-SHE-REGAINS-CONSCIOUSNESS."

"Monodam… why?" was all Drake could ask.

"I… I-DO-NOT-KNOW. I-AM-SORRY. IF-YOU-ALL-NEED-SOMETHING-TO-EAT-AND-DRINK, HEAD-ON-OVER-TO-MY-TAVERN-WHEN-YOU-MAKE-IT-BACK-UP-TO-THE-TOWN."

" **Yes, about that,** " Monokuma announced, " **the northern plaza is now off-limits to tourists. Any tourist who tries to enter any of the buildings in the northern plaza will be severely punished.**

" **You all may return to your original rooms, and explore the rest of the town. Don't worry, we'll give you more to do very soon!** "

"Why are you doing this?" Anzu asked, staring up at the bear. "What is the point?"

" **Huh?!** "

"You brought us all here, you get us to kill each other, and you tell people that they can be spared… but it doesn't happen. What do you _want_?!"

Anzu stomped her foot as her crimson eyes flared up. She glared hatefully at Monokuma, who stared back at her.

" **That's the problem with despair, my lady,** " Monokuma said with a snicker. " **Sometimes, when things would go to plan, you just gotta let them go to pot because it causes such sweet misery.**

" **I think you will understand that very soon. You all will… because if you don't embrace our town's ways, you're going to be very, very miserable with no way of countering that.**

" **You still got the rest of the day, tourists of Penjar. I suggest you enjoy it while you can. Upupupupu… AHAHAHAHAAAAA!** "

Monokuma bounced once, and then was suddenly out of sight. The room echoed with his shrill laughter for several seconds after he was gone. The gradates exchanged concerned glances, before Shuuya spoke up.

"I believe what we need to do now," the bounty hunter said, "is we get everyone together in the tavern, and we are going to have a very long talk."

"That is long overdue," Futaba agreed, crossing her arms. "We have a lot of questions, and some of you haven't been good with the answers. If we're going to survive this town, you _all_ need to talk.

"Especially you," she said as she pointed at Souma.

"Excuse me?" the public speaker asked, staring at her. "What have I done?"

"The Future Foundation has answers that we need, information that we desperately need. You're not leaving the tavern until we get the answers we want, Souma."

"Until we get all the answers we want," Shuuya said, scanning the room at all of the startled graduates. "Fiora, we need you to finish translating that notebook, even the late Yejoon might be of use to us."

"Y-yes, sir," she responded nervously.

"What about Hikari?" Pyrrha asked, glancing at the collapsed model. "Please, seeing that happen to Aka was too much for her."

"I'll carry her," Kimiko volunteered. "It's okay, I got her."

The biker gal lifted up the unconscious model, careful to support her head. Pyrrha moved over to pick up Hikari's parasol and hat, following after them.

Everyone started to move towards the elevator, though Shuuya saw that not everyone was there. He turned to see Isaac holding Hara, the explorer shivering and sobbing into his shoulder. Saiko stood near them, watching with great concern.

Eisei walked over to Shuuya, and said quietly, "I'll stay here until they're ready to go. You go make sure that everyone goes to the tavern."

The bounty hunter reached up and touched his facial scar where the metal wire had struck him last trial. Somehow, it had hurt less than how this trial ended.

* * *

 **Day 13, 3:32 PM**

 **Western Tavern Bar 'n Grill**

Eventually, every one of the twenty remaining members was in the tavern. Hikari had woken up, but she was dead silent as she sipped at her drink; Pyrrha watched her with concern, but too nervous to approach.

Everyone was seated, some of them alone, some with those they trusted. Ishiku and Anzu held hands as they tried to think of what to say, as Odelios watched them to try and gauge this odd relationship.

Drake and Ignatia sat together, as the cartoonist drew a sketch of Aka. The skier was posed with confidence, a nice little tribute to her.

Isaac, Hara, and Saiko sat together, quiet and exhausted. They had wanted to speak, but they couldn't find words after that ordeal. It wasn't until Shuuya approached with some drinks in his hands, setting them down in front of all of them.

"I…," the bounty hunter said, scratching the back of his head as he tried to find the words. "I'm sorry. I am not good at apologies, but I feel like I need to say something here."

"You were practically leading the charge against them," Saiko angrily said, glaring up at him.

"You have to understand, I never wanted to believe Hara and Isaac are guilty of anything. My hatred for Yejoon and other killers might have been me projecting, in that I believed if there was an opportunity, I would have taken it."

"It's just odd to me," the investigator continued, "how the trained assassin can be so judgmental. After all we've been through here, you-"

"Saiko," Hara spoke up, as the explorer took a deep breath and looked up at Shuuya. "I… I can speak for myself. Yes, it hurt, but I do understand."

"You do?" Saiko declared incredulously.

"It was an unfortunate set-up that made us look guilty. And I shouldn't be so emotional, people were trying to find out who could have done it. Fiora's been through this enough times, I should be able to take it once."

"You're too kind, my dear Hara," Isaac said, taking her hand in his and squeezing affectionately. He sipped from the drink Shuuya had given him, then looked at the bounty hunter. "Are we all going to talk now, about everything that's happened?"

Shuuya nodded. "I think now would be best."

The assassin walked towards the open space in front of all of the tables, and clapped his hands. "Attention, everyone! It's time we stop hiding information, we need to talk about what we've seen, what we know, and most importantly, what we don't know."

Shuuya stared down Souma, and the Future Foundation member flinched. "You do realize that what I know," he replied, "is highly confidential. I could be tried for treason for divulging what I know to you all."

"No, you should tell us," Yitro barked out, slamming his fist on the table. "We are risking our lives out here, people are dying, and, as much as I hate to say it, Aka was right about one thing. This Killing Game isn't going to give us the answers, we need to know more to stop it!"

"But still," Souma tried to argue, "I don't know wish for this information to get out. It could much more damaging than useful."

"As damaging as it would be if I revealed to the world the truth about Kyosuke Munakata?" Isaac asked.

Souma whirled around to the reporter, his eyes wide. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"I respect the Future Foundation, the efforts you all have made into making the world safe again; however, I do know that there are secrets and dark sides to it. I found out from various sources that Kyosuke committed several cold-blooded murders, that he ordered for the execution of all of the Hope's Peak Academy survivors, how he blamed loved ones for 'letting' those they cared about fall to Despair…

"And that he escaped custody and is out there, somewhere, a loose cannon who truly does not care who he butchers to win against despair."

Souma went pale, then sighed and stood up. All eyes were on him as he took center stage in front of the group. "Isaac, if that gets out, you know what will happen. Legions of people will assume the worst, all of the Future Foundation could be arrested or worse. The world is still recovering, and millions want someone to blame for the Tragedy.

"Just one issue, one minor thread to pull from the tapestry, and it could all come crumbling down."

"We're all here to find out how it started," Futaba pointed out, crossing her arms defiantly. "I refuse, I utterly refuse, to hold back until we get our answers here, Souma."

"That goes the same for all of us," Kimiko said. "We need to knoo' what we're up a'geenst here."

"We're all in this together, Souma," Isaac said. "After what just happened, the vandalization included, we need to know what caused all of this chaos and despair. What does the Future Foundation know that relates to this place?"

"I'm afraid none of us have any answers about Penjar specifically, that is why I am here," Souma said. "I took it upon myself to investigate this town when I got an anonymous message. I…"

The public speaker corrected his clothing as he continued. "I honestly believed it might have been Kyosuke who sent the message, a way to showcase how right he was; maybe it was a trap, maybe it was someone who wanted us to find the answers.

"But just know this, everyone present: if what I tell you here gets out, you might undo everything the Future Foundation did to bandage the world."

"The Lions worked together to help the US and Canada through the Tragedy," Crystal spoke up, her tone stern and calm. "But we know nothing about how it all started. What _do_ you know, Souma Koukai?"

Souma took a deep breath, and asked, "What do you wish to know? Please trust me when I say, I have no knowledge about Penjar."

"How did the Tragedy start?" Anzu asked. "It seems like that's something you do know."

"That's… I shouldn't…"

Souma stammered, running a hand through his short hair, as he saw everyone staring at him. 'No' wouldn't be acceptable here. The public speaker calmed himself, and spoke with the kind of clarity and charisma he was known for.

"There is a name you all have heard here in Penjar, during the Tragedy and the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game: Junko Enoshima. She was the Ultimate Fashionista, though there was something off about her even before she was scouted.

"Junko had a charisma to her that is impossible to fully describe, but it was something about that woman that made you think she was capable of so much, much more than you could ever expect. I met her once, when I visited Hope's Peak, and I still remember the chill I felt when she smiled at me.

"There's… no easy way to say this, there's no way you could all understand, because I sure don't. Junko Enoshima is the one responsible for the Tragedy, for Despair, for everything awful you can possibly imagine that started at Hope's Peak."

The graduates were all dead silent, just like how Souma thought they would be, unable to comprehend it.

"Hold up," Blake said, "you're telling me one bitch did all of it? Junko started the Killing Games, the Tragedy, the billions of deaths?!"

"Just one teenaged girl?!" Ken declared. "That's unheard of!"

"Junko Enoshima was brilliant beyond description," Souma explained, "a young woman who was completely and utterly enthralled with despair. She was the one who found ways to corrupt someone with Despair by watching a video, she created a way to give someone precise amnesia, she transformed everyone who ever interacted with her into her cult-like sycophant for Despair.

"We don't know how, but Junko became that powerful before she entered Hope's Peak, and once she did, she spread like a disease from there. It's impossible to know how deep it goes, but we know that experiments, diabolical machines, and an expansion to her ability to corrupt people with Despair grew within our academy.

"It should also be said that she was Ryōko Otonashi, the Ultimate Amnesiac, in the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game."

"That sweet redheaded girl?" Hara declared. "That… that was her?"

"Ryōko Otonashi was her alter ego after she mind-wiped herself so that she could experience the Killing Game. It is believed that she wanted to feel the utmost despair of being an innocent person who would come to realize she was the most evil, cunning person one could imagine."

"But didn't Ryōko die?" Ishiku asked.

"Yes… by Kyosuke's hands," Souma admitted.

"If all the shit you're saying is true," Blake muttered, "sounds like it was totally justified."

"Ryōko Otonashi died that day, not Junko Enoshima," the public speaker remarked. "That's the problem though, evil like that doesn't just die. Junko's experiments and influence reach out from beyond the grave, which is not only why the Killing Games haven't stopped, but something far more chilling than even that.

"The Future Foundation believes that Junko was trying to find a way to revive herself, should she ever die. We discovered a highly skilled programmer who had been corrupted by her had almost developed a way to do just that.

"Junko, at one point, downloaded her consciousness into a program. This program would be applied to an A.I. virtual reality experience that, in which should those who entered it die, would render them into a comatose state. Once the program was over, Junko's personality would be, for lack of a better world, uploaded into the comatose participants' brains.

"It was a way to mass produce Junko Enoshima, but we stopped it. The program was destroyed, and the programmer is, uh, gone. The problem is, we believe there may more ways her followers and she herself are trying to discover."

"Oh my God," Fiora squeaked out, clutching the notebook. "In the vision I had, I saw her… and she said something like that. She… she was talking about uploading herself into me!"

"I saw her too," Kimiko said, shivering. "She was the most terrifying being I have ever laid eyes on, despite her looking like some busty supermodel."

"Wait a minute," Isaac shouted, standing up and slamming his palms on the table. "Souma, what you just described, that's what has been happening here! People falling into comatose states, seeing visions of unrealistic places and people, and Junko being involved.

"Is that what Penjar is about? Are they trying to resurrect Junko Enoshima from this town?"

"Wait, this makes no sense," Crystal said. "How is it even possible to do that? No one here is hooked up to any virtual reality machine, they're touching things that make them go through this experience."

"The similarities are very striking," Saiko remarked. "But we have seen things we cannot fully understand, and if I can admit that, you all can."

"Hold on a minute here, people," Odelios spoke up, "we kind of glossed over the part of how Penjar and Junko are related. Penjar isn't Junko backwards or anything like that."

Souma cleared his throat as he spoke again. "I went through all of the records I could, but I couldn't find a relation between Penjar and Junko. It is most perplexing, I believe this place holds answers that no one knows."

"This place couldn't be her home," Drake said. "It's way too old, and completely forgotten to time."

"There still is a link, and Aka was right," Hikari spoke up, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. The others looked at her in surprise, as she continued to speak. "Monokuma is playing a game with us, withholding information so that we continue to play while we hunt for the answers we want."

"In the vandalization of the Hall of Fame," Ishiku spoke up, "Ryōko Otonashi's portrait was circled with adoring hearts and stuff. That means the Entity of Chaos wants her, admires her even?"

"Despair and Chaos can work hand in hand," Crystal remarked. "We have no idea who the Entity is, but I'm guessing that whoever they are, they want her back."

"Chaos and Despair want the world plunged back into madness," Souma said ruefully. "It is never enough for them."

"Wait a Goddamn minute," the military adviser suddenly shouted. "That room I was stuck in, the lab that was blown up, they were of similar nature! Upload a personality into super computers, and then a body will be created as a result! That's what they want, to make Junko Enoshima alive again! They're truly trying that!"

"It certainly seems that way," Eisei remarked. "But how will they pull Junko out of thin air, since they haven't found out how to do it by now? And how does it involve us?"

"If I could hazard a guess," Isaac remarked, "it is that we can touch the cursed objects that give people visions. The machines here, like Monokuma and the Kubs, cannot."

"But the Kubs were given human bodies," Drake remarked. "And also, those items, why do they act like they do?"

"If those items were actually objects that were owned by the victims of Hope's Peak Academy's Killing Game," Pyrrha said, "it could mean something truly awful… that this was planned even during that first Killing Game."

"Okay, if this is all true," Blake said in a furious huff, "why don't we all leave, and come back with enough firepower to destroy this place? Nuke it from orbit, kill it with fire, make sure that nothing remains?"

"Yes, you would suggest that," Hikari snapped bitterly, "wouldn't you?"

"Name one good reason, woman," the pyro replied back just as fiercely, "name one reason we shouldn't get the hell out of here and destroy this place?"

"I-BELIEVE-I-CAN-ANSWER-THAT."

Monodam was, from out of nowhere, standing next to Souma. The green Kub stared up at the humans, and spoke, "I-MAKE-MY-CHOICES-BASED-ON-WHAT-MY-FATHER-SAYS. I-CANNOT-LET-YOU-LEAVE-PENJAR. IT-IS-WHY-I-STOPPED-IGNATIA-FROM-DOING-SO."

"Why is that, Monodam?" Drake asked.

"DESPAIR-AND-CHAOS-CAN-WORK-WELL-TOGETHER-BUT-THEY-ARE, ONE-COULD-SAY, HIGHLY-COMPETITIVE-RIVALS. IF-THERE-WILL-BE-A-SECOND-TRAGEDY, BOTH-SIDES-WANT-CREDIT-FOR-IT."

"I don't understand," Yitro spoke up. "How could us destroying this place start a second Tragedy?"

"THE-ENTITY-OF-CHAOS-HAS-PLANNED-THIS-FOR-A-VERY-VERY-LONG-TIME. THE-ENTITY-SET-THINGS-UP-HERE-ALONG-WITH-US, BUT-THEY-DID-SOMETHING-WE-DIDN'T-SEE-COMING.

"YOU-ALL-HAVE-CHAOS, INFECTED-LIKE-A-DISEASE, UPON-YOURSELVES."

"What now?" Eisei asked. "I don't feel infected."

"This is bullshit," Blake remarked.

"You cannot simply be infected with Chaos or Despair," Crystal said. "You either have it or you don't."

"NO-YOU-DO-NOT-UNDERSTAND. THE-LAB-THAT-WAS-DESTROYED-WAS-USED-TO-TRY-AND-EXPAND-ON-HOW-TO-SPREAD-DESPAIR. VIDEOS-AND-LIGHTS-ARE-NOW-NO-LONGER-VIABLE, THE-OUTSIDE-WORLD-KNOWS-HOW-TO-STOP-THEM.

"THIS-PLACE-WAS-WHERE-EXPERIMENTS-WERE-MADE, THOUGH-IT-COULDN'T-BE-DONE-BY-US, BUT-BY-THE-ENTITY-OF-CHAOS-AND-THE-FOLLOWERS. THEY-DISCOVERED-A-WAY-TO-CREATE-ARTIFICIAL-GERMS-THAT-DO-NOT-INFECT-THE-HOST, BUT-TRANSFER-TO-OTHERS."

There was a soft clatter, as Eisei's lollipop dropped to the floor. The petite man gaped, and remarked, "N-no."

"Eisei, are you alright?" Souma asked.

"No, I am far from alright, I am the opposite of alright, my friend. This technology, it was a major part of my family's company. The Amane Corporation worked to try and find a way to spread cures, by making their own versions of germs that could spread from a subject."

"YES-THE-ENTITY-OF-CHAOS-KNEW-OF-THIS, AND-HIJACKED-THE-PROJECT," Monodam stated. "NOW-INSTEAD-OF-A-SUBJECT-FEELING-THE-DESPAIR-OF-BEING-A-BIOLOGICAL-WEAPON, CHAOS-WILL-FOLLOW-IF-YOU-LEAVE.

"IT-WILL-HAPPEN-RANDOMLY. IF-YOU-TALK-TO-SOMEONE, GET-NEAR-THEM, TOUCH-THEM, YOU-CAN-POSSIBLY-SPREAD-CHAOS-TO-THEM. AND-FROM-THERE, THEY-WILL-KILL-ANYONE, DESTROY-ANYTHING, TO-FULFILL-THE-ENTITY-OF-CHAOS'-DESIRES."

"Holy fucking shit," Anzu whimpered, covering her mouth with her fingertips. "We… we have that? On us?"

"Goddamnit," Blake shouted, "how do we know this is true? It can be a great big bluff to force us to stay!"

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Yitro said. "If it is true, we can become Ground Zero for Tragedy II."

"Why are you helping us?" Saiko demanded of Monodam. "Isn't this betraying the Entity of Chaos?"

"FATHER, DESPAIR, THE-KUBS, CHAOS, THE-ENTITY, THEY-WILL-ALL-WORK-TOGETHER. BUT-THIS-RIVALRY-WILL-WORK-TO-STOP-THE-OTHER-SIDE-FROM-WINNING."

"Is everything that we've been discussing true?" Drake asked. He walked over to Monodam, kneeling in front of him. "Are we here in a plot to revive that awful woman?"

"THAT-I-CANNOT-SAY."

"But… the Entity of Chaos… I thought you wanted to work against them?"

"YES. BUT-WE-CANNOT-RISK-THE-SEED-OF-DESPAIR. THE-ENTITY-HELPED-US-PROCURE-THE-SEED, BUT-WILL-DESTROY-THE-SEED-IF-WE-REVEAL-TOO-MUCH."

Everyone was dead quiet again. All of this information was so much to process, and they couldn't comprehend it entirely. Anzu spoke up first, clenching Ishiku's hand as she spoke with a slight tremble.

"But what does Mahiru Koizumi have to do with this place?" she asked. "She's been in so many visions, and the Entity of Chaos singled her out in the locked part of the Hall of Fame."

Monodam was silent, he merely shook his head.

"Look, we all know," Isaac said, still standing so he could address everyone, "that this town is holding secrets, and now we're getting somewhere. If this is a plot to revive Junko Enoshima, and she's as awful as Souma makes her out to be, we need to stop it."

"And doubly so if we want to make sure we're not contagious," Hikari remarked. "I cannot bear the thought we might corrupt those we care about."

"Wait, what proof do we have any of this is true?" Ken asked. "Or are we going off of belief?"

The graduates remained quiet for a moment, but a soft sob brought them all back into focus. Fiora was clenching Yejoon's notebook, and tears were spilling from her eyes.

"I… I finished translating it," she said, biting her bottom lip to stop from outright bawling. "But… I doo'nt think I can read it 'oot loud. Could one of you…?"

"I can," Shuuya said, moving over to her. He took the notebook, adding, "Though I wonder if it'll be of any use."

He began reading it out loud to everyone…

* * *

 _My dear little flower,_

 _If you are reading this, I have died. I am sorry I must make this final confession to you via code, but I wanted to make sure you and only you would be able to see the words first off._

 _There is something I must confess, first off. I knew of you before all of this. When I attended Hope's Peak, you were a year ahead of me. I noticed your work, and I was enthralled. Part of me wonders if seeing you again here must be some kind of fate, to see your beauty in person._

 _I would not approach you, because I know I am a demon, a fiend who could never be worthy of someone like you. No matter how much I want to, I cannot shut off the fiend in me, and your life would be in danger. Plus, I'm certain my sister would have killed you, which is why I kept it secret._

 _I am also infatuated with Despair, the Tragedy, which is why I cannot be near you for your sake; however, I will pass on all information I have with this farewell note. It relates, trust me._

 _The gory doll of my sister allowed me access to both sides of the plaza, and I checked out the rooms at the stables, then the spa. When I reached the hair salon, I found a lab much like the ones in the Science Lab that is now a pile of rubble._

 _I also found a pair of scissors on the floor, rather artistic and I believe I recognized them. Sure enough, when I touched them, I fell unconscious and found myself in someone else's body, in Hope's Peak._

 _The person I was happened to be Toko Fukawa, or also known as Genocider Syo. How fitting, for me to be the most infamous of serial killers even in another world. I will spare you the grisly details, my dear flower, but know that I took part in a bit of a slaughter-based fantasy._

 _Everyone I saw in that vision were slain by me, the scissors carving and slicing perfectly; I even slew the one known as Mahiru, that one who seems to be reoccurring. I carried on until I saw her. Forgive me for saying so, my flower, but she was the most beautiful woman, the most gorgeous, splendiferous, perfect work of art there is._

 _Junko Enoshima. The Ultimate Despair. I know her work well, she is the cause of the Tragedy. One tends to know who a real professional is when you're immersed in our way of life._

 _The Junko in this vision and I had a nice, long talk. I was practically salivating, I was so delighted to be with someone as awesome and inspiring as her. She confirmed all my theories there, her creation of the Hope's Peak Killing Game, the Tragedy._

 _But you stare too long into the perfect abyss that is her madness, my dear, and even someone like me cannot stop it from happening. The vision ended when I plunged one of those scissors into her neck, and I woke up on the floor of the hair salon._

 _And I wanted to die in the most despairing, artistic way I could._

 _Though I cannot do it myself, I shan't allow it; I can no more put my elbow in my ear than I would commit suicide by my own hands. Death is art, but to kill yourself is not. Someone else must do it._

 _Many here want me dead, I will leave myself open to them. One of them will eventually kill me, and our own Killing Game will progress._

 _You must understand, my flower, that the game only progresses at the desire of the Mastermind. The Mastermind of this game is hoping to resurrect Junko Enoshima, and plunge the world into Despair once again._

 _Personally, I do not much care for sequels, so I do not mind missing it._

 _I also know that whoever the Entity of Chaos is, they are within our group. They work alongside and against the despair here, so keep keen. Do not leave this town until you discover everything, or you risk helping their plans come to fruition._

 _There may be more than just the Ultimate Despair, but her alone is cause for the utmost concern. We were all called here for a reason, but even the most masterful of plans have flaws in them. That's why I have faith in you, Fiora._

 _I fear I will never see you again, for we both know where I will go after death, and you shall not follow me. Just know that I believe in you, and that you can find out the answers to all of despair._

 _Feel free to destroy this notebook after you read it. It will be the last piece of Yejoon Nahm, the serial killer, to go out in a blaze of glory. You take care of yourself._

 _Good-bye, my dear flower Fiora._

* * *

Fiora was sobbing into her arms by the time Shuuya finished reading the translated message. Everyone else was silent, taking in this last message of the serial killer.

"As much as I don't want to take what he says as truth," Isaac said, "it sounds like we were right."

"That explains where those scissors went," Saiko grumbled.

"Despair like the kind that corrupted and killed," Drake said, "had to have come from somewhere, or someone. Maybe this place has the answers."

"The answers to the questions we all had," Hikari shook her head as she spoke, "when we came here. Most of us, anyway…"

"This town was here before Junko, before all of us," Souma commented. "It is possible that this is an origination point. We must keep all of this into consideration, and not leave here until we have all the answers.

"I revealed secrets that the Future Foundation would destroy me for doing so, so I must ask all of you to consider staying here until the mission is done. If we leave it at this, it'll all be for naught."

"How are we supposed to trust each other?" Ken asked furiously. "The Entity of Chaos _and_ the Seed of Despair are amongst us. We don't even know why we're here to begin with."

"We sort of do," Odelios said. "If the Entity of Chaos is amongst us, they are a graduate of Hope's Peak. We are all graduates, so they just blended right in."

Crystal glanced to her side, at someone in particular, then spoke out loud. "We all lost people we cared about because of the Tragedy, I am sure. If we leave now, if we let the truth slip from our grasp, it will all be for naught.

"Despair doesn't make sure their plans are air-tight, it gives its victims a chance to succeed. That's why it keeps losing in these Killing Games, there is a part of it that desires feeling the greatest of despair for having a masterful plan be defeated."

"But does the same apply to Chaos?" Futaba asked.

"And do we really buy we could spread that shit around like germs?" Blake inquired. "I mean, it sounds so far-fetched."

"It does explain something, Blake," Isaac spoke up again. "We were never held hostage, we were never forced to be here. Why would Monokuma allow us an easy way out, a way to avoid this place and never come back?"

"But are we really going to trudge forward?" Fiora asked, lifting her head up as she wiped away the tears. "Are we joo'st gonna walk further on into the trap?"

"If we don't," Hikari spoke up, "everyone who died here will be for nothing. Not just Aka, but Angelique, Takeo, Shinobu, and even Emanuel, they all died trying to get the truth. I won't allow that."

"I won't allow Chaos to escape into the world," Crystal firmly stated. "It cost us so many lives back home, I will stay here until I die, or the job is finished."

"I won't allow Junko Enoshima to come back to this world," Souma declared. "I've seen too much evidence that the sycophancy of her followers will do what they can to revive her."

"I won't allow this coming of us together to go without a little lightening of the mood," Odelios announced, standing up and pumping his arms. "We're all staying, so we're all going to have to get along! And you know what?

"We got a karaoke machine, I'm gonna do a song! We're all going to drink, eat, talk amongst each other, and we're going to be comrades, friends, acquaintances! We're not going to lose, we've come too far!"

"That's right!" Ishiku cheered. "Screw despair!"

"Screw chaos," Anzu agreed merrily.

"Let's pour one out for Aka," Shuuya suggested, "and we'll enjoy tonight, like normal people."

"I doo'nt mind," Fiora said, a smile on her face as she wiped the last of her tears, "having a good time like tomoo'row wasn't going to be what we knoo' it will be."

"We'll tackle that when we get there," Futaba said, grinning at the movie maker. "Every step forward will bring us to the answers, I know it."

"Hear hear," Ken said as he clapped his hands.

"You guys are all crazy," Blake said with a chuckle. "But you know? Better to go forward to stomp the despair we know than wait for it to rear its ugly, fucking head when our back is turned."

The group of twenty graduates, and Monodam who stuck around, then went to behaving much like a class reunion. People were talking, drinking, cooking and preparing food, and dancing.

This was the morale booster they needed, and for a few hours, they had that kind of content enjoyment. Couples danced out on the dance floor, people toasted and guzzled down drinks (some alcoholic, some not).

Fiora was asked by Yitro to dance with him, but she had one thing she had to do. Walking over to the fireplace, where the flames were crackling, she tossed the notebook into it. Watching it turn to nothing but ash, she silently said, "Good-bye, Yejoon."

"I know you're still upset, and I'm sorry we cannot properly sympathize," Yitro said, wrapping an arm around her in comfort. "But maybe this is truly how he wanted to go, and now you can find your own way."

"Fur now, it's here with all of you," she said, leaning against him. "We're gonna find 'oot what the hell is going on here. Now, let's dance."

Odelios led the party by singing in front of everyone. His vocal capability was actually much better than most thought, even when he started to do country songs; there was something very amusing to them about a Japanese clown doing a US southern accent.

Eventually, almost everyone was dancing, forgetting the stress and strain the town was putting on them. The only ones who sat out were Crystal, Blake, and Odelios, the last of the three singing for everyone. It was a happy time for them all.

Odelios sang as he watched everyone, " _All cowboys need to truth / that this town might be big enough… for both of us!_

…

…

…

…

(He was quite good at whistling too…)

…

…

…

…

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ " was the next part. It startled everyone there, though he continued on irregardless.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_ "

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ " Ishiku chimed in.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_ " pitched in Fiora.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ " Kimiko agreed.

"AYYY-YEE-AYYYY-YEE-AAAAAAAAAAAAAH," contributed Monodam, as Drake held up in the air.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ " concluded everyone willing to do country music for the evening.

* * *

 **Day 13, 11:07 PM**

 **Housing District**

The celebration of continuation and comradery lasted a great deal longer than they thought, but it wasn't a waste in their eyes. With no way back to the northern plaza, they merely had to wait for tomorrow.

Good nights were said all around as they went off to bed in their original houses. The last two to retire for the night were Ishiku and Anzu, who stood outside of his house.

"I want to thank you for not telling anyone about what I did," she said to him, placing her hand on his chest. "I know we should have been honest, but I'm too scared to know what they'll think if they know I'm losing my mind."

"Anzu, you're not crazy. Just please, take care of yourself. If you'd like to stay with me?" Ishiku offered. Anzu watched as a blush spread across his face, and he stumbled when saying, "Just, you know, stay together. Nothing intimate."

"Oh, I know, sweetie. But I kind of promised a few places that I'd stick with Hikari tonight. Gotta keep up that image of being the girl that literally sleeps around."

She laughed lightly, and then sighed sadly. "Hikari may not have seen the Ultimate Despair in a vision, but we're still all worried about her. Three people wanted to kill themselves here, and one did so… though by getting himself killed."

"Yeah, I still don't understand everything that's happening. But I know that you're my friend, and I watch out for my friends."

She giggled, and leaned in to give him a kiss. It lasted for a few seconds, but then something started to buzz in her head. It seemingly grew louder and louder, until she felt her head might explode from the intensity of the screaming…

" _STOP IT RIGHT NOW, YOU EVIL SLUT!_ "

Anzu flinched and grabbed her head, hissing in air as she tried to quell the reverberation inside. She panted hard, and could feel Ishiku touching her shoulder. Using that as a life saver, she gripped his hand as she took several deep breaths.

"I… there's something very wrong with me still, and I cannot explain it," she admitted. "Just please, don't tell anyone, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless I start not acting like myself. If you at any point think I may be a danger to us here, let the others know. I'm not going to-"

Ishiku hugged her tightly, and the two stayed like that for a little bit longer. They knew it was conspicuous and odd, but this was something both of them needed.

* * *

 **Day 13, 11:29 PM**

 **Housing District**

 **?'s House**

The Entity of Chaos chuckled as they moved through their room, making sure everything was in place. Nothing had been taken, much to their delight. "Seems Despair is playing fair, how nice of them. I would have been more than a little upset if they had taken the opportunity to loot my stuff.

"Then again, this is all I need for now."

Fishing through their pocket, the Entity of Chaos pulled out a small capsule with tiny electronic buttons on it. Names were written in font so small that one would have to squint to read it.

"I guess so long as I never say who blew up the lab, they won't seek retribution. I'm sure they know I have this, strange they won't try to forcibly obtain it…

"I thought for sure it would be harder to take possession of DNA samples of their most exalted leaders. Jibo Momota, Hiyoko Saionji, Izuru Kamukura, Monaca Towa, and Junko Enoshima, all within the palm of my hand, at my mercy."

They, as if to taunt someone watching, squeezed their hand around the capsule; they were careful not to break it, though the possibility of doing so was exhilarating. "Good thing too that the DNA of someone gone from this world counted. It's so nice, having everything working out so finely.

"Though I don't know if I care much for the fact that they've caught on to the… ugh, _order_ of things here. But I doubt it'll spoil the taste of things to come…"

The Entity of Chaos chuckled, then there was the sudden noise of the TV turning on by itself. Groaning in exasperation, the Entity watched the next installment of Monokuma Theater.

* * *

( **Day 13 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma is wearing a lab coat inside of a lab that appears to be in a basement of sorts. He is standing in front of a table that has a great deal of tubes, beakers, and valves. On the center of the table is a pan filled with a strange, dark liquid, and the ruined head of Monosuke siting in it._ *

* _Monosuke still looks quite dead._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "I've been getting into politics a bit lately, feeling my urge to really get into the most important parts of life, liberty, and all that good stuff. You have to have opinions on the most important things in life, not just minor things like, say, flipping tables. Can you imagine if flipping a table was a major political debate?"

 **Monokuma** \- * _pretending to speak like Monosuke out of the corner of his mouth_ * "Urgh… let me die, youse…"

 **Monokuma** \- "Are you pro-flip, or pro-stand? Should table flipping be government funded, or independently provided? Is table flipping an actual sport that one could do in the Olympics? Do you varnish your tables, or are you anti-varn?"

 **Monokuma** \- * _pretending to speak like Monosuke again_ * "Hey youse… k-kill me…"

* _Monosuke grabs the table with all the science stuff on it, and the vat containing Monosuke's head, and flips it, causing a great big messy crash._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "There's also a case of when someone needs to or deserves to die. When is it appropriate, who are we to judge, can we not just tie them to a table and flip them over a cliff? Cruel and unusual are terms that people use, but I like to think cool and amusable are what we should strive for in this world of ours!"

* _Jump cut to a semi-close up of Monokuma, rubbing his paws together. The background is completely different than it was before, as if he's in another dimension._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "If my opinions cause someone to be offended, it's alright; they can be offended as much as they want! In fact, if I'm not offending at least one person every time I make a statement, I think I'm doing something wrong with my life! I should always be giving someone a chance to flip tables as well."

* * *

The Entity of Chaos rolled their eyes at the television after it turned off. "Again, it's like a damn artist film, trying to showcase hidden meaning when there really isn't any. Despair isn't as deep as you're trying to make it out to be, Monokuma!"

With a sigh, the Entity started to prepare for bed. Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting, and they couldn't wait to see what it meant for their plans.

* * *

 **Day 13, ? PM**

 **Northern Plaza**

A lone figure walked down the hill towards the eastern side of the now forbidden section of Penjar. They carried on, unperturbed, towards the spa. The doors were pushed open, and the being moved in without anyone or anything stopping them.

They eventually reached the hair salon, and then entered the lab connected to it. Eyes scanned the large machine, the computers, the features of the grand device.

Soft tapping of the keys followed, as the being inside of the room started up the machine. As the lights flickered on and the computers roared to life, it was clear that something big was going to happen in this small room.

" **What are you doing in here?** "

The being inside of the room didn't even turn around to face Monokuma. The despair bear approached, chuckling deviously. " **You really think this'll save you? That this will give you what you want? You go down this road, you'll never come back. And… and…**

" **And I just cannot BEAR to lose another child! Boo hoo! Boo hoo hoo!** "

Monokuma's pathetic crying did not perturb the one at the keys, and when the machine was ready, they stepped on the platform and waited for it to hook up.

" **Well fine then, you weren't my favorite anyway,** " Monokuma grumbled as he turned and left the room.

The Kub on the platform smirked, before the machine hooked them up, and started the process…

* * *

" _Yeah, I gotta admit, making a big speech in front of an audience isn't the type of thrill that I'm into. Though I did have a little to say, so I won't bore you all too much for long._

" _Hope's Peak Academy has helped me find out what I want to do with my life, the direction I want to go. Believe me, I had a bad joke about how there really is only one way a skier can go, and that's downhill… but I feel like my life will only go up from here._

" _I know who I want to be, what I want to do, and where I'm going from here. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, every one of you. Take care of yours, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do!_ "

 _-_ Aka Fuyu's graduation speech

* * *

 **Chapter 4, The Rust on Penjar, is now over.**

…

 **The Entity of Chaos is in Penjar.**

 **The Seed of Despair is in Penjar.**

 **There is a trapped soul within Penjar…**

 **The evil presence of Junko Enoshima is within Penjar…**

…

 **Monotaro, the Ultimate Determination/Forgetfulness, has died.**

 **Monosuke, the Ultimate Preparation/Perversion, has died.**

…

 **20 Graduates remain in Penjar.**

…

 **TO BE CONTINUED.**


	32. Intermission Theater

**Intermission**

 **The Path I Shall Take**

* * *

 ** _Approximately 8 Years Ago…_**

* * *

 **September 15th, 2012**

 **California, United States of America**

 **FINT Con**

The convention center had been bustling for hours on end. Companies of all kinds had come together to discuss business, deals, revenue, and partnerships. It had been a place for the multimillionaires, budding business folk, and those that had a fascination for how such corporation worked.

It was the last day of the convention, yet still a great many lingered around afterwards. With the convention being a major success and a lot of new partnerships, deals, and ideas formed, it seemed like a shame for it to be over what felt too soon. One soul in particular had good reason to stick around.

Malcolm Foxtrot finished up his conversation with a CEO who happened to be a big fan of his work. Fans that high of standing usually had ideas they wanted to share, and while most couldn't or wouldn't be used, it was still nice to hear such excitement. It let Malcolm know he was doing his career correctly.

Despite this overall pleasant experience the convention had been, Malcolm found himself heavily distracted as he walked towards the parking structure where his car was. Something nagged at him, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe the sheer amount of incredulousness of what he was considering was the problem.

His cell phone vibrated. The name "Christina" with a heart emoji was on the screen, and he smiled as he answered it. "Did you add that emoji on my phone again, you minx?"

"You should learn by now that you cannot pick a password that your wife cannot guess," Christina said with a laugh. "Sorry, I cannot help myself."

"If I wanted a predictable life, I wouldn't have married you. Though, is everything alright?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong, just our little angel was asking about you."

"Seriously?" Malcolm leaned up against a wall, adjusting his hat as he felt a rush of paternal warmth wash through him. "Did you tell her I'll be home tomorrow?"

"Oddly enough, I did, and she seemed to understand."

"You're not exaggerating?"

"We're raising a budding genius, dear. Guess she got both of our big brains in that little noggin of hers."

"Well, to be honest, her father might be going a little crazy, so I don't know how much I want her to pick up after me."

"Something wrong, honey?"

Malcolm rubbed his forehead, as he walked to his car. Trying to hide anything from the detective he married was pointless, he learned that long ago. "I came to this convention to see if I could find a good idea for a plot, and I think all I really got was a conspiracy."

"Malcolm, we talked about this. Conspiracies are not what bad writers use."

"Well, wait until you hear this one, Christina. It'll definitely sound like one. Apparently, there seems to be a cult of sorts that is traveling around the globe, and embracing all kinds of business. From the multibillion dollar companies to the street performers, including aspects like the adult entertainment industry and Olympic sports industries, there is a growing trend of people who want to bring down the structures they are figuratively in."

Malcolm scratched his blond hair under his forehead, as he continued. "There were a lot of different business types here, including medical, cartoon creators, and even other writers like me. The convention was full of all kinds of different types, instead of just CEOs and businessmen this time around."

"What on Earth do all of those things have to do with a cult, Malcolm?"

"I told you it would sound ridiculous…"

Malcolm got into his car, but, as he had always promised his wife, he didn't start it up. "So I heard from more than a few people about this conspiracy that someone planned a total, global collapse. Like, the apocalyptic kind, where one bad day could ruin everything mankind has made.

"You see, there's even a bunch of ideas that, if you can imagine, that the civilized world is held up by a series of wires. Someone wants to cut those wires."

Christina was silent for a second, then said, "Sounds like a cartoon super villain's plan, destroy the world just to do it. For all of the novels you've written, Malcolm, you never did something like that. It might be too much like a stretch."

"Yeah, that's what I thought as well. Still, the idea that someone could do it, out of spite and malice, it has my interest. Maybe people are a little paranoid."

He was surprised when he heard his wife laugh. "You know what I think it is? That Mayan prophecy, you got a bunch of people terrified that December 21st is going to be our final day."

"Ha! I hadn't thought of that! But you know what, I rather like this, I'll talk to you more about it when I see you and our little genius tomorrow. Kiss her good night for me, will you?"

"She's already gone to bed, Sam was here to help me out."

"You don't have to kiss her good night for me as well."

"Well, maybe I wanna kiss her good night, what about my needs, Malcolm Foxtrot?"

"I'll tend to those as well when I get back home, Christina Lupin."

"Love you, honey."

"Love you more, dear."

Malcolm started up his car, pulled out of the garage, and started on his drive to his hotel. The novelist drove through the heavy traffic, all the while pondering what he had just discussed with his lover.

" _Okay, maybe it is Doomsday dread, but there does seem to be a bit of establishment in this rumor_ ," he thought. " _After all, you don't get titles and details unless someone has put more than a little thought into it. It is a bit like a novel, but you have to have established canon to make it official._ "

" _But the idea that someone from any type of profession or career could start such a following? Can you really convince people to end the world? What kind of sway would you have to have?_

" _Whoever this Entity of Chaos is, with such a bizarre title, they may be taking themselves too seriously,_ " Malcolm considered, shrugging off the weight of such a possibility. He had left the trafficked area and was driving through a housing area. " _Then again, it's worth looking a little more into. I've found more by looking into less._

" _Who knows? Maybe book number twenty-three should be about a global conspiracy. It would be a nice change of pace, with the stakes being that high._ "

Malcolm drove on as he pondered his next step. The only thing that distracted him was the thought of his daughter asking about him, and he once again felt that swell of pride and joy that nothing else could match.

He didn't notice the car barreling down towards the crossroads, because it didn't have its headlights on. There was a terrific impact as it slammed into the driver's side door, the sounds of the crash echoing into the night.

* * *

 **September 19th, 2014**

 **Office of Detective Christina Lupin**

"Chief, you need to stop this awful habit of yours."

"It is not a habit, and you damn well know that," Chief Duncan Seeds said to the detective, who was slouched over at her desk. "I need you to pull yourself together, I cannot cover for you any longer. And I refuse to see you ruin yourself."

"It's already ruined," Samantha muttered bitterly. "Two years, two Goddamn years, and I haven't found anything yet. I thought that I would be over it, better than that, but no… every fucking case that comes remotely close to Malcolm's just sends me through a roller coaster."

The chief sighed, sitting down in the chair in front of her desk. "Lupin, no one ever truly gets over these things. You've spoken to the families and loved ones of victims, and you work harder than anyone I know to find them some sort of closure."

"A 'physician, heal thyself' speech is the last thing I need, Chief."

"No, this is the last thing you need," he said as he leaned forward and tapped the water bottle at her desk that definitely didn't smell like water. "You need to take the rest of the day off, and pull yourself together. I will put you on leave if need be."

"Hmph, you should have thought of that before assigning me to a hit-and-run case… wait no, no no no."

Christina rubbed at her face, and adjusted the hat on her head that she had been wearing for two years now. "I'm… I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do. I haven't felt this helpless in… forever."

"Can you drive home?"

"Not a chance, I had too much… water, Chief."

"Can someone come pick you up then?"

"… Yeah, I think I have someone."

An hour later, a lady wearing a nurse's uniform from the nearby hospital entered the precinct, holding a three year old girl's hand. The detective blanched when she saw the little girl, and hid in her office.

"Why'd you bring her, Sam?" Christina asked, refusing to look at them when they entered her office.

"I am not leaving her alone, no matter how resourceful she is," the nurse said.

"Mommy?" the little girl spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Christina looked at her daughter, and those brown eyes pierced through her heart. She had her father's eyes, the inquisitive kind that said they wanted to know the answer.

The detective started to sob, and she couldn't stop herself. "N-no, sweetie," she admitted. "Mommy's not fine… mommy… misses your father too much…"

* * *

 **September 21th, 2015**

 **Home of Detective Christina Lupin**

Christina walked towards the doorway of her daughter's room, glancing over her shoulder at the four year old lying on her bed, wrapping up in sheets and clutching a plushie of some odd, green animal. The detective smiled, flicked the lights off, and left the room.

In the living room, her nurse friend was finishing watching an episode of a little kid's cartoon. Christina noticed this, and couldn't help but let out a little laugh. "You watch this even after she goes back to bed, Sam?"

"The duck makes me laugh, he has such a silly voice," Sam admitted, giggling before she turned the TV off. She stood up, straightening out her clothing, before stretching and letting out a long sigh of relief. "Another day of watching over the most curious child complete!"

"Sam, you," Christina started to say, lost her nerve for a few seconds, then found it again as she spoke. "You've done so much for me."

"It's no problem."

"No, it is. I mean, how long have we known each other? How much does your career as a nurse mean to you? I recall when you couldn't shut up about how much you wanted to be one throughout all of college, and now that you are one…

"You're putting it on hold to take care of my daughter and me… and it's mostly me at this point."

"Christina, please."

Samantha walked over and hugged her friend tightly. "You mean more to me than anything in the world, you should know that by now. And that goes to your daughter too, she's… she's like…"

Now it was Samantha's turn to lose her nerve, and she let go of Christina to step back. Her blush was evident on her pale face, and she tried to hide it behind her dark brown hair. "I… I said too much."

"Samantha, it's okay…"

"No, it's not okay! She's your daughter, she's Malcolm's daughter! I love you both, and it hasn't been that long since… oh my God, I'm so stupid. He was such a good man, you two were so happy together. More happy than I ever saw you, and… I'm so selfish."

"Selfish? You are the last person who is selfish, Samantha Bliss!"

Sam sniffled, as she stared at Christina. "Really? Because I'm only thinking about what I want…"

"What is that? Please, talk to me. I want to know, because you saved me, you pulled me from a dark, terrible place that I would have died in. I want to know how to help you now."

"It… it would be better if I showed you."

"Okay…"

Summoning all of her courage, Samantha tried to dry off her face as much as she could. She walked over to her best friend, and kissed her. Christina's eyes went wide, she didn't have a response at all at first.

Though when Sam wrapped her arms around her, the detective felt something warm and happy inside of her, something that kicked all of the frustration, self-pity, and anger away to make room in her heart for something, or rather someone, new.

Christina returned the kiss at the last second, and the two ladies looked into each other's eyes. Both let out nervous little laughs, and kissed again. Both were intrepid, slow at first, but then it started to pick up.

And when they were full-blown making out, they found themselves lost in the moment entirely. Arms wrapped around each other, hands groped and grabbed and held…

Then Christina heard her daughter calling out to her from the other side of the living room.

"Mom? What are you doing with Aunt Samantha?"

Both women froze up, and stared like deer in the headlights at the tiny girl who had caught them. This was going to take a _lot_ of explaining to do.

* * *

 **March 21th, 2016**

 **Home of Detective Christina Lupin**

Samantha Bliss sat down on the couch, trying to think of what she was going to say. It felt so odd, struggling with such a subject, when her field of work was about the health and future of people. This wasn't a matter of life and death, or maybe it was with how much her heart could take depending on what was said.

She turned to the little girl who she had asked to sit with her, and folded her hands. The girl did the same thing, as if impersonating the lady was the best way to have an adult conversation.

"Your mother and I wanted me to talk to you, sweetheart," Samantha started off, "because there is something I need to address with you."

"Okay," the little blond girl said, nervously fidgeting. "Is this about Mom and helping her with her work?"

"No, it's not about that. It's about… you and me."

"Oh?"

"I… I love your mother, very much," Samantha admitted. "I was her friend for years, since we were in high school together. It was only recently that those feelings became romantic, and I… I want to live with your mom and you."

Christina stood out of sight of the two in the next room, listening in, figuratively and almost literally holding her breath as she eavesdropped.

"But, I need to see if that is okay with you first," Samantha said, "because that means I'll be living here with you too."

"Are you going to be my mom too?" Christina's daughter asked, tilting her head to the side. "I don't understand how that can work."

"It… it can work like that, in a sense. I know you're not your real mother, I… I don't want you to think I'm replacing anyone, sweetheart."

"What do you mean? Like my dad?"

Both Christina and Samantha flinched, feeling a cold sense of dread race down their spines. Sam took all of her training to keep calm during bad situation to heart, and spoke patiently.

"I'm not replacing your father. I love your mother, and I love you. I've been taking care of you for so long now, I have thought of you like my own daughter. But, I know it's hard to ask this of you, I need your permission."

"To do what?"

"To… be your mother's partner, and to be part of your life."

The little girl blinked in confusion, four years of experience not really enough to have her consider all angles. So she merely smiled and spoke her mind, the honest truth of, "Aren't you already?"

"What?"

"You already watch over me, you help me out, you love me, you're already like Mom! And really, I know you love my mom. I don't really get all of the kissy stuff yet, but I believe I'll get the answer to that eventually."

The little blond girl giggled, then moved across the sofa to hug Samantha. "You're like my sweet mom, and I love you too. Of course I want you in our lives, you make Mom happy."

Samantha let out a sob, and wrapped her arms around the little girl. She could hear Christina crying happily from the other room, and couldn't help but smile a little; she knew the detective's insatiable curiosity would lead her to listen in.

She tenderly squeezed the girl in her arms, and felt so warm and happy inside as she heard this child that was now, what truly felt like, her daughter.

"Thank you so much," Samantha whispered, "Annabelle."

* * *

 **June 17th, 2016**

 **Japan, Hope's Peak Academy**

 **Headmaster Jin Kirigiri's Office**

Jin raised an eyebrow at the official talent scout of Hope's Peak. "You're serious?"

Koichi Kizakura chuckled as he adjusted his hat, plopping down in the closest, comfy chair. "Damn straight, boss. The kid was everything I was told she would be. Sweet, curious, and knowing more about biology and science than I do."

"All at the age of five. She was helping her mother with fact checking, though, it wasn't really her who solved the mystery. I kind of had to pitch in as well."

Jin sighed as he rubbed his forehead, before glancing at a picture on his desk. It was him holding up a very young Kyoko, younger than five, but just as precocious and sweet. The lavender-topped toddler was waving her hands up in the air, her unblemished fingers spread out as she tried to flap her arms like a bird.

"You really think we should consider her, Koichi?" the headmaster asked. "I mean, we have enough on our plate as it is."

"That's what I get paid for, boss man. I know, things aren't looking real good, but you gotta plan for the future. There's a lot of budding talents out there, and I think it's something to stick a pin in, so to speak."

"There's something you're not telling me here. Prodigies are amazing, yes, and it would be grand to have someone like that here; however, I think you're hiding something for me."

Jin stared down Koichi, though the suave scout barely reacted from such a steely glance. "What are you saying without saying it?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't fly over to America just because I heard of a prodigy; I also happened to hear she was the daughter of Malcolm Foxtrot."

The headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy blinked in surprise, but maintained a calm look. "A daughter of a mystery writer and a detective, who is now following in what seems to be both their footsteps, at the age of five."

"Of course, we're going to have to consider that she may not be able to come, since, you know, even if we wait a few years, she'll still probably want a guardian with her before traveling across the ocean to go to school here."

"Koichi…"

"Something up, boss man?"

"You really think I don't know what you're trying to do here?"

Koichi let out a coy laugh, and said, "Jin, you seem to think I got an angle for everything. Whether or not you decide to put her in the records is your decision, ultimately, if you'll forgive the pun.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I got jet lag, a severe lack of a good drink, and I promised Chisa a bunch of souvenirs for her class. I think that girl that always lectures me wanted photos. Take care, boss man."

With a simple salute, Koichi strut out of the office. Jin sighed and rolled his eyes, wondering why the scout always had to make things a touch difficult. Still, when he looked down at the profile of the little girl, he noticed the picture of her.

Annabelle was waving to the camera with both hands, making a cheerful face that looked like a kid posing for a photo. Though it was a total coincidence, Jin wondered if some higher power had it so that the prodigy was spreading her arms in the exact way little Kyoko in the photo was.

"Maybe some time in the future, young Lupin," Jin quietly said, as he wrote a couple notes on Annabelle's profile, and stored it with potential future interests.

* * *

 **June 30th, 2020**

 **USA, California**

 **Police Station**

The horrible impact of someone being slammed against the wall was followed up by punching sounds that wouldn't let up. The interrogation room door had been barricaded with a chair, as the officers tried desperately to get in.

"WHERE!" Detective Lupin shrieked as she punched the woman in the stomach, robbing her of breath. The woman arched forwards, face squinting as she took the hit, and then leaned back up. Her face contorted with a wicked grin, sneering at the detective.

"IS!" The detective socked her stomach again, making the woman cry out this time, but it dissolved into manic laughter.

"MY! _DAUGHTER?!_ "

The officers broke in at this point, and pulled Christina from the suspect. As she was forcibly removed from the room, the woman was cackling now.

"It's too late! It's too late for your little one, it is in chance and malice's hands now," the woman said, as spirals emerged in her eyes. The Japanese lady was not fighting, but the officers, experienced with Despair fanatics, pushed her into a chair and handcuffed her. "Your future student is now a future contestant!"

"You bitch!" Christina shrieked, desperately trying to break away from the others. "You fucking bitch, where's Annabelle? What did you do?!"

Nothing stopped the woman from laughing her head off, and she had to be restrained and sedated, as she started to bang her forehead against the table, almost concussing herself. Christina was pulled off to one of the side rooms, as she had to pace back and forth to prevent her from making a beeline back to the interrogation room and beating the shit out of the suspect.

Chief Duncan Seeds stormed into the room, but by the time he got there, Christina was sobbing miserably. She was clutching at her chest, as if afraid that her heart would die. "My… my baby," she sobbed, as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Christina," the chief said as he went over to her. She glanced up at him, as she heaved in terror, unable to contain her emotions.

"She knows where my baby is," Christina explained through her heaving gasps. "She said so herself. She… said she's been chosen for despair."

"That woman will never tell you what she knows now."

"She'll never tell us ever! She's a Despair fanatic, they're corrupted to the core and there's no turning them back. She came all the way from Japan, she came here… she took my baby… my Annabelle…"

Christina collapsed into a sofa, shivering hard. Duncan sat next to her, as she tried so hard to contain herself. "She's been gone for twenty-seven hours now… the timeframe of losing her is getting so much lower… I… I cannot-"

"We're going to find her," Duncan assured her, rubbing her back. "We are going to do everything in our power to find her."

"I… I just don't know what else I can do. My poor baby, where is she… she's only nine… she just… Annabelle."

Before she could pull herself together, her phone started to vibrate, feeling like some rabid animal trying to escape her pocket. She scrambled to pull it out, and saw it was a text from Samantha.

[Come to the hospital, Christina.]

[I have a suspect here, Sam, I cannot leave.]

Christina stood up, trying to keep herself together. She knew Samantha was suffering too, and she wanted her lover with her at the station so bad; however, a terrible accident led for her skills at the hospital to be invaluable.

The detective stared at her chief, and started to say, "I… what do I do? I cannot-" before her phone vibrated again.

[This isn't Samantha Bliss. This is the person holding a gun to her back.]

Time stopped, her heart almost killed her by skipping several beats as her body turned icy cold. She stared at the screen, as if trying to will that message to not become real.

The icon showing that the person was typing a text message showed up, and then another message appeared. [Come to the hospital, Christina. Third floor, room 35, and come alone. Should anyone else come…]

…

…

…

[Let's just say that your darling daughter will lose another loving guardian. You'd best be here soon, if you want to see Samantha in one piece.]

Christina shook in unbridled panic, and stared at Duncan. He could see the outright terror in her eyes, and asked, "What is going on?"

"I… I need to go to the hospital."

* * *

Christina felt the elevator chime echo like an announcement of death. When she stepped out, she had her hand on her gun, ready to take it out of the holster at a moment's notice. She didn't want to startle the staff, so she didn't have it out…

However, there was absolutely no one there. No staff, no patients, no one, and it was completely quiet save for the machines running. It was so unnerving, she wanted to scream and disrupt the deafening silence.

Moving swiftly, she headed straight for Room 35, pulling her gun out. The door was closed, and she aimed to stay out of sight from the small window. As she approached the door, she listened in…

" **Drop the gun, Detective Lupin.** "

The voice came from behind her, from the room opposite of 35. She did as she was told, and turned around slowly. Samantha was standing in the doorway, shaking in dread, and someone was behind her. That someone was wearing a coat, dressed like a doctor.

The person behind Samantha grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into the room, saying simultaneously, " **Come on in, detective. We need to have a little chat.** "

Christina followed after, and the scent of blood and death hit her as soon as she entered the room. A man lay on the bed, obviously a patient, shot in the head.

" **Brutal, is it not? That is the nature of calamity and chaos, the roulette of life and death,** " the being behind Samantha said. " **One room had to be chosen, and this poor soul had to be taken care of. Could have been anyone, but it was him.** "

Christina stared down the being behind Samantha, while regarding her lover. Sam had obviously been crying, and she was gripping her arm; there was blood, she was hurt. The detective had to fight every desire and instinct to run over to her, but she could see the gun in the malevolent person's hand pointed at Sam's back.

"What do you want?" Christina asked, forcing her voice to remain to calm.

"Where's our daughter?" Sam asked, looking over her shoulder at the one holding her hostage.

" **Presumptuous, are you not?** " the malevolent being said. " **She's not YOUR daughter, Samantha Bliss.** "

There was a flash of undeniable determination in Sam's eyes, as she defiantly replied, "Yes, she is."

" **…** "

The entity took aim at the back of Samantha's head.

 ** _BLAM!_**

Christina didn't know how long she stood there in shock. She was screaming and moving without any control left. Her arms wrapped around Sam's body, holding her tightly, sobbing as she saw blood flow out of the bullet hole that had stolen her life away in a second.

" **I so detest being lectured.** "

The being chuckled, and the click of the gun preparing for the next shot came as they pointed it at Christina's head. She was clutching Sam, refusing to let go, as she stared down the barrel of the gun of her lover's murderer.

" **You know, your husband was going to look into me. It seems fitting I take out his replacement, before I finally have the delight of wiping you all out.** "

Christina couldn't form words, she was holding Sam to her, her reality shattered.

" **Your daughter was taken by Despair, and she'll be taking part in a rather intriguing game soon. I'm fairly certain she won't make it, the odds are completely against her, so the collection is prematurely complete.**

" **When I heard she had become a brilliant little prodigy, I had so wanted to be the one to snuff her out with you. But Despair beat me to the punch, and, well, Chaos and Despair have that non-compete clause and such; you know how it is.**

" **Wait, do you? I mean, maybe it was so long ago, or did Malcolm never tell you what he was curious about?** "

Christina felt her body shiver, and her mind raced so hard that she had to fight from passing out. "The Entity of Chaos," she responded.

" **Oh, so he did tell you?** "

"It was in his notes."

" **Heh, I guess that's all I can expect from an amateur doing the job. You shouldn't know me as that title, you should know my actual name.**

" **I am Apophis. I am Chaos incarnate, and I will bring about a Tragedy far grander than the one this little planet recently have.**

" **The reason I am telling you this is because word seems to spread, even amongst the dead. So when you go to Heaven, Hell, or whatever afterlife or darkness that greets you, spread the word. Maybe it'll help your daughter find you faster wherever you're going**."

Apophis stepped forward, and the barrel of the gun was a mere foot from Christina's forehead. She held Sam's body tight to her, and spoke defiantly.

"My daughter will be the _end_ of you."

 ** _BLAM!_**

* * *

No one knew what happened at that hospital that day. The bodies of Detective Christina Lupin, Nurse Samantha Bliss, and a patient were discovered when the staff ventured to that wing, confused as to why so many people had been moved around that hour.

The police and detectives that had been hiding incognito around the hospital failed to find whoever did it. Everyone was checked out before leaving that day, and the gun was found inside of the room with its victims. Chief Duncan Seeds couldn't comprehend how something was possible, and the department mourned the loss of Christina Lupin, and her family.

The devastation did not stop there. The Lupin/Bliss household was burned to the ground in a very obvious and destructive arson case on the same day. A suspicious detective who was on suspension destroyed all of Detective Lupin's belongings at work. Samantha's belongings at the hospital were stolen or destroyed.

In less than two months, the world was sent a broadcast from a floating island. One hundred possible students on Hope's Peak scouted lists were put on a roller coaster, and sent on a ride that resulted in eighty of them dying brutal, violent, and senseless deaths.

Annabelle Lupin was almost one of those, if it had not been by the quick reaction of Tiana Blake. Surviving the roller coaster, Annabelle moved onwards with the others who had made it through the ride of death into another broadcasted Killing Game.

With a good deal of the students watching over her like mother and father hawks, the forensic investigator survived. Though it wasn't until the final battle that something clicked with her, her captors intense and vicious hatred of all adults, demons in their eyes. Her innocence that she had clung so tightly to, belief in a happy ending, to get out of this place and show her captor what for, it was all gone with this sudden revelation.

"I… I bet my moms are smiling down from heaven with my daddy," she said as she lay on the ground, staring up at the sky as Haruto and Tiana moved towards her. "They're proud of us all."

Later that day, she would know it to be true. The American girl did not return back to her home country, she stayed in Japan, with the Future Foundation, with those that she had grown close to during the Killing Game. With the nine other survivors, those who had made it through Despair's Killing Games, and a handful of other strong-willed people, they aimed for a better future.

Despair was still playing, and now Chaos was entering the field unofficially.

* * *

 **? PM, September 15th, 2020**

 **Tokyo, Japan**

 **Future Foundation Building**

Kyoko Kirigiri mumbled her in her sleep, her gloved fingers coiling and uncoiling repeatedly. She appeared to be having some kind of dream, becoming more agitated by the minute. When the lights turned on, she was awake in a flash and a sharp cry.

"Kyoko! Are you okay?"

The lavender-topped detective shook her head, running her hands through her hair as she quickly settled herself into reality. Without saying anything, she pulled herself off of the bed.

Makoto moved over to her, grabbing her when she nearly lost all balance and fell forward. Kyoko steadied herself, and muttered as she looked into his eyes, "Thank you. I'll be seeing myself out now."

"Now you wait a minute," said a voice from the doorway. This rest area, complete with several beds for people who needed the sleep during the nights at the Future Foundation's headquarters, was now impossible for Kyoko to leave.

The fully dressed detective stared down Mukuro, undaunted by the Ultimate Soldier standing her ground. "I have to get going," Kyoko said firmly. "I've spent too long here."

"You really should listen to Koto first," Mukuro said defiantly. "And maybe take a shower, because good grief, I can smell you from here."

Kyoko didn't make any sort of disgusted noise or reply to this, she merely turned towards Makoto Naegi. The brunet Ultimate Lucky Student was staring at her with visible concern. It was just like him to be so worried about his friends, so determined to keep the well-being of others up.

"I don't understand what I need to talk about," Kyoko said to him. "You know I have to leave, I need to investigate more."

"Kyoko, it's been over two weeks. We all are very concerned, but you're running yourself ragged. This is the fourth time we've had to carry you to this room."

The perceptive, purple eyes of the detective widened for a moment, then she merely chuckled and glanced away. "I got my sleep, that's what I needed."

"Kyoko, you're not eating."

"Are you making deductions now, Makoto?"

"I can tell you're not eating, I don't need to be a detective. You're not eating, you're not sleeping, you are going to get yourself killed out there if you keep going at it like this."

"As far as I see it, I'm the only one who can handle this case. I don't require assistance, and I certainly don't need to be mothered. Now if you two are done…"

She felt a hand wrap around her gloved hand. Her eyes went wide again, and this time stayed that way. Makoto was holding her hand, something so forward that it was practically violating her. Her fingers quivered slightly, as she looked into his eyes.

They had only held hands twice, in the time that they could remember. Kyoko couldn't think of what to say to this, she could practically feel his concern and empathy with that very gentle squeeze against her palm.

Her burned, scarred hand inside of her glove felt like it could break, and yet she didn't fear the pain or possible ruination. No, this was something else.

"Kyoko, you know you can trust us," Makoto said. "Please, we all care about you too much to see you run yourself down like this."

"I'm not telling our children," Mukuro said from the doorway, "that Aunt Kyoko is never going to visit them again."

Kyoko had her eyes locked on Makoto's, and she shivered when she started to feel the intensity there. Something inside the back of her mind said, " _You cannot do this. Not again, even if you don't remember it. Don't you dare. Don't you dare, Kyoko Kirigiri._ "

"If I promise," she said quietly to Makoto, "to eat and shower and all of those necessities, will you stop bothering me?"

"You know I'm not doing this to bother you," Makoto remarked, his hopeful eyes boring into her soul. She took a deep breath, as she resisted the urge to react in any way; she only failed in one regard, when she rubbed her thumb gently against the back of his hand.

"I know," she whispered, "but you have enough going on. You don't need my set of issues in the mix."

"Kyoko…"

"I'll do all those things that you request of me, then I'm going to leave and follow up on a lead I think I have. Just please stop worrying about me so much. And Mukuro?"

She walked past Makoto to the Ultimate Soldier, and said, "Don't follow me again, please. You have many skills, tailing someone is not one of them."

Mukuro let out a frustrated sigh as Kyoko walked on to more of the rest area's sections. The Ultimate Detective was quiet the whole way, as her mind reviewed the case over and over.

She showered, removing the unpleasant feel and scent of an unwashed body from her at long last. The detective even took the time to trim her hair, as it had started to grow a little longer than she preferred. Her stomach grumbled repeatedly in gratitude when she had a decent-sized meal, washing it down with a cup of noodles.

Kyoko walked through the Future Foundation building, an inconspicuous sight to most of those there. She rarely ever talked to them, so they had no reason to talk to her. Kyoko was practically a ghost here, which was how she preferred to be.

The lavender-topped detective was almost at the exit when she heard someone hurrying to catch up with her. She turned, and was surprised to see Annabelle Lupin jogging up towards her. The nine year old girl was wearing a backpack, and it almost appeared as if she was late for school.

"Miss Kyoko Kirigiri," Annabelle said as she approached her, "I need to talk to you. Please."

Kyoko was slightly confused, but she didn't see the harm in conversing with her. "I'm sorry, Annabelle, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"It's… important, and related to your case. I need your help, and I think you'll need mine."

Now the detective was interested, though cautious. "What are you talking about?"

"I… received this letter today."

The young forensic investigator reached into her pocket, and pulled out an envelope. Kyoko opened it up, and when she took the paper out, she noticed how unusual the font was.

"It's very shocking," Annabelle warned her, "and personal, but I need you to read it. You're mentioned in it."

The letter was as followed:

" _Dear Annabelle Madeline Lupin,_

 _I am sure you are aware of what day it is that you receive this letter. September 15th, what a day that must be for you. Eight years ago, your father was killed in a hit-and-run. Such a shame, even if you were too young to remember him._

 _You should know that this was my doing. He was going to investigate into me, and I so do detest anyone who dares try to challenge me. I was so sure this would destroy his family too, get them to back off._

 _No, that was not the case, as you very well know. So when, shortly after Despair kidnapped you, I made my own move. It was part of their plan from the beginning, so I beat them to it. I wonder how it makes you feel…_

 _How much hatred can a youthful heart yours handle to hear that I shot Samantha, the woman who deluded herself into thinking she was a mother to you, in front of your actual mother? It was just to see your mother in agony in her last minutes, and then I took care of her._

 _Though now you've made me look like a fool, as I told your mother how you would most certainly die during that Killing Game. Against all odds, you survived, and now you're under protective care…_

 _Would you like revenge? Answers? Justice? I believe you have earned that chance, let us see if your time is borrowed or destined._

 _If you are selfish enough to bring someone into this, you should talk to Kyoko Kirigiri. I know she is investigating something, a disappearance, as you might know about. She will be interested in this town, because it also has answers she is looking for._

 _But she will be in great danger here, should you ask her to join you. Also, I warn you, if you bring anyone else, Annabelle, their lives are forfeit. This is between you, me, Kyoko, and the town of Penjar._

 _Do you wish to know about Despair?_

 _Some want to destroy Despair._

 _Some wish to control it._

 _Some hope to study Despair…_

 _And some desire to wield it._

 _Though you should know it was CHAOS that slew your father, your mother, and that imposter who claimed to also be your mother. Chaos will rise up and smite the world far grander than anything you can imagine, more than the Tragedy, more than your little Killing Game in the sky._

 _On the back of this paper is a map and directions to Penjar. I look forward to seeing you soon, and to see if I will complete the collection._

 _-The Entity of Chaos_ "

Kyoko stared at the paper, incredulous and a little outraged, before flipping it over. There were written directions, as well as a drawn map. It also had a small sketch of Monokuma, with his colors flipped, as if to present a different form of him.

"I know it's weird," Annabelle said, "but I know it's legit. I mean, he even knew my middle name."

The lavender-topped stared at the directions, and then down at the prodigy. "Well then, thank you, Annabelle. I'll be going now."

She turned and started to walk to the door, while Annabelle gaped for a second before realizing dawned on her. "He-hey! Where are you doing?"

"I'm leaving, I'm going to investigate this place called Penjar."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

Kyoko pushed the door open and hurried on outside. Annabelle practically slammed against the door as she followed after. "I gave you that to look at, not so you could keep it!"

"You're not going on a quest for revenge that will get you killed," Kyoko replied without looking back at her. "You will stay here, with those that care about you, and stay safe."

"You cannot stop me from going, Kyoko! I already memorized the directions! I'll get a bicycle and ride there if I have to!"

Kyoko stopped and turned around. "Then perhaps I'll go back in and tell the others you're planning on leaving."

"And maybe I'll do the same about you," Annabelle snapped, frowning up at the detective. "If I'm not going, you're not either."

"I'm an adult, they have no authority over me."

"You're not stopping me from going."

The two ladies stared each other down, not budging an inch. There was a small, electronic beep from Kyoko's pocket, then a deep voice. " _You shouldn't dismiss her like that, Kyoko._ "

Kyoko wordlessly reached into her pocket, and pulled out the cell phone-like device. On the display was Ryoma Hoshi's, the Ultimate Tennis Player, AI form. The virtual version of the deceased man flicked a cigarette from his mouth before staring up at Kyoko.

" _You know she's responsible,_ " he argued some more.

"Hi, Ryoma," Annabelle called out to the AI.

" _Hey there, kid. So, Kyoko, are you really going to be this stubborn over getting a partner? I don't mind taking second place for a while._ "

"She's a child," Kyoko calmly said, "and she's running off to a place where she can get killed. It hasn't even been a month since she was saved from Kuma-Kuma Land."

" _She's more than just a child, but that's besides the point. We all have our lives to lead, decisions to make. You shouldn't deny her this._ "

"I can and will, Ryoma. I won't let her get herself killed for revenge."

" _Tell me, Kyoko,_ " the AI continued, staring at her with the soul-piercing look that Ryoma had, even in this form, " _is it for her sake, or yours, that you don't want her to go?_ "

Kyoko froze, then glanced at Annabelle. The blonde girl scratched her head, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

The lavender-topped detective let out a small sigh, and turned towards the girl. "You know how my father, Jin Kirigiri, was the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm fairly certain Junko Enoshima murdered him," Kyoko said, her tone and face calm as ever, "when she took over the lockdown we had during the Tragedy. I never got to say good-bye, and, from what I have discovered, it seems I forgot about other things that happened between him and I. Things I will never remember happening, because of that woman.

"I know you want to avenge your father, Annabelle, but that anger, that desire to punish someone for what was done, it won't get you anywhere. It'll eat you up, and that's why you cannot go."

" _You know that's not the main issue,_ " Ryoma said, shaking his head. " _Come clean, Kyoko._ "

"Ryoma."

" _Kyoko, I'll do it if you don't._ "

Annabelle tilted her head to the side. "What are you two talking about?"

" _Kyoko's father was a big fan of your father's work,_ " Ryoma said. " _It is one of the reasons you were on the list for possible future students for Hope's Peak Academy._ "

Annabelle thought back to when that nice man had visited, and helped her solve a case. It was such a thrilling and humbling experience. As she thought about it, something clicked in her head.

"So, wait, are you saying she feels guilty over that?" Annabelle asked. "Kyoko, you really think because your father considered me, that was the reason I got involved in the Killing Game?"

Kyoko didn't answer, she turned around and started walking away more briskly. Stuffing the Ryoma AI into her pocket, she tried to hurry off.

"It wasn't your fault! It wasn't your father's fault!"

Annabelle was sprinting to keep up with her. "Please, Kyoko! This isn't about revenge or vengeance or any of that stuff! I just want to stop people from being hurt! Please, I'm begging you!"

"And what would you do?!"

Kyoko whirled around, so fast that Annabelle almost crashed into her. The young, forensic investigator stared into Kyoko's eyes, which had an intimidating blaze to them. "You think you can run off and confront the person who killed your family? You think it'll be as simple as that?"

"Nothing is ever simple," Annabelle replied, matching her stare. "But please, Kyoko, I have to know the truth. If I can stop this awful person, whoever he or she is, I should do that. These crazy, evil people, they leave themselves open like this, I need to take advantage of it."

"And what do you plan to do with them if you find them?"

"We're gonna lock them up and throw away the key! Send them to Jabberwock Prison, in the deepest cell they got on that island! I'll boat them to Alcatraz if I need to!

"But the last thing I'm going to do is sit around and let the chance to stop the violence from spreading. And… I want to help you, Kyoko. So please…"

The young American girl got on her knees, placed her hands on the ground, and bowed her head. "I'm begging you. Don't shut me out of this."

" _Kyoko._ "

The detective pulled Ryoma out of her pocket, as the AI of him stared at her. " _Let the kid come with us. She's not only earned it, but she's strong. You know this, she's so much like you, though a bit more animated._ "

"You really think that I should bring a child with me to somewhere dangerous?"

" _You are the woman that Mukuro, Makoto, and Aoi trust to take care of their children when they're gone. Even if you aren't true to your deepest feelings, you are a woman who is highly capable and reliable._ "

"What's that about 'not being true' to my feelings?"

" _Hehehe. Kyoko, you still got a ways to go. Come on now, we need to bring the kid… no, we need to bring_ Annabelle _with us._ "

Kyoko stared at the screen, then at Annabelle, who was still in that begging pose. "I… you do know that the moment you're gone, Haruto and Tiana will lose their minds. They love you too much."

"I already told them," Annabelle said as she slowly got back up, "that I would be going with you to help with the case you're on."

"You did, huh?"

"Tiana and Haruto, I love them, very much. But," the blonde girl nervously tugged on the straps of her backpack, and said, "this is about my moms, my father. And no one else can come on this venture, the letter said as much. I refuse to put them in danger, because this person, this Entity of Chaos…

"Whoever they are, they killed my father for being curious about their existence. They murdered my mothers out of spite. And the way they keep insisting in that letter that Samantha wasn't my mother, there's a kind of cruelty that makes me realize that they would most certainly kill Haruto and Tiana if they came.

"We're already taking a chance, bringing Ryoma with us."

" _Annabelle, I'm already dead._ "

"You know what I mean, Ryoma."

" _Ever the compassionate soul, concerned about the survival of an AI. Where does such a kind heart come from, I wonder?_ "

"Huh? Do you want me to be mean or something? Like, say something rude? Would that be better?"

Kyoko let out a small laugh. "Are you even capable of making such a remark?"

"I… I cannot think of anything, maybe I could say what I overheard Naruhiko say once about Ryoma… erk! No! Wait, forget I said anything."

"Tell _us_ ," Ryoma and Kyoko said in unison, both with bemused smirks. Annabelle stared in confusion and worry, then let out a defeated sigh.

"I, um, I don't really understand what it means, but Naruhiko says a lot of things that I'm not supposed to repeat. He once said that Ryoma is the man who managed to get into Kyoko's pants. … Whatever that means."

The two mentioned were silence for a moment, as Kyoko's unreadable smirk was still on her face. Ryoma let out a scoff, and said, " _Weird guy, that one._ "

"Indeed he is."

"I don't get it, is it a sex thing?" Annabelle inquired. "I mean, you are literally in her pants when she puts you in her pocket, Ryoma, so I don't get what he means."

"Annabelle?" Kyoko interrupted her chain of thought, and stared at the girl. "Are you ready to go?"

"Um, yes. I packed a bunch of stuff into this backpack, made sure my goggles were working properly, and said good-bye to everyone."

Kyoko walked over to the young investigator, and handed her the letter with the map back to her. "Then come with me, we are going now."

"Okay~" Annabelle cheered, walking alongside Kyoko as they made their way to her car. "A detective, a forensic investigator, and a super cool sidekick, we're the perfect team for solving crimes."

" _Oh, I'm the sidekick now?_ " Ryoma inquired. " _I've been with Kyoko for two years now, kid, you've got a long ways to go!_ "

"Hmmph! I'm so not sidekick status!"

As Ryoma and Annabelle continued the discussion, Kyoko glanced back at the Future Foundation Building, specifically at the windows. No one was in any of them, much to her surprise, so she carried on forward.

She missed when Mukuro leaned back in to watch her leave. The Ultimate Soldier glanced over at Makoto, both of them highly concerned and unable to hide their anxiety over this.

* * *

 **? AM, September 14th, 2020**

 **Penjar, Housing Area**

 **Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik's House**

Isaac stirred in his sleep, grumbling as he felt his head swirling. The intensity grew and grew, until he sat up while clutching his forehead. He glanced over at Hara, who had the sheets played over her for the most part. It was rather cold, he couldn't blame her.

There was a draft in the room, and he turned towards the door. It had been left ajar, and the mists were creeping into the building. Isaac sighed as he got up out of bed, and moved over to the door.

When he was near the window, he could see the mists outside flowing down the road. They seemed thick, the flow almost liquid, in a way that was so unnatural that it started to unnerve Isaac. He didn't know why, he just couldn't bear to look at it anymore.

The reporter swiftly moved to the door, and started to close it. It was then that a hand reached in and grabbed along its side, tapping pointy nails against the wood. There was a snicker from the other side of the door, as well as an awful smell coming from outside.

"What's the matter, Isaac?" a female voice from the other side asked. The voice made Isaac lock up in fear, his body betraying him into not moving an inch. "Do you not want me to come in?"

The hand from outside clenched the door, and threw it open, into the house. Standing in the doorway was Shizuka Akui, dressed the same way she was when she had killed his family. She was holding a metal bucket, filled with steaming hot wax.

"Are you sure you d **on** 't want **me** to come **in**?" the Beautician of Death asked, grinning ear to ear at Isaac. "M **a** ybe I **al** rea **d** y **did**!"

Isaac sprinted back to the bed, grabbing the sheets and yanking them off of his fiancé. "HARA! Wake up-"

She was lying there, skin burned off with all the hot wax that had been poured on her. Hara was unrecognizable, save for her engagement ring, which gleamed amid the dull wax color and blood. Hara was almost sealed to the mattress, her body reeking of that terrible, unforgettable smell of wax mixed with death.

The Beautician of Death grabbed Isaac from behind, throwing him to the floor effortlessly. She held the bucket up, and shouted, "It' **s** t **im** e that **I** finish w **h** at I sta **rted** a l **on** g **t** im **e** ago! H **old** st **ill** , **Isaac** , it **hurts** m **o** re when **you** mo **ve!** "

Isaac, who was screaming and shivering without being able to stop, crawled away and sprinted, trying to get away. Wax was poured where he had been sitting, and he could feel the heat from it searing the air, splashing on his skin and burning it.

He could only run into the bathroom, the only place in the house he could hide in. Struggling to find a place in there to hide as he shut the door, he was sobbing, gasping, unable to stop the terror gripping his heart.

It was then that he realized that blood was leaking from his nose, dripping from to the floor. Blood was in his tears as well, he could feel the warmth of it staining his face. It leaked out of his mouth and hit the floor.

Then it grew hotter, and hotter still. Blood wasn't leaking from his orifices, it was wax. Wax from inside of him, coming out.

" **Come on out, Isaac,** " the Beautician of Death called. " **I'm not done with you yet! Do you want to see what I did to the rest of your family?!** "

"ISAAC!" Hara, sounding like she was in agony, shrieked from the bedroom.

" **YOU CANNOT KEEP HER SAFE! YOU CANNOT KEEP YOURSELF SAFE! COME!**

 **ON!**

 ** _OUT!_** "

Isaac, gripping his nose, his mouth, trying to stop himself from running wax. He was starting to suffocate himself, but he didn't care. Stop the flow, stop it… it was killing him…

Killing…

Him…

When he started to lose vision, he could feel hands grip his wrists, struggling to pull them away from his face. He fought back, he could hear screaming, he had to stop the flow.

When he got a glimpse of who was in front of him, he saw Hara's eyes. He saw her skin, her mouth, her hair, everything about her that was so sweet and lovely, everything that was alive and well.

He stopped struggling for a second, and Hara yanked his hands away from his face. She pinned him down on their bed, holding him in place to stop him from suffocating himself.

Before she could say anything to him, he screamed as the panic of bleeding wax to death led him to believe, there and then, he was going to die by Shizuka Akui's work.

* * *

Saiko Kobayashi heard the scream from her friend, bolting upright in her bed. Despite her lack of appropriate wear or footwear, she was out of her bed and outside in a few seconds.

The mists weren't terribly thick right now, but they were running through the sidewalk and in front of the houses. Though when she started to head to Isaac and Hara's house, she felt like there was something fighting against her. The mists weren't visibly thick, but they felt physically so.

It was almost like wading through molasses, something awful and inhibiting. She didn't care, she had to get to her friends. As she moved, the mists were harder and harder to get through.

Where was their house? Was she heading in the right away? She was fighting hard against the physical setbacks, her body wasn't really meant for this, but she was going forward anyway.

A hand wrapped around her ankle, and pulled her down. She fell down and her hands grabbed at the ground, unable to cling to something. Whatever hole the hand had gripped her from, it was big enough to pull her down.

When her legs and hips were pulled down into the hole, she grabbed at the ground and struggled to pull herself up with all her might. The hand around her ankle struggled back.

Then there was another hand grabbing her other ankle. Other hands grabbed at her legs, some gripped her at her hips. She pulled against them, but she was losing inch by inch.

" **SAIKO KOBAYASHI!** "

The voice of Legion bellowed from right behind her. She couldn't look back, she wouldn't look back, she had to fight…

" **You have been found guilty of falsifying evidence, for your part in the execution of an innocent person! You are hereby…** "

A snake slithered on the ground, one with a human-shaped head. It turned towards her, and she saw the most hideous, demonic faces in her life.

" **DAMNED!** "

The hands all pulled at her, and she felt an awful heat down in the hole she was being dragged into. It was Hell, Hell was chomping at the bit to get her. She shrieked and clawed at the ground, kicking at the hands pulling at her, their nails biting into her skin.

She fell…

Fell…

…

…

…

…

Her head hit the sidewalk, jarring her awake as she gripped her noggin. She shrieked and thrashed, then lay there, feeling hot and in pain.

She realized that blood was leaking from several wounds in her legs, the same shape as fingernails having clawed into the skin.

* * *

Souma walked through the endless hallway that looked surprising like the Hall of Fame in the northern plaza. He didn't know the people who were in the portraits on the left side, but he knew those all too well on the right side.

"Father," he said softly as he walked by the one of his dad. "Mother… sister… hello. What are you doing here? What is going on?"

The hallway never stopped, it kept going, like if the other side wasn't to be found simply by walking. The portraits were still of his family, and many more people he knew, all of them looking normal.

Normal at first, then there were pictures of them horrified, pictures of them screaming, pictures of them bleeding and dying…

"Souma?"

The public speaker jumped in shock when he heard someone calling out to him, in front of him. He glanced down to see Eisei, standing there, somehow managing to sneak up on Souma despite looking like he had been walking in from the other side.

"Eisei, what's going on?"

"I would have to believe we're being shown my family… and yours too," the dentist said, glancing over at the wall that had the framed pictures of Souma's family being brutally murdered. "That is your family, correct?

"That is mine," he said, glancing over at the other wall. Souma looked to see Eisei's parents in separate portraits, and also their heads separated from their bodies. The public speaker glanced back at his friend…

And there were copious amounts of blood dripping from Eisei's hands.

"Metaphorical become reality," Eisei said, as he regarded his hands, then glanced at Souma. "It seems it is the same for you."

Souma flinched when he brought his hands up, blood having coated them, running in awful waterfalls as if his palms generated them like a machine. His Future Foundation uniform, that sleek white look, was covered in bloody handprints.

Glass shattered throughout the entire hallway, echoing endlessly. The people in the portraits started to climb out, blood flowing from inside the broken pictures. They fell to the ground, and stood up on ravaged limbs, and stared towards the two.

"Souma?" Eisei whimpered. He was terrified, more than he had ever been in his life.

"I… I don't know what to do," Souma admitted, shaking as he saw all of the ravaged and snarling bodies of their families heading towards them.

* * *

Ken fell to his knees, staring at the ravaged, blood-soaked roads of his home in Novoselic. He had woken up in his old bed, and come down to see everything, and everyone he knew, completely destroyed.

Smoke billowed out into the sky all across the horizon. Sounds of sirens and people screaming in agony, or laughing in psychotic frenzy, echoed from far away. Bodies lay in the road, bodies of people he knew.

Most prominently there were his fellow knights and cavalrymen, people he had known for years. The royal family was there, left in front of his house as if they were presents for him.

" **You failed us,** " he heard a sinister voice coming from somewhere. Was it from one of the dead bodies? Was it from in one of the houses?

Was it… was it in his head?"

" **You failed all of Novoselic. You failed the royal family, your princess, your fellow fighters, you failed yourself. Fail fail fail, the word makes no sense anymore because you made it describe itself so much that it failed to keep up.**

" **You should not be alive right now, not when so many are dead! Your time has ended, you cannot do things. YOU ARE UNFIT TO BE NOVOSELICIAN!** "

He managed to peer up, and saw Laris Nevermind, the Ultimate Knight, staring furiously down at him. She had her sword in her hand, and was dressed in the same casual clothes he wore. Blood had soaked through her hoodie where she had apparently been stabbed.

" **Why don't you do what you do best and run?** " Laris demanded. " **It's impossible for you to see any colors other than yellow, you coward! SEE THE COLOR OF YOUR TRUE NATURE!** "

The knight, screaming unintelligibly now, raised her sword and swung down towards Ken. He darted back as she slashed through the ground, and then came after her. Ken followed her suggestion, and sprinted away from her.

Everywhere in Novoselic was burning, bloodied, and/or decimated. There was no avoiding that.

* * *

"ANZU!" Hikari shrieked, as she grabbed at the actress's wrists. She was trying to pull her friend back into the house, fighting against all of the other hands attempting to pull her out.

Anzu couldn't speak, she was so strained by all of the physical strain she was going through. She cried, struggled to free herself, but nothing worked. She felt hands grabbing her all over, grasping her, pulling so hard that she couldn't breathe or even scream.

Then she felt something coil around her ankle, and there was a mighty tug that pulled her back at speeds faster than she could register. When she hit the ground, she heard Hikari scream, and the door slam.

Anzu struggled to stand up, before a fancy black boot stomped down on her chest. She looked up to see Celestia Ludenberg, holding a black whip in her hand, glaring down at her.

" **Frauds deserve to die,** " Celestia spat out, twisting her ankle to dig her heel against Anzu's chest.

The gambler's classmates swarmed down on Anzu, tearing off her clothing, grabbing her, laughing and cackling. She saw all of their faces, heard each insult and sadistic laugh individually. Each one wanted her to suffer.

One of them in particular was aiming for her throat, wrapping a gloved hand around it and squeezing hard enough to stop her breathing. Kyoko Kirigiri leaned in, and started to whisper something into Anzu's ear.

When Kyoko was done, Anzu tried to scream as she saw the students of Class 78 descended on her. The hand around her throat clenched tighter, tighter…

Hikari yanked Anzu's hand away from her own throat with a desperate pull, stopping Anzu from strangling herself in her sleep. The actress woke up in a horrified, sweating, panting state, kicking and struggling to grasp what reality was now.

* * *

Yitro sprinted down the road of the housing area, clutching his sword as he raced after his target. The air in Penjar was stifling, trying to sap his strength with every breath he took. It made his head heavy and woozy, his vision becoming blurry, but he didn't stop.

He saw his target race into a house, and try to close the door, but Yitro slammed into it with all of his might.

Samson was knocked back into the room, and then he scurried onto the empty bed. He was laughing as he hacked and coughed, turning towards Yitro with Chaos bubbling in his eyes. " **You should have known Monokuma wouldn't execute me** ," he shouted at Yitro. " **I was spared, I got the second chance! Unlike that bitch, unlike your brother, unlike anyone you ever cared about-** "

Yitro swung his sword for Samson's head, but the soldier ducked and lay prone on the mattress. He was grinning up at Yitro, as if daring him to try when he was in this position. " **Do it, murderer. I'll have the last laugh!** "

The swordsman climbed onto the bed, and pinned Samson down with his knees. He raised his sword up, and hollered, "I'll finish the job myself then!"

He started to swing down, when he heard Samson shriek in a voice that wasn't his. At the last possible second, something inside Yitro's head thought, " _That isn't him!_ "

With reflexes that were highly trained, he twisted his wrist so that the sword stabbed to the side of the bed, instead of into the mattress and the person on it. Yitro strained as he shut his eyes, unable to stand the awful screaming that felt like it was penetrating into his soul…

Then he heard a familiar voice. "Yitro? Please get off of me, I beg of you."

Yitro's eyes opened in shock, as he saw he had pinned down Drake on his bed. The swordsman quickly got off of Drake, as the young cartoonist shivered in terror. Words couldn't be found, as shame filled Yitro's body and soul.

Drake was sobbing, quivering in fear over what Yitro had done. He was watching the swordsman with wide, wet eyes. Yitro didn't know what he could say or do, he was so confused and ashamed.

"Drake, I'm so… I'm so very sorry," he said, his voice dry. "I… don't know what happened, I was in my house. I was having a nightmare… you were Samson…"

Drake slowly pulled himself up, as he watched Yitro intrepidly. "You were sleep walking?" he whimpered.

"I've never done it in my life. I cannot explain it…"

"If you did, then… OH MY GOD!"

The cartoonist sprinted out of his house, with Yitro following after. The young man had beelined for Ignatia's house, and burst in through the front door.

Ignatia was standing up and facing the wall, one of her arms behind her back as if someone was holding her that way. Her head, with her eyes softly shut, pulled back and slammed against the wall. It appeared to be a rather impressive mime routine…

Though the blood on the wall and on Ignatia's head showcased a ghastly, different scenario. Drake sprinted over and tried to pull her away from the wall, but she struggled.

Yitro helped out, and his superior strength stopped her. He held her down until her eyes opened, and she stared up at the two men holding her down. She winced, and was quickly aware of the pain and blood at her head.

Ignatia hyperventilated, as Drake held her tightly, and Yitro collapsed against the side of the bed. "Is this," the swordsman asked, "the new motive?"

* * *

Emanuel snarled at Fiora, staring down at the movie maker who was tied to a chair. The Bête Noir shrugged as he peered around the room they were in.

" **Really? Nothing here does it for you!?** "

There were bloody saws of various nature placed all over the room. Baseball bats and chainsaws and bowling pins, with more of that life fluid splattered on them, lay on the floor. There were knives, surgical tools, and even a dentist drill next to the chair Fiora was tied up to.

Body parts and more blood stained the floor. The walls were wallpapered with demonic pictures, torture victims, and sadistic threats. Even the ceiling had more of this devilish imagery, papered with more of the same, evil pictures and words.

There was even a CD player with every CD of Kids Bop nearby, connected to gigantic stereos that made ones ears hurt to even consider noise coming from them at close range.

Fiora glanced all over the room, then shrugged. "Nightmares doo'nt work on me. They never scared me, they inspire me."

" **INSPIRE!? How is this inspiring? You're in a torture chamber with the man who hates you more than anything! How can you be inspir-** "

Fiora's arm slipped from the bonds and swung at Emanuel, socking him across the face. As he stumbled backwards and bumped against the wall, Fiora stood up and brushed off her bindings.

"You underestimated me once a'geen, Emanuel," Fiora said cheerfully. "No nightmare is going to control me!"

" **I… I don't know how you're doing this, puta,** " Emanuel snarled angrily, " **but if I cannot scare you or control your body in the real world, the one thing I can do is keep you from waking up.**

" **So you're still stuck with me, and you cannot wake up at random! How does that feel, huh? How's it feel-** "

Fiora grabbed the CD player and swat this evil version of Emanuel in the head with it. The beating continued as the Play button was turned on, and the music filled the room as the movie maker beat him to the beat.

* * *

Ishiku was panting hard, breathing heavily. He was tied down to his childhood bed, a limb for every bedpost. As much as he wanted to struggle, his body felt so tired, leaden from exhaustion.

That meant he could only watch his mother sharpening her knives, preparing them as she could see, in the reflection of the blades, the spirals of Despair in her eyes. The more she looked at herself like that, the more her sinister grin grew.

"Mother," Ishiku pleaded, tears rolling down his face, "don't do this. I beg of you!"

" **I ran out of neighbors,** " his mother said, gesturing to the bathroom, where flies buzzed over a large collection of mutilated bodies. " **Be a good son and stop complaining.** "

"Mother!" The magician screamed, shaking as he tried so hard to twist out of the ropes. "Stop it! Don't let the despair win! You're stronger than this!"

" **Oh, it already has won, my boy. Your father and I have killed so many people, it's only a matter of time before we are hunted down. So we have to do right by you, and make sure that you don't see that happen.** "

His mother stared into her carving knife, admiring herself in the reflection. " **It's such a terrible thing, to fail so badly as a parent that you're taken away by the police in front of them. I won't let that happen, I won't let anyone take you away from me. Or your father.** "

As if on cue, Ishiku's father walked into the room. He had a great deal of tools, most of them with dried blood on them. Chuckling maliciously as he set the toolbox on the table next to the bed, he smirked down at Ishiku.

" **You should have run when you had the chance, Ishiku,** " he said to his son. " **Though didn't you run when you saw us like this, in the real world? Then I guess you can fully experience what we would have done to you if we had caught you.** "

His father reached for the staff that Ishiku treasured so much, and snapped it in half over his leg. As Ishiku cried out in horror, his father took the broken staff and poked the splintered edge against Ishiku's side.

Ishiku felt pain, blood running from his side from the scrape he had received. He started shivering uncontrollably, as his father added, " **Oh, and it may be enough with what's going on. Now, to let your mother begin the party. Don't complain, Ishiku.**

" **Or do. I've always been curious to see what my son's last words would be. That morbid curiosity… that could only make a father feel despair… it'll help us out greatly with what we're about to do.** "

"No," Ishiku pleaded, watching his mother approaching with the freshly sharpened knives, "this cannot be real! This isn't real!"

A sharp pain against his side, cutting his clothing and creating another bloody scratch, drew his attention back to his father. The spirals of Despair were like a storm in his eyes, as he leaned in towards his son.

" **You know it's real.** "

"STOP. PLEASE! MOTHER! FATHER! STOP IT! HELP!"

Ishiku was screaming so hard that his voice went hoarse immediately, tears flowing from his eyes as he saw his mother prepare the knife to cut into his skin. His father pushed the broken staff against his side more, making Ishiku shriek.

Hands grabbed his shoulders. He had his eyes squeezed shut, unable to watch the horrors coming at him. Someone was shouting at him, shaking him. His face was slapped, snapping his eyes open as he gasped in shock.

He was in his room at Penjar again, back to reality. Pain was still coursing through his body, he couldn't stand it. Ishiku was panting hard, whipping.

"Ishi? Ishi, look at me."

Soft hands cupped his face and brought him to look straight up. Someone was on top of him, he could barely see with how blurry his vision was. Though as that blur started to wear off, he could see someone was straddling him, holding him down, staring into his eyes.

"Ishi, calm down. Take deep breaths. It was a nightmare."

The hyperventilating turned into a slow and deep breathing session, as Ishiku pushed the images of his murderous, Despair-ridden parents out of his head. His blurry vision wore off, and he finally saw who it was.

"Fannie?!" he balked, staring upwards.

The white 'n pink-topped lady beamed down at Ishiku, holding him in place. She had on an olive-green school jumper, with a white-and-orange plaid tie that was dangling down, draped on his chest. Fannie smiled at him, and whispered, "It's okay. It's just a dream. I won't let it hurt you."

"But… but… you're here. That's not possible, right? How do I know I'm not dreaming anymore?!"

Fannie cupped Ishiku's face gently, and moved down slowly to kiss him. Her lips had that familiarity and sweetness that Ishiku remembered, and she was ever so tender.

"I'm here, Ishi," she whispered to him, touching his face. "I'm the real thing."

"H-how?"

"You know that science lab Crystal was trapped in? It works still, you all are just not allowed in there. Only the Kubs are allowed there, so I had access."

"And you used it?"

Fannie sniffled, resting her forehead against his. "I saw two of my brothers die. Taro was ripped apart, after losing someone he loved. Monosuke was callously killed, for no reason, by Monokid when he wanted to murder Monodam. I… I couldn't take it.

"I don't want to be part of Despair anymore. I didn't want to be, I've always had an adverse reaction to the violence… but I couldn't find the courage, until now. I don't know why exactly, but I do know one thing…

"I wanted to be with you again, Ishi. I'm leaving my father, I'm not a leader of Penjar anymore, because I want to be with you. I hope you still want me. I hope I can become friends with others."

She blushed, hiding her face away for a few moments. "Sorry, I'm overcome with desire to make this into a big deal. You must have a lot of questions."

Ishiku leaned up, his limbs no longer leaden and sore. He moved his hand to her face, and gently caressed her cheek. She leaned into it, and smiled at him earnestly.

"Is one of the questions," she asked timidly, "that you want to have sex again?"

"Um, maybe we should wait on that for the time being. There's a lot of very important things I… wanna ask you…"

They were stuck staring into each other's eyes for a moment, gently touching each other's faces. Fannie shed a tear, as her happy smile quivered emotionally. Ishiku also felt himself crying, and he sniffled.

"Fannie, I… I have to ask, what was that nightmare?"

"That was Father's latest motive, I'm so sorry. All I know is that he plans on the nightmares worsening, and what you are all going to see in Penjar will be terrible. I don't know a lot of the details, but I do know that the nightmares are so strong, that you might lose control of your body when you're asleep…

"And whatever you feel in the dream will be so intense, your body may think it's happening to you. Like… oh no."

She was staring down at his body, and saw blood staining his side. Ishiku pulled up his shirt, and saw that the scratches that his father had given him were there.

"Fannie," he said, "we have to make sure no one hurts themselves like this! Let's go!"

Ishiku and Fannie got off of the bed, and headed out together. As they hurried outside, they would find themselves in the calamity of the next motive.

The nightmares of Penjar were becoming reality. The psychopath Monokuma was on a warpath for a bloodbath.

* * *

…

 **INTERMISSION OVER.**

 **THE NIGHTMARE RESUMES…**

 **WITH A TERRIFYING VENGEANCE.**


	33. Chapter 5-1: The Path to Penjar

**Chapter 5-1**

 **The Highway to Hell**

* * *

 **Day 14, ? AM**

 **Housing District**

Everyone was gathered outside of the houses, still wearing the sleepwear or whatever they had pulled on before joining this meeting. Many of them were shivering, tending to injuries, trying to keep their wits about them.

Isaac was unable to stop shivering in fear, even with Hara holding onto him. Drake was tending to Ignatia, as Yitro watched from a distance in shame. Fiora was scanning the crowd, seeing just how unnerved everyone was.

The only ones who didn't appear so affected were Blake, Ishiku, and Fannie. The latter two were holding hands, giving each other strength, though it did make Fiora think of something that really needed to be asked.

"So you're back with us, Fannie?" she asked the white 'n pink topped lady. "I mean, I'm not hallucinating, am I?"

"No, I'm here," Fannie replied, woefully observing the visitors of Penjar."

"Why is she back?" Ken snarled, glaring at Fannie from underneath his hood; he had pulled it up, unable to look anyone in the eyes since he had woken up.

"How are you back?" Pyrrha asked, more politely though she was shivering as well. "Did you use the device in the spa?"

"Um, yes," Fannie replied. "I used the machine that is in the northern plaza, I've left my life as Monophanie behind. For good."

"Listen," Shuuya said, stepping towards Fannie. Ishiku stepped in front of the bounty hunter and Fannie, protective and apprehensive. The assassin took note of this, and stopped his advance to speak more clearly. "What just happened, Fannie? Do you know?"

"I… I do. I know a lot of what is going on, and I want to tell you all. Um, what time is it?"

People checked their cell phones, though some dropped theirs with how hard they were shivering. It was 7:34 AM, according to their devices and Ishiku's watch.

"Maybe if we all go to the cafeteria, I can tell you everything I know?" Fannie suggested.

"We're still in our night wear," Hikari remarked, trying to use her arms to cover herself and her nightie.

"I want to know what's going on," Futaba declared, clenching her artificial hand at the wrist. "Can't you just tell us here and now?"

"That wouldn't be ideal, because sooner or later, Daddy… err, Monokuma will be adding some of the truth serum into the mist again."

"Aw, shit, not more of that," Blake snapped in frustration. "The last time that happened…"

"You'd best stuff it befur you get hurt," Kimiko said to him, her voice dangerously calm. She adjusted her hat, as she stared down Fannie. "Fannie, can you give us all time to get ready furst?"

"Of course. Just please, everyone needs to prepare, because this motive isn't only nightmares. This is Da… Monokuma's attempt to test you all, like he has been doing…

"And it's not just him," Fannie continued, squeezing Ishiku's hand for comfort, "the Entity of Chaos is part of this too. I beg of you all to hear me out, because Penjar is going to be a nightmare in the image of Chaos and Despair."

* * *

 **Day 14, 7:50 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Those who had been most affected by the nightmares were still in a bad place mentally. Some of the graduates worked to make coffee, tea, anything to help them all wake up and feel a little better. Fannie nervously watched them all, as Ishiku stayed by her side.

She had noticed a lot of them were eyeing her suspiciously, some even hatefully. Fannie could understand why. She was still kicking herself for repeatedly referring to Monokuma as Daddy earlier.

When everyone was more or less settled down, all eyes were on Fannie. She nervously stood up, and tried her best to find her speaking voice. "I don't know everything, but what I do know, I'll tell you," she confessed.

"Aren't you going to get into trouble for this?" Eisei asked, raising an eyebrow as he started on his first lollipop for the day.

"I already am, so to speak. When I returned to my human form, I forfeited the choice to go back to being a Monokub. I can never return to being who I was, so I'm like you all now.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but I honestly don't know where to start."

"I have a question," Blake asked, holding his arms behind his back as he narrowed his eyes at Fannie's chest. "Why the hell are you wearing that modest outfit? Where's your bikini?"

"Ignore him," Fiora said with a scoff.

"Um, but why are you wearing that?" Drake asked, nervously staring at Fannie. "That's the clothing that Mahiru Koizumi wore at Hope's Peak, what she was wearing when she was…"

Fannie stared down at herself, as Kimiko, Anzu, and Eisei recalled the vision of Mahiru. She had been wearing the exact same thing, and now they saw this young woman wearing it.

"Oh, the secret room in the clothing store," Fannie said, "had clothing that was exactly like what the participants of Hope's Peak Academy's Killing Game wore. I picked this one because it was closest to the door, that's all."

A flurry of questions started up, and Fannie stared at them all, overwhelmed. Before she could try to answer any of them, someone slammed their hand on a table, silencing the group.

Isaac, still visibly upset, pressed his palm down on the table after getting everyone's attention. He said aloud, "We cannot dissolve anymore. After last trial, we all learned how important it is that we are all on the same page."

"Honey," Hara stood next to him, watching in great concern.

"Don't worry, Hara, I'll be fine. But what we need to do is ask Fannie the right questions, and get the information we need. Also, everyone…"

He took off his beanie, ran his hand through his hair, and sighed as he spoke some more. "I know some of you don't trust her, but at this point, we need to move forward rather than stay overly cautious. Let's see what she has to say."

"You are the reporter," Souma said with a smile. "You lead the questioning, good sir."

"Alright then," Isaac adjusted himself before he turned to Fannie. "Could you start by telling us all you know about Penjar?"

Fannie nodded, glancing once at Ishiku before smiling with confidence. She let go of his hand so that she could position herself where everyone could easily see and hear her.

"Penjar was actually a real town at one point. Some of what you've seen have been the actual buildings and items left behind the people who used to live here. I don't know when it was abanonded, I only know a little bit of why.

"You see, there is something nefarious about Penjar, a dark secret that has been here longer than I know. Whatever it was, it has been stewing here, and it was about ten years ago that something amplified that. Something, or rather, someone visited Penjar…

"And in doing so, this town has been a place that both Chaos and Despair have worked together, to try and build up the resources, the power, the abilities to continue on the terrible schemes they have."

"Wait a minute now," Ken interrupted, crossing his arms as he eyed her suspiciously. "Doesn't that mean you're part of this conspiracy?"

"I… I don't really know," Fannie admitted, nervously wringing her hands. "I know that I am not affected by Despair, or Chaos, I don't really know how to explain my existence."

"You said someone visited Penjar," Isaac spoke up, "was that about when you started feeling conscious?"

Fannie rubbed the back of her head as she mentally strained to remember. "I don't have a good concept of years, when I was merely a conscious floating in some unknown ether; however, I do believe that you're right, considering my personality."

"What do you mean?"

"My siblings and I all started off as two different personality traits, all something that a person has. That is how I remember things starting, my psyche building up around these two traits, as if the visitor of Penjar gave me my start to who I am.

"But, the problem is, the two traits are contradictory. I am sure you noticed, but all of the Monokubs are a little off."

Crystal let out a small laugh. "That's the understatement of the century."

"You're all mad," Saiko remarked. "Are you saying that starting your life with contradicting traits made you all as warped as you are now?"

"Do you remember how Monotaro was highly forgetful?" Fannie asked. "Yet he was still determined, like our leader, the strongest one of us all. When he became human, that forced amnesia was gone, but his determination wasn't."

"Why is that?" Isaac asked her. "And wait, did Monotaro have the traits of amnesia and determination?"

"It wasn't so much amnesia as forgetfulness, the part of you that makes you forget about hard subjects so that they do not eat at you. Or, for someone awful, to forget the awful things you did so that no conscience nags at you."

"The axe forgets, the tree doesn't," Futaba said. When people glanced at her, she explained, "It's an old proverb. It basically means that the one who is doing the hurting won't remember the pain they inflicted, because they do it so often."

"The day M. Bison wiped out your village was the single most important day of your life," Odelios offered, "But for me… it was Tuesday."

"I don't know what that means, but yeah, that sounds about the same," the anthropologist said.

"Monotaro gained the traits of forgetting and determination, which, you can imagine," Fannie continued, "would drive someone crazy eventually. You cannot continuously forget while staying locked on the subject; that's why he was so frazzled and all over the place…

"And why he fell in love with Shinobu, I believe. She was stable, smart, and just as determined as he was. It wasn't just that aphrodisiac that was pumped into the mist, there was something about her that he fell for the moment he became human."

"Fannie, I know this is difficult for you, so thank you," Isaac said, "but I need to ask: did Taro's death affect the Kubs? You all seemed to be forgetful and determined during the last motive."

Fannie nodded, biting her bottom lip as she tried to hold back her emotions. "Taro dying triggered something in our systems to inherit his traits, so they wouldn't be lost forever. The same happened when Monosuke died…

"Monosuke was preparation and perversion, he always did love to make a big spectacle, show off, and try to appeal to the crowd." She sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she thought about her second dead brother. "Because you have to put on a show when you aim to do something big, like restoring a city or starting a revelation…

"But there's also that dark side of you that just wants to ruin things for everyone. It's not just sexual, it's just the ruination of something for the sake of doing it."

Yitro sighed, as he leaned his head against his hand. "It takes years to create, but seconds to destroy."

"So when Monosuke died," Pyrrha asked, "you inherited his traits as well?"

"I did, but at that point, I was so tired of the killing, the betrayal, the hurting, that I made my choice," Fannie explained, clenching her hands in determination. "I was under control by a force more powerful than you can believe, but… I still managed to do it. I don't know how."

"If I may?" Isaac spoke up. "Last night, we talked about how Junko Enoshima might have been behind the Tragedy, the Ground Zero of Despair. We know that Despair will give its victims a small window, to possibly foil their plans, for that self-destroying feeling of despair they can embrace.

"Whatever had a hold on you is most likely an element of despair, because you were allowed to leave your Kub form. You're here now, ruining Monokuma's plans by giving us details. Your escape may have been allowed, knowing you would come to us, but we still need to know everything we can.

"Junko Enoshima, do you know how she relates to all of this?"

Fannie thought hard for a few seconds, then said, "I only know that she was one of those in the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game. She is of the utmost importance to D… Monokuma."

"It's so freaking creepy," Blake muttered, "to hear you call him Daddy."

"You see, the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game is the main reason Penjar has become a base of operations to Despair and Chaos," she continued, undaunted by Blake's comment. "During the game, items and belongings from all of the students were brought here."

"Yes, we realized that," Eisei commented. "But do you know why?"

"Not entirely, but I do know that it is something supernatural, something creating an alternative realm where the Killing Game is repeated, over and over, to try and create an ideal result."

"What would that be?" Isaac asked. "Junko Enoshima winning the Killing Game?"

"I don't think so, simply winning this alternate Killing Game doesn't assure anything; after all, there are winners, survivors, in every one of those Killing Games, but the result never changes. I think there is a problem with the alternate realm, something that Monokuma and the Entity of Chaos are trying to fix.

"And that's why you're all here."

"That's something I want to know, right now, if you could," Hikari spoke up, trying to maintain a calm look; however, she was shivering a little too much to appear composed.

"You see, the belongings of the Hope's Peak students were all brought here to work into this alternate realm's Killing Game. The forces behind Penjar, the ones that my… that Monokuma controls, they have been trying to use those to see if they can shift the Killing Game to get their desired result.

"However, to enter the realm by touching the items that are deeply connected to the person they used to belong to, you need to have a soul. You also need to have some familiarity to the person that it belongs to."

Yitro flinched as if struck, and then slapped his hand on the table. "That explains it! That's why we were brought here, of all people!"

"Why's that?" Drake asked. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"We're Hope's Peak graduates. We've been there, we know the place, we are linked in that way that apparently is essential for this supernatural Killing Game. The forces behind this madness need people who have been there, that's why we got those summons!"

"If you're right," Souma remarked, rubbing his chin in thought, "that explains why it was graduates rather than those who were going to be part of Hope's Peak, like has been happening around the world."

"That explains so much," Shuuya remarked. "They wanted us here, and they are going to make us stay not by force, but by choice. Even if we don't spread Chaos around the outside world, we all want the answers this place has, because it has just become that deep."

"But how does the Entity of Chaos factor into this?" Ken asked, shaking his head incredulously. "Why are they working with and against Monokuma at the same time?"

"The alternate realm's Killing Game," Fannie answered him, "is the endgame to this plan. However it is used, the result will be highly beneficial to either Despair or Chaos. Both sides need to give it their all to get that end result, but only one side will get the results in their favor."

"If you ask me," Ishiku said, "it sounds like they want to bring back Junko Enoshima, and she will be the Ultimate Despair or Chaos depending on who wins."

"The ability to create a body from an A.I," Hara said nervously, "sounds fitting for that kind of plan. But if they could do that, why don't they just clone Junko now?"

"If that is the goal," Fannie spoke up, "then it is because they don't have Junko as an A.I. Monokuma needs something more than the items that used to belong to her."

"Didn't that Chihiro boy start revolutionizing ?" Fiora asked. "It seems the tech already exists."

"Chihiro Fujisaki is a brilliant programmer," Souma said, "and it is true he has made some startling realistic ; however, he created those alongside the ones they were modeled after. As Junko Enoshima is dead, she cannot be replicated into an A.I."

"Wait, please," Anzu spoke up, staring hopefully at Fannie. "We've talked about Junko so much, but what about Mahiru Koizumi? She seems to be important to this."

"I don't know anything about her," Fannie admitted, as she adjusted her clothing, "and I know that's weird to say when I'm wearing her clothes, but-"

"There's something that's really been bothering me, and I really need to know if you know anything, Fannie," the actress continued, a slight hint of desperation in her voice. "When I touched the camera, I found myself in Peko Pekoyama's body when in that alternate realm; but everyone else has been in the body of the person who's item it belonged to.

"And, come to think of it, I was in Mondo's body when I felt the microphone that sent Kimiko into that realm. Why is that?"

"I… I don't know," Fannie admitted. "I don't know what's going on with that realm."

"Do you even knoo'," Kimiko asked, "why I was there after I was knocked unconscious?"

"And I was there too," Fiora chimed in, "after suffering a head injury."

Fannie nervously tugged at her tie, before saying, "That I can explain. You see, Penjar is a place of many experiments and practices, and one of those is trying to invade the psyche; that is, after all, how Despair can be transmitted through a flash of light. It is how Chaos can be spread like a contagious virus…

"And it is how not only can your mind be sent to the alternate realm when you forcibly lose consciousness, it is why your dreams have been turning into nightmares while in Penjar."

Fannie shivered as she noticed everyone blanched, no one liking the sound of that. She ran a hand through her dual-colored hair, and continued. "You see, your mind is much more vulnerable when you are not conscious. Though when you are sleeping, it is still active enough to prevent you from being taken to the alternate realm of Hope's Peak; however, nightmares are something that it can do.

"Monokuma has been trying to perfect this since you first arrived here, and by this point, your system has become saturated with how Despair can work into your dreams. That is your motive now, and it is his way of showing the kind of power he has in Penjar.

"You all remember when he granted talents to some of you on a whim? That nature itself works against you and anyone trying to find this town? Now he wants you to see how much control he has over your psyche, and use your worst fears and memories against you."

Fannie whimpered as she wrung her hands again, but continued to speak. "I am truly sorry, but this is how he is going to play this Killing Game. He wants to push you all to find the answer to the alternate realm, or die trying. That is what the Entity of Chaos wants too."

"Do you know who the Entity of Chaos is, Fannie?" Isaac asked.

"I was never given their identity, I think it was because they feared one of us might blurt it out on accident. Much like Monosuke did last trial…"

"So that's why we're here," Shuuya grumbled. "To solve the answer to the puzzle that stumped both Chaos and Despair, and they're happy to kill us as we try to do their work for them."

"And now we got Freddy Krueger on our ass," Blake grumbled.

"How is that even possible?" Crystal asked. "I mean, I know it's not that fictional serial killer, he's not real. But how can we stop this?"

" **Maybe you could work with me rather than against me, toots!** "

Everyone in the cafeteria jumped as Monokuma was quite suddenly next to Fannie. The former Kub gal shrieked and leapt away, having to be caught by Ishiku. The despair bear chuckled, as he glanced up at Fannie, claws dancing threateningly on one paw.

" **Why, what a shame my favorite Kub went and betrayed me! Betrayal hurts so very much** ," Monokuma whined, shaking his head. " **And you'll never be in your pretty Kub form again… what would your mother say? What would your brothers say?** "

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE!** "

" **Funny, I thought it would be a bit more strong than that…** "

"What the fucking fuck are you fucking doing, you fucking fucker?!" Monokid, having bounded into the cafeteria with Monodam by his side, was immediately in front of Fannie. "You fucking… fucked up! Fucked it right up! All the fucks, you fucking fuck…"

"SHE-GETS-IT," Monodam said, waddling over to his perturbed brother and now-human sister. "HELLO-FANNIE."

"H-hello," she responded, as she stared down at the two with great apprehension.

"Fucking fuck," carried on Monokid. "Fuffing… cucking… fucucking… effing… king… fuck."

The blue Kub fell face first on the ground, with a lot of muffled words still coming from him. Monodam spared a glance at the cursed-out Kub, then back to his sister. "SO-YOU-LEFT-US-FOR-GOOD?"

"Yes, yes I did," Fannie said. She reached for Ishiku's hand, and held it within hers as she defiantly looked down towards the bear Kubs. "I'm not part of this insidious, revolting plan anymore. I choose to be free."

"THAT-MEANS-YOU-HAVE-TO-ACCEPT-THE-RULES-OF-PENJAR-AS-A-VISITOR."

"I will do that willingly."

"IT-ALSO-MEANS-THAT-YOU-CANNOT-LEAVE-UNTIL-THEY-FIND-THE-CURE-FOR-THE-CHAOS-BUG."

"I am fully okay with that too."

"Hang on!" Saiko shouted as she got to her feet. "There's a cure for that?"

" **Of course there is!** " Monokuma shouted impatiently. " **You didn't think I'd just let Chaos reign, did you? Despair for the win, despair all the way, despair because we have a better mascot (a.k.a. yours truly) than the mascot-less Chaos!** "

"Is the cure tied to this new motive of yours?" Yitro asked the despair bear. "If it is, kindly get to the point."

" **Seeing that my beloved, former favorite daughter spoiled the motive slightly, I still got a few tricks up my sleeve! You all like those rather personal nightmares I wrote for you all?** "

The visitors of Penjar all bristled and avoided looking at the bear. None of them wanted to admit how awful they were, how much they had been affected.

" **Let me tell you, if you thought the scratches and bloody bumps you got from that one, just wait until tonight. The nightmares are going to get far, FAR more intense!**

" **You see, this power I have, this ability to mess with your dreams to the point that your body starts moving on its own, or starts to bleed or burn because the feeling of being stabbed, burnt, frozen to death, all in your dream is too real. Now you MAY find a way to resist…**

" **Much like a certain B-movie maker who seems way too immune to my well-crafted horror scenario!** "

"You mad, bear?" Fiora said, pulling one of her eyelids down and sticking her tongue out at him.

" **Tremendously, but you'll never learn about Mr. Beardsley from me now, you've just made me that mad. Also, STOP BRINGING UP MR. BEARDSLEY!** "

"Wh-what? But you're the one who brought him up-"

" **Anyway, as I was saying, the nightmares are going to get worse, and worse, and WORSE. You may find a way to resist, you may not. And if it is the not, you may not wake up alive again. Getting shanked in the throat in your nightmare just may make you choke to death in reality.**

" **Call me Mondy Krumer, because it's now a nightmare in Penjar! Upupupupupu!** "

"And what's the catch?" Crystal asked, glaring at Monokuma. "You really think we'll just kill each other to ensure our safety?"

" **Yes, yes I do. I mean, you ain't got anyone else to care about, Crystal, but maybe you're sick of these Killing Games. Maybe you just want to leave, or maybe someone else wants to save someone from dying in a dream. I mean, I'm not giving all of you nightmares for that very reason, upupupupu!** "

Hara stared at Isaac, clenching her hand tightly in apprehension. Drake watched Ignatia, who had been silently watching and trying not to touch her wound on her forehead. Hikari glanced over at Anzu, though the actress was staring at the bear with all the contempt in the world.

"That cannot just be it," Anzu snapped at Mondy Krumer. "You want us to help out with the plan you have, you don't want us to just kill each other!"

" **Hey, did you just assume my diabolical plans?** " Monokuma shouted indignantly. " **That's mis-diabolical planning me out, and I don't have to take it! There's more twists in my trade, more method to my madness, than just a brilliantly crafted motive.**

" **You see, there's a new plaza to the west of your homes, and you don't get three guesses what it is called. However, it is the location for four new buildings, three of which you should take into consideration.**

" **If you wish, you can spend the night in one of these new buildings. Should you sleep in one of the three, you will suffer no nightmares. And there might be more benefits to staying overnight in such a charming, lovely, accommodating location!** "

"I hate it when he piles on the adjectives," Futaba remarked, shaking her head.

"What's the dangerous side of sleeping in one of those places?" Shuuya asked the bear.

" **Upupupupuuu… AHAHAHAHA! Well, there probably isn't a danger from me or the buildings, there is nothing meant to be murderous on the side of Penjar. That would just be unfair! But you do have to consider just how** ** _scary_** **these places may be, how unnerving it is to sleep in such a place…**

" **Oh, and there is the fact that I'm lifting the limitations on killing,** " Monokuma added, rubbing his paws together. " **From here on, the Deviant Tourist can MURDER as many people as they want! Upupupuuu!** "

"Oh no!" Fannie exclaimed, grabbing onto her head as she squealed in terror. "You're really trying to get them to hurt each other now! You're so awful! Why did I ever think you were clever, Da… no!

"You're not my Dad! You're an awful, evil, mean little bear!"

Fannie strained angrily, then kicked at Monokuma. Her shoe barely punted at the bear, making him wobble off-balance. He burst out laughing, to which she stormed off, towards the kitchen.

" **Women, amirite, fellas?** " Mondy Krumer said, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. " **So at 9:30 AM, the new area is going to be open to you all. My two remaining GOOD Kubs will escort you around, show to you which of the three buildings are nightmare-safe, and please…**

" **If you do find some more items belonging to Hope's Peak students there, please touch them. I'd love to know where that side plot is going so beary much! Upupupupu…**

" **AH HA HA HA HA HAAA-** "

Fannie came sprinting back from the kitchen, a frying pan in her hands. She prepared a swing with both hands, and slammed it against the side of Monokuma's head. His body was like bouncy rubber, as the hit gleamed off of him and he wobbled a great deal. Turning back to Fannie, he pointed and laughed even harder.

The new gal, more angry now, lifted the pan and brought it down flat on Monokuma's head. He scrunched up like an accordion, and then bounced back to his original form. The frying pan was yanked from her hands, and it went hurtling up into the air, almost touching the ceiling.

" **Now really, Fannie, you gonna be like that?** " Monokuma asked, turning to scold his "daughter." Fannie was watching the frying pan fly through the air, and took a few steps back as it came hurtling down. " **I may just have to call your mother, assuming I can find out where she is or if she exists-** "

The frying pan plummeted right back down towards Monokuma, its slightly pointed handle first. This led to the handle penetrating Monokuma's skull, him standing there with a frying pan embedded in his skull. The despair bear twitched, and gurgled.

" **Oh, I smell OMELETTES!** " he declared, before falling over lifelessly.

"FATHER!" Monokid shouted as he pulled himself up from the floor. "Why the fuck does this shit always happen to you, the finest ursine bear in the world?!"

"YOU-KNOW, THAT-IS-REALLY-MAKING-US-LOOK-BAD," Monodam asserted. "ANYWAY, EVERYONE, PLEASE-ENJOY-BREAKFAST-AND-GET-ALONG-UNTIL-9:30-AM. AFTER-THAT-YOU-SHOULD-STILL-GET-ALONG, YOU-BASTARDS, BUT-YOU'LL-BE-SHOWN-THE-WESTERN-PLAZA-BY-THEN.

"EACH-BUILDING-WILL-HAVE-ITS-OWN-GUIDE. SISTER?"

Fannie, who had been staring at Monokuma's frying pan-impaled corpse, flinched at hearing him call her that. "Um, y-yes?"

"YOU-KNOW-WHICH-OF-THE-FOUR-NEW-LOCATIONS-IS-NOT-NIGHTMARE-PROOF. SHOW-THEM-THAT, PLEASE."

With that, Monodam turned on his feet and walked out of the cafeteria without another word. Monokid shook his head, then pointed up at Fannie.

"You're gonna wish like hell you didn't leave us. Enjoy the wide-awake nightmare that our town is going to be for you, and here's hoping the first ones swallowed up by the madness are the ones you love. Good riddance."

With this startlingly direct and dark statement, Monokid waddled out of the cafeteria. It was incredibly quiet, with everything dawning on the guests of Penjar that this was far more serious than any of the other reveals or steps they had taken forward.

"I am making so many chocolate chip pancakes," Odelios spoke out. "Whip cream, strawberries, syrup, all the stops, all the trimmings! Bacon too, let's spoil ourselves! Come on, who wants to help me make the most shamefully sweet pancakes in the world?

"No bear or spooky building is going to stop us at this point. We're going to go out there, and we're going to give them hell!"

* * *

 **Day 14, 9:30 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

Odelios lived up to his word, and made pancakes so sweet with tons of bacon and sausage on the side. It was so much sugary and fattening goodness, that Eisei was almost shivering in dread at the thought of people not brushing afterwards. He personally went around to ensure they all would, then spent the rest of the early breakfast with Saiko.

Sure enough, when 9:30 AM rolled around, the TVs in Penjar came to life. The ones in the cafeteria were big enough for the guests to see the two lone Kubs at Town Hall…

* * *

( **Day 14 has now officially begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _Monokid and Monodam are standing on the front steps, the former strumming on his guitar, and the latter as rigid as ever._ *

 **Monokubs** \- "Rise and shine, ursine."

 **Monokid** \- "So here we are, just the two of us. Me, the best Kub a papa bear could as for, and you, the total and utter bastard child that we should have aborted years ago!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "What were you thinking, Monophanie!? I'm not gonna call you by your human name, that's just enforcing your desires! I respect nothing, I refuse everything! You whore! You slut!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "Trollop! Nympho! You probably just did it because of Ishiku and whatever bull he fed you about how you're special! Well you're not, you're not special at all, you're just a disappointment that's trying to out-disappoint our dumb brother here!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "Go on and shag that little jackass magician, see if I care! I don't care! Why would I care that he's sleeping with you? Damn it, Monophanie, what's he got that I don't?!"

 **Monodam** \- "WAIT. WHY-ARE-YOU-MAKING-IT-SOUND-LIKE-YOU-ARE-JEALOUS-OF-HER-BOYFRIEND?"

 **Monokid** \- "Because that is the role of bigger brothers! You don't let any boy screw your sister, as if only you get to do that!"

 **Monodam** \- "… … …"

 **Monokid** \- "Let me tell you something, you waste of bear space: I am going to say and do whatever I want, because now that it is only you and me up here for some reason-"

 **Monodam** \- "YOU-ARE-THE-REASON-MONOSUKE-IS-DEAD."

 **Monokid** \- "And you'll be next if you don't stop talking!"

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "Fucking hell, it's never ending with you! Well, anyway, fuckers who wanna fuck my sister, we'll be at the cafeteria in a minute to show you to the Western Plaza! Dad will be there too, so no killing him!"

 **Monokubs** \- "So long, bear well~"

 **Monokid** \- "SEE WHAT I MEAN? YOU NEVER SHUT UP!"

* * *

Right as the TVs turned off with the very bizarre message finishing, the doors opened up. Monokuma waddled in, ignoring the version of him still laying on the floor with a frying pan embedded in his skull. Monodam and Monokid were alongside their father, eyeing the guests of Penjar.

" **Okay then, visitors of Penjar, and my least favorite daughter,** " Monokuma said. " **We're each taking five of you to one of the four buildings. Get divided up into groups fast, and we'll circle the buildings.**

" **You all might want to prepare yourselves, because remember when you thought this was a slightly haunted ghost town? This is going to blow your feeble, human minds… maybe you'll die of fright before the nightmares tonight, upupupupu!** "

* * *

 **Day 14, 9:36 AM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Center Area**

The roads wrapping around the outer side of the housing area were badly made, the uneven stones difficult to walk on. Dead trees and shrubs lined the sides, as the mists swirled around everything in the area. It flowed in the same direction they were going, as if leading them there.

A large, circular plaza was shaded by the clouds, thicker than anywhere else in the city, so much so that it almost appeared to be nighttime. The combination of lack of sunlight, mists swirling around, dead plants and trees, as well as a growing theme of rusted metal fences and objects, it was like the town had turned into something haunted…

When the twenty-one humans and three bears walked to the center of the Western Plaza, it was more than just a turn. It was a complete transformation into the realm of horror.

There was a Monokuma statue in the center, covering his eyes with his paws. This Monokuma had wings as well, as well as a long gown on. One could see red light slightly brimming from behind his left paw, as if he was about to stop hiding his eyes at any moment…

To the left of them was what appeared to be a children's arcade mixed with a pizzeria. The formerly bright colors the building sported were corroded and dulled, with all of the machines and tables warped and dusty with time. Though to even see that was to strain your eyes and peer through the dirty, dark windows that this building, named Monokuma's Arcade District, sported.

To the right was not a building, but a very large tent. It wasn't quite as big as a circus tent, but large enough to appear to be a small house. The wicked, purple shade the fabric was made of appeared worn down by age, but still standing firm for whoever owned the place. There were sickly lights inside of this tent, as well as a collection of charms dangling at the front entrance.

In the back-left corner of this dreadful plaza was a run-down and decrepit looking motel. The sign that said "Bears' Motel" creaked on the rusty chains, as the entire building was one gigantic red flag to stay the hell away. The windows were not dark, but that allowed them to see inside, and notice just how malevolent it was inside.

Finally, the back-right corner sported a three-story building, stone and iron, with bars on all of the windows. There was an overly imposing feel to the building, like a weight in the air simply by looking at it. A fading, flickering light shone on the front sign, and it was quite possibly the worst thing someone could have read…

The "Enoshima Asylum" loomed over the whole plaza, the most imposing building compared to the pizzeria, the motel, and the house-like tent. Everyone human was doing their best not to stare at it, it was simply awful to even gaze at.

"Okay, it's official now," Crystal said, shaking her head. "There is absolutely, positively no way these buildings were here when Penjar was a normal town. And yet they're old and faded, so how the hell are you doing this, Monokuma?"

" **A magician never reveals his secrets,** " the bear replied.

"Hey, don't you steal my shtick," Ishiku declared. "So what the hell is this horror movie set made real?"

" **You all are going to enjoy our new establishments, made specifically in honor of those who have helped make me the bear you all know and love today! The Enoshima Asylum, the Third Eye Psychic Tent, Monokuma's Arcade District, and the Bears' Motel, they are all definitely sights to see, places to be!**

" **Now, there's twenty guests, and there's four bears… wait, no, my long lost daughter isn't a bear, but she'll still be a guide! So everyone get into groups of five, follow your respective tour guide, and stay close…**

" **You never know what'll happen if you stray on your own in these lovely new buildings of ours. Upupupupu!** "

The guests of Penjar barely had time to exchange concerned glances, before they started to break off into groups.

* * *

 **Day 14, 9:45 AM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

Everything about the inside of the motel was silently screaming about how much it needed to be remodeled. The wood was rotted, the wallpaper was peeling, the carpet was matted and discolored. Though oddly enough, it was all dusted, as if someone was still caring for it in this horrid condition.

The lobby for this motel was full of faded, damaged knickknacks, with Monokuma's face on some of them. He was on the tiny statues, the sepia-colored photographs, and at the center of the grandfather clock that clicked ominously with every swing of the pendulum.

Souma was rather intrigued by the grandfather clock, watching it go as if it were exciting. Yitro noticed this, and the public speaker let out a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry, my father had one of these at our family house. It brings back memories, seeing one again; no one seems to like these clocks."

"Most people want clocks on their watch or phone now," Yitro agreed, glancing at the device as well, before heading into the adjacent room.

The kitchen was in the same shoddy state, yet still functional as if someone had been using it all this time. The tools were all in barely working order, though the idea of making meals with them would make even one blasé about germs sick to think about it.

Blake was rummaging through the area, and he remarked, "Yeah, this place is worse than a dump. It's a health hazard in every sense of the word; I'm certain trying to use the oven or stove could set the place ablaze. Maybe even the toaster!"

"I hardly think anyone would dare try here, when we have the cafeteria," the swordsman remarked. Yitro glanced over at the drawers, thinking about what knives could be in there, and it made him a little more nervous with Blake in the room. "Anyway, nothing to see in here."

"IF-YOU-WANT-TO-USE-OUR-KITCHEN-TO-MAKE-FOOD," Monodam, wearing a maid outfit now for reasons unknown to everyone there, said from down at the floor, "YOU-MAY. PLEASE-BE-GOOD-WITH-OUR-KNIVES-AND-OTHER-KITCHEN-PRODUCTS."

Yitro rubbed his fingertips against his forehead, muttering, "You just had to mention that. We don't really need to…"

One of the drawers slid open, and Blake pulled out a large carving knife. It gleamed in the kitchen light, and he chuckled. "Yeah, it figures Monokuma would keep the knives in perfect condition while everything else rots. Better make sure no one showers here."

"The hell are you talking about?" Yitro asked, crossing his arms.

"Crappy motel, shiny knives, horror movie setting? Are you that thick?" Blake rolled his eyes and glanced down at Monodam. "We allowed to take these?"

"Don't you dare."

"YOU-MAY. WHY?"

Blake snickered deviously. "Maybe I'll give someone a good scare, since they all think I'm psycho anyway. Where's Pyrrha, she's the only sheila in our group-"

The sound of a katana being unsheathed echoed around the kitchen, then the clanging of metal on metal as Yitro knocked the knife out of Blake's hand. The pyro expert was startled at first, then he glared at the swordsman.

"You gonna start threatening me now, mate?"

"Don't think I haven't forgotten your crimes, your wicked behavior. You take this as a joke, even after all the bloodshed and threats being made, as if you're invincible. I don't care if you aren't seriously, you will not make such callous remarks about pretending to murder someone as a prank."

Blake and Yitro stared each other down, both men sizing the other up as if a fight would break out between them. Monodam watched them, and remarked, "I-DID-JUST-SAY-BE-GOOD-TO-OUR-KNIVES."

"Where's Pyrrha?" Blake asked, staring Yitro in the eye. "I thought she was supposed to be part of the tour."

"SHE-AND-SHUUYA-WENT-UPSTAIRS-TO-INSPECT-THE-ROOMS."

Blake snickered again, and rolled his eyes. "After being used by that lezbo killer, sounds like she wants the D again."

"You make it very hard to not hurt you," Yitro replied, though he sheathed his sword. "Why the hell do you continue to antagonize us, Blake?"

"Why the hell do you people do so damn poorly every trial, every set-up, every damn time things get rough? You're all useless, much like that big-tittied friend of yours that could be served in this kitchen."

Yitro, without thinking because of how red his vision was suddenly, swung at Blake. The pyro expected it, and dodged the blow. He lifted his foot to kick Yitro in the chest, sending the swordsman sprawling backwards.

"Go on then, you failure," Blake shouted at him as he stood back up. "Try and kill me! Or even hit me, but I can tell you now: you're lucky the two of us weren't in the same prison. You would have been my bitch since day one."

Yitro started to move towards Blake again, when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind. Souma shook his head when Yitro turned towards him, and said, "It's not worth it. Whatever reason he's trying to goad you, to fight each other will derail everything we're working towards."

"Why don't you save your speeches for someone who cares, rich boy?" Blake shouted, pointing angrily at Souma. "Don't think I don't know about you, and how you're acting like you're better than us because of it!"

"I thought you told me to save it," Souma said, turning away from Blake and going back into the lobby.

"You'll probably end up as dead as the rest of your fucking family!"

Souma paused mid-stride, took a deep breath, and continued to walk away. Yitro glared daggers at Blake, then walked away from him too. Monodam didn't have any sort of emotions, he simply strut from the kitchen.

Blake rolled his eyes, and reached down to pick up the large kitchen knife. "It's so hard being the only person here with a spine and thick skin."

* * *

Pyrrha sighed as she glanced into one of the four rooms of the motel. The bed was very spacious, and was probably the only thing well-kept in this room. Everything else was old, corroded, faded, and/or falling apart.

Well, there was the brand-new widescreen TV on the ugly entertainment cabinet facing the bed. That definitely seemed out of place. No avoiding the Kuma announcements, even in this awful place.

The writer moved over towards the bathroom, and noticed that it too was much like the bed. The toilet was so decrepit, she feared even getting near it. The sink was rusted, the floor tiles were broken, and even the almost obligatory painting on the wall was faded and crusty.

The shower was perfectly fine, from the curtain to the inside, everything seemed rather pristine. The pure white color of it all was such a stark contrast…

It immediately made Pyrrha think of what it would look like if blood was splattered all over the area…

"Have you found anything interesting?" Shuuya asked.

Despite herself, Pyrrha yelped and jumped at his voice. She turned towards him, clutching her hands together for an instant, then sighed in regret as she calmed down. "I'm sorry, Shuuya. I…"

"If I intimidate you, I can go," he said.

"No no no! I just," she stammered, running a hand through her red hair. "This place brings back some bad memories, even though I want to conquer these fears. And I think Monokuma is aiming for that."

"I'm not sure what you mean. You couldn't have been here before."

"No, but I was once at a motel that certainly seemed as bad. One time, during one of my hiking trips, I stayed at one that I couldn't fall asleep at. Everything about it made me think of _Psycho_ , and…"

Pyrrha ran her hands through her hair again, trying to find the words. "Look, it's kind of personal and private, maybe even a little intimate. I don't think you would want to hear, especially since… well, you and Futaba…"

"She and I are not dating or anything like that," the bounty hunter said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Though I have to say, I am rather confused by what you're implying, or trying not to."

"It has something to do with the nightmare I had."

Shuuya stared at her, then spoke far more seriously. "I dreamed about my sister, being hunted down by awful monsters. Not just people, but all kinds of creatures that were like the beasts Monokuma created. Monokuma cannot scare me by having these things try to kill me, but to put the idea in my head that my sister…"

"He's trying to convince you to leave Penjar, you think?"

The assassin shrugged, and remarked, "Or just trying to mess with me. Either way, it won't work. I have to admit, I've been rather fortunate with you all; none of you have been hostile towards me after learning the truth about my career."

Pyrrha smiled a little, and admitted, "Yeah, I kind of have a thing for strong people. Takeo, Aka, you…"

The redhead blushed slightly, then muttered, "I know I may come off as really needy or desperate, but I have found that people with me comfort me the most. I like to think it makes me a romantic, rather than what I'm sure a lot of you think I am."

"You shouldn't care how others think about you."

"I care about what others I like think about me, not just everyone."

Shuuya sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not good at these things, Pyrrha, I'm sorry."

"Well, maybe we should just talk. So… are you sure that there's nothing going on between you and Futaba?"

"I am not one to look for relationships."

"You're with her an awful lot, though."

"Why are you prying into this? Aren't we supposed to be investigating?"

"Awful creepy run-down motel that's obviously supposed to make us think of _Psycho_ , we know everything," Pyrrha said dismissively, waving her hands. "Now come on, I want to know-"

The stairs leading up to the rooms creaked. The sound alone made Pyrrha lock up, her green eyes widening in fear. She forgot to breathe for a few seconds, and when she recovered, she saw Shuuya was also tense. The bounty hunter turned around, the flaps of his trench coat revealing the being responsible for the ominous footfalls.

"DO-YOU-TWO-WANT-TO-SEE-THE-KITCHEN-NOW?" Monodam asked, curtseying for them in his maid outfit. "WE-HAVE-A-VERY-NICE-SELECTION-OF-KNIVES."

The two exhaled in relief at seeing him, though Pyrrha stared inquiringly at the Kub. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"I-DO-NOT-KNOW. I-FELT-THAT-PRESENTATION-WAS-REQUIRED."

Monodam walked off after saying this, leaving the two confused and still slightly tense.

* * *

 **Day 14, Same Time**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

The hallways of the asylum created echoes with every footstep, and each echo was deep and foreboding. Each door, a window with a slide on each, was rusted and scratched. The florescent lights flickered with every step they seemed to take, making the horrible corridors dimly lit.

Hara clung to Isaac, holding his hand. Saiko found herself staying close to Eisei, who was gravitating towards her just as much. Futaba was walking alone, observing the place with a methodical stare.

"You really went all out here, trying to make this place look authentic," she said to Monokuma, who marched in front of the group. "It's like you watched every movie and video game, and tried to push all of the tropes of an asylum together."

" **Oh, you think that I just borrowed a bunch of elements, toots?** " Monokuma asked as he waddled. " **Just to let you know, I included a spooky break room for the employees with a spooky snack machine!** "

Futaba rolled her eyes, and adjusted her glasses. "Yes yes, lovely, and I'm not sure why I decided to come here first. It's merely an anthropology study into your demented mind."

Monokuma chuckled, then turned around and motioned towards one of the patient rooms. " **Would you like to say hello to some of those that we're offering our tender love and care towards? We want to make sure that these poor souls will learn true Despair, rather than Chaos!** "

The anthropologist subconsciously ran a finger across the scars on her face. She sighed, and muttered, "Again, I don't know why I came here-"

There was a powerful slamming sound from inside of the patient room, making all of the people jump. An inhuman scream, muffled by the solid door, came from within. Isaac was shivering in terror, as images of the serial killer who took his family from him flooded back.

Futaba stared at the room, then there was a strong hammering sound, like someone pounding their fist on the door. She started approaching it, when Saiko shouted, "Don't! Why are you going to open it?!"

"Because Monokuma locked someone up in there," she responded matter-of-factly.

"What if it is someone violent? It sure sounds like it!"

"I don't think we're the right group," Eisei chimed in, "to handle a violent maniac."

Monokuma stood there, chuckling deviously. Futaba glanced at him, then at the others, then back at the door. She could feel the heavy banging on the door, the vibrations coming from it almost like someone trying to get at her personally. Another scream came from inside the room.

" **Maybe I should introduce you all to who's in there.** "

Monokuma waddled up to the door before any of them could react, and turned the handle. He flung the door open, and Futaba backed up so swiftly that she pressed against the opposite wall. Gasping in shock, she dared to peer inside of the room…

There wasn't a soul in there. She even braved to step up towards the room and look more inside, but no one was there. Futaba strained out a frustrated growl, and slammed the door shut.

"So, you're going to be using magician tricks to make us think people are in here?" she snapped at Monokuma. "There's no one in this building, but you're going to use sound effects to try and scare us."

" **Upupupupu! AHAHAHA! May you sleep well here, because the former patients really didn't. All that howling and screaming… and it's really a shame, because this place had some of the most state-of-the-art medical equipment.**

" **You might say this is one of the best places to stay at, but hey! Who am I to tell you what is best for your rooming experiences, missie? Just remember, humans aren't the only ones who can be residents!** "

He waddled off, going around a corner while cackling to himself. Futaba turned towards the others, crossing her arms. "I think he's trying to hint at us that if we spend the night here, it might get us something we want."

"That might explain," Eisei remarked, "why this place is rigged to be so theatrically terrifying."

"Well if he thinks he can scare us off," Saiko snapped, "he's got another think coming…"

She was distracted when she started to hear a skittering sound. The forensic investigator turned to see what appeared to be a spider, the size of a coffee mug with long, spindly legs, crawling against the bottom of the floor. She shrieked, grabbing Eisei in outright terror, as she watched it go into a small hole in the wall.

"Spider," she whimpered, holding onto the dentist as she shivered, "big… hairy… gigantic spider!"

"What?" Eisei strained to say, unable to hear as she had shrieked right in his ear, and she was clinging to him terribly.

Saiko pointed at the hole in the wall, and when the others looked down at it, rats burst forth from the hole. They scampered down the hall, disappearing into the dark almost instantly. A large cockroach scurried out as well, and Futaba walked over to stomp on it.

There was nothing underneath Futaba's foot when she lifted it back up. Confused, she stared around the hallway, and noticed that the lights were flickering off more than on. She stared around the place, then wiped at her forehead.

"Why's it so hot?" she muttered. "It feels like someone turned the heat up…"

Isaac rubbed at his arm, and muttered, "I don't know how he's doing it, but he's turned this asylum into a collection of phobias and wide-awake nightmares."

Futaba sighed, rubbing her forehead. "He's definitely daring us to do this, it makes me leery that this might be a trap altogether."

"You think that," Hara said, "that this might be something really bad if we go through with this?"

"That's exactly how despair works, is it not?" Eisei commented. "Also, Saiko, you're cutting off my circulation."

"I really hate spiders," she responded.

"I really need blow flow."

"Yes, you do," Futaba said with a smirk, "because you need it to get hard for what you two are obviously doing."

That was when Saiko let go of Eisei to chase after Futaba, getting a much swifter tour of the asylum.

* * *

 **Day 14, Same Time**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Third Eye Psychic Tent**

The incredibly large tent was almost like a three-room building. It was lit up by lanterns, not very bright ones so the place had a slightly creepy balance.

The first room was like a waiting room, with cushions for seating and a small table that one could serve tea on. There was also a rather odd-looking statue, though it appeared to be a robotic mannequin, of a guy with gigantic dreadlocks.

The main room was filled to the brim with small, portable shelves that contained all kinds of creepy and interesting knickknacks. The center of the room was a glass table, the edge decorated with a gold trimming, and a crystal ball in the very center. Two love seats were at the table, for the fortune teller and the customer.

In the back room, hidden behind a very thick curtain of beads, was something of a bedroom. There was a rather plush bed, which looked like a beanbag mixed with a cot, including pillows and blankets. There were a bunch of other bedroom decorations, including a plushie of a snake next to the bed.

Fiora bit her bottom lip as she stared down at the bed, then moved back through the tent. She stared at the robot-mannequin, and said, "So who is this handsome man?"

" _Come one, come all! To Yasuhiro Hagakure's fortune reading show! Hehe, witness my power over the mystic arts and be amazed by my insights!_ " The robot-mannequin "spoke" with the recorded message, broadcasting from the head of the dummy.

"Ugh, don't make eye contact with it," Anzu snapped from the main room. "It's an awful robot that talks whenever you look at it and say something. Also, that guy was an awful person."

"I don't really know anything about him," Crystal admitted, as she studied the items around the main room, "but it's unlike you to be so hostile."

"There's something about that robot that offends me, what can I say?" Anzu said. "I dunno, may be because I saw him in that nightmare I had."

The military adviser paused her searching, then glanced over at the actress. "You sound really perturbed."

"Your nightmare didn't upset you?"

"I was… back on the island," Crystal muttered, then shook her head. "No no, I'm sorry. I shouldn't go into detail, it's personal, but I did have an awful nightmare. I'm tempted to stay here tonight, if it'll avoid nightmares."

Fannie, standing inside of the main room as well, glanced around at them. Odelios and Ishiku were also in the room, so she felt it was most appropriate to say this now.

"Um, about this place," Fannie stammered nervously, "this is the one place that doesn't prevent nightmares. That's what D… Monokuma said."

Odelios pursed his lips and looked around the tent. "So this place is the one out of the rotation, eh? That's a shame, it actually looks pretty cool."

"If this place doesn't prevent nightmares," Ishiku said, "then what's the point of this place?"

Fannie shrugged. "That's kind of how some things are here, they appear pointless or such, but they may have hidden meaning. It's… maddening."

The pink 'n white topped girl shivered, then sat down on the love seat meant for the fortune teller. "I cannot begin to explain how devious it all is. I'm sorry, I wish I could be more help to you all."

The graduates all took a moment to consider the lady seated there, not sure what to say. Ishiku sat across from her, leaning forward as if they were having a meeting over the crystal ball. "You already are helping us, Fannie, don't forget that."

"I have to warn you all, whatever Monokuma does, there is a reason for it. Whatever reason he set up this fortune teller's tent, there's a reason for it; however, I don't know what it can be if it doesn't help you with the nightmares."

Fiora walked back into the main room, glancing around at everyone there. "So this place is kind of cool, who wants to stick around here, eh?"

Odelios glanced over at the movie maker, and then pointed at her. "We have a volunteer for… whatever this is that we're doing!"

"Ooo, I like helping 'oot with volunteer work. I doo'nt really need to work fur money at times."

" _Come one, come all! To Yasuhiro Hagakure's fortune reading show! Hehe, witness my power over the mystic arts and be amazed by my insights!_ "

Anzu growled and kicked at one of the displays, knocking over the thorny whip and bottle with a rose inside that were perched on it. "Why is that thing still talking? Does it have trigger words?"

* * *

 **Day 14, Same Time**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

The cafeteria was the main room for the pizzeria, with a stage populated with animatronics. The rooms connected to the cafeteria were several arcade rooms, the kitchen, and a couple locked rooms. The florescent lights were ineffective, somehow only able to illuminate the fixture they were attached to; however, that left the rest of the building shady and sinister.

The arcade games were all working, though they required Monokuma Tokens that came from a special machine. Everything was overcharged, especially the crane machines that seemed to be stuffed full with shivs and weapons and Monokuma plushies.

Drake and Ignatia were exploring the arcade machines, noticing a lot of them seemed to be the same as the ones that were in the bowling alley's arcade room. The cartoonist stopped at the Fighters of the Storm, and sighed as he fiddled with the joystick.

"I don't understand why they set all of these things up," he admitted to the mime. "I mean, why are they providing entertainment for us?"

Ignatia glanced towards the stage at the cafeteria, and then held her phone up to showcase her message. [You see those animatronics? They're not trying to entertain us.]

Drake glanced over at the stage too, and winced as he took another gander at the animatronics. They were definitely horrifying, with the fake bloodstains on their mouths, paws, and tools. The lights cast more shadow on them than illumination, making eerie patterns on the curtain behind them.

The animatronics were also modeled after the Monokubs, all of them holding instruments as if ready to play. Those instruments had blood on them, as if they had beaten audience members to death. All of them were the size of humans, though with that metal bulk.

The animatronic of Monokid had his trademark guitar. Monosuke had a guitar as well, Monophanie had cymbals, Monodam was on drums, and Monotaro was holding the microphone as if he was lead singer. All of these large representations of the Kubs were stained with blood, which stood out even with the bad light.

Drake shivered, and turned towards Ignatia. "I think we should try to ignore that… though I'm concerned if that's actually blood on them."

[It would not surprise me if it was. Don't think about it. What I think is kind of important is if you're going to spend time here, what are we rewarded? And where could you possibly sleep?]

The cartoonish shrugged, then walked around the arcade room. Unable to find any place suitable for sleeping, he continued to search with Ignatia by his side. The two were searching the place, trying the doors that seemingly led to maintenance or employee rooms, but most of them were locked.

Hikari sat at one of the tables of the cafeteria, having sacrificed herself to listen to Monokid's ranting. If the blue Kub was going to give up any information, they decided one person should listen, and Hikari just didn't care anymore.

Kimiko watched from a distance, half-expecting for Monokid to be violent again like he was in the previous district. She also was keeping an eye on Hikari, worried about her ever since Aka's execution.

It was because of this concern that she bumped into Ken, who was also busy exploring the pizzeria. The cavalryman barely mumbled an apology, and continued on his way.

"Hey there, handsome," Kimiko snapped at him, gaining his full attention, "doo'nt you joo'st ignore me now."

He turned slowly to her, staring at her in confusion. "I'm sorry, what did I do wrong?"

"Ken, you've bin rather distant from me ever since the love hotel. Not to mention I doo'nt see you with Hikari anymoo'r, what's going on? You cannot joo'st leave ladies hanging."

The Novoselic sighed, and turned towards her. "The nightmare I had was horrendous, Kimiko. I can never get the images of my people, those I respected, raising up with bloodied, broken bodies. They chased me, shouting it was my fault what happened…

"And you know what? I believe it is," he admitted. "If I had stayed-"

"You would have died too," Kimiko interrupted, crossing her arms defiantly. "Your country was completely overrun, and the fact that they're still trying to recover after over two years showcases how bad it was. You may be an ultimate, but you cannot stop a country from destroying itself."

Ken flinched, and slumped down on one of the tables. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, Kimiko. And I'm just angry and suspicious, more so every day."

"Wait, about Penjar, or about us?"

The cavalryman ran a hand through his hair, pulling his hoodie down so she could see his face entirely. "The Entity of Chaos is amongst us. We have no idea who it is, and they're taunting us now. He or she, I cannot let them get out of Penjar alive.

"The amount of destruction that this Entity can bring to the world, we've seen how much power and technology they have here in this abandoned town. If we are truly infected like the green one said we were, with a man-made version of a contagious Chaos spreader… I don't know what the reasonable action is."

Ken crossed his arms as he stared up at her. "I don't know if I'm telling you all this because we were intimate, or because I truly believe you are innocent. You have to understand, if someone as seemingly innocent as Junko Enoshima was the one person who ravaged the entire world, I cannot let my guard down."

Kimiko nodded slowly, and murmured, "Okay. But please, doo'nt do anything rash. I knoo' far too well what happens when despair influences you."

"I have fought against it for a long time. I believe I can do so."

Nearby them, Monokid was recalling his tales about his times in Penjar. Hikari was drumming her fingers on the table, waiting for him to pause so she could get a word in.

"And then, after I discovered that the clown was actually a man, I dragged him back to his side of the plaza! Haw haw haw!" Monokid laughed, and thumped his chest. "What a story, am I right?"

"I already know about that," she grumbled. "I know about all the stories you've told me. You are literally telling me the things that I have been either there for, or informed about."

"Oh sorry. Were you there when that skier chick got eaten by the yeti? Lemme tell you about how I set that up."

Monokid continued to speak, with his eyes closed as he recalled the tale. That's why he failed to notice when Hikari stood up, and was ready to swat him with her umbrella as hard as she could.

A firm grasp held onto her arm, preventing her from assaulting him. She turned to see Kimiko holding onto her arm, the biker gal staring her down with a shake of her head.

"You'll be killed," the biker gang leader remarked.

"I cannot listen to him one more minute," the steampunk model argued. "I hate that little bastard!"

She struggled, but eventually Kimiko wrapped her arms around her and held her tight, preventing her from losing her temper. Hikari struggled, whimpered, and strained, but she couldn't get free.

Eventually, she shivered in defeat, and clung to Kimiko. Monokid hadn't stopped talking the entire time, except for when Ken approached him. "I know harming you little monsters is against the rules," he said, "but what about those animatronics you have on the stage?"

"HAW! Good luck trying to break one of those! You could kick and scream and hit 'em with a fucking sledgehammer, they won't dent! And you cannot even move them without the controls!"

"Where are those controls?"

"Hehehe… upupupupu! Wouldn't you like to know!"

Frustrated, Ken walked away from the cackling Monokid, and into the kitchen. There, he saw Drake and Ignatia were examining the tools there, and seeing if they could indeed make pizza.

"I actually know how to cook a pizza," Drake said with a smile to Ignatia. "Do you have a favorite type?"

[I'm Italian, you dork.] She said, a rare but pleasantly sweet smile on her face. [I like all kinds.]

"Sounds like a challenge! I gotta impress you!" He started shuffling through the cupboards. He set aside a lot of items, including a large pizza cutter, numerous sheets, and cheese shredders.

Ken couldn't help but chuckle, watching the two bond over pizza in this evil pizzeria.

* * *

 **Day 14, Much More Time Later**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

Everyone took some time to inspect the building they were shown. The rotation was uneven, because going through the three stories of the asylum was far more time-consuming than the stroll through the fortune teller tent. It left a lot of them rather restless in the smaller buildings, and thus the tension was growing with how unnerving every place was.

Isaac and Hara's group were the last ones to explore the Bears' Motel. Futaba made another remark about Saiko and Eisei finally getting a room when they were in the motel, and another chase ensued. While this was happening, Hara explored the rooms, trying to find someplace comfortable for her and Isaac.

The journalist sat in the lobby, taking a ton of notes as he was tired of walking around the places; there was only so much searching one could do in one day in so many freaked-out maniacal buildings. Isaac strained as he rubbed his arm even more.

"You've been doing that a lot lately."

Futaba was standing across the room, staring at Isaac with a certain amount of intrigue. The anthropologist sat down as she smiled slightly. "Everyone's been drawing attention to my prosthetic hand, for better or worse. You are fidgeting like I did whenever I was nervous or worse, when I didn't have a more comfortable new hand."

Isaac stared at her suspiciously, then asked, "Any particular reason why you're prying?"

"Isaac, there's still the case of the Entity of Chaos. If you aren't involved, you are the most investigative one of us. I want to know if I can trust you."

"And what does my so-called fidgeting have to do with that?"

"I do know about the fire, Isaac; I was at Hope's Peak when you were."

The reporter flinched, gripping his arm. He scowled at her, and muttered, "I still fail to see how that relates."

"Isaac, there was a rise in temperature when we were at the asylum, and you gripped your arm. When you were in the kitchen at the pizzeria, and the kitchen here, the temperature went up too.

"Monokuma is trying to remind you of that heat," the anthropologist said. "The fire that seared your arm, and you're subconsciously starting to lose it."

Isaac was dead quiet, crossing his arms as he stared to the side. He couldn't look Futaba in the eye, and he was grinding his teeth as he contemplated this. Finally, he glanced at her, and muttered, "You think I'm being targeted?"

"One of the things about being an anthropologist is studying the habits of people, and even pop culture to see how ideas are spread. Monokuma has stuck us in a horror-themed area, and he's using your greatest fears against you; everyone here is nervous after those nightmares, but I sense he's gunning for you for reasons I don't know exactly."

"Oh, I see. You think he's either aiming for me because I'm a threat to him, or that I'm an agent of Chaos. You want to figure out," he frowned at her, "which it is, is that it?"

"Yes. I'm not heartless, I don't wish for something like death to prove it one way or another, Isaac. But after the last trial, there are still suspicions. Try to keep that in mind."

She stood up, and started the leave the room, before pausing to add, "And please, keep aware that if you are innocent in all this, those you care about are liable to get caught in the crossfire."

Isaac watched her go, staring blankly forward what felt like forever. It wasn't until Hara came into the lobby, and called out to him that he snapped out of this state of shock.

"Monokuma says the tours are done, so we can head out to the central area of the plaza," she said to him. "We should go now, plan out our next step. We gotta pick one of these awful places to sleep in tonight."

"Do we have to pick one of them?" he asked.

"Honey…"

Hara walked over to him, taking his hand into hers and squeezing it tightly. "When you woke up from the nightmare, you almost killed yourself in the process. I was so scared, it took all of my strength to stop you. You cannot go through that again, I'm afraid what would happen if it did!"

He stood up, and held her close to him. The two had this moment, until Saiko and Eisei approached them (after seeing them and giving them a few more seconds). The group then went outside, and noticed that everyone else was already there.

Futaba noticed that Blake appeared rather smug, while the other members of his group all were staying a short distance from him. The anthropologist approached him, and immediately asked, "What did you do?"

Blake snickered, and said, "I kicked the shit out of that stupid robot in the fortune teller tent. Broke the hell out of it, it's definitely not as sturdy as the ones in the pizzeria."

"Oh bravo, you broke something."

"Any bit of damage I can do to this fucking town is good enough for me."

Futaba rolled her eyes, and then noticed that Odelios was holding onto something. The clown had a large doll in his hands that had black hair, green clothing including a large jacket, red bead eyes, and a magnifying glass in its hand.

"I call her Annabelle," Odelios said to Crystal and Pyrrha, who were curious about it, "and I got it out of the claw machine!"

"You spent money to get Monokuma Tokens?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I wanted to see what I could win, and I got this adorable doll! Haha, would either of you like it?"

Pyrrha stared at the doll, a mixture of emotions on her face as she studied it. "Wait a minute, doesn't that look like the girl that was in the Kuma-Kuma Land Killing Game?"

"No. that girl was blonde," Crystal remarked. "Wait, her name was Annabelle too!"

"So was some evil doll, but I ain't scared," Odelios said with a confident grin. "Say, now that I have your attention, I wanted to ask you two something-"

"Hey! Everyone!"

Ishiku called out to everyone, holding onto Fannie's hand comfortingly. "We should discuss sleeping arrangements, because this is going to be very important sooner rather than later!"

"What makes you say that?" Anzu asked.

"Because we all woke up super early due to the nightmares, and thus we're all going to need sleep soon. I don't know how many of us can stay awake for long periods of time."

" **I can tell you about the rules to sleeping in my fine establishments!** "

"RISE AND SHINE, FUCKFACES!"

Monokid and Monodam popped up alongside their father, the blue Kub loud and proud, while the green one just kept quiet. Monokuma laughed as he strut amongst the graduates.

" **So, if you want to sleep in one of the buildings, you actually do have to go to sleep! None of this staying up all night and claiming you slept there. Also, if you leave the building, you aren't allowed back in, or into one of the other buildings until the next night. You gotta sleep outside of these places!** "

"And keep in mind," Monokid declared, "you are all totally allowed to kill each other! That'll stop the nightmares fo' sho'!"

"…" Monodam regretfully asserted.

The graduates all exchanged glances, and then Blake spoke up. "That all, you freaking bear?"

" **I think that's the gist of it.** "

"Then allow me to show you what I did to that robot in the tent."

Monokuma paused for a second, then shrieked and waddled away. Blake chased after him, laughing at his fear, and Fiora raced after him, screaming, "You big jerk, you broke that handsome statue? Come here, I'm going to finally give you the fist in the face you deserve!"

With the two graduates and the father bear of Despair gone, that left the two Kubs and nineteen humans to discuss what they were going to do.

"Look, Fiora is immune to the nightmares," Kimiko said, noticing Yitro watching her run away, "so wherever she stays, she'll be fine. And I doo'nt think any of us care a'boot Blake."

"There's nowhere to sleep in the pizzeria," Drake remarked. "I don't know how one can sleep there, you'd have to lie on the floor or the tables!"

"Maybe we could bring a mattress from one of the rooms?" Anzu asked. "There's no rules against that."

"Great, then you can sleep in a smelly building with beeping arcades and those bloodstained animatronics of the Kubs," Saiko remarked. "Sounds wonderfully inviting."

"I cannot believe he used my original image in such a way," Fannie muttered. "I should sue him for slander! Or is it copyright? I dunno."

"We should decide on who sleeps where, since there's not a lot of room in some of them," Futaba remarked. "There's a few rooms in the motel, there's one bed in the tent, the pizzeria has its problems, but there is plenty of room in the asylum. Again, it feels like a dare with that."

"No one needs to sleep in the tent," Pyrrha said. "You all were told that the tent doesn't give us immunity to the nightmares?"

"I think we're all aware of that," Hara remarked. "so let's just decide who goes where tonight."

Isaac took a deep breath, then smiled at her. "I'm with you, honey."

* * *

 **Day 14, 10:34 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

Crystal ground her teeth as she pressed all the buttons on her controller, but it wasn't enough. Her character was knocked off the stage and out of the game, declaring Odelios' the winner.

"How the hell are you so much better than me?!" Crystal shouted, crossing her arms in a huff. "I play this game religiously, and yet you pick up Tracer for one game, and you're suddenly so much better!"

"I got mad leet skills," the clown said proudly.

Pyrrha giggled as she watched the two banter. She stood up and stretched, announcing, "I'm going to get ready for bed. I'm done smashing for the night."

"I thought smashing was for the night?" Crystal remarked with a snicker, then turned to Odelios. "That's why you invited the two of us for the motel, wasn't it?"

"I'm a respectable, honorable, gentle-clown," Odelios protested. "I would never!"

"Oh no, a nice clown," the military adviser said. She glanced over at the bathroom, where Pyrrha had gone to prepare for bed. "Look, I appreciate you in a lot of ways, Odelios, and truth be told, I don't mind the idea of… but I don't think it would be appropriate, all things considered."

"That's okay, I had planned on sleeping in my own room, next to you, and next to Ishiku and Fannie in the other room."

Crystal rubbed her forehead, and muttered, "That seems just fine, though you'll be all alone."

As if on cue, there were rather ominous creaking noises from out in the hallway, and the stairway. Odelios pulled out his rubber chicken, the best weapon for an intruder.

"I know that's probably sound effects and such," Crystal muttered, "but damn does it feel like someone is sneaking up here."

"Quite possibly the most terrifying thing ever," the clown master remarked. He sighed, then twirled Rubarrow in his hand before heading for the door. "I'll be in the next room, in case you need anything."

"I'm a big girl," Crystal said with a smirk on her face. "I can take care of myself."

"I've no doubt, but this town, Despair and Chaos and all that jazz, there's no fault in leaning on some people."

Odelios walked out, waving good-bye. Pyrrha came out of the bathroom a few seconds later, wearing a green nightie. She glanced around the room, and asked, "Oh is he not staying?"

"You wanted him to?" Crystal inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Pyrrha glanced from side to side, a massive amount of indecisiveness in her actions that was not being said out loud. She finally sighed, and muttered, "Maybe I should just go to my own room too?"

"I think the two American women can handle sleeping together without anything happening," Crystal remarked. "Besides, safety and all, we should stick together in some way."

"You trust me?"

"I'd prefer to have someone at my back. What with Samson, and the island…"

Crystal sighed, then leaned back on her bed. "No, sorry, forget I said that. I don't wish to talk about anything tonight, I just want a restful night."

"And you want me, the girl who turned you bi, to sleep with you?"

The military adviser chuckled, and muttered, "I have enough control of my hormones to not do anything tonight. I just want a peaceful night sleep, God willing."

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Odelios was frozen in place. He had his hand ready to knock on the door that was Ishiku and Fannie's room; however, he had not knocked when he heard noises from inside that room. The kind of noises that two people did not wish to be disturbed.

The clown turned on his foot, and hurried off to his room. "Everyone's got a nighttime partner except me."

" _Oh what am I?_ " Rubarrow 'said' to him. " _You sleep with two women once, and suddenly I'm not good enough for you_ _! You're a dork!_ "

"And you're a butt face!"

" _You're the butt face!_ "

* * *

 **Day 14, 10:34 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

"You've got to be kidding me," Yitro remarked, staring at Ken. The cavalryman was laying on the stage, amongst the animatronic Kubs, already equipped with a pillow and some sheets. "You're going to sleep in the middle of that?"

"I've had worse," Ken remarked. "I don't think that it will a problem, it's not like they'll come awake at night."

Yitro shrugged, and glanced around the cafeteria area. He had his 'bed' set up on some tables pushed together, and then let out a laugh. "I've had worse. Sleeping in jail is worse than here."

"I have never slept in a jail before. What is it like?"  
The swordsman stared at Ken like he had just grown wolf ears. "You want to know about that? Why?"

"I am curious, mostly because I feel like I've been imprisoned by my actions. It would help to know if it is as bad as what I'm going through."

Yitro sighed as he took a chair and put it on the stage, seating himself. "You're making yourself feel worse, Ken. You won't get anywhere punishing yourself."

"What are we doing right now? Sleeping in a horrifying place of Monokuma's design, to avoid nightmares that could kill us, or others. We are meant to suffer…"

Ken rolled his eyes, and muttered as well, "Otherwise, why would we pick the one place that has no beds to fall asleep in?"

Yitro shook his head, unable to think of an answer to that. The pizzeria was quiet for the most part, save for some quiet talking that was in the computer area of the building.

Drake and Ignatia were at one of those computers, which had very old video games available. The cartoonist had recognized some of them, and was leading Ignatia through them.

"See, my parents had old computers, so I kind of grew up with some of these," he said, smiling in nostalgia.

Ignatia silently chuckled, and held up her phone. [You're eighteen, you think you're all grown up?] The mime shook in quiet laughter some more, as Drake blushed a little, going back to the game.

"So the funny thing about this game," he said, as he clicked on the pixelated icons, "is that all of the characters names are subtle ways of implying something odd about them."

Monodam watched the two bonding from a short distance, his face as nondescript as ever. The lights of the arcade flickered, as if power was unsteadily being fed to the establishment, as if it could out at any moment. Though the shining computer screens from this room, the arcade screens in the other room, and the animatronics' eyes and insides of their mouths gleamed without pause.

"See, the one named Outfit is actually keeping herself away from the others, because she's been physically training herself too hard," Drake explained. "Wardrobe is about protecting…"

* * *

 **Day 14, 10:34 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Third Eye Psychic Tent**

Anzu stretched out on the love seat in the center room. She put her bare feet up on the table, trying to get comfortable. The slight vibration knocked the crystal ball out of its stand, and it rolled towards her. She caught it, and stared deep into the ball.

"Bunch of hooey," she muttered, juggling it one-handed. "I cannot believe anyone believes this shit."

" _C-C-Come wwwwunn… come-come-come awwwwl…to-ooooouuuu Yah-Yah-Yahsuhi! Rohhhh…_ "

Kimiko walked into the main room, glancing back at the smashed remains of the Yasuhiro robot. "It's still struggling," the biker gang leader muttered, shaking her head, "I doo'nt knoo' whether to put it 'oot of its misery, or try to bring it back to life."

"Don't give it mercy," Anzu snapped, though her infuriation over the machine was gone as soon as she glanced up at Kimiko. "Oh, are you going to sleep in here with us?"

"'Us'? Who else is here?"

There was a soft snore from the bedroom, audible due to there being no door or even a proper wall between the rooms. Anzu chuckled, and said, "Fiora took the bed, and she passed out right away. Shame, really, now it's too awkward to cuddle up with her."

" _Ha-ha-hagakure-re-re-re'zzzzzz fooooorchunnn…_ "

" _Zzzz… fortune reading show… zzzz…_ "

Anzu raised an eyebrow, and muttered, "Oh great, that's so not hot."

Kimiko sighed, and muttered, "Well, I joo'st realized that I doo'nt think I'm gonna be comfortable here."

"Her snoring isn't that bad."

"No, it's just that I sleep naked, and I think there's too many people here. Not to mention it's too easy to joo'st walk in…"

Anzu's eyes went wide and her pale face was quite flushed. " _…ing show! Show show show showshowshowshowshow-_ "

"Screw that machine," the porn star shouted, "it has to have such awful timing!"

Kimiko chuckled, and said, "I'll just head over to the hotel or that pizzeria, and get a room there. You take care, watch over our favorite movie maker."

"Of course I will~"

Kimiko left the tent, as the broken Yasuhiro robot continued to slur, stammer, and stutter its words. A few minutes later, with it still trying to get the last part of the final sentence done, Hikari walked in.

"Was Kimiko in here just now?" the supermodel asked.

"Yes, but she's not staying here," Anzu said. "Why?"

The steampunk model sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Look, I kind of wanted to spend some time with her."

"Do you like her?"

"I suppose I have an interest in her," she admitted. "She left an impact on me…"

" _Pow!_ " exclaimed the broken Yasuhiro bot, " _Pow-pow-pow pow-ow-ow-ow-ow-POOOOWEEEEEER!_ "

Anzu face-palmed, and muttered, "Hikari, I know I shouldn't be the one saying this, but maybe it isn't a good time to try and form relationships."

Hikari frowned, and muttered, "Look, Kimiko is a really cool girl, and I like that about her. If I wait, she might stick with Ken, or someone else."

"Hikari, why on Earth are you rushing it? You make it sound like… wait, this is ridiculous. We are suffering from violent, possessive nightmares, we're trying to find out the solution to this awful town. And you're…

"You're more interested in a hook-up," Anzu crossed her arms, scowling at Hikari. "Are you really going to be like that?"

"Hey, some of us deal with stress and tragedy differently than others," Hikari exclaimed. "I hate this town, it's a culmination of my worst nightmares, but I'm staying. And I stayed mostly because Aka gave me a reason to!

"But with her gone… gone and never coming back, I want to find someone to be with, at least while I can."

Anzu squinted in confusion. "What? Are you planning on leaving? Are you dying?"

"I've been living on borrowed time for a while now, Anzu. I should have died a while back, before the Tragedy, during the Tragedy. I haven't seen how things will pick up, until I finally let someone close to me…

"And why are you being catty about this?! You and I slept together last night! Are you just upset I'm interested in other women?"

Anzu groaned, pushing the crystal ball against her forehead. "Look, I'm just worried about you, that's all. We don't need to worry about relationships, we just need to stay strong."

Hikari clicked her tongue in annoyance. "You've been so different since you mixed it up with Ishiku."

"Is that what you're worried about? That boys are going to corrupt us girls away their lesbian urges? Hikari, you're not yourself."

The steampunk model growled, and muttered, "That's ridiculous! It doesn't matter if you paired up with Ishiku, or Kimiko did things with Ken. You're both bi, it's normal to go straight at times, right?"

" _In,_ " the dying robot voice exclaimed. " _In in in! In my… my in! My in… sigh…_ "

Hikari slapped her forehead with her palm, "Okay, something is wrong with that robot, even after it breaks!"

"Hikari, I think you really need…"

There was a loud yawn, and the clatter of beads as Fiora pushed the curtain of sorts aside. She had the snake plushie in one of her arms, cuddling it close to her. "Whazz goin' on, yo?"

Hikari stared at the half-awake movie maker, and let out a long sigh. "I… I think I just need to sleep. I'm not in the mood to scour the other places, so I'll just sleep here. I'll take one of the love seats out here…"

"No, you shoo'd sleep in bed," Fiora muttered, a half-lidded smile towards her as she shuffled over towards Anzu. "I be crashing here…"

The movie maker quite suddenly plopped down on the love seat, right up against Anzu's. She squirmed to get comfortable, and wrapped her arms around the very surprised actress. One of those grabby hands seized the crystal ball, and took it from Anzu's hand.

Holding onto the crystal ball and Anzu, Fiora was fast asleep within seconds. The actress stared up at Hikari, asking what just happened and for help without words; however, the steampunk model merely smirked.

"Sometimes, you just need someone to hold," Hikari said, as she walked off to the bedroom. Fiora purred as she cuddled up closer to Anzu, murmuring the Yasuhiro bot's monologue in her sleep, with stutters, stretched-out vowels, and some more.

* * *

 **Day 14, 10:34 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

Saiko shuffled nervously in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her blue hair was tossed all over the pillows, as she contemplated everything going on. Her bedmate felt all the movement, and sat up.

"Are you going to be alright?" Eisei asked her.

"I shouldn't be here," she muttered, gripping her forehead. "I should be with Hara and Isaac. Whatever Monokuma is doing, that bastard is targeting them!"

"You have to have faith in them. These beds aren't big enough for three people."

"Ugh, I'm not going to sleep with them! Why would you suggest that?"

"It's kind of a tradition for people who are wanting to share warmth and comfort at night. Did you know that the term 'three dogs down' was in regards to dog sledding teams…"

Saiko flopped back down in the bed, letting out a frustrated sigh. She felt really uncomfortable with this set-up, having her closest friends sleeping in an asylum! However, both Isaac and Hara had insisted on this place.

"It's like they have to prove they are stronger than the building," she muttered aloud.

"Pardon?" Eisei asked. "Were you listening to me, or were you contemplating your friends even more?"

"The latter, you dork! I don't even know why you and I are sleeping together. We're not a couple, we barely know each other."

Eisei nodded, contemplating this. He moved to grab a lollipop he had placed next to the bed, and offered it to her. Saiko stared for a few seconds, shaking as she tried to resist, and then snatched it from him to put it in her mouth.

"Then let us converse," Eisei offered. "We should get to know each other. You are a very intriguing woman, I believe I am going to break my normal lifestyle of solitude, to take a chance upon trusting you."

Saiko stared at him, blushing slightly, as she mumbled, "You're seriously bad at trying to get into my pants, if that was your goal, with that talk."

"I don't wish to wear your pants, I like mine just fine."

"I mean that you're trying to have sex with me again!"

"Oh? But you are the one who is usually touching my nether regions, kissing me, and making lewd remarks."

"So sue me!"

"Is that another expression, or are you actually asking me to bring a sexual harassment lawsuit-"

He paused when she tried to jam the lollipop into his mouth. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because it's this or kiss you to shut you up, and if I kiss you now, I'm afraid-"

"Excuse me, am I interrupting anything?"

Saiko froze up, posed over Eisei while practically straddling him, trying to push a lollipop into his mouth. The dentist merely glanced over at the open doorway, where Shuuya stood. The bounty hunter raised an eyebrow, and continued to speak.

"I would hope that if you two are going to get freaky, you're not going to leave the door open."

"That is the last thing on my mind," Saiko, quite unconvincingly, declared. "Look, Shuuya, we decided to leave that door open because we want to ensure we can hear the others. Isaac and Hara are nearby, and Futaba is too."

"Oh, I know. She asked me to stick close too. I feel…"

He stopped when he heard something scurrying nearby. The biggest rat he had ever seen slunk into the shadows, but not before turning to hiss at him. With an annoyed sigh, he turned back to the other two.

"I'll be nearby, but please keep into consideration, I'll be armed. I'm not taking any chances with Monokuma's sinister plans."

"You sure that's safe?" Saiko asked.

"You'd prefer us all to be unarmed when sleeping in an asylum that Monokuma made?"

"Yes, but… the dreams were so powerful last time, what if he's lying? What if we sleep walk here?"

Shuuya walked in to the room, and pulled a combat knife from one of the scabbards he had. Placing it on the table next to their bed, he said, "Either of you know how to use one?"

"Yes," Eisei calmly replied.

"I've used scalpels, not combat blades," Saiko remarked.

"Have fun, I have others. You two take care then."

Shuuya walked off, waving good-bye. Eisei reached over to the combat blade, and picked it up. "Nice balance," he remarked.

"Why on Earth do you know how to use a military blade?" she asked him. "Wait, is there anything that you don't know?"

"Hmm, I'm still learning how to social interact. There was an Ultimate Soldier in my class, learned a few things from him, it was helpful. Would you like me to teach you?"

"I think I can use a knife, Eisei."

She reached for the knife's handle, wrapping her hand around his. Their fingers seemed to weave together around the handle, and the two looked into each other's eyes.

"This is so dorky and weird," Saiko whispered.

"I cannot imagine this being a normal occurrence for couples."

"Wait, do you consider us a couple?"

As the conversation continued on, it could be heard by those in one of the nearby rooms. Hara giggled softly, and turned to Isaac, who was lying in the bed. "They're so cute, I cannot believe it. If it weren't for all the awful, awful things happening, this would be the best thing ever."

Isaac chuckled as he leaned his head back into the pillows. "Part of me thinks we should just let them have some peace. I mean, I know sex isn't going to make the relationship, but it's got to be a bit intimidating to Eisei. All of us together most of the time, thick as thieves."

"Tomorrow, let's try to do something for them, okay?" Hara said as she walked over to the bed. She didn't have any nightwear on, and neither did Isaac; the two had just decided to have their normal clothes on for this evening.

"So long as everything goes well…"

Hara got into the bed and snuggled up to him, holding him close to her. "Have a little faith, my dear Isaac. We have our friends nearby, we have each other. We're not going to let that evil bear have the last laugh."

Isaac held her close to him, as he looked around the room. The walls were padded, the cabinet and desk had safety covers on the corners to prevent bumps, and the single light at the center of the room was barely illuminating. There was a small TV screen up in the corner of the room, undoubtably for a certain morning and evening broadcast.

It was highly unusual and unnerving to be in this room at the least; however, the fear of seeing Shizuka Akui was lessened, having her with him. The thought of seeing the Beautician of Death had been so awful, he didn't know if he could close his eyes this night without her.

"I love you," he whispered as he kissed her forehead, then closed his eyes.

* * *

 **Day 14, 10:56 PM**

 **Housing Area**

Souma sighed as he stared at his house, still contemplating his options. Rubbing his forehead, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and turned.

"Kimiko? What are you doing here?" he asked, turning to address her.

"I fucked up," she said with a bitter sigh. "I went into the psychic tent, then tried to go into the hotel, but Monokuma said because I left the tent, I cannot go into one of the buildings."

"Oh dear, I hope you'll be fine tonight."

"I've already had the worst of nightmares," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I can handle it, but I'm curious why you're 'oot here."

"I… was considering risking the nightmares. When I had mine last night, it was invasive and terrifying, but I had the idea I was being told something."

"There's nothing to gain from willingly accepting nightmares, especially Monokuma and Despair influenced ones."

"There is if he's taunting us about knowing something we don't know. I wish to learn more about what he knows, if possible."

Kimiko sighed, and muttered, "You want some company, in case things go south?"

"Why my dear, I am not the type to really engage in that kind of activity-"

"It's literally sleeping with someone, not having sex. That's bin going around here for a while now," the biker gang leader remarked. "And hey, even befur that, I had to share beds with my girls in my gang, didn't mean I was shagging every damn night!"

"Alright okay, sorry! You proved your point!"

Kimiko shrugged and muttered, "I'm soo'ry too, I'm just a snappy bundle of nerves. Maybe I should go get shit-faced befur passing 'oot, it'll keep the sleepwalking doo'n fur sure."

"I wouldn't advise that-"

"Yeah, well, I'm a reckless bitch, and I always have bin. Stay safe, fancy suit."

Kimiko walked off, waving good bye to him. Souma stood there, a little flabbergasted, then he heard one of the doors creaking open.

Blake walked out, eyeing Kimiko heading off. "She gonna get a drink?" he said with a sly chuckle. "I cannot believe I didn't think of that! I'mma go get blasted too!"

"Oh really now, this is really reckless of you," Souma complained. "And why are you choosing to face the nightmares?"

"How about you stay out of my fucking business, mate? You ain't got any say in what I do," the pyro said as he pointed at Souma, "so I don't need to hear you lecturing me, rich boy. Go ahead and risk it to prove you have balls, because honestly, I don't think you have any."

Blake walked off, leaving a rather annoyed Souma behind him. The public speaker rubbed the back of his head, and muttered, "Well, with those fine words of wisdom, I should just head on in then."

As he entered his house, the TV turned on a few seconds later. The Ultimate Public Speaker really wasn't in the mood to hear it, but the sound was made loud enough for him to even as he prepared the shower.

* * *

( **Day 14 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma, wearing a leather jacket, is inside of an old diner, where there is a jukebox playing old tunes. He is dancing out on the floor with Monokid and Monodam, the former behaving like it is a mosh pit and the latter not even dancing._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Generally, I like to think that things are rather obvious to us. Humans and bears should realize the plain and obvious, like does gravity work? Have we been to the moon? What is love? I think we get so caught up in possibilities, even the obvious cannot be seen when staring us right in the face."

* _Outside, seen through the window of the diner, is a reverse-colored Monokuma, with very sinister eyes, who is strangling a female Monokuma. Monokid freaks out over this, but Monokuma inside keeps dancing; Monodam still does nothing._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "I mean, when you cannot agree on things like if the Earth is flat or round, if your politicians are training pelicans to assassinate dictators, or whatever gluten is, how are we going to get along? How can we truly love each other? Why do you always have to make things difficult?!"

* _Monokuma turns around to continue dancing, and it's apparent now his jacket is exactly like Kimiko's with her gang name on the back. The evil strangler Monokuma outside is making an escape, as Monokid jumps through the window after him. Monodam still does nothing._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Why are you always bugging me about these weird situations? I mean, do I look like I can explain love to you humans? I'm just a bear getting down with his jam, to the beat of his own drum! Stop bothering me, and learn to dance to your own drum's beat!"

* * *

Souma rolled his eyes after the theater presentation ended. He could have sworn he heard angry shouting in the distance, but didn't know who or what it was. Deciding not to intervene in anything else tonight, he stepped into his shower.

* * *

 **Day 15, 12:01 AM**

 **Penjar**

The mists swirled around all of the city, even those barren of life or activity. Like always, there wasn't any wind, but there was the whispering of it through the trees, and a howl across the Western Plaza. The statue of Monokuma had no mist around it, making it stand out in the dead of this night.

Monokuma himself was standing at the base of his statue, his lightning bolt eye gleaming a malevolent crimson. He stood perfectly still, as if he had been made into a statue too. That gleam in his eye seemed to flare up at any time the mists swished around one of the four buildings.

The tent's sides moved, though the wind was strangely absent. Inside, Anzu and Fiora had fallen asleep in that love seat. Hikari was not sleeping, still fretting over going after Kimiko.

The arcade wasn't quiet inside, with the arcade games making noises non-stop and echoing around the building. Sometimes, one of the sound effects would be louder than the others, almost as if someone was trying to startle those inside.

The hotel was creaking a great deal, every part of it shifting. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all making small noises. Even the plumbing made unusual noises every now and then, almost as if something was trying to come up through the pipes.

A minute after midnight, Odelios let out a horrified scream. Everyone in the hotel came sprinting out of their rooms, with Fannie and Ishiku having to throw on some clothes quickly. Crystal almost broke down the door in her efforts to get to the clown.

Inside of the room, Odelios was huddled up in the corner of the room, gripping his rubber chicken with both fists, knuckles turned white. When he saw his friends come into the room, he pointed towards the opposite side of the room.

"IT MOVED!"

The Annabelle plushie was placed on a chair. Its bead eyes were focused on the seat of the chair, slightly slumped over as if it were trying to look through the fake magnifying glass in its hands.

"GET IT!" Odelios insisted.

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

* * *

 **Day 15, 12:34 AM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

Skittering noises echoed down the hallway of the asylum. The building was creaking too, and every time the people in beds so much as moved, the legs of their beds squeaked loudly. It was as if everything was made to be unnerving.

The noises in the hallway became too much for the six people, so they quickly converged to agree and keep the doors closed. After doing so, the scratching and skittering of small animals in the hallways increased.

Isaac swore that he could hear them scratching and growling at the walls, or maybe in them. He kept telling himself it was definitely speakers built into the walls, that's how Monokuma did it. The room started to feel warmer, and he thought back to when it happened during his tour here.

" _It was a mistake,_ " he thought, holding Hara to him. " _Did I pick this place because of my pride? I shouldn't have done this, but… there's no turning back now._ "

He swore he heard someone walking down the hallway, but it was just the sound. There was no presence to those footfalls, other than the sound, so it came off as extremely unnerving. Isaac felt sweat building on his forehead, and took several deep breaths.

" _It's all in your head. You can get past this._ "

In the next room, Futaba was furiously scribbling notes down. The noises out in the hallway were constant enough that each one was distinct, and she swore that each one reminded her of someone unpleasant in her life.

Shuuya was lying on the bed, watching her write at the small desk that the room had. The bounty hunter propped himself up, and asked, "There's something about you writing like a madwoman in an asylum that could be taken the wrong way."

"Har har, funny man," she responded, not pausing for a second. "I'm recording the noises coming from outside, it's important; I need to make sure that the others heard the same things."

"There's no way that the noises and such could be different for each person."

"Don't be so sure. As an anthropologist, I know that everyone sees things differently, and the same goes with noises. That's why I asked you to stay in my room with me."

Shuuya glanced to the side, trying to hide the slight bit of disappointment that he couldn't hide in time. He glanced back at Futaba, watching her work, and trying not to think of how he had seen her naked, multiple times, and been rather intimate with her, multiple times.

"So you really think that Monokuma has a way to make us hear things that the others don't?" he asked.

"Shuuya, imagine the sound of crackling. For some, it would make them think of a candy bar wrapper. Some would think it sounds like a stick snapping. And some are reminded of fire…

"I know what I hear when there's a crackling noise. I know what it sounds like out there. It reminds me of some very unpleasant times, to say the least."

She stopped writing for a second, then turned to look at him. "Does anything out there make you think of things that make you uneasy?"

Shuuya lay there in silence, trying to hear what Futaba was talking about. A couple minutes passed, and he didn't pick up anything at all. "No. I don't hear anything, Futaba."

She blinked, staring at him. "I've heard three things since I asked you. Each one brings up sad and unpleasant memories, makes me uneasy. How the hell can you not hear anything?"

The bounty hunter glanced down at his hands, and for a brief moment, he swore there was blood all over them. It was there, bright and wet and dripping from his fingertips. He blinked and shook his hands, nothing there afterwards.

Shuuya growled in frustration, then looked at her. "Futaba, sometimes the silence is the worst part. Because, in my line of work, no noise means something is bound to happen."

"Hunting down predators makes you fear the silence, because it makes you realize they can attack at any moment too?"

"I do not fear the silence. I am beyond fear."

Shuuya let out a long sigh, and rubbed his forehead. "Fear is when we dread pain, death, something awful to happen to you or those you love; however, I don't have anything like that."

"What about your sister?"

"She can take care of herself, I do not fear for her. Besides, it's not like she is here. Monokuma cannot make me think she is here."

Futaba took a deep breath, as she stared at him for a few seconds before going back to her writing. She spoke after a minute of recording. "I met a woman like you once."

"Fearless?"

"A bounty hunter, of sorts," Futaba said, smirking a little as she recalled events. "There wasn't anything fearful in her, she wanted to hunt down evil people and annihilate them. To be honest, I thought people like her and you would scare the hell out of me…

"To be able to kill a person without remorse, to actively go after a dangerous, living target. I didn't think such a thing was possible to do coolly."

Shuuya scoffed lightly. "Sounds like we're just sociopaths, doesn't it?"

"I just wonder how you do it, because I don't think you are."

"Well, I don't kill people, I destroy monsters. The things that the evil, wretched persons do to people, that's what makes me good at what I do. I end them, before they hurt anyone."

Futaba smiled a little, turning towards him completely now. "You've never shied away from that, even though it could have ostracized you from the group. I've always marveled that about you."

"There's nothing marvelous about me, Futaba."

"Oh, don't be self-deprecating, I know you're doing that because you don't want people near you. Seen it before, but sorry…"

Futaba closed up her notepad, and placed it next to the desk next to the bed. She pulled herself up on the bed, and on top of Shuuya. Straddling his hips, admiring how firm his thighs were, as well as the obvious bulge in his pants, she chuckled deviously.

"I thought," he said, his voice calm but his hands excitedly petting her sides, "that you asked me here to be a second opinion on the noises."

"Oh you are. You're also here because I want to fuck you."

"You're very forward about this. I hope you're not doing this because you think you're going to die still."

"Shuuya, I already experienced death, multiple times in my life. I'm ready for it, therefore…"

She moved in to kiss him, savoring his taste. Her loins ground down on his, and she could feel him grow harder in his pants. As her hands pet his chest, she whispered against his lips, "I do what I want to enjoy myself when I can. And don't try and tell me it's not appropriate, you're a man; men want sex, and you want this."

She took his hands and had them cup her breasts through her top. As Futaba removed her shirt so only her bra was in the way, Shuuya commented, "An asylum made by Monokuma where we're trying to stay safe and sane isn't my ideal place."

"But you're not stopping."

"The others are nearby."

"I don't care if they hear us, but I can be quiet. Quiet sex is fun."

Shuuya let out a long sigh, as he started fondling her a bit more sensually. "This just goes completely against my lifestyle… but maybe I should just consider yourself on vacation."

"That's the spirit," she said as she started unfastening his pants.

* * *

 **Day 15, ? AM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

 **At the Bar**

Blake slammed down a hard drink, slumping over on the counter. It was starting to feel painful to have more, even for him, but it was better than any alternative. He groaned and rubbed his forehead, before slurring to himself, "What the hell am I doing again?"

There was a soft, sensual moan behind him. He turned to see Kimiko pulling off her leather jacket, exposing the risqué bra she had on. Running her hands through her hair, shaking it to make the emerald green locks swish around, she reached for another drink.

She missed her mouth, spilling it down her front. As her chest and stomach glistened, she noticed Blake was staring at her.

"Don't tell me," she murmured, "yoo'r too drunk to have some fun, Aussie man."

Blake blinked, staring at this inviting vision. Then he let out a chuckle, and headed over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up off of her seat, seizing her in his arms. She grunted and swooned, giving him some serious bedroom eyes.

The pyro chuckled as he took off her bra, throwing it across the tavern. His hands went for her breasts immediately, feeling her up with eager, groping hands.

"You got a great pair, biker girl," he said as he fondled her.

" _No_ , tha _t_ 's a _he_ fty pai _r_ you got there."

A hand reached between Blake's legs, grabbing him rather tightly. He flinched slightly, then murmured, "Eager, aren't you, girl?"

" _I t_ h _i_ nk your _s_ is _n_ icer, s _o_ le _t_ 's _h_ urry to th _e_ best pa _r_ t, shall we?"

Her hands unfastened his pants, pulling them down. When her hands went to his underwear, he felt a little bit anxious. "You really want to do this in the tavern, hot stuff? I mean…"

Blake stopped when he saw a tattoo on the back of her right hand. The same tattoo that Jeremy Westwood, the most violent and dangerous man in the same prison as Blake had been, had on his hand.

The pyro pushed away, tripping over his pants and falling down on his back. When he looked up, Jeremy Westwood was there instead. The murderous gang leader smirked as he stared down at Blake.

"Wha _t_ 's the matter, fire b _o_ y?" he barked out. " _L_ ust over that _d_ ame instead of me? Well, how about I make _y_ ou change y _o_ ur tho _u_ ghts, you puny fucker?!"

Blake growled as he pulled his pants up, struggling to stand to his feet. "Aw shit, drinking didn't work," he muttered. "Well, time to fuck this bastard up again!"

"Hehe, maybe that's why," Jeremy shouted as the two squared off, "I killed your brother!"

* * *

 **Due 15, ? AX**

 _SCREEEEEE!_

Ken awoke with a start, the abrupt mechanical noise piercing through the soft slumber he had managed. He grasped for his sword as he scanned the stage. There was no movement, save for Yitro's frantic movements; the swordsman had been awakened, or riled, by the noise too.

The cavalryman turned his head to find where he had left his sword. He didn't remember leaving it so far away from his person. Ken grasped the handle…

 _AAAR!_

He flinched as he whipped his head back towards the animatronics on the stage. None of them had moved, not even an inch, but the sound sure sounded like it came from them. That horrible sound of metal scraping metal in ways they weren't meant to, like grinding gears.

Ken took several deep breaths, trying to settle his heart. It hadn't even sounded natural, that sound. He rubbed his chest, as he stared down at his sword.

It was then that he realized the lights were flashing, as if power were dying in the arcade. They were out for a few seconds, right as music started to play from the overhead speaker; this rather startled Ken, who didn't realize there was such a speaker until now.

It was faint lullaby music, and a tune he recognized. The song was a popular one in Novoselic, one his mother had sung to him when he was but a child. Ken clutched at his hoodie, as memories came back to him…

It was then that he noticed the head of the Monodam animatronic, the one closest to him, was rotating. Slowly, like a precise turning of a dial, the face of the green Kub was staring at him.

The teeth in Monodam's permanent grimace were razor sharp, each one gleaming with vicious intensity like a blade meant for death. The reason they were gleaming with the overhead lights out was because the animatronic's eyes were glowing…

This dark red light, hateful and malevolent, was only enough to illuminate the green animatronic's face. It stared at Ken, who found himself staring back…

"What's going on?!"

 _RRRRLET!_

The robot head snapped back into its normal position, eyes no longer glowing. That whirling, mechanical sound and click echoed around the room, making Ken flinch. He stared in the direction of the voice, which was Drake.

The cartoonist had Monodam, the actual Kub, in his arms, and Ignatia was standing next to him. The mime stared around the room, peering through the darkness, as the lights flickered.

"What the hell noises were those?" Yitro asked aloud.

Ken tried to speak, but found himself quite unable to, for reasons he didn't fully comprehend.

* * *

 **Dead 15, ? A** x'e **M**

Fire roared in the room. It was almost impossible to breathe. It was climbing up the walls, on the ceiling, a dance of death and destruction everywhere.

It spread so fast that Isaac had no time to get off of the bed. Pulling Hara off with him, he felt that familiar heat on his arm as they got off of the flammable surface. The reporter yanked off his jacket, trying to remove the burning leather that was threatening to engulf him.

Even when it was off, he could see the arm sleeve he had on was burning. He stripped it off, and the burn scars on his arm were like a perfect background for the illumination of the dancing flames. It taunted him the moment his eyes were on it.

"Isaac?!"

Hearing Hara's voice, he picked up his fiancé and hurried for the door. It was closed, and when he reached for the knob, it was searing hot. He could practically feel his skin cooking from that brief moment of touching it.

The reporter lifted up his leg, and kicked at the door. It took several attempts, but he broke it open as he held Hara in his arms. If she was saying or shouting something, he couldn't hear it; all he could hear was the sound of the building burning, and his panicked inner mantra.

" _Get out, get out, get out of the building now, GET OUT OF THE BUILDING NOW!_ "

Isaac hurried into the hallway, to see flames racing through the hallway, along the walls and the ceiling. Down the hallway, there was a figure, a dark-clad person wearing a mask much like the late Yejoon's.

" _Hello there, Isaac._ "

Her voice wasn't muffled, it was like her lips were right on Isaac's ears. He felt his body lock up, and started shivering uncontrollably.

" _I'm warming up the asylum to make it a masterpiece,_ " Shizuka Akui said, her body shifting to fully face him. Her hand extended, wax and blood dripping in-between her fingers. " _Care to help me?_ "

Something slammed so hard against the wall behind Isaac, he exclaimed in fear and shock. He barely managed to do much else before Saiko barreled past him, shrieking in terror. Eisei was right behind her, calling out in desperation.

When Isaac faced forward again, Shizuka Akui wasn't there. He was clutching Hara, shaking, trying to figure out what was going on, as fear left him unable to move.

Heavy footsteps were coming up from behind him. He felt his heart skip a beat, and then the voice of the Beautician of Death was in his ear again.

" _Only you can assist me in this masterpiece, Isaac. Come help our amazing creation._ "

Isaac was sprinting, clutching Hara tightly, as he headed down the hallway. The fires danced on the walls, the ceiling, rats were racing down the path and letting out hysterical squeaks and shrieks.

The rats were burning to death, or being trampled by him. It was more death, death everywhere. Isaac felt his body burn in strain, but he moved as if possessed by the strongest firefighter.

Isaac saw the front door, with flames racing all around it like the gates of hall. Outside, Penjar was bright and sunny, no mists, no dreary atmosphere ever. This would have normally triggered Isaac's apprehension, but he was well beyond caution.

Sprinting outside, he had to close his eyes as the sunlight was blinding. When he opened them, Penjar was exactly as it had always been. The mists, the overcast sky, the time-worn look and feel of it all, he was there again. The cold of the town hit him like a truck, and he fell to his knees.

Gasping, heaving, he couldn't do anything but breathe. Then he felt Hara struggling, trying to get out of his arms.

" _Isaac!_ "

The reporter flinched again, the voice of his family's killer so familiar to him suddenly, that Hara sounded the same in that instant. He dropped her, and scurried back, holding out his burned arm.

"No! Don't… get away from me!"

"Isaac? Isaac, look at me!"

The reporter's eyes had squinted shut, until he heard those words. He opened to see Hara in front of him, so confused and scared, but all of her concern was for him right now. The explorer moved over to him, and caressed his face gently.

"It's me, my love. Look at me. It's me."

Isaac took several deep breaths, staring into Hara's eyes. The explorer held him, until her attention was diverted towards the asylum.

"No! No no no, don't leave!"

Isaac turned around, seeing Shuuya and Futaba in the doorway, inches from setting foot outside. The bounty hunter and anthropologist were half-dressed, flustered, but also highly concerned.

"If you leave," Hara insisted, "you cannot go back in! Please! Shuuya, Futaba, you have to stay in there! Someone has to."

Shuuya clenched his fists, and nodded. He slammed one of those fists against the doorway, and turned back into the building. It was at this moment that Isaac realized that the asylum wasn't on fire, not outside nor inside.

Futaba stayed inside the asylum, scanning the two outside. She spared a glance away from them, and called out, "You'd better go check on Saiko and Eisei. If you didn't see them…"

There was a shrill cry from somewhere else in the plaza. Hara and Isaac were to their feet immediately, and started sprinting towards the sound.

Nearby the fortune teller's tent, Saiko had collapsed. She was clutching the back of her head, straining with how much pressure she was putting on herself. Eisei was trying to stop her, in fear she'd hurt herself, but he wasn't strong enough to do so.

Hara moved over and managed to do what the dentist couldn't, prying her hands away from the back of her head. Saiko screamed, thrashed, and then panted heavily.

She stared up at Hara, eyes wide in fear, sweat running down her forehead. "Hara? Is… is that really you?"

"I'm here, Saiko. Please, calm down."

"I… I was hit in the back of my head with a baseball bat. I could feel my brains start to fall out, I had to get away… couldn't… let them assassinate me…"

Hara inspected the back of Saiko's head. There was no injury, no blood, nothing to signal that she had been struck. The forensic investigator was panting still, mumbling to herself.

"I knew they'd come for me one day. The Kuzuryu clan would never let someone who wronged them get away with it. I didn't think they'd find me… wait… wait, they weren't here. It was a dream? A hallucination? I don't…"

She felt a hand hold onto hers. Eisei was next to her, holding her tenderly, and she found her gaze locked onto his. She swallowed nervously, and muttered, "The truth serum is in the mists again, isn't it? I'm telling all my secrets… don't listen to me, Eisei!"

"Saiko, I am not leaving your side."

"You don't understand! I put an innocent man in jail, and it got him executed! He was a member of a Yakuza family! The Kuzuryus are here! They're… oh God."

She clung to Eisei, sobbing hard. Saiko shivered and shuddered, though despite how heavily she was crying, her eyes weren't closed. That's when she noticed Hara and Isaac nearby.

"Oh, Isaac," she murmured, feebly pointing with her free hand at him, "your arm. You're not wearing…"

The reporter glanced down at his scarred right arm. As he did so, the mists swirled around him, almost as if combing through every inch of the gnarled flesh. He felt himself start to shiver, until Hara took his hand into hers.

The four of them were quiet, their emotions having run themselves ragged. They sat there, not knowing for how long.

"Darlings?"

Hikari's voice snapped them all back to reality. The steampunk model was inside of the tent, her figure outlined by the lights inside. She spoke again, quiet but very concerned.

"We can hear you out there. What's going on? Are you all okay?"

Isaac, Hara, Eisei, and Saiko all exchanged glances. They felt obligated to answer, with the truth serum mists in their systems preventing them for even a white lie like, " _We're fine._ "

"We're going," Eisei called to her, "to have to sleep in our rooms. Don't come out of the tent, or you'll have to do the same."

"What happened?"

"Monokuma and his malevolent plans, that was the problem. It seems even without nightmares, hallucinations and other unknown forces are going to make this more dangerous than we thought."

"But I… I don't know what to do!" Hikari exclaimed. "I'm so worried about you all, you cannot sleep in your rooms with these awful nightmares! You cannot afford to… to…"

Whatever the rest of Hikari's sentence was, it was interrupted by a mechanical clicking, then the impeded voice of a damaged recording played.

" _Come wuuuuuunn, come a-a-a-a-awwwwll! To-oooo_ -"

"That damn thing again," Hikari cursed. "Wait, you can just come in here!"

"We can't," Isaac declared. "We left the asylum! We… oh God, Hara. I… I brought you out, that's my fault… that's on me…"

"No! No don't you blame yourself," Hara defiantly said, gripping his shoulders. "I'd be out here with you if you left alone. We're not separating."

" _Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya… suhiro Haaaaaah…_ "

Hikari growled in frustration, then said, "Okay, but please, take care of each other. Don't let each other out of your sight, hold onto each other."

"Hikari, what's wrong?" Saiko managed to say, as she wiped at her eyes. "You sound so scared."

"We lost Aka yesterday," the model explained. She took a deep breath, and continued. "We've lost a lot of people in this town, and we're not getting closer to the truth over it. With how sinister Monokuma and his Kubs are, whatever power is out there, I'm so worried that we're going to lose more people.

"And I don't want that to happen! Not anymore! So you all take care of each other, damn it! Do you hear me?"

" _For! Chun! Re-re-re-reeeeeeeee,_ " the Yasuhiro recorder stammered. " _Reeeeeee-ading show! Heh… heh… heh…_ ** _heh… heh…_** "

The recording was becoming more slurred, more strained, the words and sounds becoming deep growls. Hikari shivered, but found her voice again.

"Take care of each other. Don't worry about things being awkward or stupid or whatever, don't let pride or shame get in the way of survival. Do you hear me?"

"We do," Hara responded, holding Isaac's hand tight in hers.

"No one is going to drive us away," Eisei affirmed. "We're going to see this through until it is over."

" _Power… over… o-ver…_ ** _over… over…_**

 ** _Over…_**

 ** _OVER…_**

 ** _powER OVER…_**

 ** _er…_**

 ** _wer…_**

 ** _wur…_**

 ** _wur… over._** "

And with that, the recording sputtered its last, and died entirely. The only sound now was the rustle of the fortune teller's tent, despite there being no wind; just like the mists that swished around the four people outside…

As well as Monokuma, who watched from afar. His crimson, evil eye gleamed as if there was a victorious twinkle in his mechanical pupil.

* * *

…

 **21 Survivors remain in Penjar.**


	34. Chapter 5-2: The Path to Penjar

**Chapter 5-2**

 **An Anomaly in the Aisle**

* * *

 _She smiled, a bit of a spring in her step, as she walked out of the building. Having taken a load off of her shoulders with the discussion with her friend, it felt like the world was a lot less complex in a general sense._

 _Funny how it is, that when you let your emotions spike over an issue, it becomes all you can think of. Why was the brain wired that way, unwilling to let something go even when everyone, even yourself, tried to get you on something else?_

 _That was definitely a question for another day, as she approached her car. Humming a little as she fished her keys from her purse, she whispered to herself, "I do have a right to be happy. Time to act on it."_

 _Strong hands seized her shoulders from behind. A rag with a chemical smell was pushed up against her nose and mouth, and she involuntarily gasped from the sudden assault. The world grew hazy fast, though she swung her elbow back to try and strike her attacker._

 _It was not enough, she was fading out of consciousness… this was it… surely it was her past catching up to her… d-damn it… why…_

 _Why now, when she was finally… happy…_

* * *

 **Day 15, ? AM**

 **Housing District**

 **Saiko Kobayashi's House**

The forensic investigator sat up with a start, gasping as she grasped at her face. She struggled against a non-existent attacker, until she felt a pair of gentle hands hold her sides. Saiko hyperventilated as she faced Eisei, staring at him with wide eyes.

Gasping, straining to get a grip on herself, Saiko managed to calm down after a couple minutes of heavy breathing. She realized that she was holding onto him, her grip on his soft pink nightie almost tearing it from his body.

"Sorry," she murmured as she released his nightie. Sighing heavily, she murmured in addition, "I dreamed it again. The Kuzuryu clan found me, they were going to take me. God, it felt so damn real, I can still smell chloroform…"

"They aren't here," Eisei matter-of-factly stated, rubbing her back. He took her hand in his, and said, "They aren't even around anymore."

"It's easy to say that when I'm awake and conscious. Harder to do so when I feel like I'm being assassinated or kidnapped," she grumbled, shaking her head. Sighing ruefully, she looked at him, staring into his eyes. "Wait a minute… did I wake you up?"

When Eisei didn't answer, just continued to hold her, she let out another sigh. "Goddamnit, Eisei, you cannot stay up on my account. What about you? You surely have to tackle your own nightmares."

"I don't know how I can physically wrangle a nightmare…"

"Oh there you go again, taking all my words literally. Eisei, you do realize if you don't get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be hell for you."

Eisei shrugged. "I was thinking of staying up the entire night to make sure no harm came to you, then going into one of the buildings to sleep. Preferably after I hear what benefits or downsides the buildings provide, that way, I can take advantage of such things."

"Sleeping during the day? In places where anyone could walk in? That's not safe at all!"

The dentist shrugged, and managed a smile. "It's worth it, and I don't think we have much to worry about the people in Penjar now."

"Are you crazy? There have been two serial killers, a Chaos-worshipping traitor, and there's also the unknown Seed of Despair AND the Entity of Chaos! Not to mention the last two murders were people who just snapped and decided to kill someone, so you cannot leave yourself vulnerable…

"Especially," Saiko hung her head in shame, covering her face with her free hand, "if you're going to do it for me. I refuse to allow you to put yourself in danger for me. I'm not a damsel, I'm not someone who wants or even deserves special treatment. So don't you dare put yourself in danger for me."

"What if I want to, because I care about you?"

She peered between her fingers at him. "Eisei, what even is our relationship? It's mostly physical."

"I perceive that we both have serious mentalities, strong career choices, good company to have as friends, and an affinity for justice and proper hygiene. We do have a great deal to relate to, and enjoy the differences. Our physical relationship is nice, but you trying to take me in intimate ways is just part of it."

"Excuse me?" Saiko blurted out, laughing despite herself. "You're saying I'm the physical one?"

"Saiko, you have literally grabbed my shoulders to kiss me, reached into my clothing to touch my genitals, and suggested that we enjoy non-copulation intercourse at nights. Yes, you are the more physical one of the two of us."

Saiko pouted at this, which made her appear rather adorable to Eisei. The dentist chuckled, and pat her shoulder. "It is part of your charm and character, you should not be ashamed of it."

"It's not fair. I feel that as a woman, now that you've seen me at my most intimate, and vulnerable, there is a lack of balance. You are just so in-control, so comfortable with who you are, how you dress and act and behave, I feel… inadequate."

Eisei pondered this for a moment, as he rubbed the back of her hand affectionately. They were quiet for a minute, before he spoke up.

"I had a goth phase."

"… What."

"When I was younger, and a bit more naive, I had the feel that dark and, as they say, edgy clothing, as well as the style, was what I was best at. I dropped it after a while, because while I felt good with it, there were friends and patients of mine who didn't really find it comforting."

Saiko stared at him, a bit more wide-eyed than when she woke up from her nightmare. She was scanning him, as if trying to put that into perspective. He seemed to realize this, and asked, "I believe I have a self-taken photo of it on my cell phone. Would you care to see?"

"Yes," Saiko said with the same gusto that a person trapped in a desert for three days without water would if offered a canteen.

Eisei climbed out of bed to retrieve his cell phone, and then flipped through his collection of photos. Sure enough, he found it, and Saiko almost yanked his cell phone from his hands in her desire to see it.

The dark hair that was like midnight blue, with white stripes in his bangs, was formed in a long ponytail. He had on a tube top that was like a bat spreading its wings in a bra cup-like fashion around his petite chest. He wore a black micro-skirt, with fishnet leggings and black heels.

It was so incredulous, Saiko couldn't think of any explanation except photoshop at first. Then Eisei leaned in and added, "I have to admit, I do miss the color contrast with my epidermis, but I prefer my look now."

"How is it," Saiko sputtered to say as she stared in utter fascination at the picture, "that you didn't get laid every day of your life?"

Eisei stared at her, she explained what she meant, and thus she was treated to the adorable dentist blushing. "I, um, was never looking for a relationship. I had a very asexual look on life, I had no desire to copulate or reproduce, nor engage in hedonistic rebellion with one or multiple partners."

Saiko chuckled as she put the phone down on the desk next to her bed. "Don't tell me that I'm suddenly the woman who changed all that-"

He reached over and took her sides in his hands, pulling her back and pushing her gently down onto the bed. She looked up to see him looming over her, smiling cutely. "Yes, yes you are."

Now it was Saiko's turn to blush heavily. "I, um, was kind of the same way. I didn't need a partner, I didn't need romance, I was find with my friends and career and good food. But I'd… like to give this a try."

"What do you say I take the initiative for once?"

"Oh my~ But wait, what about the nightmares?"  
"Maybe if I make you feel good enough, your system will register pleasant feelings rather than the unhappy experiences the town is trying to send to you."

Saiko burst into a fit of giggles. "You realize that sounds like a line, don't you?"

"A line? I'm not sure what you mean…"

"Actually, Eisei, don't try to deduce what my words and phrases mean. Because right now, what I want you to do," she leaned up to kiss him sweetly, but whispering to him, "is to take that initiative."

* * *

 **Day 15, ? AM**

 **Housing District**

 **Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik's House**

Hara left the bathroom of their Penjar house, and studied Isaac on the bed. The reporter was trying to cover up his right arm with the blankets, unable to settle down unless he did. She moved over to the bed, and said softly, "It's just us here. You've never been uncomfortable about that with me."

"It feels like there are eyes everywhere now," he murmured, running a hand through his mint hair. "I know it's stupid, it's beyond stupid, but I feel like I'm being watched… we're being watched…"

He rolled over to face Hara, who watched him with concern. "And it's the kind of watching that seems to peer into my soul. It makes me feel the terrible points in my life, the mistakes I made and tragedies I couldn't prevent, are calling out to me."

Hara sat down on the bed next to him, and took his burned arm in his. Holding him close to her, she caressed his face, and whispered, "You're stronger than the evil in this town."

"Hara… how are you so strong through this?"

"Because no matter what this town does to affect me, I know I have you. I love you, Isaac, and it cannot take that from me. And I know you love me too, another thing it will never take from me.

"What the town is trying to do is remind you of those you lost, the pain you've felt in your life, and amplify it. It's not something you can just shrug off, I know, because you keep those events close to your heart."

She kissed his forehead, and whispered, "I'll stay up all night with you, and we can try to find shelter in one of the buildings. Like what Eisei talked to us about."

"He is willing to put himself at risk for her. And here I am, struggling with all of my emotions-"

"Isaac. You cannot put yourself down, not at a time like this."

He was silent for a short while, staring up at her. When he felt her shift slightly, her arm rubbing against his seared arm, the reporter couldn't help but speak his mind.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see fire. Fire, like in the building… I was trying to save people, but I was stupid. I never should have gone in there, I never should have kicked in that door…

"If I hadn't done that, the building might not have collapsed. All I can see when there is darkness is fire, the same fire that started to burn my arm… the fire that killed the people trapped under the rubble I made."

"Isaac!"

"Hara… I hear their screams when I try closing my eyes. It's the flames, the screams, like some kind of warped video that my mind refuses to let go. Whatever this damn power Monokuma has to influence our nightmares, I… I feel it now."

He clenched his head harder, almost enough to tear mint hairs from his scalp. "Goddamnit, I've never been more scared, because it feels like… I feel like it'll happen again. People will die around me, because I have to be so damn stubborn.

"Hara, I'm endangering others by being here. I cannot stay here, I cannot let you stay-"

The explorer grabbed his wrist, the one which belonged to the hand gripping his hair. She managed to pull it away, and pin it down to the bed's mattress, keeping him from hurting himself more. Hara was able to effectively keep him down, which startled him; despite her being tall and athletic, he had never seen her showcase strength that would overpower him.

"Listen here, buster," she said sternly, "you are Isaac Bellamy, the Ultimate Reporter, the love of my life, and one of the strongest-willed men in the world. You will not let Monokuma or Despair win. And you know why?

"Because you never let it win before, and it is going to stay that way. You always told me that you lead by example, that you want to be the person who stands up and asks the questions that should be asked, not wait for someone else to do it. You're the brave one, you're the strong one…

"And I'm not going to let you forget that, because you'd never forgive yourself if we left this place for someone else to solve it. Now tell me, Isaac Bellamy, what are you going to do?"

Isaac stared up at Hara, whose determined glare shocked and awed him. He swallowed nervously, taking several deep breaths. Despite everything, despite what one would think, having her pin him down and lecture him like that…

"Thank you, my love," he said, smiling up at her. "I… I will always wonder how I became worthy of your love."

"Because you're you, you silly goose," she said, loosening her grip. "Now we're going to beat that awful bear, and that's final. If we both need to stay up all night and then go to sleep in one of the buildings, we'll do that."

"Maybe we'll stay with Eisei, for some kind of protection?"

Almost as if on cue, there was a feminine cry from came from Saiko's house. Both Hara and Isaac froze up, recognizing their close friend's voice. A cry like that was sudden and sharp, and both started to get ready to run out of their house…

Then there was a moan that was _definitely_ not one of peril. Isaac and Hara remained tense for a moment, then let out long sighs of pent-up tension that dissolved into laughter.

"Yes, let us hope protection is involved tonight," Hara giggled impishly. She nuzzled in close to Isaac, and whispered slyly, "Mmmm, if Saiko is getting laid, what's that make you think?"

"That my normally timid and calm fiancé is now getting some very un-timid and un-calm ideas?"

"Weird, isn't it? Well, if we're going to have to stay up all night, and you need to be reminded of how you're worth it…"

"Heh, and to think, this was the last thing on my mind a few minutes ago."

"You're a man, I thought it was always on your mind."

"And yet you are the one to proposition it."

"True," she said with a laugh, "I guess I'm just a great big hypocrite."

Hara leaned in to whisper her next sentence, "So you should definitely punish me for finding out my hypocrisy, Mr. Reporter~"

* * *

 **Day 15, 9:25 AM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Third Eye Psychic Tent**

Hikari yawned and stretched, as she pulled herself out of a slightly restless but nightmare-less sleep. The steampunk model smacked her lips, and glanced around the room. Nothing had changed, it was still the unusually decorated and slightly unsettling atmosphere as before. She checked her phone, and sighed in relief at the time.

"Thank goodness, getting up so that damn morning announcement doesn't jolt me up," she murmured as she threw her bare legs around the side of the bed. "Though no TV in here, maybe I lucked out in that regard too. Heh, wonder if that was the perk…"

The model stood up and stretched again, letting herself enjoy this brief bit of silence and calm. Oddly enough, the nightmares she had experienced were extremely noisy and uncomfortable, like reverberation that didn't stop; however, she didn't feel terrible or in pain.

She adjusted her fairly elegant nightie; however, she realized now that she was going to have to walk all the way back to her house to properly prepare for the day. Dressed like this, oh…

"Oh dearie dear," she muttered, then checked her phone again. "I'll wait a few more minutes, I don't mind missing that stupid morning announcement."

The model moved towards her clothing, the outfit she had been wearing before changing into her night clothes. A small part of her wondered if she should consider her modesty, since Anzu and Fiora were in the adjoining room…

" _Hmm, but would I mind if either of them walked in when I was changing?_ " she thought, an impish smile spreading across her face. " _Goodness me, I am such a naughty woman nowadays! Aka, was that your doing? Or was it in me all this time? Oh well, I don't mind at this point…_ "

Hikari stripped off her nightie, and moved towards her clothing. As she started to dress herself, her ears heard the faintest clicking noise, though she didn't pay it much heed…

Until light poured across the tent's side, in a rectangular picture of lights, while simultaneously a shout coming from an electronic device blasted throughout the tent:

" **RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!** "

"YAAAAAAAAAUGH," was Hikari's shocked response, as the projector that everyone had missed, hidden up on the wall, showcased the image that all the TVs in Penjar were showing.

* * *

( **Day 15 has now officially begun!** )

( **Monokids' Town Hall Greeting** )

* _Monokid is sitting on the footsteps of Town Hall. He has his arms crossed bitterly, and appears to be sulking rather hard. There are a bunch of gift boxes nearby him._ *

 **Monokid** \- "So, apparently, I'm not allowed to give out presents to celebrate Christmas when it is not, by all technical terms, not Christmas! Who invented these stupid rules?! Don't I run this town?"

 **Monodam** \- * _peeking his head in from the side_ * "WE-DON'T-HAVE-IT-IN-THE-BUDGET-TO-BE-GIVING-OUT-PRESENTS. WE-STILL-NEED-TO-MAINTAIN-THE-GUARDIAN."

 **Monokid** \- "Shut up! We'd have a bigger budget if we had more bears like me who cared about Christmas and the like!"

 **Monodam** \- "WHY-ARE-YOU-TRYING-TO-CELEBRATE-CHRISTMAS-ANYWAY? THAT-DOES-NOT-GET-ALONG-WITH-THE-HORROR-THEME-FATHER-SET-FOR-US."

 **Monokid** \- "Yes it does! Everybear knows that most Christmas movies played late at night are horror themed! Like that one horror Christmas movie I saw that showed me how fucking awful women are, and that they'll kill men who try to put them in their place!"

 **Monodam** \- "THIS-IS-WHY-WE-DON'T-LET-YOU-STAY-UP-LATE-AT-NIGHTS."

 **Monokid** \- "Fuck off! I'm gonna have to return this shit now, since apparently we cannot give it out in celebration of our Kuma Christmas! And I had such nice gifts for these stupid bastards too!"

* _Monokid furiously tears open one of the gift boxes, pulling out what looks to be some kind of hunting dagger. He throws it at Monodam, and it clanks off of his head._ *

 **Monodam** \- "OW."

 **Monokid** \- "Maybe if Monotaro didn't get himself killed, or Monosuke didn't pretend to be you and accidentally get himself killed by me trying to kill you, I'd have a fucking brother that supports me during my Christmas time!"

* _He rips open more gift boxes, and proceeds to throw the following at Monodam: a book on chivalry, a dumbbell, a board game, a blue cheese wheel, and a large owl feather._ *

 **Monodam** \- "OW. OW. OW. ICK. …"

 **Monokid** \- "Now Monophanie is off being a fucking human somewhere, and I'm the only one who can properly run this town! The stress isn't good for me, I need a holiday!"

 **Monodam** \- "YOU-SHOULD-BE-MORE-CONCERNED-WITH-THE-MORNING-ANNOUNCEMENT, IN-WHICH-WE-TELL-THE-GUESTS-OF-PENJAR-WHAT-WILL-BE-HAPPENING-TODAY."

 **Monokid** \- "How about you fuck off and let me do whatever you want, because I want a day off with all the fucking fuckery that I have fucking put up with!?"

 **Monodam** \- "THAT-IS-NOT-HOW-WE-GET-ALONG…"

 **Monokid** \- * _pulls out a rather elaborate ceremonial sword_ * "I still got more fucking gifts for you, fucker!"

 **Monodam** \- "OH-DEAR."

 **Monokubs** \- * _Monokid chases after Monodam, but they manage to call out before disappearing from the screen._ * "So long, bear well~"

* * *

Hikari stared, totally flabbergasted, as the projection suddenly vanished. She stared up at the machine, which had been on an inconspicuous, make-shift shelf up on the dividing tent wall. She couldn't believe it, though she was in for another shock…

"Hikari! What's wrong?" Anzu declared as she ran into the room. "There was a scream, then I heard that little bastard ranting, and you… you're…

"You're very naked."

The steampunk model glanced down at herself, realizing the startling morning announcement didn't give her a chance to get her clothes on. Hikari and Anzu stared at each other for a few seconds, then the model chuckled, giving her friend a coy look. "Oh come on, you've seen a lot of women naked in your line of work, surely I'm not that captivating."

"Um, no, you really are," Anzu said, biting her bottom lip as she forced herself to look away; her pale face was quite red now, and she squirmed nervously. "You should, um, yeah, put some clothes on. We have things to do."

"Yes, you're right. I want to make sure Isaac, Saiko, and the others are okay."

"What do you mean?" Anzu asked, as she heard clothing shuffle around; strangely enough, the sound of clothing being put on was almost as sexy as the opposite. "Did something happen to them?"

"Oh, you slept through it, but don't worry, I'll fill you in. You see, what happened was…"

Hikari had about a minute to explain her conversation last night, before a rather unpleasant, heaving sound came from the main room of the tent. Now that was dressed enough to be proper, the steampunk model exited the bedroom alongside Anzu.

Fiora was hunched over a small waste bin, vomiting profusely into it. The movie maker was gripping it hard, but shaking as she spewed, spit, and hacked in the most retched manner. With her strength depleted, she couldn't even pull her face away from the bin full of her sick.

Hikari pulled her gently away from the bin, and Fiora's normally lively face was green and distraught. "Ugh, you gonna needta pull muh hair back inna minute," she moaned as the model rubbed her back. "There's moo'r coming up, eh…"

"Goodness gracious, Fiora," Anzu exclaimed, having to cover her mouth and nose to prevent the smell of vomit from overwhelming her, "what happened?"

"No idear," Fiora slurred, "I dun norm'ly get all sicky… buggoo… maybe…

"Maybe I'm pregnant!"

* * *

 **Day 15, 9:45 AM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Central Area/Monokuma Statue**

Yitro blinked in surprise, as he stared at Fiora. The movie maker, still woozy and not looking her best, but cleaned up thanks to Anzu and Hikari, fidgeted as she waited for a response from him. The swordsman crossed his arms, opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again.

"I daresay they want some privacy," Ken remarked to the small crowd of people gathering in the plaza. Everyone from the pizzeria and the fortune teller's tent had locked in place when Fiora blurted out her theory to Yitro; it was quite the unusual predicament.

"Yes, we really should allow them to talk about this," Hikari remarked, shaking her head, as she uncomfortably adjusted her clothing. She felt rather ugly, wearing the same clothing she had yesterday, with no make-up, and no morning shower. The model was keen to get away, but felt guilty about leaving during this moment.

"Why don't we all meet up at the cafeteria?" Drake asked, nervously glancing around at everyone. "I mean, we're still allowed to go there, and I think that's where we all agreed to go in the morning?"

Ignatia clicked her tongue, and showed her phone to Drake to read her statement to everyone. [Shouldn't we go check the other buildings first?]

"We'll be moving all around the plaza, on a wild makango chase," Ken remarked. "Best we go to the place where we're supposed to gather, and see who shows up."

"Gotta agree with our Novoselic friend," Anzu said with a friendly swish of her hips. "Why don't we all go head to the cafeteria, get ourselves something to eat? Fiora and Yitro can catch up… oh, can any of you make tea? I'm seriously craving some this morning?"

"I could," Drake offered. "What kind do you like, provided they have it?"

He missed the slightly irked expression on Ignatia's face. The mime eyed a trash bin next to a decrepit park bench, and had an issue to kick it like she normally did when mad. Though something in the mime's head told her to settle down, this wasn't something to be upset about…

She walked past the trash bin and park bench, and felt her anger start to cool down. Letting out a long sigh, this caught the attention of Drake. "Is something wrong, Ignatia?"

The mime shook her head, and managed a small smile. Her mouth opened to mime the words, " _Ok!_ "

" **SCAAA!** "

The sound of a crow crying out startled all of them. The five graduates almost froze in place, and then scanned the trees, the surrounding area, for the sight of a bird.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who heard that," Ken remarked.

"No, I'm pretty sure we all did," Hikari replied, as she peered through the branches of a dead tree. "But where the heck did it come from?"

"I thought the Kubs said no animals were in Penjar?" Drake asked, wringing his hands. "I mean, we haven't seen or heard any birds."

" **SCAAAA! SKRAAAA!** "

Ken clenched his fists, and spat out angrily, "It's probably sound effects being played from a hidden location. Buzzards are an omen of death, after all."

Anzu fiddled with one of her blue bangs. "Not always, you know. I happen to find ravens quite lovely…"

" **SCRAAAA! AAAH! SCA SCA SCA!** "

"I refuse to stick around and be mocked by buzzard sounds," Ken declared, stomping away from the area. He huffed in frustration, until a new sound startled him: the clanging of a trash can being aggressively kicked.

Ignatia had gotten a bit of distance with the kick, and the can rolled onto the pavement back towards them, until coming to a bumpy halt a few feet away. There had been the sound of something rattling around inside of the can as it rolled, and when it stopped, that someone spilled out.

The white 'n black crow fell flat on its beak when it hit the pavement, then struggled to get back onto its orange talons. The beady eye on the white side and a familiar, red lightning bolt on the black side glanced around until it spotted the five people nearby. Its head swiveled slightly, the feathers on the left side of its head sticking out and cutting through the mist.

" **I say, there are better ways to wake a fellow up than kicking the can!** " A voice far deeper and more articulate than any of them would have guessed came from the dual-toned crow. It cleared its throat, and said, " **Good day to you, graduates!** "

"What… is this thing?" Ken balked.

" **Well now! I am not a 'thing,' don't you know! My name is Monocrow, a proud supporter of Hope's Peak students and graduates, and your guide for the time being!** "

The two-toned crow spread out one of its wings, then saluted the five. " **Since Master Monodam and Monokid are busy, I was brought here to assist you all in this Killing Game you're putting yourselves through!** "

"What? Okay wait," Hikari snapped, glaring down at the bird, "since when are there more of you? How can there be more of you?"

"And we are not," Drake protested, "putting ourselves through a Killing Game!"

A most devious chuckle came from deep within Monocrow. He tucked his wing underneath his beak, as his lightning-red eye gleamed. " **Aren't you now.** "

"This is another sick joke," Ken huffed, and turned away from the bird. "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria."

"I just hope that more of the others are there," Drake remarked, following after Ken with the others. "I mean, I haven't seen anyone else yet."

"They're probably still waking up," Anzu reasoned.

" **Yes, some of you did spend a good deal of time staying awake, it falls to reason they would need extra sleep now**."

Monocrow's voice startled them with how nearby he suddenly was. They turned sharply to see Anzu holding Monocrow in her arms. When they gaped at her, she shrugged and asked, "What? If Drake finds Monodam cute, I can have a robot buddy too."

Ken cursed in Novoselician and stormed off. Ignatia started making neck-wringing motions, while Hikari stared in utter confusion and disgust. Drake tapped his fingers together nervously, not sure what to say to this.

"Not really bird people, are you all?" Anzu said.

" **SCAARR AARRR ARRR** ," came the cries of ravens and crows, echoing around the pathway, but no aviary creatures in sight other than the one the actress was holding.

* * *

 **Day 15, 10:14 AM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

The five graduates had made breakfast for themselves, as Drake aimed to prepare food and drink for the others. The cartoonist hummed to himself as he made tea for Anzu, the finishing touch for the first group to arrive at the designated meet-up.

Yitro and Fiora showed up after a few minutes, though they didn't seem keen on discussing what the two had discussed, but there was much discussion over who the white 'n black bird on one of the tables was.

" **I feel I will be repeating myself a lot this morning** ," Monocrow lamented. " **Well, no matter, I'm sure that we'll all get along in this rather creepy Killing Game with me as your new guide.** "

"Are you serious?" Yitro remarked, folding his arms as he frowned down at Monocrow. "You expect us to be happy about a new version of Monokuma being here, telling us what to do?"

" **Oh, would you rather him back? I'm sure he's around somewhere, but I'd rather be the kind and gentle talon that you need for such a cruel game.** "

Monocrow chuckled, one of his wingtips rubbing the underside of his beak. Yitro scoffed and walked off, while Fiora studied the new bird intensively.

"So, wait," the movie maker inquired, "should we let you on the table? You coo'd get bird poop on it!"

" **I do not poop.** "

"What can you do, eh?"

" **I can assist you on your self-created challenges, for I know about Penjar. But I can only tell you what is not forbidden for you to know at this point.** "

Fiora poked his beak, and asked, "Do you know a'boot Aaron Beardsley then?"

" **Mr. Beardsley?** " Monocrow repeated, tilting his head to the side.

"Are YOU Mr. Beardsley? Or you might be Mr. Birdsley…"

" **I HEARD THAT! STOP TALKING ABOUT MR. BIRDSLEY!** "

Monokuma was suddenly on the same table as Monocrow, startling Fiora so bad that she fell backwards and onto the floor. Everyone in the cafeteria flinched at the sudden appearance of the Despair Bear, who was glaring wickedly at Fiora and Monocrow.

The hatred was directed at the bird far more, especially when that grinning bear turned to face the feathered one entirely.

" **Oh, so my children brought you into this, did they?** " Monokuma asked, clenching his paws. " **How nice of them.** "

" **You know as well as I do that I was the original design for this town,** " Monocrow said, a smirk on his flexible beak as he bent his wings onto his hips for a defiant pose. " **Did you think you could keep me caged?** "

" **Don't you start making bird puns on me! I will out-pun you any time, any day.** "

" **Shame then that you're not given the time of day anymore.** "

Monokuma snarled, and extended the claws on his paws. He leapt at Monocrow, who panicked and flapped his wings wildly to try and get away. The bird was seized by a pair of pale arms, and pulled up to a pale chest protectively, as Monokuma's claws came inches from slicing the one who had saved Monocrow.

Anzu glared at Monokuma, then snapped, "You aren't hurting him, you awful bear!"

" **Um, excusff me, miff,** " Monocrow struggled to say, muffled in his current position, " **but you afeer to haff mah facff in your buzzum…** "

Monokuma stared at Anzu, down at his claws, then he retracted them with a regretful sigh. " **One of these days, birdbrain, one of these days…** "

"Do you have anything to do here?" Fiora snapped, getting back up onto her seat. "Or are you just here to bother Mr. Birdsley?"

" **I actually do have something to talk about, and STOP BRINGING UP THAT NAME!** " Monokuma hollered at Fiora, who shrunk back down at the yelling. " **But yes! I'm sure you're all wondering what you got from staying in my marvelous places…** "

As he said this, one of the main doors opened up to quite the entourage. Eisei and Saiko, with her rather exhausted looking, were in the cafeteria first. Hara, Souma, and Isaac were inside next, with the reporter appearing rather raggedy.

Ken glanced over at them, surprised by Isaac and Saiko's appearances. "Good heavens, what is wrong with you?"

"Nightmares," Isaac muttered.

"Nothing we did worked," Hara helplessly admitted. "We were just lucky there were no injuries-"

"No need to spill it all to them," Saiko snapped, heading over to the kitchen. "I want some Goddamn food, and I want it now."

As the forensic investigator went to investigate the cooking area, Monokuma chuckled deviously. " **Aw, did some of you not get good sleep? I did warn you, that the nightmares will become worse.** "

Souma scoffed at the bear, waving his hand at him. "You speak in such triumph, but I doubt you have a lot to brag about. Last night was nowhere near as dangerous as the first night the nightmares took part."

" **Aw, didn't find any answers, Souma?** " the bear asked. When the public speaker didn't answer, merely crossed his arms and glanced away, Monokuma laughed. " **Upupupu! Did you think that I wouldn't plan for such things? I'm way better than that bird!** "

"What 'bird'?" Souma asked. He was pointed towards Monocrow, that Anzu was still protectively cradling against her chest.

Isaac down at a table, his eyes staring aimlessly. Hara was rubbing his back, and he acknowledged her by rubbing her knee, but still rather defeated. Drake and Ignatia were at the other side of the table, concern in their eyes for the reporter.

"No matter what we did, Isaac couldn't sleep for even an hour," Hara explained. "The nightmares kept coming back, over and over."

"Oh dear," Drake murmured, "the asylum didn't protect you from them?"

"No," Isaac grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "I mean… we didn't sleep there… or stay there. We didn't… couldn't… gah, Goddamnit, I'm having trouble with words right now…"

Hikari scanned those who had just entered, rather startled by how bad they all were right now. She nervously sighed, that steam whistle sound causing a bit of attention towards her. "Okay, um, Monokuma, you were talking about the advantages we gained by staying in those awful places?"

" **Mmmrf… mmmrgh… if I cud… jufft… mmmah!** " Monocrow struggled as he pushed away from Anzu's chest. Freeing himself from the muffling confinement, he managed to speak again without effort. " **There are still some people who aren't here yet. Just wait a bit longer for those walking across town, and then it can be discussed.** "

"You know that there are people walking towards the cafeteria?" Anzu asked. "How?"

The white 'n black bird flapped his wings and perched on Anzu's shoulder. He let out a low chuckle, and said, " **You could say I have a bird's eye view of Penjar.** "

" **I said no bird puns!** " Monokuma shouted. " **And screw waiting for the others! You wanna know what you won? It's a secret!** "

The people inside of the cafeteria were rather shocked by this last statement. Yitro stormed over to the bear, shouting, "What do you mean by that? You said we would be granted advantages if we stayed in those awful places!"

" **Did I ever say I would reveal what those were?! No, no I did not! I said you were gain them, for better or worse!** "

Anzu covered her mouth in surprise, then glanced over at the bird on her shoulder. "Do you know?"

" **Actually, I can tell you that-** "

" **AH AH AH!** " Monokuma shouted, extending his claws again. " **Don't you even think about parroting the rewards, birdbrain! If I hear you stool-pigeon'ed, I am going to fillet you and serve you orange and cherry sauce!** "

Monocrow covered his beak with his wingtips in shock, staring wide-eyed at the bear. Anzu took a step back, ensuring she was between Monokuma and Monocrow.

"You shouldn't defend a vile being," Ken said to her, shaking his head, "who does not have our best intentions in mind."

"Why do these mechanical beings," Eisei asked aloud, tilting his head towards Saiko, "fear death so much? They're not exactly living."

At this moment, the group from the motel (Odelios, Pyrrha, Crystal, Ishiku, and Fannie) entered the cafeteria. They were rather surprised to see Monocrow, and even more surprised when Monokuma's announcement was explained to them.

"But how are we supposed to know what benefits we gained?" Pyrrha asked. "This isn't fair!"

"It rarely ever is with Despair," Crystal bitterly muttered.

"So wait a minute," Ishiku blurted out, pointing at Monocrow, "you know about him, Fannie?"

"Monocrow was supposed to be the watcher of Penjar," Fannie explained. "The crow was to monitor our city, the Guardian defend it, and the Kubs were the governmental structure of this place."

"Then where, or when, did Monokuma fit in?"

Fannie struggled to find words, and then Ken shouted, "Wait a minute! Are you telling me Monokuma was not here first? It was you vile cubs first off!"

"Don't call her vile," Ishiku hollered, shaking his fist at Ken. "You cannot be stay this seriously antagonistic towards her."

"A court jester has no place telling me to behave serious," the cavalryman shot back.

"This place is really going to the birds," Odelios muttered, shaking his rubber chicken's head in disbelief.

" **Please remove that from in front of my face,** " Monocrow requested. " **It weirds me out.** "

As the graduates continued to argue and talk over this, Shuuya and Futaba entered the cafeteria. The amount of catching up took a small bit of time, but they both collected the information swiftly.

"So, Monokuma won't tell us what we earned," Futaba recounted, then turned to observe the feathered newcomer, "and Monocrow won't tell us under fear of destruction."

" **I… cannot say, it is against my programming,** " Monocrow explained, " **to endanger my life. Monokuma is not allowed to destroy me unless I break one of his rules, so I will not break them.** "

"What other rules are there that you have?" the anthropologist said, studying the bird closely.

" **He makes them up as he goes, but whenever he does, I know automatically. Like with Penjar, I know all that goes on here. I know where you are all currently, and I can tell you where you've been.**

" **Would you like to know where Monodam and Monokid are right now? It really is quite interesting…** "

"No," Shuuya remarked, glaring at Monokuma. "What I do want to know is what can you tell us. That asylum was a wide-awake nightmare, but I want to know if staying at another place tonight is going to be worth it."

" **Oh, you won't have to worry about that, killer,** " Monokuma said with a laugh. " **You can, as they say accumulate the advantages. There is a point to this besides just waiting for you all to kill each other, after all.** "

"And what," Shuuya asked as he crossed his arms, "would that be exactly?"

" **You all have been saying that's impossible to find the answers to this place without the killing continuing. That's why Aka threw away her life, she thought the game wouldn't progress unless there was more death, ri-iiiiiiiight?** "

Hikari flinched at the name, and glanced over to the side sadly. "And what, you're going to go against that?" she inquired, her eyes rounding dubiously on the bear. "You expect us to believe that you're going to do that just to counter us?"

" **Oh, I fully expect one of you to kill someone before you find the answer to this motive/riddle,** " Monokuma cackled, rubbing his paws together. " **But you know, there's always been a chance you could have gotten to the answers you all wanted since the start, right?** "

"None of us believe that," Futaba remarked. "You think us so gullible that the answer would be available at the start?"

" **It has been, it always has been. My adorable little cubs made sure of that, if you all just had a little patient throughout these challenges.** "

"We don't believe you!" Anzu declared. She was then alerted by Monocrow clearing his throat.

" **If you would all hear me out,** " Monocrow said, " **the city was supposed to be a place of ingenuity, where people come together despite their differences…**

" **When you all arrived, you were to wait for us to expand our town for your exploration. It was meant to be a place of peace and unity, to showcase that despite the tension we feel about those different than us, we can work together as a town…**

" **However, Monokuma showed up shortly before you all did. With that, the technicalities for how to advance through our town has turned into a Killing Game. To ensure you do not leave, that's where the contagious version of Despair came in.** "

Monocrow sighed heavily, and added, " **Sadly, for all of us to get along has become incredibly tedious and next to impossible. But we haven't lost hope that we can do this.** "

Everyone stared at the bird, glancing over at the bear at the same time. Ishiku turned towards Fannie, and asked, "Is this about true?"

The white 'n pink-topped woman nodded a little, and said, "Monokuma wasn't supposed to be here. It was just supposed to be us Kubs."

"That is bull feces," Ken shouted, pointing at her. "The Kubs are modeled after Monokuma! Monokuma came first, as an avatar of Despair!"

"We're not avatars of Despair," Fannie squeaked.

"This is not a debate on the chicken or the egg! Monokuma had to have come first!"

"Look, we can discuss that another time," Crystal interrupted the argument. "There's no sense in dwelling on the past. If we cannot learn what our benefits are right now, we'll have to find out. But what's this about finding out the answers to the city?"

" **That's all still very possible,** " Monokuma said, twiddling his claws. " **I mean, it might involve having more than one benefit, so you cannot solve it as you are right now. Try to find out, without the disadvantages dragging you down…** "

"Anything else, Monokuma?" Shuuya asked, drumming his fingers on his arm impatiently.

" **There is something else, my good killer friend,** " the bear chortled as he spoke. " **Upupupu! You may want to consider which building you all are going into, because when it reaches noon, if you're to enter one, that's your designated area!**

" **Enter one, you're assigned that until 9 AM tomorrow! Leave it, and you're stuck sleeping outside. And I'll tell you, the ones who slept outside last night, they sure regretted it!**

" **Upupupupu! I'm sure you'll enjoy it even more tonight, because this time, if you try sleeping anywhere other than the asylum, the motel, or the arcade, you're going to feel the burn…**

" **And you wouldn't want that, when the heat is already rising here, right? Upupupupu-URK!** "

Shuuya stabbed his combat knife into the bear's mouth. Monokuma's eyes widened, then stared up at the bounty hunter. The crimson-eyed man leaned in, and said, "Thank you for finishing. We no longer need you."

With a flick of his wrist, he slashed his knife up through the top of Monokuma's jaw, splitting his head in two. Shuuya took the mangled puppet, and chucked it as far as he could across the cafeteria, away from everyone.

"Nice work," Futaba said with a chuckle.

" **Good distance,** " Monocrow remarked.

Shuuya turned towards the bird, his knife still in his hand. "And give me a reason," he said, approaching Monocrow, "why I shouldn't do the same to you, bird."  
"Wait, no," Anzu pleaded, backing away from Shuuya and holding her hands in front of Monocrow. "He's not a villain here, I'm pretty sure!"

"If Monocrow was a designated crew member of Penjar, he poses a threat. Will slaying you cause the Guardian to come after us, Monocrow?"  
The bird puppet cleared his throat, and said, " **Actually, yes, the Guardian will slay anyone who isn't a citizen of this town that attacks or kills me.** "

"What?" Futaba blurted out. "How does one become a member of the city?"

" **I'm afraid that that is an answer I cannot give. My apologies.** "

The graduates all were very quiet for a minute, trying to process everything that had been said. It was Ken who spoke up first, taking a few deep breaths before doing so.

"I guess then it is all of us," he remarked, scanning those in the building, "to find out the answers. We cannot allow the dark side of this town win the day."

"We've lost too many," Yitro bitterly agreed, "too much."

"I believe we have the strength to solve the riddles left behind," Souma declared, smiling and clapping his hands. "Come now, why don't we have a good breakfast, then we shall discuss our plans for today?"

The rest of the graduates felt rather inspired, especially with the Ultimate Public Speaker's words. As they all started to calm down, only one of them was still rather concerned.

"Hey, everyone," Hikari spoke up, "where's Kimiko? She hasn't shown up yet."

The group glanced around, counting their numbers, and realized she wasn't there. Souma tapped his chin, and said, "If I recall correctly, Miss Hashiriya was heading to the tavern last night. As was Mister Shokyaku, they were both insisting it was better than trying to just sleep."

"I cannot imagine that went over well," Pyrrha remarked, shaking her head. "Kimiko wouldn't want to be in the same room as that jackass."

" **Kimiko and Blake are still at the tavern,** " Monocrow remarked, rubbing under his beak with his wing. " **They have not left the place since they arrived last night.** "

"What?!" Hikari shouted, getting to her feet. "She stayed the night there? Something's wrong, I know it!"

Monocrow chuckled, the red lightning bolt eye of his gleaming. " **Indeed.** "

* * *

 **Day 15, 10:38 AM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

Ken fanned his hand over Kimiko's face, trying to do something, anything, to wake up the unconscious biker. "Um, she's not waking," he said to the others.

A painful smack echoed around the room, and Saiko shook her hand off as she stood up from Blake's body; the red handprint on his cheek was rather prominent. "He's not either," she said, as she ate the bagel she had in her other hand.

"Could you not eat at a time like this?" Hikari requested.

"I am starving, I had the worst series of nightmares of my life, and food helps keep me from becoming a raging bitch. You want that raging bitch, Hikari? Because I'll…"

Eisei walked over to Saiko and took her free hand in his, squeezing it affectionately. She blushed slightly and quieted down, as the others investigated the two unconscious souls.

"What's going on?" Anzu asked, staring at Kimiko with the utmost concern. "Why isn't she waking up?"

" **It could be the nightmares they are suffering from,** " Monocrow commented, still perched on the actress's shoulder. " **As pain, discomfort, and emotional stress can be part of these nightmares Monokuma is inflicting, so can the forced movement of the body… as well as the unconscious state of one.** "

Ignatia rubbed her forehead, Yitro glanced off to the side, and Isaac visibly flinched. The reporter left the tavern, with Hara by his side as soon as he left. Futaba noticed this, and muttered, "Whatever nightmares are being doled out, Isaac sure seems to be getting he worst of it."

"Kimiko isn't waking up!" Hikari declared, kneeling down next to the biker. "What happens if we cannot wake her up? Oh God, this is terrible!"

"I think the best thing to do," Ishiku said, "would be to take them to one of the buildings that gives protection from nightmares. That might cure them, so to speak."

The steampunk model glanced up at the magician, though was slightly distracted by Fannie, who stood next to him. There were all kinds of warning bells going off in her head, but she chose to ignore them for now. "That might work. Monocrow, would that work?"

" **It will eventually, but the effect will only start when it becomes noon. And if they leave before 9 AM tomorrow, they may right back into these comatose states they are in now.** "

Hikari took a deep breath, then nodded. "We should take both of them to one of the buildings then."

"Which one?" Souma inquired.

"The motel, it seems to be the place that is the most peaceful, if what everyone told me about the other places is to be considered."

The people who had spent the night at the motel all glared at Odelios, who grinned sheepishly. He quite suddenly held up the Annabelle doll, and said in a high-pitched, little girl voice, "It was one time! Don't blame the clown!"

"Very well, but someone needs to stay there to let them know when they wake up," Shuuya said. "Otherwise, they could walk out and fall into these comas again."

"I'll stay," Hikari said, reaching down to gently caress Kimiko's hair, "for her sake. The poor darling's been through so much, she doesn't need more crap like this."

"You'll also have to put up with Blake," Pyrrha remarked.

"Oh I'll tell him about the conditions," Hikari said with a small chuckle, "but that doesn't mean I'll actively stop him if his stubborn ass tries to leave the building."

"Right then, let's do this," Shuuya remarked, cracking his knuckles. "We only have so much time before noon."

* * *

 **Day 15, 12:01 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

"Your continued desire to spend time with me is actually making me wonder quite a bit," the bounty hunter said, as he kicked back into a chair. "I don't know how you could be interested in me for an anthropology study."

"Maybe I like you, you clueless man," Futaba replied with a chuckle, settling down in a chair across from him. "Though in all honesty, there may be more reasons, but the primary one is that I do like you."

Shuuya sighed, glancing around the arcade's cafeteria room. The Monokub animatronics were rather unnerving, and he almost swore that they were very slightly different positions every time he glanced at them. The lights in this room were also unsteadily on and off.

"Is it possible that you're being overly romantic over this?" Shuuya asked, tilting his head to the side. "I'm not a vigilante nor an agent for the Japanese government, I'm a privately trained assassin. My job, my life, is to kill people."

"Bad people, from what you told me."

"It is still murder. Doesn't your anthropology showcase how sacred life is, and that death is a terrible tragedy?"

Futaba chuckled, standing up to pace about. She was not distracted by the flashing computer screens in the computer game room, nor the brilliant screens of the arcade games in the room at the opposite side. She merely needed a moment to move around.

"Death means many different aspects to anthropologists, depending on how we personally interpret it. While I have studied many cultures, as well as people, death means something very different for everyone. I, personally, have a philosophy about it that may differ from everyone else here."

"And what would that be?"

"That I'm going to die soon."

Futaba chuckled when she saw concern showcase in Shuuya's expression. "It is my belief that everyone was put on this Earth to fulfill a point, good or bad. Those that die heroically, like soldiers, firefighters, even simple folk, that was their point in this life. That's why I don't fear you, I believe you were placed on this Earth to end those who have done wrong with their choice in life.

"However, as far as I am concerned about myself, I believe I overstayed my welcome too, but not because of sins I committed. I survived natural disasters that took my parents' lives, a serial killer attempting to slay me because she was mad at life…"

The silver-haired lady pointed to the scars she had on her face with a slight chuckle. "I even pointed a lady much like you in the direction of that killer; I'm fairly certain she took care of that."

"Hmm, I'm now rather curious about this lady, but I'm not going to digress. Why do you think you're going to die?"

"I survived the Tragedy, the purge of Ultimates, and I found myself in this town where everything is more complicated than I can comprehend. The truth is, Killing Games are a culture of their own, and there will always be death, because the Masterminds are aiming for it.

"How do we eat? We prepare animals for their death, and it happens. It's like a Killing Game, the preparations have all been made. I am a woman who long since ran out of luck and purpose in life, so I'm simply carrying on as long as I selfishly can."

Futaba walked over to the Kub animatronics, staring down the Monokid one. "That's why I've been acting out on my carnal desires, studying those that interest me, and doing what catches my attention. Anthropology is about studying other people… I wish to do that until the day I die."

"Are you really so certain that you," Shuuya asked, standing up and walking to her, "are going to die here?"

"Fairly, but you need not worry about me. I do not fear death, I find it a little fascinating too. Though I'm rushing towards it, I find myself okay for when the time comes. I suppose that explains why I'm okay being intimate with you…"

She laughed and turned towards him. "If you were, for some reason, the exact opposite of what I make you out to be, and that you're a sociopathic, unstable killer, then the consequence of my actions would just be what I expect to happen."

Shuuya sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You're such an odd one, Futaba. I really don't know what to make of you."

"That's probably because you've been trained to understand wicked people, and thus know how to slay them. You don't know the reasons and logic to a sane person, much less the fickle heart of a woman."

Futaba chuckled, and caressed his pale face. "Truth be told, I'm rather enjoying our time together, Shuuya. I hope you are too, maybe we can continue this."

"Wh-what?" the normally unflinching assassin went wide eyed at these words. "Here? But… where?"

"Oh I didn't mean sex! At least, not yet; this is hardly the place to do it."

"And yet, an asylum was?"

"I told you, the fickle nature of a woman is something that even an analytical person like you cannot fully grasp. Now come here, handsome…"

She leaned in and kissed him. After a second of hesitation, Shuuya returned it, pulling her in. From one of the adjacent rooms, Pyrrha giggled happily and clapped her hands quietly.

"It's rude to spy on people," Crystal said, shaking her head. She was focused on an arcade game, though she could monitor her friend from the side. "And seriously, there's been way too much of this sexual stuff going on."

"Your track record would like to remind you," Pyrrha bat her pretty eyes at the blonde military adviser, "that you should practice what you preach. You've been intimate with a few people."

"Yes, I cannot deny that," Crystal remarked, her face turning slightly red. "But I'm trying to solve the answers to this place."

"By playing an arcade game?"

The military gal stopped playing with a heaving sigh of frustration, then stared at Pyrrha. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

"Crystal, we're going to be in this creepy arcade for more than twelve hours, and we cannot leave. What else do we do to pass the time?"

"We could talk, or see if Monokuma or Monocrow or whoever is in charge here left us some clues in the games! That's always possible, why do you go to romance right away?"

Pyrrha hummed in thought, swishing her red hair side to side before answering. "Romance isn't always a slow-burning feeling for another person that culminates over a long period of time, nor is it the intense heat of a flash in the pan. Still, attraction and physical desire play a part in romance, and you have that with some people here, as do I.

"I had it with Aka, the kind of free spiritedness she had was something I rather marveled; I have always wanted to live more carefree than I do. Believe it or not, this place was actually an escape for me."

The novelist sighed, and toyed with her hair. "There's something very lonely about my career, to write about characters being intimate, falling for each other, for everything to line up for them because it's a story dedicated to their love. Meanwhile, I have had nothing like that all my life…

"Until I came here, and met so many of you. Takeo was a strong man who interested me so. You and Odelios, both so odd and unique at the same time, but still so fascinating. And Aka-"

"Hold on, I'm odd?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm on the same level as the clown?"

"Crystal, you're a blonde American military adviser in Japan who curses a blue streak when she loses a video game, as well as has a very mysterious past. Odelios may be a clown, but he's still a guy with method behind his madness; he just projects comedy while you project seriousness in times of crisis."

The redheaded author walked over to Crystal, and placed her hands on the blonde's hips. "I think that's why you two would be so cute together. There is a serious and comical side to both of you."

"W-w-wait," Crystal stammered, slightly flushed as she felt the touch of the other woman, "if you're trying to romantically pair us up, why are you touching me?"

"Because I'm showing you that you're not immune to these romantic shenanigans going on. We're both far, far away from home, and we have time to spare. There's a sort of chemistry about that, don't you agree?"

Pyrrha reached up to caress Crystal's hair. Leaning in, she kissed the woman's earlobe, and whispered, "If you were really against all of these shenanigans, you would have pushed me away and been done with it. Or you would have avoided Odelios ever since the aphrodisiac incident.

"But you're not, and I believe it's my job while I'm here to help those who are struggling with these feelings to act on them."

"You… you write romance, you just told me that you," Crystal shivered, then corrected herself but still wasn't resisting, "You need to realize, we cannot all just be kissing and snuggling and having sex when we should be investigating."

"You really think that you need to investigate the video games~?"

Pyrrha kissed Crystal's neck, causing an aroused gasp. The military adviser strained, felt her hands go to the redhead's hips almost as if they had a mind of their own, and let out a defeated groan. "No."

With Crystal leaning up against the arcade machine, the two began to make out passionately. It was quite the sight for Shuuya and Futaba to notice, as the two had just exchanged a few sweet kisses, resumed talking, and then noticed the two in the next room.

"What is with this town and it kick-starting libidos?" Shuuya mumbled.

"Hmm, would you like to hear an anthropologist's point-of-view," Futaba remarked with a smirk, "on why horror scenarios can be quite stimulating?"

The assassin chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'd prefer to be a bit more focused right now."

* * *

 **Day 15, 12:21 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

Hikari peered into the bedroom that Kimiko was staying in. The biker was still laying on the bed, unmoving since she had been placed there. With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself away.

"You keep every two minutes," Isaac remarked, leaning up against the wall nearby, "it'll be like watching a boiling pot."

"I cannot help it," the steampunk model admitted. "I just have to make sure she's fine. I just feel so bad for her!"

"Kimiko's been through a lot, but she's a very tough woman. Whatever affected her, she drove that off and carried on the fight afterwards. Besides, as the leader of a biker gang, she probably isn't used to people doting on her."

Hikari chuckled nervously, then stared at Isaac. She realized, after a quick study, just how bad the reporter looked. With his eyes slightly bloodshot, a slight shake in his hands, and his mint hair unruly wherever it wasn't being covered by his beanie, he truly looked miserable.

"Should I be more concerned over you, Isaac?" she asked. "I mean, you're the one who helped us through all of the trials, you're brilliant and smart and capable, but right now…"

"I look like shit, don't I?"

Isaac chuckled humorlessly, and muttered, "You can say it, Hara's never going to. I look real bad, don't I?"

Hikari bit her bottom lip, then nodded. "You kind of look like death walking, a lot of your color's gone. Are the nightmares that awful for you?"

"Ever since I've been reminded of," he shivered hard, but managed to continue, "Shizuka Akui, whoever or whatever is pulling the strings here is hammering it back in, over and over. I don't know what to do, I thought I was over this."

"No one ever fully gets over trauma like that, darling. I would know, I've been through my fair share. But you're very lucky, you have people that sincerely care about you, who love you. I hope you count your blessings that you have a sweetheart like Hara in your life."

Isaac chuckled, then rubbed his burned arm. "Yes, every day."

Hikari noticed the burns, since Isaac was without his covering sleeve. She glanced to the side, unable to think of what to say about that. So she quickly changed the subject, and asked, "So why were you up here, darling?"

"I was thinking I would stay on guard for when Blake gets up. No one else here wants to deal with him."

"Odd how much we're willing to tolerate from someone who barely contributes…"

Isaac squinted in confusion, staring at Hikari as the model glanced all over the place, avoiding his eyes. Murmuring something about needing to check downstairs, she headed off, down the creaky stairs.

Inside of the kitchen were Eisei, Hara, and Souma. The dentist was giving an explanation for a slightly complicated recipe, which the two much taller people in the kitchen were making.

"Make sure to stir it until all the lumps are gone," Eisei commented as he watched Souma. "We don't want lumps."

"Got it, don't take any lumps!" Souma responded cheerfully.

"No, it's having lumps, not taking them. You don't take the lumps out."

Hara chuckled, as she worked on her part. "You two work so well together, I have to say. It's rather nice to see."

"We have a lot in common," Eisei remarked, adjusting the lollipop in his mouth. "Our familiar backgrounds led us to have something to relate to, and Souma is one of the few who understands my way of communication. Though there is the unfortunate side effect of our comradery when we spend time together in public."

"What's that?"

"People believe I am his daughter," Eisei remarked. He said it with the tone that it was total nonsense, but didn't roll his eyes or sigh like most people would over a tiring experience.

"I suspect that may be because I appear older than I really am," Souma commented, "and Eisei looks slightly younger."

"'Slightly'?" Both Hara and Hikari couldn't help but blurt that out, and they covered their mouths in shame. Eisei glanced between the two women, confused.

"How far off do I look from twenty-seven?" he asked.

Hara blushed and shied away from the question, but Hikari couldn't help but giggle. "About twenty, darling."

"Really now? How odd, I thought I had aged physically quite a bit more recently. That's why I slipped out of the goth phase and the servant phase."

"Oh no no no, please don't bring up the servant phase," Souma pleaded. "Good heavens, the incidents that caused…"

Hikari was now highly curious, though there was something that distracted her from the situation that begged to be inquired upon. "Say wait a minute, you all aren't making food with the nasty tools this kitchen had, are you?"

"I procured the essential, safe tools that were in the kitchen of Penjar's public cafeteria," Eisei remarked, "and used my sanitizing alcohol from my personal belongings to ensure they are not germ-laden."

"Wait, you brought sanitizing alcohol with you?" Hikari asked.

"Yes, did you want some?"

"No, I just… why would you carry that with you?"

"Because I'm a dentist, it's an essential tool to my career."

"I don't think you're required to bring everything of your career with you wherever you go, Eisei darling," Hikari remarked. She chuckled, and added, "It's not like you brought a dentist drill with you, right?"

The completely serious stare that Eisei gave her slowly made her realize that her joke was actually reality. Souma laughed when the realization was on her face, and said, "Now you're beginning to understand Eisei. He has his quirks, but there is a reason behind all of them; it really is quite fascinating, isn't it?"

"I'm more curious than ever how you two became good friends," Hara admitted. "Isaac and I bonded over our love for the unknown, but what brought you two together?"

Souma sighed a little, a smile still on his face despite the shrug of his shoulders. "Well, as crazy as it sounds, we bonded over being lonely rich boys."

"Souma lost his family due to an unfortunate incident with extremists," Eisei explained, "and I was disowned by mine."

"What?" Hikari balked. "Whatever for?"

"I refused to carry on the family line… excuse me, I don't feel really comfortable saying it all out loud. Souma, feel free to explain, I just… need a little time away from this."

As Eisei walked out of the room and into the main lobby, Souma watched him go before shaking his head. "Eisei's family expected him to become a prominent businessman like the Amane estate had been for generations. When he desired to become a dentist, his family wouldn't support him, so he cut ties and left."

"That's so horrible," Hara said, covering her mouth in shock. "They would just dismiss him over that?"

"Yes, and it unfortunately doesn't end there. All of the Amane family died during the Tragedy, murdered by crazy people who were looking for any excuse to kill rich folk. Eisei doesn't like to talk about it, I fear he may have lingering feelings on how he ended things with them.

"I know how he feels, losing everyone you love without being able to say good-bye. My parents, my sister, everyone gone because of crazy fanatics, and yet I ended up being a terrible friend. While Eisei was my friend after my own tragedy, and helped me through it so that I could continue my path, I couldn't be there for him when he lost his own family."

Souma took a deep breath, sighing heavily. "Which is why I won't be spending the night here, sorry to say. I just wanted to help you all out on this, and make sure Eisei would be secure tonight."

"Wait, what?" Hara asked. "Why? You actually want to face those awful nightmares?"

"They are hints to my family, something Monokuma or whoever is running this game knows about. I'm certain I'll find something out if I face them, but I wish for no one else to take the same risk alongside me."

Souma glanced at Hara and Hikari, and smiled at their concerned looks. "Don't worry, I won't be a fatality for Monokuma's supernatural methods. You two take care of those you care about, like you care about Miss Hashiriya, Miss Tetsuhime."

Hikari blushed slightly, but not as much as when Souma turned to Hara, and added, "And you take of your fiancé, Miss Pathik; after all, you are destined to be Mrs. Bellamy, and no one and nothing should take that away."

Hara chuckled lightly, and nodded to this. Souma, finishing up his part of the cooking, bid them all good day. He walked into the lobby, and said, "Eisei, I will be leaving short… ly…"

The public speaker closed his mouth when he saw that his good friend and Saiko were engaged in a quiet and close conversation. Souma walked back into the kitchen, and said with a slight flush on his face, "I think I'll wait a bit, let him know when he's not distracted."

* * *

 **Day 15, 12:35 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

The dark hallways of the asylum were unnerving, flicking shadows at every tiny corner. The iron bars over the windows appeared both sturdy and frail with the rust and corrosion around the area they connected to the wall.

Even with both of them armed with swords, Ken and Yitro didn't feel all that secure with how haunting the building felt. The slightest sound down the hallway made one think of a frantic patient screaming in his cell. The smallest twitch of light was like another patient, unreasonably berserk, jumping out of the darkness.

"You know," Ken muttered to himself, "Novoselic only had one asylum in all of the country."

"Really now?" Yitro replied. "Was that because of the size, or you saying that Novoselic didn't have the same problem with the insane?"

"We never considered them insane or lunatics or crazy, as much of your pop culture displays them," the cavalryman said with a huff. "The brain is a very complex set of nerves, and when it isn't functioning properly, there is very little one can do to solve that.

"In Novoselic, we never believed that someone was incurable, and we had great doctors dedicated to this; it was a profession many took after high school, since medical training is mandatory in our country."

"I also heard driving a tank was too?"

"Yes, but that came up a little less frequently," Ken said with a slight smile. "I always thought our blend of modern-day technology mixed with medieval warfare was quite special, though I was surprised to see Japan had a fair amount of that included."

Yitro chuckled, but shook his head. "I gotta say, I would love to visit Novoselic one day, once it returns to its former glory."

"I'm afraid that day may never come."

Ken stared down a particularly dark corridor, then walked away from it without a word. Whatever was down that way, he didn't want to bother with it. Yitro noticed the medical crosses on the wall, but decided against it too and followed after Ken.

"Have you truly given up on your home, Ken?" he asked the Novoselician.

"I was just done bragging to you how well we handle the mentally ill, but then I realized that the conditions have been, shall we say, flipped. Now the country has run amok with people who have lost their minds, because Despair, it flips you. It makes the noble abuse their power, the smart become sinister, the generous now know how to hurt you most.

"Novoselic was a country about honor, and when Despair came, the afflicted knew what would be the most painful to everyone. They all knew how to hurt each other the most…

"That's why," he said, clenching his fists tightly, "I am so very determined to find the answers here. Even if I have to spend a night in an asylum, or a creepy pizza arcade, or anywhere… I'd sleep in the sewers if it were asked of me!"

"Shhh, don't give Monokuma ideas."

"Sorry. I just don't know else to convey my sincerity."

"You don't have to worry about that, I believe you entirely, Ken. I feel the same, this town took one of my last friends, I am going to settle things here."

"Indeed, though I do wonder about some of the ways it's trying to get my skin."

Yitro thought about this for a moment, then asked, "Do you mean, 'get under your skin'?"

"That sounds horrifying! But if you mean to unnerve me, yes. I still have no clue what 'scarlet' is supposed to be about…"

Before they could discuss this, there was a sharp cry that echoed around the dark halls of the asylum. Both men flinched, and exchanged glances.

"What the hell was that?" Ken blurted out.

"Do we really want to find out?" Yitro asked, grinding his teeth. "Oh hell, let's find out."

The two of them walked onwards, intrepid but braving the horrid shadows and noises that this asylum seemed to feature around every damn turn! They hurried forward towards the room that they could hear growling and murmuring…

The two of them stared into the room, where there was a card table set up in the center. Odelios, Ishiku, Fannie, Drake, Ignatia, and Anzu (with Monocrow on her shoulder) were seated around it, all of them glancing over at the two men who had barged in.

The glossy Uno cards in their hands gleamed in the light inside of the room. Fannie turned towards Odelios, and remarked, "I told you that screaming would be a bad thing, Odie."

"I haven't had a turn," the clown snarled ruefully, glaring at Drake, "in the last _two minutes!_ Damn your Reverse Card!"

"It was legitimately the only card I could play," the cartoonist whimpered, shrinking back from the angry entertainer.

"Now now now," Ishiku scolded his friend, "we're playing a friendly game here because this place is so spooky and unnerving…"

He continued to speak as Ignatia played her next card. "And we cannot be yelling like that because we…" Then he noticed Ignatia had Skipped him. "MOTHERFU-"

Ken groaned in disgust, walking away from the room as he muttered, "Stuck in an asylum with the most crazy members, oh joy."

Yitro merely raised an eyebrow, especially because Ishiku was now unsheathing Peko's sword and going on a samurai-esque honor bound rant. The actual swordsman cleared his throat, catching their attention, and inquired, "May I join next game?"

" **If you can handle our comedic shenanigans,** " Monocrow said, folding his cards up with his wingtips and keeping them hidden under his wing for safety, " **and agree to not cheat.** "

"Some people here are a little eager to glance at someone's hand," Anzu remarked, winking at the handsome swordsman. "But I'm sure we can fit you in! Oh, would you like to play Strip Uno? That's a suggestion we have going on."

"We are not doing that!" Drake declared, waving his hands frantically as Ignatia scowled at her fellow gothic-lite gal.

" **You should also ask Ken if he'd like to join,** " Monocrow added, " **rather than have him skulk around the hallways of this place.** "

* * *

 **Day 15, 1:49 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Center Area, "Shy" Monokuma Statue**

Fiora had climbed up on the podium that the statue was on, and was poking it a great deal. She was pulling on the paws over the bear's eyes when she heard someone calling out to her.

"Fiora sweetie, what on Earth are you doing?"

The movie maker stopped her antics, when she realized Pyrrha was staring at her from the doorway of the arcade, still inside of the creepy building. Fiora chuckled nervously, and responded with a tinge of shame in her voice.

"You knoo' when you're looking at a puzzle, and you doo'nt knoo' where to start, so you start trying everything you can to see what'll work?"

Pyrrha squinted in confusion at first, then asked, "Are you trying to figure out what benefit you get for staying last night in the psychic tent?"

"YES! But nothing's working! And I've tried everything I can think of, I was all over town earlier!"

The romance writer sighed, not sure what to do about the very active antics of the movie maker. "What do you mean, honey?"

"I went back into every building that we've been to befur, but nothing's changed! I even went around to some of the old buildings where there's nothing but ruins, and nothing! What do I get, you stupid bear?!"

"Fiora, we all tried to discover what we were granted, but no one has a clue. You don't need to take it upon yourself to go above and beyond."

The movie maker sighed heavily, and leaned back down on the podium. "Curse this truth serum mist, it causes me to act 'oot!"

"You don't really seem," Pyrrha said with an impish giggle, "the kind that needs much encouragement to act out, Fiora. Now come on, you mustn't feel too bad about this."

"But I cannot figure 'oot why the psychic tent was still dangerous with nightmares, Pyrrha! I mean, surely that should have given us the biggest advantage!"

"You know that Monokuma and Despair don't like to act within reason," the redhead replied with a sad sigh. "Sweetheart, what was your dream about, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Eh, it was nothing big, just another crazy movie-like story. I was actually part of the mafia, like a major enforcer, and things were getting super crazy with the boss. Also, there were bugs, like super big bugs, like in one of my creature features. Hehe, do you like movies a'boot either, Pyrrha?"

The romance author glanced to the side, trying to think of the most polite way to phrase this. "Not really, dear."

"You should try one sometime! We should get some of those and make it a marathon, much more fun than sitting around waiting for weird stuff to happen."

"Tell you what, I'll watch some of your wild movies," Pyrrha said with a smile, "if you read one of my favorite books."

"Not one of yours?"

"I don't like to pitch my own work, I like to showcase what inspired me."

"Funny, I feel the same way a lot of the time. We're creative kindred spirits, American woman."

"Quite possibly, Canadian lady."

The two shared a chuckle, happy to have a sane conversation with someone, even if the distance and situation was ridiculous. Fiora let out a happy sigh, then said, "You knoo', maybe I'll hang 'oot in the arcade tonight, since I doo'nt knoo' if spending another night in the tent is worth it…"

She would have continued, but then she started to hear shouting. The voices were exceptionally loud, and both ladies could hear them coming from the motel. They shared a look, then Fiora hurried off to see what was going on.

When she was close to the entrance of the Bears' Motel, she could start to make out the voices, who they were and what they were saying. And when she peered in through the crusty windows, it was verified.

"… cannot keep me here if I don't want to be here, mate! So fuck off!" Blake shouted, defiantly pointing at Isaac.

"How about you calm the hell down?" Isaac growled, glaring back at him. "We were helping you, you ungrateful jerk."

"I didn't ask for help, I didn't want it! So fuck off with the guilt trip! I'm not staying in this hideous motel."

Blake started for the entrance, but Isaac stood in the way. The Australian pyro glared at the French reporter, and spat out, "You really think you can stop me if I want out?"

"I think we've all had it with your attitude, and we're going to ask you to contribute rather than do whatever the hell you want."

Blake stared down Isaac, then turned back to see all those watching the altercation. Hikari, Hara, and Souma were nearby, all of them rather concerned with what was happening. Saiko and Eisei were in the lobby, the former appearing ready to engage at any moment.

The pyrotechnician chuckled, then very quickly swung at Isaac, catching the reporter's face with his fist. Knocking the mint-topped man down, Blake shouted, "You look like shit, you cannot stop me!"

"You motherfucking prick!"

Saiko shouted as she hurried over, at the same time everyone else did. The majority were around Isaac, but the forensic investigator was up in front of Blake in that instant.

"You know what? Isaac had the best of intentions for you, but you don't deserve it," Saiko blurted out, balling her hands into fists. "I'm going to say it: why don't you just leave Penjar?"

"Oh, I'll tell you why, tits for brains midget," Blake remarked, shaking his head at her. "Because I feel like this place still has answers I want, and I refuse to let it beat me at its stupid game.

"You're not keeping me in this wretched motel, I'm going to head on out, and face the nightmares you pussies are too pissing scared of."

Saiko scoffed loudly, glancing back at Isaac. The others were tending to him, and it was then that she realized just how frail Isaac appeared. His beleaguered appearance, his lack of strength and stamina…

The nightmares had been straining him, almost as if he was being drained of life. Her hands quivered, but she steeled herself as she glanced back at Blake.

"Well then, get the hell out," she spat at him.

The Australian pyro merely crossed his arms, and a smirk spread across his place. "Oh I don't know… I mean, I guess I could stick around a bit longer, since you all are without a real man. You just got that-"

"We don't want you here, you colossal prick!"

"Just a beta bitch and that crossdressing fag," Blake remarked, pointing to Isaac and Eisei. Then he regarded Souma, and added, "Oh, and rich little cunt in a fancy suit who thinks he's better than everyone else."

"Mister Shokyaku," Souma said, frowning at the man, "I have no problem getting my suit dirty if it means forcibly throwing you out of here."

"Like you could, you fucking sissy! But yeah, I think I'll stay," Blake grinned wickedly down at Saiko, and reached over to grasp one of her pigtails. "The women need a real man, if they can handle o-"

Saiko slugged Blake in-between the legs as hard as she could. He stumbled backwards, grasping at his private parts and the wall. Gasping, straining, he stared at Saiko incredulously, then furiously.

"One tease, and you go there?" he snapped. Before anyone could react, he lunged for Saiko. Grabbing her jacket, holding her tightly, he started dragging her towards the door. "Maybe you'll like more of the nightmares!"

There was shouting, as Blake dragged the struggling Saiko to the front door. Eisei sprinted over, attempting to strike Blake, but the much bigger man kicked at the dentist, knocking him back. Before anyone could help out, Saiko was thrown, kicking and clawing at Blake, from the motel.

"You," she shrieked, pulling herself up to her feet as she glared white-hot daggers at Blake, "you son of a bitch!"

"Maybe we can enjoy the nightmares together?" Blake asked, waving at her. "Now if you'll excuse me, sheila, I gotta put some ice on my nuts…"

He was interrupted when someone sprinted by him, alerting him to the fact that the others were still there. Eisei was outside within a second, and then Isaac, sporting a growing bruise next to his eye, slammed up against Blake.

The two tall men struggled with each other, both still suffering from their pain, but equally furious. Still, Isaac, despite how much he attempted to overpower the pyro, was lacking in strength.

There was a brief scuffle, then Blake successfully pushed Isaac out of the motel as well. The pyro cackled, pointing at the reporter, shouting, "Let's see how you like another round in Freddy Krueger's nightmare, bitch! Hahaha-"

Hara, in the most aggressive action she had ever taken in her life, shoved Blake outside with a rather strong kick. The pyro hit the ground, and then felt someone jump on top of him and start punching him.

"Son of a bitch," Fiora was shrieking, hitting him with all her might. "I'm going to beat the shit-"

Blake pushed up and gave Fiora a hard shove, backing away from her. He stood there, huffing and gasping, watching as the movie maker who hated her reared up to attack again.

"Don't," Hara said as she stepped outside, getting between the movie maker and the pyro. "He's not worth it, he's really, really not."

"Oh fuck you too," Blake snarled, wiping the blood off of his lip. "You all should have just let me do whatever I wanted to do. You don't cage a guy like me, I don't react well to it."

"You can go," Saiko declared, pointing at him from over Eisei's shoulder, as the dentist was holding her back, "straight to hell!"

"Heh, what are you going to do, send me there yourself, midget? I mean, you might be the only one out here with balls besides me, but I don't see a tiny thing like you doing anything of importance."

The pyrotechnician glanced around, an odd feeling of being watched. There was someone leaning slightly out of the arcade, someone at the front doors of the asylum, and he could even recognize a Monokuma-shaped figure nearby the statue.

"Wanna try, you little bitch?" he continued to taunt Saiko. "There's a lot of witnesses here, it'll be like another prison fight for me."

"I can kill you," Saiko snarled, so furious that saliva was leaking from her mouth, her breathing deep and heavy.

"Seriously now? You ever kill a person?"

"Yes."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you-"

"I KILLED SOMEONE!"

Saiko's shriek of fury and admittance echoed around the entire plaza. She lifted her hand, fingers quivering with a desire to do damage rather than good, and she clenched her hand as hard as she could.

"I've _killed_ someone, I've got blood on my hands. And I'm not afraid to do it for those I care about, Blake. This isn't the truth serum speaking now, this is me telling you…

"If you ever hurt my friends again, I _will_ , without any hesitation, kill you like I did that other man."

Blake stared at her, eyes narrowed, and he spat out a bitter laugh. "Tough talk, but I don't think you've got what it takes to kill a man in cold blood."

"That's how the first guy went," Saiko responded, a cruel grin spreading across her face. "Cold, swiftly, and rather… unfairly too, I can make that happen for you. Test me."

The mists swirled around the group of graduates outside of the motel. Blake stood alone, as those mists curled around his legs. He let out a long sigh, and replied, "So you're just a corrupt official who preyed on the innocent. I came to peace with what I did, but I wonder how well you carry that when you're not trying to be a badass."

Blake turned around and walked off without another word. Fiora started running after him, but Hara managed to catch her. The movie maker was heaving in fury, but not as much as Saiko.

However, after a few seconds of silence, and Blake long gone, the forensic investigator fell to her hands and knees. When Eisei moved to her side, she looked up at him, tears flowing down from her eyes. She latched onto Eisei, and bawled without restraint.

Isaac managed to pull himself up, his strength still failing him. Hara headed over to him, and he smiled gratefully at her. "I'm fine. We should watch over Saiko."

"Isaac?"

Hikari called out from the entrance of the motel, still inside of the building. She was about to speak more when Souma walked outside, startling her with this action. The public speaker headed over to Fiora, laying a comforting hand on the movie maker's shoulder.

"Don't let him get under your skin," Souma said to her. "You're better than that."

"Bastard killed my parents, keeps goading and attacking people," Fiora snarled, "how can I not, huh? How do I stop him from getting under my skin?!"

"Isaac! Everyone!" Hikari called out, almost frantic, from the motel. "What… I… I should come out there too!"

"No, Hikari!" Isaac declared, holding up his hand. "You still can benefit from that place. Don't sacrifice that."

"Half of you just got cast out, and the other half walked out! I mean, it's not fair! Can't we ask Monokuma if being forcibly removed doesn't count?"

" **Nope!** "

Hikari leapt up in shock as Monokuma appeared behind her. The bear cackled, and added, " **No exceptions! They left, they aren't allowed back in until tomorrow! If any of you try to come back in, I'll shred ya!** "

Hikari sighed and covered her face. "Dear gears and steam whistles, this is so awful. All because of that awful man…"

"What's going on?"

The steampunk model flinched again, but this time not as violently. She turned to see Kimiko walking up to her, staring in utter confusion. Hikari threw herself into a hug with the startled biker gang leader.

"Kimiko," Hara called out to the biker, "most of us have unfortunately been forced out of the buildings for today. We need you and Hikari to stay in there."

"Okay, but what happened?" Kimiko asked, hugging Hikari back as she spoke. "Why are you all 'oot there?"

"Blake," Saiko spat out, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She wiped her face with her sleeves, and repeated, "Blake did it. He threw some of us out… and some of us followed."

"He was incredibly aggressive," Hikari said, pulling herself away from Kimiko slowly. "He even punched Isaac, and got handsy with Saiko."

"What? How dare that bastard, he… OH MY GOD!"

Kimiko cupped Hikari's face, startling the model. "He… he punched you too? That motherfucker, I'll kill him!"

"What? No he didn't hit me!"

"Hikari, your cheek is all red and splotchy! He struck you, didn't he?!"

"No I'm telling you, he didn't…"

The model reached up and touched her face. It was very warm, and had an itchy buzz to it. Confused, Hikari stared at Kimiko, and then hurried into the lobby to find the mirror was available to guests.

There was a second's pause, then a horrified shriek from the motel lobby. Everyone outside was rather confused and concerned, while Kimiko was over by Hikari in a heartbeat.

Hikari was staring at her body in the mirror, not just her face. The red marks were on her cheeks, her neck and chest, and on her arms. She grabbed at herself and started shivering hard. "Oh no, no no no…"

"Hikari, what's going on?" Kimiko cried out, reaching over to her. The model pulled away, shaking in fear.

"Th-the nightmare, it came true."

"What are you talking a'boot?"

"I slept in the psychic tent last night, and I had a nightmare about being ensnared by sentient poison ivy and oak!" Hikari cried out. "I didn't think it meant anything, I woke up and was just fine! But… but now… oh gears, I can feel it start to burn… I…"

Hikari shrieked in pain, scratching at herself. Kimiko rushed over to stop her, and the model cried out, "It's going to kill me! My skin will burn off! Kimiko! Oh God, I'm going to die!"

Outside, the people could hear the steampunk model's fearful cries. They all exchanged glances, rather concerned. "Is there anything we can get her?" Hara asked. "I mean, is there any cream or medicine we could get her?"

"The problem with that," Souma commented, "would be that the nightmare is giving her rashes. There's no oils or scratches, she's not suffering from actual poison ivy's causes."

"Pain nullifiers then," Eisei calmly suggested, standing very close to Saiko. "I can go get some from my belongings, they may be the only thing to assist her with this inbound pain."

Fiora started inspecting herself, feeling her skin and glancing down her top. "I doo'nt understand what's going on! I'm not breaking 'oot!"

"Different nightmares," Saiko remarked, shivering one more time to soothe herself out. "Let's hurry, make ourselves useful now."

* * *

 **Day 15, 2:00 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

Odelios stared down the rather dark hallway that had been confusing him since he picked this place out. There were no patient rooms in this hallway, but there were other types of rooms…

Forms of patient treatment that were outdated, illegal, or outright torture could be seen through a large window for each room. There was electroshock with a crusty chair, hydrotherapy that appeared more like a waterboarding station, and rusty beds with straps on them. The clown winced as he walked down the hallway, noting each one as something he definitely didn't want any part of.

The asylum made him feel like some part of his head was declaring, " _You're due for it anyway!_ " Odelios reached the end of the hallway, and examined the double doors in front of him. He tried to open them, but it didn't work.

"They're locked."

Odelios flinched and turned around swiftly, adopting a fighting pose that he made up right then and there called, "The Straight-Jacket Freedom Pose." He came eye to eye with Anzu, who stared at him with a neutral expression on her face.

"Do you have to sneak up on me like that now?" he asked her.

"I tried that door earlier. It doesn't open."

"Damn, it's like that one door in the motel. Oh, see, there was a locked motel room at the end of the second floor's hallway," Odelios explained. "We didn't pay it much heed, but now there's more locked rooms? Strange."

"There's an incredible amount of locked rooms on the second and third floors," Anzu said. "Shuuya and Futaba told me all about them. You don't pay attention."

"Um, wow," he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Where's this coming from? Are you still bitter over losing the last few Uno games?"

"I care not, for I have seen all of death in the third eye of the psychic's tent. You have no idea how _doomed_ you all are."

Anzu's voice dropped, and her crimson eyes seemed to burn with a kind of intensity that unnerved Odelios. She continued, scratching at her arm with a single finger.

"You have no idea of the hell on Earth that will come if we pursue the truth in this evil hellhole of a building, Odelios. For should we try to find the answers, if it does not break our minds, it will escape from Penjar, and annihilate the world."

"Wh-wh-what?" Odelios choked out. "What are you talking about? What's going to end the world?"

Anzu snarled, staring deep into his eyes as she took a step forward. He took several steps back, bumping into the doors behind him. She approached, and held her hand close to his fearful face, a single digit extending like a claw…

…

…

…

And with a flick of her wrist, a Reserve Uno card was held up in front of Odelios's face.

"You'll activate the trap card!"

Silence for the first few seconds, then a fit of feminine giggles from Anzu as she backed up laughing. Odelios stared for a few seconds, then sunk down on his back, laughing as well.

"You scared," he exclaimed as he coughed and wheezed, "the utter hell out of me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Anzu laughed as she apologized. "I have to admit, I was slightly bitter about that last Uno game, and I wanted to scare you as you looked around!"

"Oh boy, where did you learn to do that?"

"What, the act or the card trick? I'm an actress, even if I do most of it lying down, I know how to play pretend. As far as the card trick, Ishiku taught me a few things."

The actress walked into one of the adjacent rooms, and the clown followed after, both of them studying it with slight wonder and more horror. There were several beds, with tarps spread out over them. Tarps that had stains that suspiciously looked liked bloodstains, as well as the same stains on the ground; there was no smell of blood in the air, however.

"So yes, that door doesn't open, Odelios," Anzu said. "What brought you down here anyway?"

"I mean, we do need to explore this place, and I decided Ishiku and Fannie need more alone time."

"Heh, aren't you worried you'll become a third wheel?"

"No, why do you say that?"

"Because that's how I feel."

Anzu sighed as she started rummaging through the drawers of the room. "I just needed a little time alone, and this freaky place, you never know what could be in here."

"You really want to go through the drawers here?"

"Look, random items hidden around the places we've been have been triggers to that freaky, alternate realm. I've been there twice, I'm determined to find out what it's all about."

Odelios watched her dig through the drawers more, then furrowed his brow and flipped the tarps off of the beds. There were more stains, from water or blood or something else entirely, on the mattresses.

"Oh dear, what on Earth are these doing here?" Anzu asked, pulling something out from the drawers. Odelios walked over, and saw she was holding a large wooden mallet.

"Um, I'm going to guess that isn't a toy prop?" the clown asked. He watched Anzu knock the mallet on the counter, the very firm and hard sound confirming it was quite real. "Nope, they actually had Getting Hit on the Head Lessons here!"

"What now?"

"Oh, never mind, I'm just being too silly," Odelios said with a chuckle. He glanced up at the drawers, and asked, "Are there more in there? I could juggle 'em."

"Sounds like a real gamble," Anzu said, giggling rather slowly as well as speaking the same. "You know… such things… could kill…"

"Now don't worry about that, I've juggled worse. Let's see," he spoke as he reached towards the drawer, "how many more are in th-"

Odelios saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and the beginning of a terrible shriek. He dodged out of instinct, and his well-trained acrobatics managed to save his life. For the mallet that was swung towards the drawers came so close to hitting his head, the wind felt like a punch in itself.

The mallet struck the drawer so heavily, the wood cracked in two and broke off the hinges. It collapsed in a mess, suffocating amounts of dust kicking up. Odelios, frozen in place, stared at the one who had swung the mallet.

Anzu's crimson eyes were wide, full of rage and venom. She was holding the mallet tightly, but with that one finger of hers she stuck out like a claw extended. Her breath came out as furious huffs, until the dust in the air caught in her mouth.

The actress dropped the mallet, grabbing at her throat as she coughed hard. Her eyes returned to normal, as did her hands without that wicked claw motion she had. Strained tears escaped from her eyes, and then gasped as she dropped the mallet.

"S-spider, the… the worst kind," she stammered out, trembling. "Was ready to… its fangs were like saws."

She looked towards Odelios, who couldn't even move in his panic. Anzu covered her mouth in shock, and blurted out, "Odelios, I'm… I'm so sorry, I don't…"

The actress reached out towards him, and he promptly stepped back.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Odelios sprinted out of the room, so fast that Anzu couldn't register his retreat at first. When it sank in, she cried out, "No, Odelios, I'm sorry! Please," and took off after him.

In that bleak hallway, she could vaguely make out the image of the clown running, though it almost appeared to be an after-image, like she was chasing his shadow. When she arrived at the end of the hallway, into the more well-lit one, she still couldn't see him down either way.

"Odelios! Please!" she called out, desperation in her voice and tone. She ran down one side of the hallway, but saw no trace of him. Which way had he gone?

Desperate, Anzu ran towards the entrance of the asylum. It seemed so far away, she had the horrible feeling of being lost despite knowing which way the entrance was. When she made it to those front doors, she failed to spot anyone running out of the building.

Anzu stood there, tempted to run outside, but stumbled back into the asylum. Cursing under her breath, punching herself in the head, she leaned up against the opposite wall. "Stupid, stupid… what's wrong with me? Did I… did I just… Goddamn it…"

"Anzu?!"

Ishiku came running over to her, with Fannie close by. The magician held the actress's shoulders, and held her as he asked, "What happened? What's wrong?"

Anzu sobbed. "I… I did something horrible. I'm losing myself again, Ishiku. I don't know what's _wrong_ with me!"

Fannie watched this, rubbing her hands together nervously. "Anzu, where's Monocrow?"

"Huh? He… he left, he said he had to assist someone else right now."

Fannie nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. When she noticed both Ishiku and Anzu were staring inquisitively at her, she took a deep breath. "Monocrow was meant to be a guide to the city, he wasn't supposed to interact with graduates directly."

"But he's been interacting with me since we found him!" Anzu exclaimed.

"I know. I don't understand why. Anzu, who exactly are you?"

The actress gripped her hair, threatening to tear her blue bangs off with her stress. Ishiku stopped her from doing so, and she clung to him. "I don't know," she admitted miserably. "I don't know what's going on with me."

Fannie walked over, and rubbed the woman's back. "We'll work to finding out then. I don't like my new friends suffering."

* * *

 **Day 15, 2:07 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

Shuuya sighed in frustration as he typed on the computer, trying to figure out how to make it work. His frustration continued to grow, as he wasn't progressing anywhere.

"Oh come on," the bounty hunter shouted at the screen, glaring hatefully at the error message. "I was told these games were normal, why is it behaving like a Despair-ridden torture device for me? If ever there was a sign something was up…"

" **It seems you're having trouble with one of our game systems,** " Monocrow chirped, after he flapped his wings and landed on the desk next to the computer Shuuya was using. " **Would you like me to help you with that?** "

"I don't need help from you, bird," Shuuya snapped. "Go away."

The white 'n black bird lowered his head, dejection all over his face. " **You all want help, but you won't accept it from me… that hurts, you know?** "

Futaba walked into the computer room, noticing Shuuya. "Is Monocrow bothering you? He's been trying to help us for some time now, but he's only explaining what we know."

" **I am trying, you know…** "

The anthropologist rolled her eyes. "Anyone who explains to me what I already know, what I literally just said, will automatically get on my shit list."

She pulled up a seat next to Shuuya, studying his screen. "Something wrong there, pal? Is the video game giving you troubles?"

"I cannot even get the characters to move! This is ridiculous, I just wanted to study this game for clues!"

Shuuya started pressing random keys on the keyboard, glaring at the character of Madhouse that he had unintentionally selected. Futaba watched him struggle, then poked his shoulder.

"You're supposed to push the space bar to confirm, or Escape to go back to character select," she informed him.

The assassin scanned the keyboard, and grumbled, "None of these keys say 'Space' or 'Escape.'"

"Wait, what?" Futaba corrected her glasses, rather surprised at this revelation. "Are you serious?"

"Is ESC supposed to stand for Escape?" Shuuya asked, pushing the button. The character on the screen shrunk back down into the roster, though his biography was visible under his profile.

" _Madhouse, the incredibly cantankerous carpenter, is great at fixing broken tools and parts. He would rather be working on the home you've all holed up on, however._ "

"Ugh, I really don't want to play as a handyman! I cannot believe the game was forcing that on me."

"Shuuya, the game isn't forcing you to do anything. Just click on one of the characters," Futaba instructed, pointing at the roster. She watched as Shuuya stared at her in confusion, narrowing his eyes at the keyboard, then tried to poke the screen. "No! With the mouse!"

"Why are you talking about rodents? I don't," he stared at the mouse next to the computer, and then remarked, "oh yes, I remember that that's what they're called. So…"

He picked up the mouse and pressed it against the screen. "No, that's not how it works, right?"

" **This has got to be,** " Monocrow muttered, " **the most computer illiterate I've seen a person to be.** "

"You don't know how to use a computer at all?" Futaba inquired. "They never taught you how to use a computer with all your bounty hunting and assassin training?"

"I only ever used phones, I never saw the need for a computer," Shuuya admitted. "Can you help me with this foolish machine?"

"Move over, you dork!" Futaba giggled a bunch as Shuuya moved over into another seat, sulking as he watched her navigate the character selection screen. She hummed as she looked over more of them. " _Surprise_ ," she read aloud, " _a real gentleman who managed to survive thanks to winning a sweepstakes! He has incredible luck, so everything he does may or may not work out spectacularly._ "

"Why are the characters so ridiculous?" Shuuya remarked. "Is that a hint of some sort?"

"Drake told me that the games didn't seem to have been changed," Futaba remarked. "None of them, so I don't know what hint or clue it could be. Maybe it is simply here for atmosphere…

"You know how we were talking about my anthropology earlier?" she said, as she began a game with Surprise as her character. The survival choices came up, and she casually chose them. "Sometimes the answer is the most simple one, we're the ones who complicate things when we stare at some for too long."

Shuuya nudged the computers underneath the desk, and Futaba glanced underneath. She leaned down to see the hardware's logo on the side: DespairWare.

"I don't believe in coincidence," Shuuya remarked. "There has to be a reason there's a new line of Despair-labeled computers for this arcade."

" **The arcade machines are powered,** " Monocrow remarked, " **by Hostile-Pandemonium Inc., part of our Chaos-line of electronics. Despair and Chaos worked so hard to make Penjar as grand as it used to be.** "

Shuuya glanced over at the bird. "What? What are you talking about? Penjar was like this in the past?"

" **Oh, Penjar used to be a bustling town, very unique with Japan's history, but lost in it. Did you think this town was created by Despair and Chaos?** "

Monocrow chuckled, rubbing underneath his beak. Shuuya and Futaba exchanged glances, and then turned towards the bird. "When was Penjar formed, Monocrow?" Futaba asked. "Do you know that?"

" **Shortly after 1915, I believe. We built up on it, after its abandonment… which I have no precise date of.** "

"Is there any way we could find out?"

" **Oh yes! Monokuma spoke the truth earlier today, you could find out everything if you work together. Despair and Chaos both habitually allow the chance for things to not go as they planned, lest they self-destruct upon betraying themselves.** "

Futaba stood up and leaned against the wall. "Okay, sounds like the mystery is more complex than I thought. So where can we find the answers?"

" **All throughout Penjar, though I daresay some places are off-limits to you, like the Northern Plaza or the now-destroyed Science Lab.** "

"But how can we go there? I mean, just like at the asylum, there's locked doors in here too. And there's been no way to open them, like there were in the Northern Plaza."

" **Guess you'll just have to figure that out, graduates of Hope's Peak! I must say, it'd be nice to see you all work together on this!** "

Shuuya groaned, rubbing his forehead. "The hell of it is, he's right. We desperately need to work together."

The anthropologist nodded. "Funny, just the idea of getting into the place labeled the Control Room here now seems to have so many different connotations. Maybe I spoke too soon when I said it wasn't complex."

Futaba and Shuuya, as well as Crystal and Pyrrha, took to exploring the arcade with more scrutiny than before. Playing the games became something that they sunk hours into, but couldn't find anything that stuck out to them.

* * *

 **Day 15, From 2:30 onwards**

 **Western Plaza**

The arcade was probably the most busy of the buildings at the Western Plaza. The four graduates kept exploring, no longer allowing themselves to be distracted.

Inside of the asylum, the souls inside were far more distracted. Anzu had shut herself up in a room, and refused to come out or respond to anyone. Ishiku and Fannie tried to find Odelios, but the clown wasn't anywhere to be found.

The remaining graduates inside of the asylum tried to search the second and third floors of the building. Ken and Yitro worked together, making small talk, while Drake and Ignatia took more time to bond. The four of them went through so many rooms, so many storage compartments and drawers and even beds and medical equipment.

Outside of the Western Plaza, some of the graduates were still rather busy. The tavern nearby the Main Plaza only had one occupant, as Blake drank by himself, fuming as what happened earlier stewed in his head. The pyrotechnician punched at the counter, and knocked back another drink.

The large group of graduates, consisting of Isaac, Hara, Saiko, Eisei, Souma, and Fiora, were congregating at the coffee shop. They had almost forgotten that this building was still around, but were quick to prepare food and drink for themselves. They spent a long time reminiscing about their time at Hope's Peak, before they embarked on searching places they had been before.

Inside of the motel, Kimiko was trying her best to take care of Hikari. The steampunk model was red all over, her body sporting what resembled a most painful rash. She had dressed down to her underwear and was wearing a bathrobe, ashamed of how she looked.

Their friends outside had retrieved a great deal of medical items for her comfort. She had smeared anti-rash cream on herself all over, in the hopes that it could help, even a little. Hikari had swallowed the maximum amount of painkillers possible, maybe even a bit more than she should have. Now she was a little loopy, walking around the motel and babbling.

"And you wanna know the hardest part about making a hat with a train track?" she asked Kimiko, who was following her into the kitchen, then out of it. "It's that the brim is never sturdy enough! It's like, you're strong enough for tipping, but not for a train?! What's up with that?"

Kimiko walked after her into the lobby, and the steampunk model gripped onto the grandfather clock. "Ohh, it's soooo pretty! Can I attach it to my hat? I'd love to have a clock hat, it'd be great for my next presentation… if I ever have one again."

The biker gang leader sighed, and said, "Hikari, maybe you should sit down. You're all over the place, eh."

"I gotta keep moving! If I stop moving, the itching will catch up to me! Let me move, Kimiko, oh I must be strutting!"

Hikari rubbed up against the grandfather clock, then slid down against it. It was not the best stripper imitation, if that's what it was? Kimiko couldn't tell.

"What if you took a shower?"

"In this motel? With what horror movie it's based off of?!"

Kimiko was now really confused how the woman who was drugged silly on painkillers could remember that specifically. "Then how a'boot a bath?"

"What if I drown?"

"Then I'll watch over you and we can talk."

"But then you'll see me NAKED!"

"You have a problem with that now?"

Hikari pouted. "People can only see me naked if we're gonna be intimate! I'm a model, if I start showing off what I look like under my clothing… I only have one future in front of me!"

Kimiko tried to think of the best way to approach this. "Aren't you interested in me?"

"I don't want you to see me naked for the first time when I'm like this! I'm all red and ugly and bad! To think that you, one of the coolest women I've ever met, would see me like this… it's not fair!"

Hikari bawled and started feebly punching at the grandfather clock. Kimiko couldn't help but feel bad for her, though was blushing ever-so-slightly; she had no idea that she was something more than an attempted conquest of the flirtatious model.

"How a'boot… you wear a swimsuit?"

"For a bath? Really?"

Kimiko chuckled and shrugged at her. "Why not? I mean, let's try and find something to soothe your skin while it's like that, after all!"

Hikari knocked on the grandfather clock, and sighed heavily. "But it sounds so romantic, me in the bathtub and you talking to me outside… can't we wait until the room stops swimming and I feel like I'm going to start drooling at any moment before we do this?"

"That sounds fair."

* * *

 **Day 15, 9:45 PM**

 **Ye Olde Café**

Fiora hummed as she stood up from her seat, and started to head to the exit. "Well, it's bin great fun, all of you, but I should probably be going to bed."

"Did you decide which building you're going to be spending in tonight?" Hara asked, tilting her head to the side.

The movie maker scratched the back of her head, seemingly rather nervous about what she was going to admit. "I was thinking I woo'd try the arcade, eh. Pyrrha and I had a moment earlier, I'd love to chat with her a'geen."

Saiko, who had been spinning one of her light-up fidget spinners to showcase it to Eisei, glanced up at Fiora. "What about the psychic tent? I don't think there's anyone in there."

"Yeah, but I was in there last night, no point in me being there a'geen, right?"

The forensic investigator shrugged. "Sorry, forgot about that. You have a good night then, enjoy the arcades for me, will ya?"

After Fiora took off, the five graduates inside of the café pondered over their actions. "So Hara and I were thinking," Isaac spoke up, "that we were going to stay up all of tonight, then get into one of the buildings as soon as we can tomorrow."

"Staying up late," Eisei remarked, "is rather bad for your health and can have some serious side effects after thirty-six hours."

"Do you really want to risk more nightmares?" Saiko asked him.

Eisei rolled his lollipop in his mouth, and shook his head. "The ones we have experienced are extremely unpleasant; however, I seemed to only have them when I am alone. I haven't had one in your company, Saiko."

"You know, I haven't had any either," Hara admitted. "I don't know how to explain that… but so long as Isaac has them, I'll do anything I can to avoid them."

"While I do plan on trying my luck with sleep," Souma remarked, "I will help you all in this endeavor. How about I mix us up some strong coffee, and we prepare for the long haul?"

"Make mine with loads of sugar," Saiko requested.

"Great quantities of sugar are not good for your teeth," Eisei said.

"You can clean them afterwards."

"You want me to get my dentist equipment?"

"I'll settle for your tongue."

Hara and Isaac couldn't help but laugh, as Eisei turned pink in the face as Saiko blew him a kiss. Souma laughed a great deal as he headed to the kitchen of the café.

* * *

 **Day 15, 9:55 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

"So this is what babysitting is like," Kimiko grumbled as she watched Hikari play with the sink. The steampunk model was laughing, utterly fascinated with the flow of water. She threw her head back and laughed every time.

This continued until she threw her head back a little harder than she could balance out, falling over and banging her noggin on the floor. Kimiko rushed over, as Hikari struggled to pick herself up again.

"Ow," the model muttered, rubbing her head. "Oh gosh, I felt that."

"Looks like a bang on the head sobered you up," Kimiko remarked. "Damn, didn't think it would be so sudden."

"Kimiko…"

Hikari stared up into Kimiko's eyes, as the model was now in the biker's arms. They were transfixed, with Kimiko unsure of what to say or do. She took a deep breath, and then opened her mouth to speak.

"I felt that blow," Hikari repeated, "to the back of my head."

"Um, yes, you said that."

"I'm feeling pain again. My skin's starting to feel hot," Hikari whimpered, clutching onto Kimiko's jacket. "Get the bath ready, the pain's coming back fast!"

"Okay! Okay, I'll get the bath ready," the biker gang leader said as she lifted up Hikari, bringing her over to a chair before heading on upstairs.

"And don't forget the bathing suit," Hikari shouted up to her. "I cannot have you see me naked like _this_! Oh God, it's so ugly and red and itchy…"

Kimiko made it to the second floor, as her mind tried to remember which room was Hikari. It dawned on Kimiko that the model had never told her, and so she started to look inside each one.

As the green-topped tough gal searched room after room, she finally found one with a rolling suitcase inside of it. Kimiko started to walk towards it, then she realized that, oddly enough, the handle was stretched out. And there was a bird on it.

" **Hello there, Kimiko,** " Monocrow greeted her.

"AWK! What the hell!" Kimiko let out a squawk of her own, then sighed in exasperation. "Oh yeah, they told me there was a bird like Monokuma now. What are you doing here?"

" **Watching over luggage,** " the white 'n black bird said, drumming his talons on the suitcase's handle. " **Would you believe that Hikari brought so many articles of clothing with her, despite wearing the same thing since she got here? Like all of you have been doing, oddly enough.** "

"What do you care a'boot Hikari's taste in clothing, eh?"

" **Just that she may not remember everything she brought, since she's still a little loopy. You could probably get away with a skimpy suit, but that might bring back sad memories.** "

Kimiko folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What the hell are you getting at?"

" **Was it not a pool party that you and Angelique had a moment that started your relationship?** "

The biker gang leader trembled at the mention of the name. "Wh-what business of yours is that? Why the fuck are you bringing her up, that up? And you weren't even there, what the _fuck_ are you going on a'boot?!"

She stomped up to Monocrow and lifted him up, squeezing him angrily. "You evil little thing, I'll make you regret saying that."

" **OOF! Urrrgh… K-Kimiko, if you must assist her in this endeavor… then I apologize. Please don't crush me, or someone is going to die.** "

"Oh yeah? Who woo'd that be, you damn bird?"

" **Me!** "

Kimiko sighed ruefully, and tossed Monocrow away. She knelt down in front of the suitcase and opened it up. Rummaging through the clothing, a lot of it rather artistic, she finally found two different pieces of swimwear: a simple one-piece black bathing suit, and a very frilly two-piece white bikini that appeared more like a skirt and bra.

" **I would advise you hurry in your choice,** " Monocrow, from the doorway, said as he started to walk out. Moonlight shone through the window in the hallway, illuminating him as he stared over at Kimiko.

"Oh, why's that now?"

" **Because Hikari is heading towards the front door. I don't believe she is fully out of her stupor, and something outside has her attention.** "

Kimiko was out of the room and down the stairs within seconds. Monocrow watched her go, chuckled, and then flew out the window.

* * *

 **Day 15, 9:58 PM**

 **Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill**

Blake leaned back on the sofa of the VIP room, sipping his drink as he watched a stupid movie on the television screen he had set up in there. Every now and then, he would glance over at the stripper pole, and imagine a hot woman on there. It was going to have to pass for entertainment tonight for him.

The movie made another pathetic joke not even worth an eye roll, and Blake considered throwing the remote at the TV screen. "Stupid movie," he remarked, as he prepared the remote, "I'll teach you to be picked by me!"

" **Sounds like you're deflecting big time,** " Monocrow said, walking into the VIP room on his little talons.

Blake shouted in surprise, and chucked the remote at the bird. It clanked off of his head, and Monocrow let out a startled squawk. " **That wasn't very polite,** " he remarked as he rubbed his sore forehead.

"How did you get here?" the pyrotechnician demanded to know.

" **With science! Anyway, Blake, why are you isolating yourself from the others? You cannot solve anything like this.** "

"Fuck taking advice from you. Besides, might as well do so, this ain't going to continue until someone dies."

" **It doesn't have to.** "

"I don't fucking believe that. Things never progress until something bad happens. That's the story of my life, and it ain't gonna change any time soon, mate!"

" **Is that why you behaved so barbarically at the motel? Did things being out of your control, stuck with a bunch of people, did it remind you of prison? Is that why you're deflecting so much?** "

Blake snarled, cracking his knuckles. "I can break you, bird. Would you mind getting the hell out of here before I do so? If I wanted a beautiful bird for this stripper pole, I would get one of the women!"

Monocrow rubbed underneath his beak with his wingtip. " **Anzu, Ignatia, and Fannie are in the asylum. Futaba, Pyrrha, and Crystal are in the arcade. Kimiko and Hikari are at the motel, while Hara and Saiko are at Ye Olde Café. Fiora appears to be heading across the town, most likely to the Western Plaza. Would you like for me to get one for you?** "

"Whoa, wait a minute," Blake said, rising up in his seat and leaning forward. "You know where everyone is? You know where all the women are?"

" **Yes, I am aware of where they all are now, and where they've all been.** "

"And you can bring them to me?"

Monocrow grinned slyly up at Blake, his red eye flashing malevolently as a dark, sinister, conniving chuckle came out of his beak.

" **Nope.** "

The pyrotechnician ran a hand through his spiky hair, and grumbled, "Aw well, worth a shot. So why the fuck are you here?"

" **Because, Blake, I thought I should let you know that your actions have caused more problems for you and others than you realize when Monokuma enacts a hidden component of his plan tonight.** "

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

" **Your actions have made others take drastic measures, but Monokuma doesn't want that happening. And so, things are going to get much worse…** "

The television stopped playing the awful movie suddenly, leading bird and pyro to stare at it. Static overrode the screen. As it garbled, and a certain music track started to play through that static, Monocrow turned to look at Blake.

" **When the theater segment ends.** "

* * *

( **Day 15 is over~** )

( **Monokuma Theater** )

* _Monokuma is dressed up as Batman… or at least, he's trying to. His cowl doesn't really fit him, and the shock of white 'n black hair coming from it is astonishingly awful. He even has bat symbols with his face on every part of his armor, including where the nipples would be located. Seriously, who dressed him?*_

 **Monokuma** \- "Have you ever loved to hate something? It's a little like hating to love something, or someone. I mean, I got five kids… well, three now, two if you wanna be literate. I hate that I gotta love them, I love that I hate their antics! It all works out! Or maybe I was referring to a game series or a TV show?"

* _Bat-Monokuma proceeds to interrupt a series of crimes taking place. By that, we mean: he's punching out the victim of a mugging, helping bank robbers get away in their vehicle, and allowing Monokid to steal a big diamond from a museum.*_

 **Monokuma** \- "I like to imagine everyone thinks the same way I do, and that's why no one could watch the shows I hate. And everyone has to watch the shows I love, which means they shall never die! May every show last for fifty-three seasons, that's my motto! Anyway, bear with me a little longer, I won't drive you batty…"

* _Bat-Monokuma is very busy tailoring MORE of his Bat-Kuma icons onto his suit as people are being thrown off a skyscraper. After finishing, he starts dancing in celebration, totally ignoring how an evil version of Monomi is trying to murder Monodam in the background._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Danganronpa will be literal perfection, once it fits a bear. I am the face of honor and integrity! I never miss! Bears cannot be criminals. This Killing Game isn't meant for good pink bunnies! You've caused me nothing but pain and misery, Monocrow, now go on and be on your way, I believe in you!

"… I might have veered off-track there. Sorry, it's such a wild, wild world I live in. Anyway, that's it for me tonight, folks, until next time! End the theater now, Monodam.

"… End the show, Monodam!

"END! EEEEEEEEEEND!"

* * *

The sound of something smashing cut off the presentation, and then the crappy "comedy" movie came back on. Blake rolled his eyes, and stared at Monocrow. "It's just the same as all his other bat-shit crazy theaters."

" **Wait for it.** "

Blake was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, when he suddenly felt very dizzy. He leaned back on the sofa, and then collapsed onto it.

" **The mists that flow through the city have been laced with a certain sleeping agent, one that affects everyone who doesn't fit certain requirements, and it seeps into every building. Like selective amnesia, the technology here has selective narcolepsy.**

" **So tell me, Blake,** " Monocrow said, a smirk on his tiny beak as the pyro flopped down on the sofa, " **do you now regret your actions?** "

* * *

In Ye Olde Café, there was a great crash of coffee mugs. Souma, attempting to bring the tray full of them, had dropped them before falling over backwards. He hit the floor, and didn't get back up as he drifted off.

No one came to his help, as Saiko flopped over onto Eisei's shoulder, and him resting his head on hers. It would have been an adorable sight for anyone conscious to see it, but Isaac and Hara had fallen asleep on the other side of the table.

Inside of the asylum, Ken and Yitro collapsed in one of the hallways, struggling to keep themselves awake. The two young men were strong to resist, but it wasn't enough.

On the first floor, Ignatia fell forward, unable to resist it too. Drake managed to catch her, but stumbled down and hit the floor too. She fell asleep on his chest, as he was out a few seconds before the mime did.

Inside of Monokuma's Arcade District, Pyrrha heard a crashing sound from the cafeteria. The romance writer hurried over, and saw Shuuya had collapsed amongst the chairs. He was unconscious, as far as she could tell.

"What happened?" she asked aloud, glancing around. She then spotted Futaba slumped over one of the keyboards in the computer room. The redhead went to check on her, finding her unconscious too. "What is going on?"

"Pyrrha!" Crystal hollered from nearby the entrance. "Pyrrha, come here!"

Rushing over to where the call came from, the writer was even more astonished when she saw what had startled the military expert so much. Fiora had fallen down inside of the arcade, right after coming inside.

Though what made it even more confusing was how Fiora could fall down on her knees and shoulders, butt in the air, and was snoozing peacefully like that. She truly was an unusual lady.

"Maybe we should try to make her more comfortable?" Pyrrha suggested.

"Maybe," Crystal remarked. "But I would love to know how she fell asleep so suddenly."

The redhead poked her fingers together, and nervously chuckled, "Then I don't think you're going to like what I found earlier…"

* * *

 **Day 15, 10:03 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

Inside one of the bedrooms of the motel, there was a difficult choice to be made. Hikari stared at the bathing suits, and then at Kimiko. "Why a one-piece and a two-piece?"

"I ran 'oot of time chasing after you, eh. Could you pick one?"

The steampunk model glanced between the two of her choices, and grinned impishly. "Why not both? Black and white can be really sexy!"

With a swipe of her arm, she grabbed both swimsuit and bikini, and marched into the bathroom. Kimiko sighed, muttering to herself, "After everything that's happened, why does this feel like the craziest thing so far? Oh, gears…"

* * *

She sighed, then shifted her arm slightly. Her bracelet with three dog tags fell into her palm, and she stared at the names on them. "What do you think, girls? Too high maintenance, or still worth it? I think after this is over, maybe I should give her a try."

Chuckling, she slid her bracelet back onto her wrist, and then approached the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Almost ready, Hikari?"

"I've only had a minute, you really think I'm ready?"

Kimiko pursed her lips, and then contemplated her options. She sighed as she leaned up against the wall next to the door, and could hear the shuffling of clothing being taken off.

" _Yeah, I'm still a great big pervert, aren't I?_ " Kimiko thought with a slight bit of nervous sweat coming down her forehead. " _I don't care if she is all red, she probably still looks amazing naked…_ "

Kimiko listened in, hearing the sounds of undressing finish up and then the sound of dressing up. She waited until there was a rather lengthy pause, and then knocked on the door again. "You ready now, beautiful?"

"F… Forgive me…"

"Look, I can wait as long as needed, you don't need to apologize."

"I… I just wanted to make this a better place."

Kimiko frowned in confusion, then heard Hikari collapse to the floor. She moved into the bathroom, to see the model, wearing both the black one-piece and the frilly bikini, unconscious on the floor.

"Hikari! No no no! What's going on?"

The biker gang leader picked up the rash-covered lady, and carried her onto the bed. Confused, Kimiko tried to think of what was going on. "Wait, is this… that comatose thing? Jesus Christ, what the hell is going on?! Is it the bikini?"

With more concern over Hikari's condition than shame, Kimiko attempted to pull the bikini off; however, the garment felt like it had been sealed to Hikari's body. The white bikini, as well as the black swimsuit, wouldn't move in the least.

"What's going on now?!" Kimiko cried out. "Goddamn, why does everything have to go so wrong so quickly?!"

 **? ? ? ?**

 **? ? ?**

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _"_ _Hey…_

 _"_ _Can you hear me?"_

 _…_

 _"_ _Are you okay?"_

 _Hikari blinked her eyes, and then felt the incredible dizziness that had overwhelmed her a minute ago fade away. There was a brilliant light shining down on her, warming her up, making the gentle sand underneath feel like a soft mattress._

 _Wait… sunlight? Sand?!_

 _The steampunk model's eyes flew open, and she could see the sky, a bright blue sky that seemed so foreign after two weeks in Penjar. She could feel sand under her body, was she on a beach right now?_

 _"_ _You're awake! Thank goodness, I was starting to worry about you."_

 _Hikari turned towards the voice, and saw a rather pale, young man that could have been mistaken for an albino. His wild, white hair was sticking out all over, and that with his pale skin was accentuated by his dark green jacket._

 _"_ _Can you get up?" he asked her._

 _The model nodded, and reached her hand up to silently ask for help; however, when she saw her hand, she flinched and cried out in shock. Her skin was not her well-treated ivory skin, nor was it the rash-covered redness it had become recently, but a rich tan._

 _She sat up, grasping at herself in astonishment. Her entire body was tan, and she was wearing the white bikini on her rather petite body. Hikari couldn't understand anything right now, or the fact that she was wearing what looked like a yellow raincoat as well._

 _"_ _Angie, I hate to rush you, but we need to hurry."_

 _Hikari recognized the boy now: Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Luck who had showcased his eccentricities during the Hope's Peak Killing Game. Despite knowing this, she still took his hand, and was lifted up to her feet._

 _"_ _Thank you for trusting me. When you are ready," Nagito said, "we should get going."_

 _Hikari glanced around, and then spotted a small group of teenagers nearby, all of them Hope's Peak students she could recognize: Kazuichi Soda, Teruteru Hanamura, Chiaki Nanami, Mahiru Koizumi, Peko Pekoyama, and Akane Owari._

 _All of them appeared highly concerned and nervous, even the normally passive Chiaki. They were glancing around, Teruteru rather focused on Hikari right now._

 _The steampunk model, coming to terms with the fact that she was in Angie Yonaga's body, regarded all of them, then at the beach they were on. Highly confused, she couldn't help but blurt out, "What… what are we doing on the beach? I thought… Hope's Peak…"_

 _"_ _What? Angie, you must be suffering from that blow you got to the head," Nagito said. "Still, it's okay, we believe in you."_

 _"_ _Um, Nagito my friend?" Teruteru said, stepping forward and waving at the albino-like luckster, "maybe if you'll allow me, I could talk to our artist friend and catch her up."_

 _"_ _Really now?" Mahiru grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring down at Teruteru. "Thinking like a boy, even during this crisis?"_

 _"_ _D-don't be so hard on him, Mahiru," Kazuichi implored. "Perhaps he can help!"_

 _"_ _We don't have a lot of time," Chiaki nervously murmured. "Please, Teruteru, do what you can."_

 _"_ _Anything for our leader," Teruteru said with a charming smile, and then he hurried on over to Angie. Nagito waved as he walked away, quite calm despite how his classmates were._

 _"_ _Mademoiselle-"_

 _"_ _What is going on?!" Hikari shouted, grabbing Teruteru's shoulders and shaking them. "Why are we on a beach? Where's Hope's Peak?"_

 _"_ _If you'll give me a chance to explain… Hikari, right?"_

 _Hikari froze at the mention of her actual name. Teruteru smiled a little, and said, "I'm what one could call a messenger from the other side, beautiful. I have spoken to many of those who have come over. We're trying to find the answer to this."_

 _"_ _Wait, I'm in that alternate dimension thing that Kimiko and Anzu and the others talked about? How did that happen? And why a beach?"_

 _Teruteru poked his fingers together, and admitted, "I'm not entirely sure, but it is possible you touched something that belonged to one of the victims of Hope's Peak Killing Game. What do you remember doing last?"_

 _"Putting on a couple bathing suits?"_

 _Blood leaked out of Teruteru's nose, before he wiped it away and then he said, "Um, wait, two at the same time?"_

 _"Yes, I am, uh, oh gears," Hikari face-palmed, muttering angrily to herself, "I've been behaving like a real weirdo, and in front of Kimiko!"_

 _"_ _Mademoiselle Hikari, you need to stay focused for now. First tell me, was one of the bathing suits like what you have on now?"_

 _Hikari stared down at herself, examining both Angie's body and her apparel. "Yes, actually."_

 _"_ _Oh good! We're getting somewhere! And the other one?"_

 _"_ _A black one-piece bathing suit."_

 _Teruteru rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Any distinguishing marks or logos on it?"_

 _"_ _No, kind of like the bathing suits they had for us at Hope's Peak."_

 _Upon mentioning this, Teruteru's eyes went incredibly wide. He appeared terrified, so much so that his normally comedic face was now a very real blend of horror and realization. "Oh no. Oh ding-dang it all."_

 _"_ _Huh?!"_

 _"_ _Hikari," Teruteru gripped at his apron, then Hikari's shoulders, "I finally figured out what brings you all into this alternate dimension: holding onto something that belonged to one of the victim's of Hope's Peak Academy."_

 _The model thought back to every case she was aware of, and that definitely seemed to add up, except…_

 _"_ _But Anzu fell into a coma holding a camera, and she said she was in Peko's body, while Mahiru attacked her."_

 _"_ _Huh? But that doesn't… I don't understand! Argh!"_

 _Teruteru grabbed his hair in frustration, then he froze up again. "Oh, merde."_

 _"_ _Do you have an answer to that?"_

 _"No, but I do have an answer to why things are so crazy and mixed-up in this Killing Game we're in right now, beautiful."_

 _"_ _What are you talking about?"_

 _"_ _Hikari, this Killing Game started off on Jabberwock Island, a place that Hope's Peak students used to take vacations to in the past. There was also just the sixteen of us, my classmates and I, to begin with. That's different from every other Killing Game I can recall, and I can remember quite a few."_

 _"_ _How many do you remember?"_

 _"_ _What, you want an estimation, beautiful? Over five hundred, there you go! But my point is, we're not supposed to be here, Angie Yonaga was never supposed to be here."_

 _"_ _But then why?"_

 _"_ _Because you put on the black bathing suit from Hope's Peak."_

 _Hikari started to feel her head throb, her puzzlement giving her a migraine. "What are you TALKING about, Teruteru?!"_

 _"_ _If holding onto the object of a dead student brings you into this Killing Game as them, what do you think is going to happen if you hold onto something that ambiguously was used by_ anyone _from Hope's Peak?"_

 _"_ _How should I know?"_

 _"_ _I'll tell you then: it's a paradox. If the swimsuit is possible for anyone, then this Killing Game is possible for anything that could have happened. All because of her…"_

 _Hikari stared at the short chef, and asked, "Are you talking about Junko Enoshima?"_

 _"_ _The one who caused it all to happen had many ideas, many twisted desires that were about how she could host her own Killing Game. On an island, at a remote location, inside of a VR, but she settled on Hope's Peak. Where we are now is one of many possibilities of how this Killing Game should have happened…_

 _"_ _And you're the anomaly. The Killing Game here didn't start until students from other classes just sporadically showed up, and everyone carried on as if they had already been there. That's why they're all acting like you, Angie Yonaga, have been part of the group despite the fact we had never seen you until now."_

 _Hikari rested her knees in the sand, running her hands through her platinum hair. "Good gears and blazing bolts, this is so very puzzling. Wait a minute, how could what I have done affected the Killing Game so much? I only just arrived a few minutes ago!"_

 _"_ _Time is irrelevant here, in a place that science cannot explain. Take it as… you affected it, so the entire Killing Game has been affected from the start as a result, like a story being rewritten once a new element has been added half-way through."_

 _Hikari nodded, rubbing her arms as she took all of this in. "Okay then, what does all this mean? What do I have to do?"_

 _"_ _Hikari…"_

 _Teruteru froze up yet again, and then glanced all around. He started wringing his hands nervously, ignoring all of Hikari's requests for his attention. The chef stopped scanning the area when his eyes rested on Peko._

 _The Ultimate Swordswoman stumbled forwards, as if suffering from a dizzy spell. Kazuichi and Mahiru tried to catch her, but she pitched forward and writhed on the ground. She let out a scream, and then a flash of light emanated from her body._

 _"_ _What's going on?" Hikari asked, hurrying over to Peko. "What's happening to her?"_

 _The light dimmed down, and the model in the artist's body stopped short. She stared at who was now on the ground, struggling to stand back up._

 _"_ _Anzu?!" she exclaimed. The actress shook her head as she stood back up._

 _Teruteru gripped his hair again, and muttered, "Oh dear, oh this is bad."_

 _"_ _What's going on?" Anzu asked, glancing around her. She flinched when she saw Mahiru, stepping backwards. "Ahh! You! Mahiru!"_

 _"_ _Have we met?" Mahiru asked, staring suspiciously at her. "How have we missed you all this time?"_

 _"_ _I didn't think there would be other students hiding on the island," Chiaki admitted, tapping her chin. "I guess we never explored the entire place… I think."_

 _"_ _Wh-what are you all saying?" Hikari stammered, catching their attention as she moved over to Anzu. "What about Peko? What happened to her?"_

 _The students of Hope's Peak exchanged glances, puzzled and concerned. Kazuichi asked something that sent shivers down Hikari's spine._

 _"_ _Who's Peko? Angie, what are you talking about?"_

 _"_ _Huh? What… but… she was just here!" Hikari pointed down at the ground, then at Anzu. "How can you-"_

 _"_ _There's nothing you can do, cherie," Teruteru said, approaching Hikari and Anzu. "If you all weren't aware, the two ways you enters this plane is if you hold onto something that belonged to an expired soul, or if you were driven into an unconscious state against your will._

 _"_ _That allows whatever powers are creating this place to bring you in. Something must have happened in the real world."_

 _"_ _I… I was lying down," Anzu admitted, "then I suddenly felt so dizzy, right after that stupid Monokuma Theater segment!"_

 _"_ _He might have used some kind of sleeping gas on the town," Hikari said. "But why… how…"_

 _"_ _Wondering that isn't important right now, beautiful," Teruteru said, "because everyone who has been dragged in, they are in very real danger. Should they die here, they will die in the real world too."_

 _"_ _What?!" Anzu shouted. "But why?"_

 _"_ _The Mastermind of this Killing Game will hunt you down to murder you personally. You are now the most wanted of prey, the ones who can interfere with this world."_

 _As the words left Teruteru, the sunlight died down. At first, Hikari and Anzu thought the sun slipped behind a cloud. Then the sunlight started to fade even more, and came back…_

 _The malevolent shade of red, that hateful light that felt like a truly despicable source was shining it personally, covered the beach. The sky turned dark, though the crimson light bathed the land and let everyone see as clear as day._

 _"_ _Oh shit," Kazuichi shrieked, "oh shit shit shit, we gotta get out of here!"_

 _"_ _Wh-what?" Mahiru stammered, clutching her camera desperately. "How is she doing this?!"_

 _"_ _Never mind that," Chiaki said, "we should run."_

 _Mahiru, Akane, and Kazuichi started to sprint on the sidewalk that bordered this once-pretty beach. Chiaki, despite everything, wandered ahead at a leisurely pace; it seemed particularly fast for the gamer gal._

 _"_ _What's going on?" Anzu cried out, grabbing Teruteru's shoulders. "What are we supposed to do?"_

 _Teruteru smiled, reaching up to place his hand on hers. "Heh… I'm sorry. What we're going to have to do is find everyone who was dragged into this Killing Game, and endure until the game ends; otherwise, they will die to the Mastermind of this version of the Killing Game."_

 _"_ _Wait, the Mastermind?" Hikari asked. "Is it Junko Enoshima?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _Kazuichi was sprinting back towards Chiaki, picking the gamer gal and carrying her on his shoulder. "No time for your normal pace, little buddy, we need to go!"_

 _"_ _Whoa," Chiaki remarked. She looked up, over at Anzu, Hikari/Angie, and Teruteru. Then her eyes widened, and she pointed at something past them. The three turned to see what it was…_

 _There was a human figure, enveloped in darkness like a swarm of ravenous insects. This shade of death, pitch black and aggressive scarlet, swirled around the person as they walked the sidewalk, towards all of them._

 _Each footstep echoed in the most daunting manner, like one knew it was their executioner heading towards them. The person surrounded by this malignant shade was impossibly dark, except for splotches of bloody red across their body; their eyes, also crimson, were the only visible part of their body._

 _"_ _It's," Teruteru whimpered, grabbing Hikari's hand and pulling her forward to start running, "her protégé!"_

 _Hikari and Anzu spirited alongside Teruteru, catching up with the Class of 77 members. The group ran, as a voice of the utmost animosity called out to them._

 _"_ ** _I shall impale your heads on pikes for defying me! I shall rip out your hearts, and no one will leave flowers at your graves. For when you defy your Queen, the ultimate lady of wealth and power…_**

 _"_ ** _You will be destroyed, like all the rest of the maggots!_** _"_

* * *

…

…

…

 **13 souls are trapped within the Killing Game Realm.**


	35. Chapter 5-3: The Path to Penjar

**Chapter 5-3**

 **Expressway of Emergency**

* * *

 **? ? ?**

 **Killing Game Realm**

 **Jabberwock Island**

 _Sprinting from the Mastermind, the Queen, was like an uphill hike for the survivors. There was no time for words, the threat of that woman catching up to them made their legs the only thing they would concentrate on._

 _The group of eight crossed a rather large bridge, onto another island that appeared to be more like an urbane neighborhood than a tropical get-away. They moved into an old-fashioned diner, collapsing into the plush seats._

 _"You were all so brave," Nagito said, as he struggled to catch his breath. "Thank goodness we got away, for now."_

 _Kazuichi dropped Chiaki into a seat, and all but fell down to the floor, sweating like crazy. The gamer gal stood up, walking over to his side. "Would you like some water?" she asked._

 _"Ugh… buh… yes, please," the mechanic gasped as he lay there. Chiaki walked on over towards the fridge behind the counter, as Kazuichi tried to catch his breath. "D-damn, little buddy, you're a bit heavier than I thought."_

 _"Hey," Mahiru chided him, "boys shouldn't talk like that about girls."_

 _"Hmmm," Anzu said, a smile spreading across her face as she observed Chiaki, "it's probably because of her big jugs!"_

 _Mahiru turned towards the actress, jaw dropping as those words registered with her. "H-hey, girls shouldn't talk like that about girls either!"_

 _"'Jugs'?" Chiaki repeated, as she leaned down to Kazuichi and held out a water bottle._

 _"I didn't say that," Kazuichi cried out as he seized the water bottle, eyes flickering all over the place in his exhausted confusion. "It was the new girl! She's a pervert, you know!"_

 _"Yeah, I kind of am," Anzu admitted. "Still, maybe we should strategize while we have the chance."_

 _Chiaki nodded, glancing around at her friends. The classmates of Class 77 nodded too, and the leader smiled. "Well, right now, we're just running away from this OP boss. Maybe it's like a gauntlet, where we cannot win a fight, just keep moving."_

 _"We'll eventually run out of places to run," Teruteru remarked as he wiped his brow with napkins from the napkin dispenser at his table. "And if not that, we'll run out of stamina first. And that'd be far worse, to go out using up all your stamina…"_

 _The chef's nose bled slightly again, and he used napkins to clean that up. Mahiru groaned in disgust, and cried out, "I'm surrounded by perverts!"_

 _"Mahiru," Chiaki started to say._

 _"No no no, I have to say this! Teruteru is a total pervert, Akane and Angie have no shame, Nagito is… just weird, Kazuichi's such a boy, and the new girl… um, what was your name?"_

 _"Anzu."_

 _"Anzu, thank you. Anzu's as big of a pervert as Teruteru! You're the only one here normal, Chiaki! How'd… how did it come to this?"_

 _Mahiru covered her face as she began to sob, until Hikari moved over to her. The model in the artist's body really resembled the affectionate island girl, as she pulled Mahiru into a hug._

 _"Hey, listen to me," Hikari whispered to the surprised photographer. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. Let's just focus on the problems here and now, and don't worry, I do have some shame, darling._

 _"I promise not to hit on any of you beautiful women until we are out of this crisis. Now, let's talk about what we're going to do."_

 _Mahiru nodded, wiping at her eyes. She smiled a little, then muttered, "Didn't know you played for the other team, Angie."_

 _Hikari merely giggled, and then turned towards everyone. "Now, we cannot run forever, so we need a next step. First off, why don't we review how this Mastermind… the Queen, as it were, came to be like… that?"_

 _"We don't actually know," Chiaki admitted. "There were sixteen of us, our class, to begin with. The Killing Game started, but we didn't hurt each other."_

 _"Yeah, none of us could do it," Kazuichi said, sitting up from the floor as he slogged down the water. "Mostly thanks to our little buddy here."_

 _The gamer gal had a shy smile on her face, as she adjusted her hair. "I think I helped. Still, it was when other students showed up that things started going… wrong."_

 _"Who is the Queen?" Hikari asked._

 _"We don't know. We just know that one day, she showed up. Her figure was cast in darkness like that, her hair like horns, hands like claws. All the other students have dispersed, we don't know where they are."_

 _Chiaki sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "She killed over half of us, and she… took some of their talents."_

 _"Wait a minute, what?" Anzu balked. "How did she do that?"_

 _"I don't really know. It was like Mega Man, taking the power from the defeated. She stole the talents of Sonia, Fuyuhiko, and Hiyoko, as she killed them. The others, she just… killed outright."_

 _Chiaki rubbed at her eyes, and sighed before continuing. "Ibuki, Nekomaru, Mikan, and Hajime… all of them dead as well."_

 _Hikari nodded, taking all of this in as she covered her mouth in shock. "So you're all that's left?"_

 _"Yes… I think."_

 _"Do we know what this Queen wants?"_

 _"I have a theory that she wants specific talents, as she was particular about hunting down specific people. Everyone else was killed because they got in the way…"_

 _"I'm still certain she would want my luck," Nagito said, smiling sadly. "Though my friends here won't let me sacrifice myself."_

 _"You aren't going to give that monster what she wants!" Mahiru barked at him. "We don't care if you don't value your life, you aren't going to throw it away! Understood?"_

 _"Yes, Mahiru."_

 _"Always so commanding," Kazuichi said with a small smile. "I still think you could take the Queen, Mahiru."_

 _"Stop that," Mahiru snapped at him, a pink blush highlighting her freckles._

 _"Hey, if anyone's taking on the Queen," Akane shouted, "it's gonna be me! I'll beat that bitch yet!"_

 _As Mahiru and Chiaki tried to calm down their excitable friends, Teruteru turned towards Hikari and Anzu. "Ladies, if I may…"_

 _"They seriously don't remember Peko?" Anzu asked, miserably hanging her head in shame. "I came into this world, and suddenly they cannot remember a good friend of theirs. I'm trying to act normal, but I'm just… just so…"_

 _"Cheri, it isn't your fault, this world, the realm itself, works in very sinister ways. It wasn't your fault. Just please, hear me out._

 _"My friends don't remember Byakuya and Gundham. It's possible that your friends took their places, so we need to find them."_

 _Hikari scratched at her chin, then stared down at the short chef. "But how come you remember?"_

 _"I'm a bit of an oddity, beautiful. Well, an oddity in this realm. I have a feeling that you'll need to do a lot of traversing across the plane to find all your friends."_

 _Anzu sighed and rolled her eyes. "Great, we're going on an adventure. We're supposed to search all of the islands part of Jabberwock while that invincible monster of a woman chases us?"_

 _As she said this, she glanced out the window of the diner. Someone was coming up from the cave that led down to the beach. Someone who appeared very perplexed and concerned with the crimson sky…_

 _Someone with a fancy, shiny suit, that is._

 _Anzu and Hikari ran outside, with the students of Class 77 following shortly afterwards. Souma was rather startled by the rush of people coming at him from the diner, though he recognized Anzu being at the forefront._

 _"Goodness me, what is going on here?" Souma asked, staring at the two of them. "Miss Y… wait, Miss Yonaga?"_

 _"It's me, Hikari," the model in the artist's body declared. "Okay, long story short, you're in the Killing Game Realm in your own body, but I'm in Angie's. Anzu's here, as are a bunch of our friends, as there is a very evil, unstoppable madwoman coming to kill us and possibly steal our talents."_

 _Souma stared at her, then at Anzu, and then let out a small laugh. "Sure, why not. It's not like my requests for things to work out or make sense was ever granted to begin with."_

 _"Now don't pout," Anzu scolded him, "we'll get through this yet."_

 _"Um, everyone," Nagito spoke up, pointing behind the two ladies and the newcomer gentleman, "I think we should start running again."_

 _The Luckster was gesturing towards the Queen, that malevolent shade of a person, walking across the large bridge to the island they were on. She was staring straight forward, each step echoing across the land. It wasn't until she was almost at the end of the bridge that her gaze turned towards the group of survivors._

 _"Running time?" Souma asked._

 _"Running time!" Kazuichi confirmed, picking up Chiaki. The gamer gal blinked, then found herself being carried off alongside all of her friends, and the three newcomers, who were now sprinting the hell out of there._

 _" **Yes, keep prolonging this game,** " the Queen called after them, " **I do so enjoy watching you struggle.** "_

* * *

 **Day 15, ? PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

"Okay, let's not starting panicking," Ishiku said, pacing back and forth in the room he and Fannie were inside.

"I'm not panicking, Ishi."

"I know, I'm mostly saying that for myself," he admitted. "Why can't we find anyone else in this damn asylum? Why are there more locked rooms? I don't understand!"

Fannie frowned in concern, and chewed on her bottom lip. "This might have been something Monokuma had planned."

"What do you mean?"

"He never told us his contingency plans, Ishi, so I don't know what specifically he will do; however, when the tourists of Penjar aren't behaving in a way Monokuma wants, he tries to push things in either his way, or to make it more interesting."

"Great," Ishiku declared, "Monokuma is that kind of DM!"

"I don't really know what that means…"

"What it means is that he has total control, and can bend the rules as much as he wants."

Fannie sighed heavily, then nodded. "I suspect that was why Monokid started acting so aggressively during the last challenge, and started making up new rules on the fly."

The white 'n pink-topped young lady stared up at the ceiling, and muttered, "It's so weird, knowing I was part of that family, but now they're all violent and awful now that I've stepped away. It makes me wonder how much I'd be pushing this if I was still part of it."

Ishiku couldn't help but think about his Despair-addled parents upon hearing that. He grumbled to himself as he mentally pushed that away, and approached Fannie. "You really shouldn't dwell on what could have been, my lady. You must focus on the here and now."

"You are right. Do you want to keep looking for our friends?"

"I would like to find Odelios, at the least. I'd," Ishiku rubbed his head, and smiled slightly, "really like to know where my friend is. Heh, funny, only a couple weeks here, I already feel such friendship for the guy."

"Do you have feelings for him?" Fannie asked. "I mean, I know you have feelings for Anzu too. I don't mind, I know this is a confusing time for you, and I'm still trying to understand all of these emotions and feelings too."

"Fannie, I have to say again, let's not focus on what might have been. We should go out there and find all our friends."

The former bear nodded, and then her face lit up. "Oh! Oh I know what we can do!"

She cleared her throat, and called out, "Monocrow! Monocrow, can you come here, please?"

There was a brief moment of silence, with Ishiku staring at Fannie in confusion, as the girl smiled and swished her hips while waiting. The magician glanced around the room, wondering where the bird was going to fly in from if he did show up…

There was a banging against the door, making both of them flinch. A muffled, " **Ow… oof,** " came from the hallway, then the door was pushed open and Monocrow waddled in. " **You could have opened the door for my arrival, you know.** "

"Wait, you actually come when called?" Ishiku asked.

" **Not really, I usually come when needed; however, Monophanie is an exception. Hello there, Monophanie.** "

"Monocrow, I go by Fannie now," she responded, crossing her arms and huffing. "I would prefer you not to use the name that was given to me by the intrusive one."

" **Yes, of course. It is a shame, my image was even shifted due to his influence, but I cannot shake it. Amazingly cryptic, is it not?** "

Ishiku knelt down in front of Monocrow. "So you're able to answer questions?"

" **Yes, as much as I can.** "

"First off, what's that behind your ear?"

" **I don't have ears,** " Monocrow started to say, then Ishiku reached forward. As the crow face-faulted in the horror of some terrible pain, he then saw a chocolate coin being showcased in front of him. " **Oh that's right, that little trick of yours. Good show.** "

"Heh, I couldn't resist," Ishiku said, then flicked the coin over to a grateful Fannie. "So, bird man, what can you tell us?"

" **I am quite capable of tracking others within the city, where they are, where they went.** "

"Good! Where's Odelios?"

" **In this asylum.** "

"Okay, but where in the asylum?"

" **That's all I can say. He hasn't left the asylum since he arrived here with you all.** "

Ishiku let out an annoyed sigh. "Well, at least we know he didn't leave… what about Anzu?"

" **Also in the asylum.** "

"What about everyone else who was in the asylum?"

" **If you mean Drake, Ignatia, Ken, and Yitro, they are all presently in the asylum.** "

"Then why can't we find them?"

" **It could be because of one of the extra side effects to Monokuma's rule altering that is taking part tonight. You see, he didn't really like that people were going to try and power through the night, and sleep in safe places tomorrow. One of those precautions is that a great deal of the doors have been locked up until tomorrow morning.** "

Fannie gasped in shock. "You mean to tell me that people are stuck in rooms until the morning? But what if the rooms don't have a bathroom? Where will they throw up if they need to?"

" **Why is that the first… n-never mind,** " Monocrow stammered. " **But I don't think you'll have to worry about that, for most of them anyway.** "

"Why?"

" **Another part of the rule bending was releasing a sleeping gas into the mists and the buildings after the Monokuma Theater segment ended. So most people are asleep now.** "

"Wait, what?" Ishiku exclaimed. "But that's… that's cheating! People will have nightmares!"

" **If they fell asleep outside of the safety of the three buildings, yes.** "

"Wait a minute, Monocrow," Fannie spoke up again, stepping forward and nervously handling the chocolate coin. "If Monokuma released sleeping gas into the buildings, why aren't Ishi and I asleep?"

Monocrow chuckled, rubbing under his beak. " **Why indeed.** "

Ishiku sighed in regret, and sat down on the floor. "Okay, we don't know where our friends are, who is affected by what, and you're just going to continue being cryptic. Thanks a lot, bird brain."

" **I am helping you as much as I can, for my love and comradery of Fannie as a founding member of Penjar. Would you like any more of my services?** "

The magician flopped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Sure thing, Monocrow, what else can you offer?"

" **There is the option of switching benefits, should you request it from me.** "

Ishiku sat upright immediately. "What? You can do that? What do you mean?"

" **Each building grants a certain benefit, and that benefit can be transferred from someone if you ask me. This can be done even without the other person or persons' consent.** "

"Wow," Fannie said in awe of the bird, "I never knew you had such power, Monocrow!"

" **I still am part of this city, no matter what Monokuma does… though I dare say that it is very tricky to use my powers.** "

"What do you mean?"

" **You must call upon me, and can only ask when you are all alone, like making a pact with a devil, one could say; total privacy is required. That is how the first person to use it did so.** "

"What?!" Ishiku cried out incredulously. "How can someone use it when none of us know about it? And when so many people are sleeping too?"

Fannie took all this in, and asked, "So who asked for the power transfer, Monocrow?"

" **I cannot say that, I am sorry.** "

"Ishi… could this be the work of the two possible traitors of the group?"

"Damn," Ishiku tightened his grip on his staff, "I hadn't thought of that! This is such an enigma, we don't even know what places grant what powers!"

"Well, let's try to get what we can, okay sweetie?" Fannie said with a sweet smile. "Monocrow, is there anything else Monokuma did to bend the rules like a 'bad DM'?"

" **He's not railroading the story on you, or throwing dangerous monsters at you as punishment for not doing what he wants.** "

"What?"

" **Oh, sorry. Ahem. What I meant to say was, there are a couple other things…** "

As Monocrow quieted down, Ishiku and Fannie heard the most horrible scrapping sound coming from outside of the room. Curiosity and concern overriding commonsense, they hurried out of the room and into the hallway to see who or what it was.

The hallway, the walls and floor of the asylum, it was all unfocused to their vision; as if incredible heat was coming from everywhere. Standing down the length of the hallway was a human figure, holding something in their hands.

Taking a step forward, the figure was now more visible to them in the badly lit, blurry hallway. The person was wearing a hooded cloak, their face hidden with a black morph mask. With these articles and the rest of their black, raggedy clothing, they resembled a medieval executioner.

The very large axe in their hands was also a rather daunting clue as to what this being was dressed up to be.

"Oh holy shit," Ishiku cried out.

"Wait! Don't worry, Ishi-honey," Fannie said with a confident smile. She held up the chocolate coin, and said, "This is just a hallucination caused by being in this place! It's really good, but the hallucinations aren't solid!"

She then tossed the chocolate coin at the executioner. Fannie giggled, until the coin bounced off the stomach of the executioner, and rolled back towards them.

There was a moment of silence, as the executioner rubbed at their stomach with two fingers gently. Then they started to walk towards the two, scrapping their axe on the floor.

"Fannie," Ishiku whimpered.

"Whoever that is, they're real! RUN!"

Fannie and Ishiku sprinted away, with the executioner heading after them slowly but surely; the telltale sound of the metal axe head scraping on the floor or the wall gave away their position to those running away.

Monocrow stepped to the side, back into the room he met the two in, and watched the executioner walk off. The red light in his lightning bolt eye flashed, and he flew away.

* * *

 **? ? ?**

 **Killing Game Realm**

 **Jabberwock Island**

 _The large group was sprinting down the street of this island, passing by commonplace businesses and buildings. Though they were frantically retreating, they noticed red electricity arcing through the buildings, destroying everything inside those buildings._

 _The same lightning crackled in the black clouds of the sky. Occasionally, it came crashing down and struck a palm tree, causing it to catch fire, explode, and/or fall over._

 _Anzu knew none of this made any sense. None of it was physically possible. The ocean itself churned and whipped around like a frenetic display of violent waters, as if to taunt them there was no escape. No ducking into the buildings, no swimming away, just running…_

 _Running from the Queen, who was far off but still within eyesight of them down the long road. Anzu felt like her lungs were burning, her legs were like lead, but she still moved forward._

 _After what felt like an eternity running down the longest road in the world, they could see there was a skyscraper up ahead. Though the closer they hurried down that road, the more the building looked familiar…_

 _"Is that… Hope's Peak?!" Souma cried out incredulously._

 _"What's Hope's Peak Academy," Hikari asked, "doing HERE?"_

 _"Let's worry about those details later," Anzu shouted. "Just get there! Hurry!"_

 _The road led to unpaved ground, and the gigantic academy was looming on the rocks that were bordered by ocean; it would have been a structural impossibly and an intense danger, if this were the real world. The front of the academy was not the traditional entrance, it was a solid concrete wall with a large vault door as the only way inside._

 _Standing in front of the open vault door was a figure wearing a trench coat. The person turned around, having studied this bizarre anomaly, and then noticed the large crowd of people coming towards him._

 _"Shuuya?!" Hikari called out. "Get in the building, there's something awful coming for this!"_

 _The bounty hunter glanced at the inbound group, then saw the Queen, that shade of death with a swarm of insect-like shadows and red lightning around her. This wasn't the time for questions, and Shuuya was fast to react._

 _He sprinted into the academy, turning around to gesture for them to hurry. The group finally stepped off of the road, heading across the unpaved terrain…_

 _And then the vault door slammed shut, locking them outside. The group came skidding to a halt, and several of them tried to pry open the vault door. It didn't budge._

 _"What the fuck?!" Kazuichi swore as he set Chiaki down. "Why did that happen?"_

 _A pounding could be heard on the vault door from the inside. "Hey!" Shuuya shouted, his voice quite muffled but still coherent. "What happened?"_

 _"That's what we want to know!" Hikari yelled. "How do we get this back open?"_

 _The group looked around, until Kazuichi saw an electronic lock with a numeric pad on it. He hurried over to push on the buttons, until Chiaki grabbed his wrist. She shook her head, and pointed up in the rafters over the entrance._

 _A machine gun was pointed right at the electronic lock. Kazuichi flinched, glanced at the lock, then back at the machine gun. "W-well, maybe it's not working right now…"_

 _"You cannot take that risk," Chiaki said, shaking her head._

 _"Little buddy, that freak is heading towards us, and there's no other way out of here! We have to try!"_

 _"W-wait," Hikari shouted, waving her hands, "maybe Shuuya has something in there to help us!"_

 _"Who's Shoester?" Akane asked, folding her arms as she contemplated options. "Is he the guy who locked us out here?"_

 _Souma pounded on the vault door. "Shuuya! If you can hear me, try to find something to open this damn door! Our options are quite limited right now!"_

 _"I'm looking, damn it!"_

 _Anzu took several deep breaths, then stared at the numeric lock on their side. She walked over to it, when Hikari grabbed her arm. "Don't you dare," the model warned the actress._

 _"Someone has to!"_

 _"That's a three-digit code number," Chiaki calmly explained. "You have a one in a thousand chance of picking the correct number, and we don't know if even one wrong guess will get you shot."_

 _Nagito smiled as he approached the electronic lock, and said, "Well, sounds like it's my job to-"_

 _Mahiru held him back, standing between Nagito and the lock. "No! How many times do I have to say it, Nagito? You aren't throwing your life away!"_

 _"This is a matter of luck, and that is what I am best at. You can trust me-"_

 _There was an intense flash of light, making everyone flinch and cover their eyes. They could hear what sounded like a sharp snap and a small explosion. When they all braved looking again, they saw the electronic lock was completely fried, red sparks flying from the remains._

 _"Was that part of your luck too, Nathan?" Akane inquired, scratching the side of her head._

 _Nagito was just as startled as the others. He slowly glanced back towards the road, and there he saw the Queen, standing on the edge of that street. She had one of her hands extended, a finger pointing at the lock._ _There was a crease on her face where her mouth would be, extending into a sadistic smile highlighted with the color of blood._

 _"Oh, nice," Teruteru muttered, "she shoots lightning now."_

 _"Hey! Guys!" Shuuya shouted from inside of the academy. "There's an electronic lock here, three-digit code! I'm trying it out, but it may take a while to guess the right one!"_

 _"Wait wait wait!" Anzu shrieked. "Is there a machine gun pointed at you? It could be hidden up on the wall!"_

 _"What?! There's no machine gun, and if there was, I've already tried several codes! Any idea what the number could be?"_

 _The Queen lowered her arm, and her evil smirk vanished. She started walking slowly towards the group._

 _"Guys?" Shuuya called out, as those outside stared at the approaching monarch of death. "Guys?!"_

 _Nagito started walking towards her. Mahiru ran over to grab his arm, but he pushed her off. "It's me she wants," Nagito shouted, "I'm sure of it!"_

 _"Nagito! God damn it, I told you-"_

 _"I know," he said, casting a sad smile at Mahiru, "but I'm choosing not to listen. That's my decision…_

 _"Hopefully, it buys you all time for that man to guess the correct code."_

 _Shoving Mahiru away, Nagito sprinted right up to the Queen. She stopped her movement, staring into Nagito's eyes as he peered into hers. Everyone else watched, shivering and terrified at what could happen._

 _"You want my luck, don't you, Queen?" Nagito asked, braving a step forward. He had the most confident smile on his face, as he extended his arms. "It comes with a price, I must say! Go on then, take it!"_

 _There was complete silence now. It was as if the roaring ocean had been muted, the wind stopped, people could only feel their pounding hearts. Inside of the academy was the sound of beeping, error noises muffled like a taunt to the survivors._

 _The Queen stared at Nagito, and stepped forward. Nagito didn't flinch, he merely stood there, arms out, confident grin on his face. She then reached forward…_

 _No, she didn't reach, she swing her arm towards Nagito's chest. The sickening sound of a human body being pierced echoed around the area, and the Queen yanked her hand back. Blood coated her up to her wrist._

 _Nagito fell to his knees, hacking and coughing up blood. The Queen glanced down at him, and said, " **I do not want your tainted version of luck as well.** " She then swung her bloody hand towards his neck…_

 _And the group watched Nagito's head be cleaved off and sent careening through the air, splashing into the ocean. Mahiru and Kazuichi shrieked in horror, the others frozen in place._

 _The Queen flicked her bloody hand, then scanned the group of survivors. She was like a robot, slowly and meticulously turning to look at each and every one of them. Everyone was so frightened, they could barely move; only the sound of error noises and beeps from inside of the academy could be heard._

 _"Mahiru," Kazuichi whispered to the redhead, loud enough that only she and Hikari, who was standing nearby, could hear. "Look after Chiaki, okay?"_

 _"Wh-what?" Mahiru stammered out, her face blue with shock and revulsion. "What are you saying?"_

 _Kazuichi let out a humorless laugh, and adjusted his beanie. "I'm saying… thanks. Thanks for everything. If that hope-addicted bastard can buy you some time… then so can I."_

 _"N-no. You can't. YOU CAN'T-"_

 _Mahiru shrieked as she grabbed Kazuichi's arm, but the mechanic was too strong for her to stop. The photographer let out a cry as she tried to follow after, but Hikari grabbed her to stop that._

 _Kazuichi sprinted towards the Queen, bellowing out as loud as he could. Before anyone could do anything, there was a blur of movement and another battle cry. Akane had followed after when no one was looking, alongside Kazuichi, and joined the fight._

 _The Queen only regarded the two as they came sprinting towards her. That bloody smile of hers returned, as the wind began to spin around the area._

 _Thunder roared, lightning flashed so vibrantly and violently that everyone had to cover their eyes and ears. They couldn't even risk glancing, the intensity of the noise and light was too much._

 _Inside of the academy, Shuuya pressed at the buttons frantically, trying one after the other. He could hear the thunderclaps and screams outside, no matter how muffled._

 _"Come on, come on, come on!"_

 _Then, so suddenly he almost missed it, the electronic lock beeped out a successful chime. The vault door audibly unlocked, and he ran over to push it open. "Get in," he called to them, "get in now!"_

 _The survivors couldn't hear or see him, so he grabbed the nearest person, Souma, and shook him. Alerted, the public speaker braved a glance, and then realized what was happening. He went over to help alert the others, shaking their shoulders._

 _Anzu was the last one, and she could hear Mahiru shouting, nearly hysterical. The actress started to move towards the vault door, when she heard the most awful voice in her life shout._

 _" **YOU.** "_

 _She wasn't sure why she turned, but she did. Anzu could see the bisected body of Akane, the lifeless form of Kazuichi with a gaping hole in his chest. Then there was the Queen, standing nearby the collecting pool of blood, the liquid life force splattered all over her dark form…_

 _And she was pointing towards Anzu, eyes wide with intensity._

 _The actress froze up, unable to do anything in an intense panic as she saw the Queen start to come at her. Hands grabbed her shoulders, and yanked her towards the vault door._

 _" **Come back here,** " the Queen hissed. " **You cannot escape me for long!** "_

 _Anzu felt herself be pulled into the academy, then the vault door was grabbed by multiple people. They pulled it shut, and it slammed with a great clang. The survivors could still hear thunderclaps outside, almost like gunshots ricocheting off of the vault door._

 _All of them were standing or sitting down, gasping for air. Mahiru was sobbing bitterly on the floor, punching it as she wretchedly tried to speak, but it came out incoherent with her grief._

 _"Everyone," Shuuya spoke up, "whatever that was, I have a terrible feeling that the vault door won't keep it out forever. We should get moving."_

 _"Moving? To where?" Souma asked. "We are in a replica of Hope's Peak Academy that is surrounded by the ocean in the midst of… of… a tsunami of sorts!"_

 _"Not much point in staying here, monsieur," Teruteru said to him, straightening out his clothing as he stood up. "Maybe we can find something inside of here to help us?"_

 _Hikari moved over to help Chiaki up, as the gamer gal sniffled and clung to her. "I cannot believe how many we lost. Kazuichi… Akane… Nagito…"_

 _"Goddamnit," Mahiru swore, pounding the ground with her fist. "Kazuichi, you idiot… you didn't have to go and prove you were a man like that… idiot…"_

 _Anzu moved over and helped her up, as the group walked into the main lobby of Hope's Peak Academy. All of them glanced around, confused and apprehensive still, but the inside of the building was almost pitch black. No light was coming in through windows, and only the dim, florescent lights from nearby the vault door gave a slight shine in the lobby._

 _"Something's wrong," Shuuya remarked. "Why's it so dark?"_

 _"Can someone find the light switch?" Chiaki requested. "We need to be able to see to progress… I think."_

 _"That's not a thinking point, that's a knowing point, cherie," Teruteru said, chuckling at his friend. He walked over to the wall where the light switch was, and reached up… but was unable to reach it. Mahiru noticed this, and wordlessly walked over to flip the switch._

 _As soon as she did, the survivors almost wished she hadn't. The lights above were the same malevolent red as the sky was outside, as if they were in a photo negative room for a hateful production. Though as concerning as that was, the scene in the main lobby was far worse…_

 _There were what appeared to be bloodstains on the walls and floor, as well as mechanical wreckage, explosion scars, and fluff from demolished Monokumas._

 _Two bodies lay in the main lobby, one against the wall and one on their back, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling._

 _The group recognized Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, as the one propped up against the wall. The other one was a little difficult to recognize, because her striking red hair matched the spiteful red light: Ryōko Otonashi._

 _"W-w-wait," Hikari stammered as she recognized Ryōko. "What is SHE doing here? How is that possible?"_

 _"What do you mean?" Souma asked. "Ryōko Otonashi was a member of the Hope's Peak Killing Game. Even if…"_

 _"She was Junko Enoshima," Shuuya spat out, "not a member of Class 78!"_

 _As the students of Class 77 and the graduates tried to process this, Hikari turned towards Teruteru. The other graduates did too, as she approached the chef._

 _"Teruteru, you knew that the Queen isn't Junko Enoshima," she interrogated him._

 _"Y-yes, beautiful, she isn't."_

 _"How? How could you know that?"_

 _"I've been in this terrible, terrible Killing Game for so long now! I've seen my friends die over and over, my own life taken and remember every bit of pain… and it's always for naught, because even when there are survivors, they don't get to go out on their happy ending…_

 _"Don't you think I'd recognize the mood, the attitude, the very essence of Junko Enoshima, the one who is always responsible for this MISERY more than anyone? When she corrupts someone, when she ruins someone, I know it was her at this point!"_

 _Teruteru slumped against the wall, sliding down before pointing over at Ryōko. "I even know that's her, her own self stripped of her memories, just so she could experience the despair of waking up to what an evil, awful person she is."_

 _Hikari glanced once more at Ryōko's body, which Chiaki was studying rather closely. The model turned back to Teruteru, and asked, "But you said the Queen is her protégé!"_

 _"Yes. It has been a pattern surfacing frequently now. You see, Junko is as devious as she is gorgeous, I hate to admit. This Killing Game Realm, I know its existence is not for one purpose, the woman has contingency plans upon plans."_

 _Hikari sat down, trying to comprehend everything being said, as the others let this sink in too. "We thought that Junko Enoshima," she whispered, "the Ultimate Despair, was trying to find a way to revive herself through this realm. Are you saying that there's another who is trying the same thing?"_

 _"I don't know if that is their end game. How could they know about that?"_

 _Someone called out to the group around Teruteru. "Hey hey," Chiaki 'declared,' because her voice was still as soft as ever. "I think you should all know something."_

 _"What is it, Miss Nanami?" Souma asked._

 _"It's just that… Ryōko here, that's what you said her name was? She has the same fatal wound that the Queen inflicted on those that she stole the talents of."_

 _"What?" Shuuya said. "Why would the Queen want the talent of the Ultimate Amnesiac?!"_

 _"Unless she knew that Ryōko was actually Junko Enoshima," Anzu said, "and that she was the Ultimate Fashionista? Or Ultimate Despair?"_

 _"Now hold on," Mahiru cut in, frowning at them, "I don't understand half of what you all are saying. How could the Queen know about who this girl is, we've never seen her before!"_

 _"I thought you two said," Hikari asked the two surviving girls of Class 77, "that the trouble started when students from other classes showed up?"_

 _"Yes, but we didn't really get a chance to know most of them, just you, Angie," Chiaki said. "The Queen showed up shortly after you, and that's when the killing began."_

 _"Why didn't you all hide yourself here?" Souma asked._

 _Chiaki and Mahiru stared at each other, both of them looking like they had been asked an impossible question. Teruteru sighed heavily, and said, "It's possible that this academy didn't… exist until now."_

 _"Okay, what now?" Shuuya balked. "That's impossible!"_

 _"The impossible is the norm here, handsome monsieur," Teruteru said with a small laugh. "Unless you have an answer for how the ocean, the sky, and the Queen were all possible just now."_

 _Hikari shook her head, trying to make sense out of everything there. Then something dawned on her, something so terrifying that her heart skipped a beat. "Wait a minute, if the academy just now came to be, or opened up, or whatever…_

 _"Then how did the Queen kill Ryōko before we got here? And Mondo, and all the destruction in this room?"_

 _Everyone looked up, shaken by how terrifying this realization was. That was when they heard a tremendous crash, coming from several floors up above. Something was being destroyed, with what sounded like the force of a wrecking ball._

 _"Please don't tell me," Hikari squeaked out, "that she's here already?"_

 _"Alright, we won't tell you," Chiaki offered. "Perhaps we should find a place to hide?"_

 _She waited a few seconds, then realized that Kazuichi wasn't there to help her move fast anymore. The gamer gal let out a long, sad sigh, and walked slowly towards one of the doors leading out of the main lobby. The others watched her go, with Mahiru right behind her._

 _"I… I know they're more or less figments of imagination in this Killing Game," Anzu said softly, "but they seem so real. Their pain, their loss, I want to help them, but…"_

 _"Cheri, you can only help yourselves at this point," Teruteru said. "To survive is key, now more than ever, to ensure this evil doesn't escape."_

 _"Is this more or less us dodging the Queen until whatever this place is," Souma questioned, "spits us out?"_

 _"I'm not sure, but I would prepare for the long haul… and not a lot of answers to your questions."_

 _There was a shriek from beyond the doors that Mahiru and Chiaki went through. The graduates and Teruteru hurried forward, abandoning their conversation, until they saw what had scared the girls._

 _Mahiru, blue with fear, was clutching her camera as if it was her lifeline. Chiaki stared with wide eyes, unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing._

 _Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, was lying dead on the ground. He had the same fatal wound in his chest, and his eyes and mouth were clenched shut, as if he had unbridled fury towards whoever killed._

 _"Another victim of the Queen," Chiaki whispered, hands over her heart._

 _"Why does he," Mahiru cried out, "look so much like Byakuya? Why?!"_

 _Souma and Shuuya moved over to try and calm the two down, as Anzu started shivering hard. Hikari and Teruteru noticed this, especially when she bumped against the wall and slid down it._

 _"Darling, it's okay," Hikari tried to assure her. "We're going to make it out of here."_

 _"It's… it's the Queen," Anzu stammered. "She's particular with the ones she steals the talents from: Affluent Progeny, Princess, Yakuza, Traditional Dancer."_

 _"Yes, I noticed that too," Teruteru said. "She desires talents that are about power and style. The only question is, what did she want from Ryōko?"_

 _"It's not that I'm worried about…"_

 _Anzu swallowed hard as she looked at the two. "Before we got into the academy, she was pointing at me. She called out to me. She wanted me._

 _"Why would she want me?!"_

* * *

 **Day 15, ? PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

Crystal walked through the entire building once more, just to situate herself. She still felt uneasy, especially since this place felt like it was made out of the nightmares and video games.

The unusual ball pit and child's jungle gym in the left side of the building was also filled with arcade games, coin machines, and candy dispensers (though no candy was in them).

The middle section of the building, which was where the main door was located, was filled with arcade games as well as the prize type, like a crane game; this crane game, however, had dangerous weapons inside.

Luckily, no one had the Monokuma Coins required to activate the machine. Crystal wasn't even sure how to get them even if she wanted to. The glass for that crane game appeared rather thick, but someone strong with the proper tool could break it. She hoped no one did, or if they did, the guns and poisonous containers inside the crane game were empty.

The military adviser wandered to the right side of the building. This was where the cafeteria area, the kitchen, computer room, the stage, and a locked maintenance room down a short hallway. Crystal scanned each of these, as Pyrrha watched her from one of the cafeteria tables.

"That's the fifth time you've paced throughout the building," the romance writer called out to her. "Is it really necessary?"

"Know the area, know the battlefield," Crystal responded from the computer room. "I would rather be prepared than caught off-guard."

Pyrrha tilted her head to the side. "Any particular reason why?"

Crystal peaked around the corner to stare at the writer. "You mean besides the fact that we're in a Killing Game in a mysterious ghost town, there's been several murders already, and we have three curiously unconscious people in the building with us?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "They should be fine, we're keeping them behind the stage. Even if someone snuck in, they wouldn't know they were there."

"Oh yes, because they cannot simply check behind the curtain. Come now, Pyrrha, why are you so lax about security?"

The redhead shrugged and smiled. "Because I trust you, and no one else can bother us here. You seem to become more paranoid now, is something in particular bothering you?"

Crystal crossed her arms, and walked over to Pyrrha. "Look, I get the feeling that you won't let this go if I don't tell you…"

"I can be a very stubborn woman~"

"Then you want to tell me what you've been writing there?"

Crystal poked at the small notepad that Pyrrha had been scribbling on for a while now. Blushing, the writer pulled it away, squeaking out in embarrassment. She let out a small, defeated sigh, and admitted, "Poetry."

"What now?"

"When I have time to dabble, I write romantic poetry. It's silly, it's stuff that'll never get published or anything like that!"

"You've already had multiple novels published, how is your poetry too silly?"

Pyrrha sighed and sunk down into her seat. "With my novels, I put all the aspects of romance in there: lust, guilt, apprehension, defensives, trust, nervousness, desire, desperation, the whole works. With poetry, it's the happiness I focus on, romance being a purity that is glowing with joy.

"I enjoy romance being so giddy and pure, and that's what I do with my poetry. I have to focus on all aspects with it in my writing, and in real life."

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "You certainly seem to fawn over romance in real life quite a bit."

"Love is something that helps conquer even the worst situations. People are so very quick to dismiss it because they've seen or experienced divorce, break-ups, or abusive relationships. I find seeing love one of the greatest things in the world, much like how I imagine you'd feel when a military plan comes together."

The military adviser chuckled lightly. "Yes, I guess so. After everything America went through, for things to work out was always a blessing.

"However, you shouldn't be embarrassed, Pyrrha. Poetry can be quite nice, and even if it's sappy, sometimes we need a little of that. I know how much people need a bit of stress relief."

"Thank you for the support, Crystal. Now, please," Pyrrha folded her hands and placed them on her lap, "tell me why you're moving all over the place."

Crystal bit her bottom lip, and glanced to the side as she crossed her arms. She was quiet for a few seconds, before she let out a defeated sigh stronger than Pyrrha's.

"Because you make me unfocused."

"Huh?"

"Pyrrha, before the night with you and Odelios, I hadn't had much of a love life, not even much of a sex life. Now I have both of you interested in more of me, sexually and personally. I've never had that, and I cannot do that now…"

"But you and I have been kissing a bit here."

"Yes, that's why I am trying to stay my distance from you. I don't know how you awakened a desire in me that I never knew existed, I wasn't that attracted to women beforehand."

"Wait, are you thinking it's like I'm exploiting a weakness?" Pyrrha asked, frowning in concern. "I'm not trying to take advantage of you."

"Oh I didn't think you were, at least not intentionally." Crystal winced when Pyrrha's expression turned sad. "What I mean is, you just got done telling me that romance is a complex web of emotions and feelings…

"I cannot afford that now, things are too dangerous. I don't know if it is lust, affection, desire, or romance you and Odelios feel for me, but I cannot let myself be distracted when lives are at stake. Not anymore…"

Pyrrha's expression softened when she saw how tense Crystal was. She tucked her notepad and pencil into her pocket, and hugged her friend. Smiling at her, she said, "You don't have to worry about me then. I'm sorry, I got a little carried away with how we have Isaac and Hara, as well as that budding romance with Drake and Ignatia."

The writer giggled, then her eyes started to grow in realization and fear. "Ignatia," she repeated, and then suddenly sprinted towards the stage. Crystal, confused and concerned, followed her, as Pyrrha rushed behind the curtain to the backstage area.

The redhead inspected the three unconscious people, going through pockets. She found Shuuya's combat knife and tossed it away, as Crystal arrived to the area. "What are you doing?" she asked her friend.

"When Aka and I took care of Ignatia, she was trying to stab herself when her body started acting on its own," Pyrrha explained as she searched Fiora. "I need to make sure they cannot hurt themselves!"

"Oh gosh, I hadn't thought of that; however, being disarmed won't stop them from possibly hurting themselves if they start moving on their own."

"Then we should watch over them," Pyrrha said. "Heh, guess you'll have something serious to do then."

"Guess I will… I wonder if they're in the same state as Ignatia and the others, they're not holding anything."

* * *

 **? ? ?**

 **Killing Game Realm**

 **Hope's Peak Academy**

 _Walking through Hope's Peak, something that should have been a pleasant trip down memory lane, was like going through a nightmare manifest in this awful realm. It wasn't just that all of the lights were that evil red glare, but the whole building creaked and growled as if it were haunted._

 _The seven survivors, apprehensive about who or what could be in the academy, turned off lights after they were done searching a room; they didn't want to leave a trail, so to speak. Occasionally, Mahiru would take a picture, though she always would murmur, "Why am I doing that?" after each one._

 _One of the biggest rooms on their path was the gymnasium, a place that they could remember the opening ceremonies during their first days. While most were thinking of avoiding it, Shuuya was alerted to the door handles and the lock._

 _He walked over and inspected closer, seeing bloody handprints on one of the door's handle, as well as scratches on the lock. "Something's wrong here," he said to the others._

 _"Do we really have to go in there then?" Souma asked, appearing quite uneasy. "We won't gain anything going where there isn't anywhere to hide."_

 _"We should still investigate," Chiaki said, walking towards the doors. Mahiru was on her side right away, as well as Hikari. The three ladies pushed the doors open to the gymnasium…_

 _It was horribly dark in there, so they searched for a light switch. Anzu managed to find them, and turned them all on. The whole room was illuminated in that awful red light, and they all saw what, and who, had been left here._

 _Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, lay dead a few yards from the main doors. A trail of blood was left behind her, she had obviously been trying to get away from someone while seriously injured. A short distance from her was the body of Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier, clutching a handgun in her cold hands._

 _Neither of them had the wound to signify their talent had been stolen, but both had grizzly impalements through their chests and stomachs. The survivors kept their distance, troubled and not wanting to disturb them._

 _The exception was Shuuya took the time to retrieve the gun from Mukuro's body. He inspected it, and muttered, "Damn, empty. She unloaded it onto whoever killed her."_

 _"Would it be the Queen?" Hikari asked him._

 _"You know as much as I do."_

 _"True, sorry. Hey, Shuuya, out of sheer curiosity," she asked him, trying hard not to let the bodies or the blood or the wicked light get to her, "what was the number for unlocking the vault door?"_

 _"I started at zero, then worked my way up, figuring there wasn't any other way to do it," he admitted. "I rather lucked out, it was 052."_

 _"Fifty-two? Wonder why that was the number."_

 _"Again, your guess is as good as mine."_

 _The group inspected the rest of the room, then recognized the large curtain for the stage. They exchanged glances, and Teruteru asked, "Should we check back there?"_

 _"I mean, is it necessary?" Souma inquired. "I sound like a broken record, but honestly, we've only found those slain by this Queen."_

 _"Awful, evil despair," Anzu spat out. "Why is it always despair?"_

 _"It wasn't Despair this time."_

 _The voice behind the curtain startled them all. The graduates were surprised to see Ken walk out from behind it, and he was dragging something with him. When he tossed it towards the edge of the stage, several of them shouted in horror at what it was: a dead body._

 _Though it wasn't just any body, it was the corpse of Junko Enoshima._

 _"What?!" Hikari shrieked._

 _"What the hell!" Souma cried out._

 _"Gaaaah, what is going on here," Teruteru hollered, "and who IS this handsome man?"_

 _Ken rolled his eyes, and stared down at the body of Junko Enoshima. "This was the lady of Ultimate Despair, was it not? I found her back here, when I woke up… I'm going to guess that we're in that haunted realm we've been hearing about so much?"_

 _"What a way to make an entrance," Chiaki remarked. "So you were hiding back there, and then decided to show us this upon walking out?"_

 _"Um, yes," Ken admitted, rubbing the back of his head in shame. "I admit, it sounds really bad when you put it that way; however, I recognized the voices of my comrades from Penjar."_

 _"Penjar? What?" Mahiru blurted out, glaring at Ken. She grabbed Chiaki's shoulders, and cried out,"You scared the hell out of us, you know that? What kind of boy does that?"_

 _"I am no boy, I am a man. Now could someone fill me in on what's going on?"_

 _Anzu and Souma helped Ken catch up, Chiaki inspected Junko's body along with Hikari and Shuuya. The gamer gal winced when she noticed the sick, almost perverted smile of delight that was on the dead girl's face._

 _"She has the same fatal wound," she remarked, "that is to steal someone's talent."_

 _"But how are both Ryōko and Junko here?" Hikari asked. "They're the same person!"_

 _"Once again, we know as much as you, Angie-Hikari," Shuuya remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Any of you know about this?"_

 _He was staring at Chiaki, Mahiru, and Teruteru, all three perplexed and lost looking. The chef spoke up amongst them, "Monsieur, if we knew something, we'd speak up."_

 _Hikari approached him, and knelt down to whisper, "You're sure you have no idea?"_

 _"I am honestly as baffled as you are. I have not seen both Ryōko and Junko in the same Killing Game."_

 _"What do you say that we get out of here?" Mahiru implored, holding onto Chiaki again. "I don't like it here one bit-"_

 _The gymnasium doors swung open, the loud creak startling them all. They collectively turned, and saw two figures standing in the doorway. When the two approached, the graduates felt an odd combination of relief and concern wash over them._

 _"Okay, as much as I thought I would enjoy coming back to Hope's Peak," Futaba said, straightening her glasses as she approached them, "I really don't like what the hell is going on here."_

 _"Indeed," Yitro remarked, crossing his arms. "What's going on here, do any of you know? Ken, Souma, Anzu, Shuuya, what's… going on…"_

 _The swordsman trailed off when he recognized the students of Hope's Peak, two of whom were officially dead; he stared at Mahiru, remembering everything said about her from several people during the trials._

 _"Wh-wh-what is this?" Mahiru shouted, uncomfortably returning his stare. "Why are you looking at me like that? Why are there so many adults here?"_

 _Chiaki hugged her friend, squeezing her in her arms as she said, "It's okay, they don't mean us harm. They're just here to help."_

 _Futaba was also staring at Mahiru, taking several deep breaths as she tried to find the appropriate words for this scenario. "What alternate universe of horrors did we walk into?"_

 _As she said this, the lights started flashing. This was unnerving by itself, but the sound of power in the building was fluctuating as well, almost like someone struggling to breathe. The group left the gymnasium, trying to explain everything they knew to Futaba and Yitro along the way._

 _"Are we going to fight this Queen," Ken asked, "or are we running from a fight?"_

 _"Everyone who's gotten near that evil shade of a woman," Mahiru cried out, "is dead! Don't you dare try to prove yourself!"_

 _"It would seem that she killed a lot of people in this warped version," Futaba remarked, "of our academy. Isn't she a creative sadistic one?"_

 _"Wait, what?" Anzu said, as the group stopped for a breather in the lobby outside of one of the dorm areas. "Why would you say that, Futaba?"_

 _Futaba and Yitro exchanged glances, then the swordsman pointed in the direction of the cafeteria. "Both of us woke up in the kitchen connected to the dining area. There was a horrible, gut-wrenching smell coming from one of the large ovens."_

 _"Mon Dieu," Teruteru shouted. "Please don't tell me…"_

 _"There was a body in it," Futaba calmly remarked. "Charred beyond recognition, no idea who they could have been beforehand."_

 _"Goddamnit," Shuuya remarked, crossing his arms, "seems the Queen's MO is going to differ from stabbing and slashing."_

 _"But why?" Chiaki pondered aloud, pulling her hood up over her head. "Why would she do that? If it was her…"_

 _Before they had a chance to debate this, they could all hear the creak of a door from the dorms. A collective turn of their heads would greet Saiko, who was stepping out of one of the rooms._

 _"Hey there," she called out, recognizing them. "Does anyone know what the HELL is going on?"_

 _They rushed over to greet her, Anzu and Hikari hugging her. Saiko was rather surprised at how familiar this brown-skinned bikini wearing girl was with her until she explained that she was Hikari. The forensic investigator glanced around, then saw the other three out of place._

 _"And they are?" she asked._

 _"They're themselves," Hikari explained. "I know, it's a little confusing."_

 _"A 'little'?" Mahiru balked, gripping herself as she started to hyper-ventilate. "You all get more and more strange every time someone new shows up!"_

 _"Please, you must forgive her," Chiaki said, wrapping an arm around her friend. "This is all very overwhelming. Though I am curious, are you a student of the academy, miss?"_

 _"Huh? Me?" Saiko asked. "I've already graduated."_

 _"I see. But then why were you in someone else's room?" Chiaki asked, pointing at the room Saiko had come from. "Toko Fukawa" was printed on a name plaque on the door, much to the group's surprise._

 _"I guess that was who she took the place of," Hikari muttered. "Toko was probably hiding in her room, away from the Queen."_

 _Anzu glanced around the hallway, observing the other doors. "Maybe we could try hiding in one of these rooms? They're lockable and soundproof."_

 _"No, we'd be backed into a corner," Shuuya said. "That isn't very strategic-"_

 _He was interrupted when there was a thumping against one of the doors, as if something heavy was slammed against it from the inside. The door that had shook had the name "Makoto Naegi" on it._

 _"Probably best to leave it be," Futaba offered. "If we start opening every door we come across…"_

 _Hikari and Chiaki approached the door at the same time, and knocked on it. The two exchanged glances, smiling slightly at the other's impulsiveness._

 _The door handle rattled, and then it opened to feature one of the unfriendly faces from Penjar. Blake stood there, staring at the large group in the hallway in front of the door. "Oh, you're all here too?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Great, it's as damn crowded as that stupid ghost town."_

 _"Blake, are you okay?" Hikari asked. The Australian pyro stared at her, specifically her bikini clad top. The steampunk model was about ready to slap him, when she heard a voice behind him._

 _"Who's there? Is it her?! Why'd you open the door-"_

 _In the room was Aoi Asahina, hiding behind her bed though daring to peek. The Ultimate Swimmer was trembling as she observed who was at the door._

 _"What's going on?" Aoi shouted, then she grabbed at her sides. She began to shriek, so shrill and intense that the people in the hallway began to panic._

 _"She'll bring the Queen here with that noise!" Futaba declared._

 _"Let's get out of here," Shuuya offered. "No sense in-"_

 _Hikari was inside of the room, pushing past Blake and over by Aoi's side in an instant. She grabbed ahold of the screaming girl, and held her tightly. "Calm down! Calm down, we aren't here to hurt you," she assured her._

 _Aoi stopped screaming, and her trembling lessened. She stared up at Hikari, and whimpered, "W-who are you? How did you get in here?"_

 _"It's a long story. I'm so sorry, we need to get you out of here before we can fill you in."_

 _The swimmer stared at her, then shook her head. "No. No there's no way to get out of here. Hope's Peak Academy is a death trap, all the ways are sealed."_

 _"We can get out through the vault door at the front, we know the passcode-"_

 _Aoi shook her head, interrupting Hikari's confident words. "No. No one can escape the Queen. No one… no one will ever…_ _EVER escape the Queen."_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 ** _CRRRRRRRRRRRRRACK!_**

 _The most ear-splitting sound of wood splitting, metal snapping, and a variety of building material breaking thundered throughout the building. Almost everyone was pitched off of their feet, falling to the ground._

 _A massive crack formed across the hallway, and raced across the edge of the other side of the dorm rooms. The building split off, and then began to fall._

 _Everyone stared, in thunderstruck horror, as the dorm rooms on the other side of the hallway, the walls, the ceiling, everything on the other side of that splitting crack, just fell away. It all fell down, down the side of a cliff._

 _They were now outside, the hallway was outside and on the peak of a cliff. Hope's Peak Academy was atop of a perilously high cliff, with large sections of the gigantic building breaking off and falling down. Down below, a distance no human could survive falling from, was the churning, ferocious waters of the ocean._

 _The wind howled, thunder crashed from dark clouds, and the red sky beamed down its malevolence upon them. The group struggled up to their feet, some of them recognizing Jabberwock Island down and off in the distance, being flooded entirely._

 _"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" Blake shouted._

 _"YOU THINK WE KNOW?!" Shuuya hollered back._

 _A large section of Hope's Peak came crashing down, a pillar of concrete and steel. It landed on the other side of the hallway, sealing off their way to head back into the academy. The impact of it hitting the ground caused a shockwave that knocked many of them down…_

 _Mahiru was nearly pitched over the side, but Anzu managed to catch her before she went over, grabbing her arm. Ken was almost knocked over as well, but Yitro grabbed ahold of him and pulled him back._

 _When the winds blew again, the group was losing all sense of balance. Teruteru's short stature did not help him, and he fell towards the edge of the cliff. When he toppled over the side, Saiko managed to grab ahold of his arm._

 _Teruteru lost his hat, which went sailing down the lethal distance and off into the hurricane. He looked down at the horrible fate, and then up at Saiko. She struggled to pull him up, he was a lot weight for her to hold up with one arm._

 _"H-hold on," Saiko managed to say, then shouted, "s-someone! Help me! HELP!"_

 _"Hey."_

 _She saw the look in his beady eyes, and he was… smiling. Teruteru shook his head, and said, "You're not risking your life for me, Saiko-beauty. I'm sorry."_

 _The ground, the remains of the hallway, started to crack underneath Saiko's body. She was holding onto a piece that was losing its foundation, and she was grappling desperately with the floor for a firmer grip._

 _"N-no," she stammered. "Don't you dare-"_

 _"Mademoiselle Saiko," Teruteru said, "I'm so very sorry… take care of the group for me, cha'?"_

 _He then twisted his wrist, wrenching himself free of her grasp. Saiko watched him fall, and fall, and fall… he looked like a tiny pebble, falling into the waters below._

 _Souma and Futaba pulled Saiko up, as she stared down in shock at what just happened. The group moved into the room that Aoi and Hikari were in, and Blake slammed the door behind them._

 _The soundproof room was like magic, it was impossible to tell that they were now an ocean and cliffside view for the most unexplainable, precarious place they could imagine. No wind, crashing waters, or crumbling building sounds penetrated through the room._

 _With twelve people in the room, it was rather crowded, though no one was really thinking about that right now. Aoi was sobbing, clinging to Hikari, who stared at Saiko. The bluebell was breathing hard, staring at her hand that Teruteru had been in a minute ago._

 _"Teru… teru?" Mahiru whimpered, her curled hands in front of her trembling lips. "N-no."_

 _Chiaki sniffled, and the two girls held each other; Mahiru started to bawl, clutching her friend as close to her as possible. The graduates all stared silently, unsure of what to say or do._

 _"Alright," Blake snapped after a minute, when both Aoi and Mahiru stopped crying so hard, "what the fuck is going on?"_

 _"Long story short," Anzu muttered, staring at Saiko the whole time, "we're in the Killing Game Realm. That place I told you all about when I fell into a coma? You're all in it."_

 _"And the Queen is some evil force coming for us," Souma remarked. "Someone who is not Junko Enoshima."_

 _"Well then, anyone have any idea how to get us out of here?" Blake asked, crossing his arms. "I don't fucking like this."_

 _"Oh sure, Blake," Futaba snapped, "we all know how to get out of here, we just thought that we'd take a scenic tour before we did so."_

 _"Listen, you stupid cunt-"_

 _"If you cause any trouble," Shuuya hissed, moving right up in Blake's face in an instant, so fast no one even saw the bounty hunter move, "I will break every bone in your body, and drag your butt behind us as bait. Got it?"_

 _Blake snarled, balling his hands into fists, but was silent. The room was quiet as well, until someone spoke._

 _"You all saw the Queen?"_

 _Aoi stood up on shaky legs, before sitting on the side of the bed. Hikari quickly sat down next to her, and wrapped an arm around the swimmer. "Do you," she gently asked the brunette girl, "know anything about her?"_

 _"She killed all my friends. She killed Sakura, who is so strong and kind and good… the Queen just outright killed her. Ryōko, Chihiro, Sayaka… Ma… Ma…"_

 _Aoi slumped forward, covering her face with her hands. Hikari held her gently, glancing at the others to wordlessly ask for help. Chiaki walked over, kneeling down in front of the swimmer gal._

 _"Please, it's very important," the gamer girl said, "that you tell us everything you know. The Queen killed all my friends too, everyone but Mahiru there."_

 _She gestured towards Mahiru, who walked over and put her hand on Chiaki's shoulder. Aoi glanced at the two, then at Hikari, and slumped again. "She's everywhere," the swimmer muttered, "she's no one and all over the place. I cannot breathe, it's like being trapped underwater… Sakura… Ma… Ma…"_

 _"She's in terrible shock," Saiko said quietly. "If we push her, she might not be able to say anything for a long time. And even then…"_

 _"Even what?" Ken asked, folding his arms impatiently._

 _"I've seen people in this state. People in shock, you cannot push it, and what they say may sound like a riddle. Please, be patient with her."_

 _Aoi shivered a great deal, then spoke once again. "The Queen… killed all my friends. She took Makoto first… my… my boyfriend."_

 _"I'm so sorry," Hikari said, holding Aoi tenderly. "It's okay, you're with us now."_

 _"No, no, no one is safe with her," she repeated herself. "She stole Makoto's luck. I don't know how, she just did. When she did, anything was possible for her. She started killing other people, stealing talent, everyone. Students, teachers, staff, it's… it's…_

 _"It's just violent chaos with her. Nothing but chaos, chaos and death."_

 _Everyone exchanged glances, recognizing that accursed word. "Wait, is it actually Chaos," Ken asked, "and not Despair, that the Queen works with?"_

 _"But she killed Junko… and Ryōko," Anzu remarked. "Wait, maybe we're just going off of a word here."_

 _"CHAOS!"_

 _Aoi's piercing shriek made everyone in the room flinch. She grabbed ahold of Hikari, and declared, "The Queen is Chaos incarnate! Everything goes her way, and that way is death and blood! My Koto… my sweet, sweet Koto…"_

 _"But who is the Queen?" Mahiru asked. "Was she someone in your class? Someone who was going to Hope's Peak?"_

 _Aoi shook her head, gripping at her ponytail. She breathed hard for a few seconds, then finally said, "I don't know who she is. Who was she? Who was she? Who was… she…"_

 _She repeated the same question, over and over, unable to stop no matter what those around her did. Saiko let out a sad sigh, scanning the others. "I don't think we have a lot of time… not even sure what we're supposed to do. But can we try to help her?"_

 _"How, exactly?" Shuuya remarked. "I hate to sound callous, but we're trapped in this realm, in this room, inside of a crumbling building on top of a cliff. And since we literally walked into this building about ten minutes ago, all notions of what to do realistically are gone!"_

 _Saiko turned to Anzu, gently pulling her away from the rambling Aoi. "Anzu, do you have any idea how you managed to escape last time you did?"_

 _The actress glanced over at Mahiru, who was still trying to help calm Aoi down. She nervously whispered, "I don't know. I mean, in my version… I was someone else. Then I… I killed Mahiru, she came back to life and tried to kill me, and when she took the camera I had on me, I was suddenly awake again."_

 _"So what you had on you kept you there?"_

 _"I don't think it's that simple, Saiko, because when I was in the same vision as Kimiko, she didn't have the item that transported her there, in the vision."_

 _Saiko took several deep breaths, remembering all the ways she had to keep herself calm. "Okay, we can still solve this. We just need…"_

 _Something echoed out in the hallway. The door and walls that had blocked out the noise of the hurricane, the building falling apart, the ocean thrashing down below, it didn't block this out. It was the sound of footsteps, footsteps that echoed hauntingly…_

 _The footfalls of the Queen were coming towards their room._

 _"What?!" Ken shouted. "How?"_

 _"Quick, lock the door!" Yitro hissed._

 _"It's no good."_

 _Aoi stood up, startling everyone with how calm she was. She turned to look at all of them, her eyes devoid of emotion now. "The Queen can pick any lock. She'll be in here any minute now."_

 _"Damnation, why couldn't I have my sword?" Ken shouted. "Quick, find something to arm yourselves with, people!"_

 _"There's one way out of this," Aoi continued, walking over to the bathroom. "Everyone needs to get in here."_

 _She grabbed the door handle, lifting and shifting it, and then pushing it open. "Makoto was given a faulty bathroom door. It can only be opened if you know how. Go on, go in there."_

 _The group of survivors hesitated for a few seconds, not comfortable with this plan. Blake moved first, then Saiko and Anzu, then slowly but surely the graduates moved into the small bathroom._

 _The shower had to be opened, and four of them crammed in there. It was an incredibly tight squeeze, and the others had to push and shove to get in. The bathroom felt no bigger than an outhouse, with how much they all had to cram themselves inside of there._

 _Outside of the bathroom were Hikari, Mahiru, Chiaki, and Aoi. Hikari stared at the three other gals, and said, "Go on, get in there."_

 _"There's no way we're all going to fit in there," Chiaki said. "I've played enough Tetris to know about that."_

 _"Chiaki, we have to try," Mahiru said. "Come on now."_

 _The gamer gal exchanged glances with Aoi, who still appeared emotionless and defeated. Chiaki glanced once more into the bathroom, and nodded. "Okay, you know what? Mahiru, Angie, get in there. I'll push up against you, just don't make it weird?"_

 _"Quit being weird yourself, Chiaki," Mahiru scolded her, and moved in. The photographer was wedged up against Yitro, who tried to murmur an apology, but he was almost suffocating._

 _Hikari moved in, pushing up against Saiko, trying hard to make her different body as small as possible…_

 _Then Chiaki shoved Hikari in as much as she could, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it shut._

 _"NO!" Mahiru shrieked. She grabbed at the door handle, but the faulty door was adjusted from the other side. The photographer pulled hard, struggling with it, but it refused to budge an inch, as if locked tight. "Chiaki! Open this door! Open it, please! PLEASE! CHIA-"_

 _Everyone in the room could hear the main door to the bedroom open. Yitro, in a sense of desperation, reached to Mahiru and pulled her back, clapping his hand over her mouth. She struggled and let out a cry, muffled, until she heard voices in the room._

 _"Hello there," Chiaki was saying. "You're the one that killed all my friends. For what, may I ask?"_

 _There was a moment of silence, and then the gut-churning sound of someone being stabbed. Mahiru let out a horrified shriek, but Yitro muffled her as much as he could. Everyone heard Chiaki let out a pitiful cry, then collapse to the floor._

 _"Please," Aoi begged, "please leave her alone. She means nothing to you, you don't have to-"_

 _Another horrific shanking sound came from the room, with a fainter cry from Chiaki. There was a primal scream of emotion, and Aoi shrieked, "WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HURTING US?!"_

 _Footsteps, Aoi must have been charging at the Queen, and then a punching sound. There were two more, before a terrible slashing sound could be heard. Someone fell, though it sounded like more than one piece of them hit the floor._

 _Everything went quiet, the survivor group holding their collective breath. A scratch could be heard against the door, like someone running something sharp against the surface._

 _" **I know you're in there,** " the voice of the Queen said from the other side of the door. " **I know SHE is in there. Give her over, and I'll spare the rest of you.** "_

 _The group was silent, and then Blake hissed, "What are you all waiting for? Do it, give her that redhead."_

 _"Fucking shut up," Anzu whisper-shouted at him, her crimson eyes blazing at him. The two were wedged close together in the shower._

 _"It's her or us!"_

 _"Blake, shut up right now," Yitro hissed at him, "or I'll-"_

 _" **Do you really think a door can stop me?** "_

 _Metal noises, scratching and scraping, could be heard against the lock of the bathroom door. It unlocked, and the Queen chuckled as she pushed on the door._

 _It didn't budge. The sound of the handle being moved more, and the door being pushed and even slammed up against, but it didn't budge. The Queen was silent for a moment, then there was a furious shriek that reverberated quite painfully in all those ears._

 _" **WHAT IS THIS SHIT? THIS DOOR WON'T STOP ME!** "_

 _There were fierce stabbing noises, like someone trying to jam a knife or a lance through the door. Despite the intense poundings and piercings at the door, it stayed firm and didn't break._

 _The furious, strained panting of the Queen came after the attack stopped. She slammed her fist on the door, and shouted, " **Very well then. If the last bit of luck from that common twerp is what is protecting you, I'll just drain it!** "_

 _The sound of a flat impact, possibly her slapping her palm on the door, echoed in the bathroom. They could all hear the sound of buzzing, like a swarm of the most furious insects, growing in pitch and rage every second…_

 _A brilliant flash of light engulfed the room, dulling everyone's senses…_

* * *

 **Day ?, ? ?**

 **Penjar**

 **Ishiku Shyre's House**

Ishiku sat down on the floor, next to Fannie. The two of them were silent for the most part. Though while the magician was gripping a sword in its sheathe, ready to pull it out and slice someone at a moment's notice, Fannie appeared nonchalant. Actually, she appeared to be enjoying herself, sitting with her legs folded in, smiling as she dined on another chocolate coin.

"So have you ever used a sword before?" she asked, curiously staring at him with an affectionate smile.

"Yes, many times before in my acts," Ishiku replied, his voice deep and gruff. He was staring at the front door of his house, as if expecting someone to come barging in any minute now. "I've actually used a lot of weapons before in my act, they can be very entertaining with the right audience."

"Is that why you have this?" Fannie asked, lifting up his staff.

"No, that is a family relic and something very close to my heart. I take it everywhere I go that I possibly can."

"You don't have trouble at airports?"

"No one's said anything yet…"

"I see. Aren't you afraid that it'll be broken?"

"It's been through quite a bit of shit, my dear Fannie. I have accidentally dropped it in a bonfire, into a pool, seen it been run over by a car, and dropped from three stories. It hasn't been broken or scratched."

Fannie stared in awe at the staff. "Wow! That's incredible! But how does dropping it from a trio of books show it is sturdy?"

"No no, stories as in a tall building, like the asylum."

"Oh! Sorry, sometimes words are complicated for me."

"They're complicated for everyone, don't worry. I speak three languages, and I don't know how it works half of the time."

"You're so smart, have I ever told you how attractive I find that?"

She giggled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. The smooches continued, even as she tilted his head and attempted to plant them on his lips. "Um, Fannie? Mmm… mmmfffannie? Fan-mmmph?"

"Mmmyes?"

"I'm trying to watch the door, in case that executioner comes through. Don't distract me too much."

"Oh! Yes, that's right! I thought we lost that meanie when we ran out of the asylum!"

"I swear I saw them come out of the building… or maybe right at the entrance. Goddamnit, we should have stayed, he could hurt some of our friends!"

"We can only do so much, Ishi. Would you like to move out and take on the executioner?"

"The thing is, I don't think I can take a six foot, muscular murderer holding a giant axe. I'm hiding here with you in the hopes that we don't have to confront him, or it'll be most likely be really bad for us."

"You're honest! I do like that~"

Fannie moved in to kiss him more, and he gently tried to stop her. Before he could succeed, something startled them both and did it for him: the sound of the TV turning on! Fannie and Ishiku jumped, and stared up at the television that was now broadcasting.

* * *

 **(Day 16 has now officially begun!)**

 **(Monokids' Town Hall Greeting)**

* _Monokid and Monodam are standing on the front stairs of the town hall, with Monocrow standing in-between them with his wings spread._ *

 **Monokids** \- "Rise and shine, ursine!"

 **Monocrow** \- "Soar and plan, avian!"

 **Monokid** \- "So what the fuck are you all doing during our absence? Are you having another orgy? A pool party?"

 **Monodam** \- "WE-HOPE-YOU-ARE-ALL-GETTING-ALONG-YOU-BASTARDS. HOPEFULLY, MONOCROW-HAS-BEEN-A-GENEROUS-HOST."

 **Monokid** \- "A pool-orgy?!"

 **Monocrow** \- "Everyone seems to be doing very well so far. I do enjoy conversing with them, as well as assist them in their endeavors."

 **Monokid** \- "Stop using words with more than two syllables! … Oh shit, I just did!"

 **Monodam** \- "WHY-ARE-MOST-OF-THE-VISITORS-OF-PENJAR-UNCONSCIOUS-RIGHT-NOW?"

 **Monocrow** \- "I believe your father has enacted a couple hidden rules to prevent his plans from being avoided. This has led the majority of people to lose consciousness, and most of them are having trouble coping with that."

 **Monodam** \- "WHAT-DO-YOU-MEAN?"

 **Monocrow** \- "Wherever they are mentally, their bodies are still capable of moving about. Hehe, luckily, there's no rotating saw blades or vats of acid."

 **Monodam** \- "…"

 **Monokid** \- "I will royally fuck you up if you had more fun than us, you damn bird! I will slap a bitch, I will bitch a slap, I bitch-slap a will!"

 **Monocrow** \- * _regards Monokid, then turns to Monokid_ * "Is he always like this now?"

 **Monodam** \- "YOU-GET-USED-TO-IT. NOW-IF-YOU'LL-EXCUSE-ME, I-NEED-TO-CHECK-ON-DRA-"

 **Monocrow** \- "You may want to check your tavern out first, Monocrow. Or have the two people watching this do that, it could mean life or death."

 **Monokid** \- "Don't you tell Monodam what to do, that's my job! Anyway, I'm bored of this, I'mma go poke an unconscious person! Any idea when they'll wake up!?"

 **Monocrow** \- * _tilts his head as his lightning bolt eye gleams wickedly_ * "No."

 **Monokubs** \- "So long, bear well~"

 **Monocrow** \- "I bird you good day~"

* * *

Ishiku and Fannie exchanged glances after the television turned off. The magician sputtered out, "W-wait! It's 9:30 AM?!"

As he reached for his cell phone, forgetting about his watch, Fannie tapped her lips. "Huh, I don't remember the opening announcements being so hostile."

"Fannie, it's not 9:30…"

"Oh really? That's good-"

"It's 11 AM!"

Fannie blinked, and then asked, "Wait, what? I don't understand, how did that happen?"

"Apparently, we were up all night avoiding that executioner, we didn't even notice the hours fly by! But that's not the worst part, we only have an hour!"

The white 'n pink-topped girl still was rather confused, until the idea of noon dawned on her. "Oh no! And if everyone's unconscious inside of the buildings-"

"They'll be locked to those! We need to hurry, get them out of there!"

Ishiku and Fannie stood up, heading out of his house, him with the sword and her with the staff. Outside, they noticed the mist swirling rather aggressively down the road.

"That's concerning," he muttered, before he turned into Fannie. "Should we split up?"

"I think it would be best, since the morning announcement said someone's life was in danger at the tavern. I can go there, if that's okay?"

The two planned out their operation, kissed for good luck, and then sprinted off. The mists of Penjar were racing almost as fast as the two were, hurrying around the city…

Though if one could sense the mood of a city, they would be able to tell there was a storm brewing, as if fury was building up deep within.

* * *

 **? ? ?**

 **Killing Game Realm**

 **?**

 _When the overwhelmingly bright light inside of the bathroom died down, the feeling of fatigue left the survivors. They were all lying down on a tiled floor, and it appeared to be the bathroom for a school, rather than the tiny one they had all been stuffed in._

 _Hikari stood up first, examining the red walls and ceiling. The spacious bathroom was much nicer when it came to legroom, the condition of the place was rather awful. Vines were growing out from every corner, floor and ceiling, and extending throughout the walls._

 _"What the hell," she said, shaking her head. "Oh my head… damn greased gears, what happened? Where are we now-"_

 _"LET GO OF ME!"_

 _Mahiru pushed off of Yitro, who had a faint hold on her. She shoved away from him, getting up and hurrying over to the door. The redheaded photographer was out of the room before Hikari could react, though she swiftly followed after._

 _When Hikari stepped out in the hallway, she noticed that it definitely looked like an academy, though worn down by time. Vines were growing down the walls, and grass was coming out between the tiles._

 _Mahiru stood there, petrified with confusion and fear. Hikari approached her, unsure what to say._

 _"I am," she softly said, "so very sorry we couldn't save Chiaki."_

 _"I'm the only one left," Mahiru whispered, fumbling with her camera. Her hands were shivering, her eyes were almost devoid of emotion like Aoi's had been. "Everyone else is dead, they all died to the Queen. How come I'm alive?"_

 _"I'm sorry, darling, I don't know-"_

 _"WHY DID THEY ALL HAVE TO DIE?!"_

 _Mahiru grabbed Hikari's coat, staring into her eyes for answers. The steampunk model froze up, aware that everyone else was coming out of the bathroom now and was witnessing this._

 _"Why does the Queen want me? Is that really true?" Mahiru continued to press for questions. "I don't understand anything going on! Please… please just do something to end this! End this madness, end this awful, awful killing spree!"_

 _"Mahiru, I don't know how," Hikari admitted._

 _"I do! If the Queen wants me, then kill me!"_

 _Yitro stepped forward, pulling Mahiru off of Hikari. "No. We are NOT killing you, Mahiru. We are going to find a way out of this place, and you're going to make it with us. Come on, let's not talk about death like that any more."_

 _With Yitro putting his hand on Mahiru's back and guiding her onwards, the others all followed after. Hikari sighed as she watched Yitro quietly talk to Mahiru, silently impressed how he took control._

 _The group of now ten survivors walked through this odd, time-claimed academy. Ivy, grass, and even weeds and flowers were taking control of the building in every nook and cranny._

 _There were many rooms, each of them specialized after a certain theme, but they were devoid of people or anything of interest._

 _As they continued on throughout this floor, Futaba sighed as she glanced around the area. "This almost feels like some kind of amazing specimen of a building. Like, I wish we could study it some."_

 _"It's not real, though," Shuuya remarked. "None of this is real, it's all some bizarre magic or something else."_

 _"Yes… I just hope we find the answer to all of this."_

 _Saiko sighed loudly, shaking her head. "I just want to find Isaac and Hara, then find a way out of here, then find something with lots of sugar and/or carbs to eat."_

 _"Hopefully, we'll find people soon," Ken remarked. "It seems the usual violence will not be found here."_

 _Souma, out of curiosity, opened a door that had a piano on it. When he looked inside, he cried out in horror, and some of the others peered inside._

 _The body of Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, was lying dead on the floor. Nearby her was Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor, dead with a large pool of blood under her. The survivors cried out in shock, and Souma closed the door in a hurry._

 _"Just had to jinx it," Blake snapped at Ken, "did you, honor boy?"_

 _"Sh-shut up," Ken blurted out. "It's probably just another Killing Game, it doesn't prove the Queen is here!"_

 _"We'll know if we go in and check their wounds," Anzu said, shaking her head. "I'll do it, if no one else will."_

 _"Look, at this point," Hikari said, "we should assume the worst. Let's all just get the hell out of here, and-"_

 _The lights in the academy all went out, encasing them in darkness. Then that wicked, sinister, red light came pouring in through the windows outside, and the lights of the school turned on with the same hateful shine._

 _"No no no NO!" Mahiru shouted. "God damn it, how could she find us here!?"_

 _"Let's just get the hell out of here!" Futaba cried out._

 _The group ran through the school, passing by the body of Kirumi Tojo in one of the hallways. All of them dead from the same cause of death as the others._

 _When they found a door to the outside, they stepped out, only to see that this academy was in what could only be described as a gigantic birdcage! The incredibly large bars around the school's wall, a very tall brick one, had the sinister light shining through them._

 _"Okay, this is," Blake spoke up, sounding rather defeated, "so many levels of fucked up."_

 _"We need to keep running!" Hikari declared._

 _"To WHERE, you bitch? We're in a giant cage! That cunt you're all so afraid of is just going to find us anyway."_

 _Hikari rounded on the Australian pyro, clenching her fists. "You know, you can just stay here and die then. Give up, no one's stopping you!"_

 _"How about you-"_

 _"Hey! HEY over there!"_

 _The group of survivors turned to see a young man waving at them from nearby a circular building. As he waved, someone walked out next to him, a rather short being, and casually waved at them too._

 _"Eisei!" Saiko sprinted over to him, moving faster than all the others. They all caught up as she seized the dentist in a tight hug, and noticed that Eisei wasn't alone._

 _Drake, Ignatia, and Fiora were all at the entrance of this unfamiliar building. The young man next to Eisei was Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, and there was also Kiibo and Himiko from Class 78._

 _"Oh thank goodness," Drake cheered, as Ignatia waved at them casually, "you're all okay!"_

 _"It hasn't been easy for us," Eisei admitted, as he managed to breathe again once Saiko stopped squeezing him so tightly. "This lady known as the Queen showed up a little while ago. She is on a homicidal rampage."_

 _"And why are we here," Fiora declared, "and not Hope's Peak? Why am I here a'geen, eh?"_

 _"Wait, again?" Yitro asked her. "You were here during your vision, Fiora?"_

 _"Yeah! Where is here?!"_

 _Shuichi cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone there. "This is the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles."_

 _"It is sometimes known as UAGJ for short," Kiibo offered, standing proud in front of all the humans. Ignatia was standing a short distance from him, though he didn't notice. "Or is it UAFGJ? Which is easier to pronounce?"_

 _"Uggggh, that's not important right now," Himiko whined. "We really, really need to get out of this academy before the Queen shows up. Of course she had to have an anti-magic shield, what a pain…"_

 _"Do you all have a plan?" Hikari asked them._

 _"Actually, yes," Shuichi said. "Kaito and Kokichi are working to prepare a way out of here. They should be back shortly, or we could meet up with them… though we shouldn't travel in too big of a group. It'd be easier for the Queen to spot us."_

 _"Wait, we cannot go just yet," Saiko interrupted, waving her hands. "We don't know if everyone from our group is here yet! We haven't even found Isaac or Hara."_

 _"Your friends went with those two towards the bunker," Eisei remarked, motioning towards the far end of the caged academy's border. "Both insisted that they help out, but wished that no one else risk going outside with the murdering going on; I don't think they trust Kokichi very much, he was acting a little off."_

 _Saiko let out a small sigh of relief, and chuckled lightly. "That's so like them. It's good to know that they're safe. Well, we still gotta look for everyone from Penjar, don't we?"_

 _"This is everyone who came into the Killing Game Realm. No one else needs to be found."_

 _The words came from the last person they expected, so defeated and worn-out that it was like a soul ready to die. The group all turned towards Mahiru, whose eyes were devoid of all joy and hope._

 _"What are you saying?" Saiko blurted out. "Why wouldn't they be here?"_

 _"They aren't in here. Everyone from Penjar who is in here has gathered at this point," Mahiru said, sounding more robotic than Kiibo. "If anyone else fell asleep in Penjar, they're not here."_

 _"But that doesn't make sense! And how… how could you know that?"_

 _Mahiru's face twisted slightly, a humorless smile on her face as she pulled her camera strap off of her shoulder. "Anzu, Eisei, and Fiora can tell you… I become perfectly aware of everything when I'm about to die. Like who you all really are, graduates of Hope's Peak residing in Penjar."_

 _While Shuichi, Kiibo, and Himiko were rather befuddled, everyone from Penjar stared at Mahiru. The photographer took her camera and started circling through her photos. Tears fell down from her eyes, as she looked._

 _"So many good ones this time… I had a wonderful time with all of my friends, given weeks before the killing started. I wonder, does this make this good or bad?"_

 _"Mahiru," Anzu stepped close intrepidly, "please tell us what's going on."_

 _"What must we do to stop the killing?" Eisei inquired. "We are many, we can do it."_

 _"Come on, Red," Fiora implored, "please! Help us help you!"_

 _Mahiru regarded them, then turned towards Hikari. She smiled again, so full of sorrow that it made the model want to cry herself. The photographer reached out, offering her camera to her._

 _When Hikari took it, Mahiru pulled her in close and whispered right into her ear, as she held onto the model in Angie's body. "The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm… sorry."_

 _"Huh? D-darling, what are you saying-"_

 _"NYEH!"_

 _Himiko's terrified scream alerted them all, and they stared to where she was pointing. At the front doors of the academy, with a swarm of ebony and crimson shade around her, was the Queen. Her eyes were focused on the group, and she reached towards them._

 _"RUN!" Shuichi shouted, grabbing Himiko and spiriting with her in his arms._

 _The Queen sprinted towards them, moving incredibly fast before stopping next to a lamppost. The shade around her turned into a blade, and sliced the post at the core. Swarming around the severed end of the lamppost like a large fist, she lifted her arm, and the lamppost was raised like a huge club._

 _She swung it downwards, in the middle of the group. It slammed down, shattering into pieces, as the large group of survivors was split in half._

 _Hikari pulled Mahiru to the side, clutching her in her arms. Blake, Eisei, Saiko, Fiora, Ignatia, Anzu, and Drake were all on the same side as her, as were the members of Class 78. Everyone else was near the doors of the large, circular building, though Yitro moved towards the other group…_

 _Before flames like a welding torch came shooting up from the impact area of the lamppost. This geyser line of hellfire was an overwhelming divider for the group._

 _As Hikari made Mahiru move fast along with her, heading towards the stairs that Shuichi was going down to a plaza, she could hear the Queen sprint after them. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw it was her that the Queen was heading towards._

 _That monstrous shade of a woman was too fast, she wasn't going to dodge in time! Before she could do anything, Mahiru used all of her strength to shove Hikari out of the way._

 _The Queen's claw-like hand struck Mahiru, sending her flying off of her feet as if struck by a wrecking ball. The photographer crashed into Blake and Fiora, knocking the two down with her. The three crashed down the stairs, falling down in a heap on the ground._

 _Hikari cried out and sprinted down to them. Blake was struggling to get up, but his left leg was broken, the bone jutting out from his skin. Fiora rubbed her head, dazed and unable to focus on anything. Mahiru was lying on her back, gasping hard and whimpering; her chest appeared crushed, she had been mortally injured._

 _As Hikari and Saiko tried to help Mahiru up, Ignatia hurried over and grabbed Blake and lifted him up. Drake and Eisei moved to Fiora, getting her up and pulling her to the side. Kiibo moved over, getting Mahiru's shoulders._

 _"We must hurry," Kiibo said. "I believe her chest has been compressed, she will suffocate if we do not get her to the medical room."_

 _Saiko and Hikari managed to get Mahiru up on her feet, just as there was a flash of dark red. A spike, the length of a yardstick, dark scarlet and dull black, was impaled through Mahiru's chest._

 _Hikari, holding her arm, felt her fall through her fingers as she fell over dead. The model stared in absolute shock, seeing the dead, lifeless look in the poor girl's eyes._

 _"N-no," she whimpered._

 _"Oh dear God," Saiko cried out._

 _" **This is your last warning.** "_

 _The cold, cruel, echoing voice of the Queen was right behind her. She turned around, shivering, to see those wicked eyes staring into hers. " **If you do not give me what I want…** "_

 _There was a battlecry, as Shuichi came sprinting up and slugged the Queen in the face. She turned her chin, then rounded on Shuichi. The detective flinched, and shouted, "Himiko, get Kaito and Kokichi! Hur-"_

 _The Queen seized Shuichi by the throat. Squeezing, choking the young man, she spat out, " **I don't need more of this talent.** "_

 _There was a blossom of blood from Shuichi's neck, and his head rolled off of the top of her hand. His body slumped down as well, and then she turned back to Hikari._

 _"You… you evil," Hikari stammered, shaking but standing her ground, "you awful, evil, vile-"_

 _The Queen reached up and grabbed Hikari's neck. She glanced to the side, noticing that the others were now approaching, but froze when she had the model in her hand. " **Now her talent, I would normally take,** " the Queen said, " **but I am still a woman of my word. If you wish for me to not rip this fair gem's heart out, or tear her limbs off one at a time like a flower's pedals, please give me what I want.** "_

 _Saiko, the closest but still feeling utterly powerless, stared up at the Queen as she tried to find the right words or actions for this scenario._

 _"Wh-what do you want?" Drake shouted._

 _"Yeah, brah," Fiora slurred, pointing unsteadily at the Queen. "Ya wanna leave this place? You want Ultimate Talent? Do you… do you need a hug?"_

 _"Please," Kiibo implored, folding his hands together. He glanced down at Shuichi's body, winced, and turned his eyes back to the Queen. "Don't hurt any more of my friends. Tell us what you want."_

 _" **Glad to know I don't have to impale you all. Very well, what I want is…** "_

 _The Queen was cut off when she heard the sound of engines in the distance, though they weren't far away for long. Two mechs landed down in the plaza, both of them the size of the same mechs the Kubs drove when they executed Jin Nahm._

 _These mechs had a gatling gun for one arm, and a large fist for the other. One of the mechs pointed its machine gun arm at the Queen._

 _"Let go of her," a male voice from inside the cockpit said, "you bitch!"_

 _"Neheeheehee! Now now, Kaito," another male voice inside the other one giggled, "that's not how you talk to a lady!"_

 _The second mech flexed his arms, making his fist come rather close to swatting Eisei, and his machine gun lazily pointed in Anzu's direction. The first mech had its machine gun on the Queen, who still clutched Hikari's neck._

 _The Queen stared at the first mech, then glanced over at the second. Her eyes settled on that one for a few seconds, then widened in what appeared to be shock. She released Hikari, who quickly hurried away from her along with Saiko._

 _" **Kaito Momota,** " the shade of death and blood said, a smirk spreading across her face, " **are you aware of your partner's true intentions?** "_

 _"You asking me to predict Kokichi? No one can guess what this lovable little shit has intended," Kaito responded back, his voice echoing slightly due to his mech's mic. "But why doo'nt you leave, if you doo'nt wish to be a smear on the ground?"_

 _Hikari froze up, and turned around. "Wh-what? That accent…"_

 _The Queen snarled, and raised her hand towards the mech. " **How about I kill you instead?!** "_

 _A spike fired from her palm, and impaled through the cockpit's visor. The mech stumbled backwards, and the second one pointed its gun at the Queen._

 _"Hey now, that wasn't very nice," Kokichi said, as his mech's gatling gun spooled, "but then again, neither is this!"_

 _He let loose a swarm of bullets, the sound deafening around the plaza. The Queen held up her other hand, and a large shield of the same color and material of her spikes formed in front of her. The bullets ricocheted off of it, and she frowned in distaste._

 _" **Nothing can stop the overwhelming nature of Chaos,** " the Queen scolded. " **You really should know better, Kokichi Oma!** "_

 _"I'm sorry, I cannot hear you," Kokichi shouted, "over the sound of my machine gun destroying your shield."_

 _" **THERE IS NO GETTING THROUGH CHAOS, YOU LITTLE SHIT!** "_

 _Hikari, staring at the impaled mech, could see the pilot inside. Kaito's head was right next to the spike, having dodged that fatal stab with a turn of his neck. He snarled as he pointed the machine gun arm at the Queen, and spooled it to prepare for fire!_

 _The Queen raised her other hand, and another shield formed in front of her. Bullets sprayed with incredible noise and force, but her shields held firm. Hikari watched it happen, and then something clicked in her head._

 _Moving over to Mahiru's body, she yanked the large spike from her chest as she mentally apologized over and over to the dead girl. When she took it out, she lined up the spike at the Queen's back._

 _A couple green hands coiled around the spike, and she saw Kiibo standing on the other side. The two nodded, pulled back, and then swung forward together. With an intense cracking noise, the spike stabbed through the Queen's back, impaling her all the way through._

 _There was a shriek, enough to make the ground shake and the buildings tremble. Everyone was knocked backwards, covering their ears. The mechs stopped their fire, though the reverberations of the scream made everything feel like chaotic noise._

 _As the Queen slumped to her knees, the shade around her started to fall off of her body. She struggled to stand, her eyes wide in terror as she frantically tried to pull herself together. It was too late, she was bleeding and rotting at an alarming rate._

 _Before she fell apart completely, her eyes were exposed, then her face. One of the graduates saw it, if only for a few seconds, but they recognized that face._

 _And it chilled them to their very core, freezing them and making their heart lock up in terror._

 _The Queen slumped forward, and turned into nothing more than a human-shaped corpse of shade. The fragments writhed helplessly around on the plaza floor, as if trying to find a new master or mistress to cling to._

 _Hikari stood up, and scanned the area. Almost everyone was standing in place, afraid to even move. Kiibo was also up, inspecting what he had helped do. He turned towards her, and asked, "Angie? Are you okay?"_

 _"I… I…"_

 _"Hikari!"_

 _The cockpit to the first mech struggled to open, the spike getting in the way. Kaito yanked it out, opened the broken part of the vehicle, and then jumped out. "Hikari! We gotta get the hell 'oot of here, eh!"_

 _"H-huh?" Hikari stammered as she stared at Kaito. "Wait, are you-"_

 _Another scream of agony and rage echoed around the plaza, and Hikari almost fell over. Her head whipped around, trying to find out where it was coming from, when a pair of strong arms seized her in a hug._

 _"Come on," Kimiko, with Kaito's voice and body, said as she held onto Hikari in Angie's body. "I'll explain later when we're back in too'n, eh!"_

 _Hikari clutched ahold of Kimiko, and there was a brilliant flash of light that overwhelmed her senses…_

* * *

The acute rush of adrenaline made Kimiko flinch as her eyes snapped open. She was lying on a bed, arms around Hikari's body. The steampunk model also jumped as she woke up, sitting up suddenly.

"What do you mean, you'll… Kimiko!"

Kimiko stared up at her, then let go of her and sat up. Hikari opened her mouth to speak, then realized her bathing suit was disintegrating, both of them. Panicking, she threw herself off of the bed, landing out of sight at the side.

"Don't look at me naked," she shouted.

Kimiko walked into the bathroom, pulled out a bathrobe, and tossed it towards her without looking. Hikari stood up after putting it on, clearing her throat. "Okay, can you explain… anything that just happened?"

"I remembered how Anzu holding onto the microphone that sent me into the vision did the same fur her, so I did the same with you, eh," the biker gang leader said. "I was in the vision, as Kaito, fur some time befur you showed up.

"It was rather peaceful, though Kokichi seemed to knoo' something was wrong. It was like Teruteru, but he gave no acknowledgement to anything, he joo'st kept marching to the beat of his own drum."

"Kokichi Oma didn't die during the Hope's Peak Killing Game, how could he know anything else? It could just be that the Killing Game Realm was playing games with our heads, like usual."

"Well, I doo'nt have all the answers, joo'st what I saw and did. But I have to ask you, did everyone make it 'oot okay?"

"Y-yes," Hikari stammered, thinking back to the deaths of Aoi, Chiaki, and especially Mahiru came to mind. "Everyone from our group made it out alive, though we should check in the morning. What time is it?"

The model started to move towards her desk where she put her cell phone down, and then realized that her skin was normal again. She stared at herself, then grabbed her phone.

"11:36 AM?!" she shouted incredulously. "Wait, we were asleep all that time?"

"Huh? Wait, really?" Kimiko stammered, as she checked her phone too. "How's that possible? I wasn't in the vision fur hours! Wait… we were both unconscious fur hours?"

Before either of them could expand on their theories or confusion, they could hear someone coming up the stairs. The echoing sounds of footfalls reminded them of the Queen, and both froze up for a moment.

"Hello?" came the familiar voice of Ishiku. "Is anyone there?"

Kimiko moved towards the door, and stepped out into the hallway. Ishiku hurried on over to her, saying, "Kimiko, you gotta get out of the hotel now! It's almost noon, and there's a lot to go over."

"Ishiku, we have a lot to talk a'boot fur sure, but please, give us a minute. You woo'dent believe what we've bin through."

"I've learned about a hidden rule that's been used without our knowledge, there was an executioner chasing me and Fannie last night like Pyramid Head, and I haven't slept a single wink. What's going on with you?"

Before Kimiko could respond, Hikari leaned out of the bedroom, waving at Ishiku. "Ishiku, darling, give me a minute to get dressed, then we can talk. Don't worry, it's just Kimiko and myself here."

"Are you sure?"

The two ladies were a little stunned by this. "What on Earth do you mean by that, darling?"

"Let's just say that some people wound up in places they didn't think they could be…"

* * *

 **Day 16, 11:47 AM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Near the "Shy" Monokuma Statue, Center Area**

"I told you not to touch 'em, you dumb fucker!"

"You don't get to tell me what I can and cannot do, you little shit! Now move out of the way!"

"My rifle says otherwise, bitch!"

Hikari, Kimiko, and Ishiku were walking to the center area of the plaza to see a bizarre confrontation between Anzu and Monokid. Monocrow was perched on the statue of Monokuma, watching everything going on. Whatever the two were arguing about, it had to do with something at the base of the statue.

A great deal of their group were gathered up nearby, watching with concern: Crystal, Pyrrha, Yitro, Drake, Ignatia, Fiora, Ken, Shuuya, Futaba, and Monodam. Deciding to be a leader of sorts, Hikari stepped forward and loudly cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, Anzu-darling," she said, approaching her, "but what is going on?"

The adult actress noticed her, then pointed down at the base of the statue. On the ground was a collection of dark clothing that included a thick cloak with a hood, a morph mask, and a rather realistic two-handed axe with a head as wide as someone's torso.

"… Good heavens above and sea horses below," Ishiku shouted when he saw the axe. "That's… the same stuff that the executioner who chased Fannie and I last night was wearing!"

"And you ain't allowed to touch it," Monokid shouted, pointing his rifle at Ishiku next. "You ain't allowed to touch this unless you have specific permission."

"Who has that specific permission?" Hikari asked.

A devious chuckle came from the blue bear cub. "Who do you think, sweet cheeks?"

The graduates exchanged glances, and Crystal sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Great, we have either a madman or a traitor amongst us, and only they can pick up their disguise and weapon?"

"Where did they even come from?" Anzu asked. "I mean, what is going on with all of this? No one had this battle-ax, it had to come from this town!"

"Anzu, I know you have a lot of questions, as do most of us," Ken spoke up, "but we have precocious time."

"It's 'precious little time,' darling," Hikari corrected her friend. "And you're right, this can be resolved later, once we get everyone here."

"That's going to be difficult," Futaba remarked, crossing her arms. "You see, while most of us were in that Killing Game Realm-"

"Wait, what?" Ishiku tried to interrupt, but the anthropologist continued without stopping.

"We all were unconscious until approximately 11:30 AM. Apparently, a lot of curious things happened while we were out of it."

She glanced over at Crystal and Pyrrha, who both nervously glanced to the side as if ashamed. Hikari glanced at them, and grinned mischievously.

"What did you get up to, ladies?" she asked.

"Nothing," Crystal said quickly, "but apparently, we either fell asleep during our shift and don't remember it, or we're both really bad at staying on look-out."

"What are you talking about?"

Pyrrha sighed, and remarked, "Isaac is in the maintenance room of the arcade."

"What?!" Kimiko shouted. "But how is that possible?!"

"We have no idea! We honestly don't know what happened, Crystal and I were looking after our three unconscious friends behind the stage all night, and somehow, he managed to come into the arcade, get into the locked employee's room, and now he cannot get out!"

The group exchanged highly befuddled glances amongst them, and then Shuuya spoke up for them. "He was calling out for help when we woke up. None of us know how this is possible, it just is."

"So Isaac got into a locked room and now he cannot get out," Hikari summarized. "What else do we need to know about?"

"I… I cannot find Odelios," Ishiku admitted. "I went to the asylum first, I got everyone out of there because I know how many people are there. But I have no idea of knowing where my friend is."

"He came to the arcade next," Futaba said. "That was when we heard Isaac. Next, he went to check the fortune teller tent and the hotel, correct?"  
"Yes. No one's in the tent, but Kimiko and Hikari are the only ones in the hotel."

Hikari swallowed nervously. "But what about everyone with Isaac, who had to spend the night outside? Hara, Saiko, Eisei, Souma, and Blake, where are they?"

"No idea, for now," Shuuya said. "We'll go look for them now, if you want?"

"So long as we're all on the same page," Fiora remarked, rubbing her head as she spoke. "Urgh, stupid headache, it hasn't left since I banged my noggin in the Killing Game Realm!"

"Again, what?" Ishiku asked. "What do you mean by tha-"

"ISHI!"

Everyone turned to see a figure walking through the mist, towards the main plaza. It was Fannie, walking very slowly due to the fact that she was carrying Blaze in her arms. The pyro was almost limp in her arms, as blood dripped from his leg.

"There's something really horrible I have to tell you," Fannie shouted, struggling to hold up Blake as she moved towards them. Yitro moved in to take the guy off of her hands, as the others asked:

"Oh my God, is that blood coming from his leg?!" Kimiko shouted. "Is he bleeding?"

"Wait, is that bastard's leg broken?" Anzu hollered. "Just… just like it was in the Killing Game Realm?"

"Wait, was it that or the nightmares?" Shuuya asked.

"Fannie, did you carry him all the way here?" Ishiku inquired, comfortingly holding her shoulders.

"Y-yes, he apparently fell from the second floor to the first floor, and his leg is very badly injured. I had to leave your staff there for a little bit, sorry. But that's not the worst part!"

"What's the worst part?"

Fannie whined, quite upset, and crossed her arms over her chest. "He kept grabbing my boobs the whole way here when I was trying to help him!"

Slurred chucking came from Blake, and he waved over at her. "Yolo, babe! After the shit I saw in that dream, and how I'mma gonna bleed to death, I wanted to feel those puppies once!"

Ishiku's eye twitched, and he unsheathed Peko's sword. "I AM GOING TO AMPUTATE THAT LEG FOR YOU, BAD SIR!"

"Now now now," Yitro said, turning to put himself between Blake and a nobly outraged Ishiku, "let's punish him after we make sure he doesn't die."

Blake groaned in pain, then laughed in spite of it all, still slurring his words through the agony. "Mate, we need a team of surgeons to get me patched up in time; damn bone is broken really, really, really bad.

"Saw someone in prison get a leg as fucked up as this. Bastard died of infection even when they set it right."

Yitro glanced around the group nervously, as they were studying Blake's leg. They couldn't see it because of his pant leg, which was soaked in blood; though some of them remembered seeing the broken bone jutting out through the tore leg in the Killing Game Realm.

"Wh-what can we do?" Drake asked. "We cannot just let him die!"

Ignatia motioned to him, and showed a message for a solution, [The only way to save him would be for someone to leave Penjar to get him to a hospital. We have no medical team or equipment, he cannot stay here.]

After Drake read this out loud, Shuuya nodded in agreement. "She's right, someone has to leave town at this point. But who to do that?"

As the group discussed this, seeing who would be willing to leave Penjar, Anzu glanced around in desperation. Monokid stood near the executioner's gear, Monodam watched everyone silently, and Monocrow was doing like the green cub from atop the statue.

"Monocrow," she called up to the bird, "is there anything, anything at all we can do to fix Blake here?"

" **I'm glad you asked me, Anzu. As it turns out, there is a room filled with equipment that can patch up your friend, and get him walking by tomorrow!** "

Everyone was quite surprised by this. Drake approached Monodam, and asked, "Is he telling the truth?"  
"I-CANNOT-CONFIRM-IT-MYSELF-BUT-I-CAN-CONFIRM-MONOCROW'S-WORDS."

"There is a room in the asylum that has highly advanced medical equipment," Monocrow continued, "but it has… restrictions. I wonder who of you will be able to get into there and activate it, but if you do, it'll patch him right up."

Yitro sighed ruefully, and remarked, "Okay, I got him now, I'm going to carry him there unless anyone has any objections?"

"How about me?" Blake murmured. "Can't someone with big tits help me out again?"

"How about we throw him out of Penjar," Ishiku growled, "and let him drag himself to another hospital himself?"

"Ishi, it's okay, honey," Fannie remarked, smiling at him. "What we need to do now is find all of our plans and get today settled."

" **What a delightful idea from my former favorite daughter!** "

Monokuma popped up behind Fannie, making her scream and leap into the air. Ishiku caught her, but it knocked them over and sent them crashing to the floor.

"You have a lot to answer for, Monokuma," Shuuya snapped at the bear.

"What's with the sleeping gas treatment?!" Fiora shouted. "That's cheating, eh!"

"Not to mention sending so many of us into that Killing Game Realm," Futaba remarked, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes. "You want to explain to us what the deal with that was?"

" **Yes yes, you don't like my house rules, but too bad when it's my house!** " Monokuma said with a cackle. " **Still, thought I should give you the lowdown on how they're going to expand, since you all insist on bending and cheating your way out of the rules!** "

"We are not cheating, you despair avatar," Ken shouted, clenching his fists tightly. "You are the one twisting the rules with your sleeping gas and demented mind games!"

" **Upupupupu! Ahahaha! Oh, you poor Ultimate graduates, you cannot keep up with a small town's laws? You might want to consider how long you want to be tourists here if you cannot cut footloose! However, I'm going to be generous here…**

" **If you are not in one of the buildings by 1 PM, you are not allowed into one at all! Also, the sleeping gas will kick in earlier tonight, so as to stop more of this trickery you are all employing against Penjar's rules!** "

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "And to think that you were going on a'boot how we coo'd solve all the mysteries of Penjar, but then you go and make it even moo'r difficult!"

" **Hey toots, I took the truth serum out of the mist for you all for tonight! I'm a generous bear!** "

"Oh please, you foul, odious bear," Ken snarled, "you did that so whoever wears that sinister cloak and carries the wicked axe wouldn't reveal it was them!"

" **Did I? Did I _really_? Maybe it was that I didn't want you going off some place else when you're supposed to be visiting our town?**"

"Wait, hold up," Yitro declared, "you're telling me you're fully aware of that alternate realm?"

" **Of course I know, I know every inch of my beloved town, even if it is in an alternate realm or reality! I cannot have you seeing the truth in your dreams! I-mmmph!** "

Monokuma slapped his paws over his mouth, as if to shut himself up from spilling too much. Ishiku sighed and rolled his eyes, and spoke up.

"Okay, enough cryptic hints about that nonsense! What about the fact," he pressed, "that Monocrow can steal a building's advantage from someone and give it to another person?"

"Hang on, what?!" Hikari exclaimed, holding her hand over her open mouth. "What's this, Ishiku?"

"Monocrow told Fannie and I that if he gets total privacy with someone, he'll steal someone's advantage and give it to someone else! And someone's done it, too! Who did this, how could they know about this?"

" **Oh, I really don't know about that. I'm not a birdbrain, unlike him! Upupupupu!** "

Monokid was obnoxiously laughing, Monodam was silent as ever, and Monocrow watched from above still. The bird eventually said, " **I feel that you all need to focus on what you're going to do today, if you don't wish to be locked out of the buildings. Monokuma's powers put all of your lives at risk.** "

"Okay, people," Crystal spoke up, "we need to get moving. It's noon now, we have one hour to get into whatever building we want for tonight."

"Do we have any idea what advantages they have yet?" Futaba inquired.

"No, or at least none we've discovered, but we're going to have a few people willing to enter the asylum and stay there for today. Yitro is carrying Blake in there, who'll go with him?"

"I've been in the arcade and the asylum," Yitro offered.

"Since I've been in the hotel and the tent," Hikari spoke up, "I'll go with you."

"I'll go with you too," Kimiko said, "just in case."

Ignatia raised her hand, and Drake was by her side at once. Anzu raised her hand, but Crystal shook her head. "No, Anzu, we need you out here right now."

"Huh? Why?"

Crystal pointed up to Monocrow. "You're the only one that bird listens to, or at least the one he listens to most. We need you to ask him for help in location the others."

" **I am aware of everyone's positions in Penjar,** " Monocrow said, chuckling to himself. " **I'll help Anzu so long as I am not needed elsewhere.** "

"I-WILL-GO-WITH-DRAKE," Monodam buzzed in, "AND-ASSIST-HIM-WITH-THE-ENDEAVOR-OF-HELPING-THIS-BASTARD."

"Aww, look at that, Blake," Futaba said, grinning at the pyrotechnician, "even the bear cub says you're a bastard."

"Fuck off, bear cub," Blake spat out.

"HAW HAW HAW! Even the bastard tells you to fuck off, Monodam!" Monokid shouted.

Ignoring the blue bear cub, the group discussed amongst themselves where each of them should go. With Monokuma giving no more answers, just laughing at them as they tried to plan for today, they all agreed to where they would be tonight.

Some of them made their way to the cafeteria, to prepare food and bring it to everyone; they were all growing incredibly hungry, and with the deadline being a little less than an hour, they had to get something in their stomachs.

Anzu was standing with a small search party as she called Monocrow down. The bird fluttered down to her arm, and asked, " **What would you like to know, Anzu?** "

"Where… where is Odelios?"

" **He is in the asylum.** "

She sighed heavily, and muttered, "So he never left there? He's stuck in there again if he wants to avoid the killer nightmares. Alright, Monocrow, please tell me where Hara is."

* * *

 **Day 16, 12:14 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Pool**

 **Game Room**

"Isaac! Saiko! Where are you?" Hara called out desperately, searching through the room. She frantically hurried onto the next room, where she almost ran into Anzu.

"Oh goodness, Hara! Careful there, you're much taller than me," the petite actress insisted.

Hara stared at her, then at the others part of her group: Crystal, Ken, Kimiko, and Hikari. She glanced among them, and the explorer talked with a very noticeable quiver in her voice.

"I cannot find Isaac, Saiko, or anyone else I was with when I fell asleep! I wasn't even in the café, I was inside of the town hall! I don't even know how that's possible, but I was looking and looking, have any of you seen them?!"

"Calm down, Hara," Crystal said, walking up to pat the woman's shoulder. "We'll find everyone with you. Though we do know where Isaac is."

"You do? Where?!"

"We'll tell you later, but right now, let's find our friends."

Anzu nodded, then turned to Monocrow. "Oh, Monocrow? Where's-"

" **It may be prudent for you to ask where Saiko is right now.** "

"Huh? Why?"

" **Because she's here, in the pool.** "

There was a moment of silence as this dawned on everyone. Hara sprinted through the building, getting to the pool and stopping short when she saw someone in the water.

…

…

…

Saiko was floating in the middle of the pool, motionless, as the water rippled around her. She almost looked like a pool toy carelessly left in, her blue hair splayed out like a cerulean paint splatter.

Hara screamed to her friend and dove into the water. She grabbed Saiko's body and pulled her out of the pool as the others came running up. The explorer laid Saiko down on the ground, and checked for breathing.

…

…

…

"GAAAAH WHAT THE HELL!"

Saiko sat upright, almost clonking her head against Hara's. She thrashed her hands around, her wet clothing sticking to her. "Where am I? What happened? Who the fuck poured water all over me?!"

She was answered by Hara hugging her with immense relief causing the taller woman to squeeze her smaller friend rather tightly. Straining to breathe, Saiko pat her shoulder to call uncle.

"You're so lucky, darling," Hikari said to Saiko after Hara released her. "The nightmares must have made you sleepwalk."

"Throwing yourself into a pool when asleep," Ken remarked, frowning and crossing his arms. "That would have been a terrible way to go."

"Yeah, luckily you were floating on your back," Kimiko said, patting Saiko's wet shoulder. "Happy to see you alive and well, Saiko."

"There is nothing 'well' with my current status," she responded, though managed a small smile. "Well then, I assume a lot of shit happened?"

"Yeah, and we have to find a couple more people," Anzu said, lifting up her bird buddy. "Lead the way, Monocrow?"

" **Certainly. Now, as for Souma…** "

* * *

 **Day 16, 12:35 PM**

 **Penjar's Public Cafeteria**

 **Kitchen**

"So apparently, in my unconscious state, despite being in a vision instead of the nightmares that Monokuma was trying to inflict on us, I was playing dress-up. That's why I look like this."

Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle. Souma, the quite serious public speaker and prominent member of the Future Foundation, was dressed like an American hippie during the 60s. With a tie-dye shirt that was like colorful vomit, shiny pants with frayed leggings, a red headband, rose-tinted glasses, and boots that were more decal than lace, he was not exactly looking himself.

"Why are you keeping the glasses on?" Fannie asked him, tilting her head to the side. "Or rather, any of it? Granted, I think it looks nice on you."

"Look, we're racing against the clock, I came here after the search party found me. They told me you are all making food, and the deadline is at one o'clock. If you have to make it in before then, I want to assist you all. How can I help?"

Ishiku, Pyrrha, Fiora, and Fannie exchanged glances at those words. "Why are you talking like you won't be joining us," Fiora asked, "in any of the designated safe spots?"  
"Because, my dear Fiora, I am determined to see what these dreams entail. I want to know what Monokuma is hiding from me, and I will risk it again, even if it kills me."

"That's so not groovy, dude," Ishiku said with a laugh.

"Yes yes, have your fun, Mr. Shyre, but I refuse to let this go. Now please, allow me to assist."

Fiora guided Souma over to a section of the kitchen, and got him to start chopping vegetables with her. As they worked, she spoke, "You knoo', if you really want to experience those dreams, you coo'd always go into the psychic tent. That's one of them, but it doesn't have protection."

"Aha, a fine idea, Miss Stetson! But I must confess, I feel a touch unsteady sleeping in a vulnerable place. There is at least a lock on my small house away from home."

"Well, I'll join you! I want to see if there's something special a'boot that place."

"That sounds like a plan!"

"You might fit in with the decor there, hippie! Heeheehee!"

"If I had known I would be the butt of these jokes, I would have taken the time to change instead…"

* * *

 **Day 16, 12:54 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **The Bears' Motel**

Eisei shook his head as he sat down on the side of the bed. He stared down at his feet, which had so much blood on them from the scratches of walking across rubble. Hissing in air as he felt a healing salve be applied to them, he clenched his teeth on his current lollipop stick and fell back on the bed.

"Why did this happen?" he asked, gripping his hair as he tried to fight crying out from the pain. "Why would I take off my shoes when sleep-walking? This makes no logical sense!"

"Neither does whatever vision you were talking about earlier," Saiko remarked, rubbing the salve onto Eisei's feet. "At least I don't have to worry about you making dumb jokes about a foot fetish while I do this, knew there had to be a reason I'm in a relationship with you now."

"I'm curious as to what you mean by that comment, but I think we should focus on the more serious matters at hand."

Eisei stared up at the ceiling, rolling his lollipop around in his mouth. "To recapture the course of last night, we all fell asleep because Monokuma gassed us; presumably, this was to stop us from staying up all night."

"Bastard really is thinking of everything," Saiko remarked. "And then we were all sent to this Killing Game Realm as a result. Goddamnit…

"I saw something awful in there, Eisei. I… I don't want to talk about it, it makes me like shit even thinking about it. But maybe later tonight, I will."

"You can trust me whenever you feel like it. You seem to be cursing a great deal more too."

"I've got good Goddamn right to, but hey, don't worry about that. So yeah, I woke up in the pool, you woke up when they found you walking over the lab's ruins."

"And we picked the hotel so that you'd have a shower for your soggy state, as well as a good place to sleep. I can prepare food for you in the kitchen."

"I love you, Eisei."

"Now come on, I believe our relationship is a little too early to be saying that-"

Saiko pulled herself up and onto him, kissing him sweetly. "You have no idea how deep my love for those who provide me good food is, Eisei. Once we get you a pair of slippers, we'll get us some food~!"

"Sounds like a good continuation of a plan."

Saiko nodded, then rolled onto her back on the bed. The forensic investigator stared up at the ceiling, and started to think back on the day. "Is it… is it wrong that I agreed to Hara's request, about me staying here?"

"She was correct in her statement that you need to have a good night sleep over everything else. There is nothing you can do for the puzzle and predicament Isaac is in."

"Heh, we've been glued at the hip since we got here, I almost feel like they're helpless without me. I mean, we had our own lives after Hope's Peak, and they're the closest friends I got…

"But maybe it's best for them to have a little time together, even if they gotta talk through a closed door."

Saiko and Eisei spoke for a few more minutes, then the dentist requested some water, as he was feeling rather dehydrated due to the pain. The forensic investigator obliged, adjusting her bathrobe before heading out into the hallway of the motel's second floor hallway.

As she walked towards the stairs, she heard the creaks and bumps echoing throughout the area. Still unnerved by them, as this creepy place wasn't much to her liking, she headed on down to the kitchen. The other guests for the motel were already there, having some drinks and a conversation.

Ken turned his face, blushing slightly when he saw how immodest Saiko was. Futaba couldn't help but stare a little, aiming for a peek, though Shuuya subtly stopped her.

"How is Eisei?" Ken inquired as he sipped his water.

"He's fine, just recovering from how roughed up his feet were. Thanks again for carrying him, handsome."

"It was no problemo."

Saiko chuckled and shook her head, then poured a glass full of water. As she did so, she casually asked the trio, "So why'd you all pick this place?"

"Last safe place to try out," Futaba admitted. "And I'm kind of going where this handsome man goes."

She flicked at Shuuya's chest, and he cleared his throat as he said, "Yes, well, I haven't been here yet either. Plus, I would much rather sleep on a bed tonight, my back still hurts from that stage we slept on."

"Better than the floor of a dark room in an asylum," Ken remarked, shaking his head. "Anyway, I am just hoping to no longer have visions or nightmares, or creepy robots making noises in the middle of the night."

Saiko nodded, then started to head back upstairs. "Here's hoping it works out as planned, though that's never really been the track this train has been on, now has it?"

* * *

 **Day 16, 1:01 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

"TURN OFF THIS TRACK!" Fannie screamed in utter annoyance. "I'm so sick of this song! I hate it! I hate it SO DAMN MUCH!"

The song blaring from the overhead speaker, and from speakers inside of all of the Monokub animatronics onstage, was repeating itself once again. Ishiku was rather surprised at Fannie's outburst, despite being rather sick of hearing about a once-powerful nation and being on the threshold of something.

It was also concerning how quick she was ready to use Peko's sword on the animatronics. Ishiku had to beg her not to try such a thing, as he held onto her and his emerald staff tightly.

Hara, in front of the locked maintenance room that was down the short hallway, knocked on the door. "Honey? Can you try and find that button you pressed to turn on the music? It's really unnerving poor Fannie."

"I'm trying, I'm trying! Damn it, there's so many of them, and none of them are labeled!"

Isaac's faint response through the door could still be heard by Hara, who stuck close to it. She glanced out at the cafeteria, where the other three people in the arcade currently were.

Fannie was howling in disgust, hands over her ears as the music track played yet again. Ishiku was trying to comfort her, but it wasn't easy with how much she hated this tune. Anzu was worriedly watching the animatronics, as they were all moving quite a lot.

"I really don't like how fast these things are moving," the actress admitted, calling out to Hara. "Those stupid blood-stained instruments of theirs look ready to break."

"Of all the buttons he had to push," Ishiku said, "he had to turn them all on and also play the annoying music."

"MAKE IT STAAAAAWP!"

"He's trying, Fannie honey."

"TRY FASTER!"

From inside the maintenance room, Isaac called out, "Gosh dang, I can hear her from here! Tell her I'm doing my best, darn it!"

"We all know you are, sweetie. Please, just try and think hard. Don't worry, I'm right here."

"Thank you, Hara, but I'm not getting cabin fever just yet."

As Fannie wailed about the stupid track mentioning showtime over and over, Anzu moved over to Hara. "So no idea how he managed to get himself in there?"

"None. He woke up in there, and he says it's all monitors and buttons, like some weird set-up for a security guard's room. Luckily, there's a bathroom, but no food, and no way to give him some of ours."

Anzu sighed, and shook her head. "Once we get all this noise cancelled out, we should tell him about that vision we had. I'm sure he'll want to hear about that."

"How are you doing, by the way?"

"It wasn't my first rodeo in the Killing Game Realm. Though I think that Queen took a few years off of my life due to the fright she gave me."

"Goodness, she almost killed you?"

"Oh, um," Anzu scratched the back of her head, before pulling on one of her blue bangs, "you see, I thought at one point she was coming after me; however, I realized I was wrong."

Hara stared at her, and asked, "Why did you think that, may I ask?"

"I, um, I felt really guilty about something bad I did last night before I fell unconscious, so I kind of felt like the Queen was coming to enact punishment on me. I'll tell you about that later, but I know it couldn't have been me the Queen was after. Why would a power-hungry bitch want a porn star?"

She chuckled, though nervous and not very convincingly. Hara's shy nature could see this, and she rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You can talk to us, Anzu. We're here to help each other."

"I'm serious, I'm certain she wasn't after me! I think she was after Hikari, since she was the only one of us who was in someone else's body. Maybe there was something about Angie that she wanted?"

Hara shook her head, and said, "All these questions and theories, I really hope we can get Isaac out of there soon."

"STOP THE STUPID COUNTING, WHY DOES THIS SONG HAVE TO REPEAT THE DAMN COUNTING?!"

"… Or at the least, he can turn off the music before poor Fannie has an aneurysm."

A voice called out through the maintenance room door, "I'm _trying_ , Hara-honey!"

* * *

 **Day 16, 1:01 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

On the first floor of the asylum was a hallway that was darker and more dreary than any other part of the sinister building. The rooms throughout the hallway were full of outdated medical practices and the tools involved, some of them like horrendous torture chambers.

At the end were double doors that had been locked tight when people who had been in the asylum had previously tried them. This time, when Monodam led Yitro, who carried the critically injured Blake, down the hallway, the bear cub shoved open those doors with no problem.

The room was pristine, well-lit, and had an adjustable chair/bed in the center. There were numerous machines around it, mostly mechanical arms that had various medical tools at the end. A couple of these arms appeared to be laser pointers, though far more intricate than a simple guidance tool.

When Yitro had made his way into this room, carrying Blake, Monodam informed everyone else that only those with the correct qualifications could come in, or whoever was their "patient."

Crystal moved into the room out of curiosity, though didn't want to stay long. Pyrrha came in for a moment, then scurried out when she said how this room freaked her out the most. Drake and Ignatia tried to enter, but Monodam insisted that they had no authority to enter; the same was told to both Hikari and Kimiko.

Yitro had placed Blake on that patient chair, and turned towards Monodam for further instruction. The swordsman was guided to an electronic palm reader, next to a touchscreen placed on the wall. When Yitro tried one of his hands on the palm reader, it beeped in confirmation. The touchscreen lit up next to it…

[CONFIRMATION. USER: YITRO STANA.]

[DO YOU WISH TO EXPEND YOUR ONE-TIME USAGE OF THE ENOSHIMA FIX-ALL TREATMENT?]

[YES] [NO]

Yitro stared at the touchscreen, glanced over at Blake, and then sighed. "One-time usage for this bastard… very well."

He touched the [YES], and the screen lit up with a grinning Monokuma face, one with him wearing a stethoscope. The sound of machinery powering up made the room shake slightly, then the mechanical limbs around the patient chair started to move.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Blake shouted. A laser scanner swept his body, focusing on his bloody leg. "What is this fucking thing gonna do to me? I don't like this!"

"BE-CALM-YOU-BASTARD," Monodam instructed.

"Like hell I'm going to be calm when there's fucking machines ready to probe my asshole! Get me out of here!"

As Blake tried to pull himself out of the chair, a digital, female voice could be heard from a speaker on one of the machines. "Patient must remove all garments covering the wound."

"I ain't removing shit! You want me to take my pants off when this alien device is gonna stick a probe up my butt? Fuck that!"

Yitro growled in frustration. "Monodam, is there anything here we can use to subdue him?"

"TO-USE-THE-MACHINE-TO-ITS-FULL-POTENTIAL-WOULD-REQUIRE-SOMEONE-WITH-MEDICAL-TRAINING."

"So I cannot activate anesthetic unless I have the training, even though I used my one chance with this miracle machine?"

"TO-BE-BLUNT, YES."

"Damn, Saiko would be the only one qualified for that. Blake, could you please just let this thing do what it needs to, in order to save your Goddamn life?!"

"Like fuck you're gonna take off my pants so this fucking thing can probe my ass! I'd rather bleed to death right here and now! Get me out of here, Yitro!"

" **Is our patient not behaving himself?** "

Monocrow, who had flown into the room at some point that Yitro had missed, perched himself on one of the machine arms. He chuckled, and added, " **Shame, your friends did so much to ensure that you can make it through this alive, and you're about to spit in their faces? Not very good of you, sir.** "

"Fuck off, crow," was Blake's response.

Monocrow turned towards Yitro, eyeing the swordsman and extending a wing as if to gesture vaguely. " **I sensed you were in trouble, so I came over here. Now we don't want Blake to perish, so I thought I could give my assistance.** "

"How's that, Monocrow?" Yitro asked suspiciously.

" **Monodam, my boy, could you help out our patient for the sake of getting along?** "

"THAT-SOUNDS-REASONABLE. THANK-YOU, BETTER-BEING-THAN-FATHER."

Monodam jumped up onto the patient chair, and approached Blake. The pyro glared at him, until the green cub slapped him across the face.

"OW! What the fu-"

 _Slap_. "TAKE-OFF-YOUR-PANTS." _Slap_. "IT-IS-FOR-YOUR-OWN-GOOD." _Slap_. "YOUR-BODY-REQUIRES-PRECISE…" _Slap_. "HUMANE…" _Slap._ "CARE."

As Monodam slapped Blake around until the pyro shouted he would comply, Yitro watched with a large grin on his face. Monocrow also chuckled, and said to the swordsman, " **You can go check on your other friends, Yitro. We have this.** "

"Thanks, bird and bear. Heh, never thought I'd say that."

Yitro left this pristine medical room as the machines started up, since Blake had finally removed his pants. The sight of his bone protruding from his leg was horrific, so ghastly that even Yitro didn't want to stick around to see how the operation would go.

Out in one of the hallways of the asylum were Drake and Ignatia, having a conversation, though the cartoonist appeared a little upset to Yitro. Approaching them, he could hear Drake's almost desperate pleading.

"Why are you always so willing to leave?" he asked her. "Please, Ignatia, could you tell me that?"

Ignatia shook her head, then noticed Yitro near them. She typed on her cellphone, then showcased the message to the swordsman, [Drake's unhappy because I was going to volunteer to take Blake out of Penjar when that was the plan.]

"Really now? Why you, of all people?" Yitro inquired. "You seem to have someone who wants you to stay, Ignatia, maybe you have a purpose here."

The mime gal shook her head again, harder this time, and walked off. Drake moved to follow after, but Yitro stopped him. "You should let her have a little time alone. She's obviously got something going on, and prying won't help."

"I just wish she felt she could open up to me," Drake lamented. "I want to help her so bad, but she has these walls that she keeps up at all times, and doesn't want to let me in."

"Don't worry, one day, I'm sure you will."

Ignatia moved down the hallway, passing by one of the rooms and missing that others were in there. What was once an employee break room was now a gathering spot for several of the graduates, specifically a group of the women wanting a moment to themselves.

Hikari, Crystal, Kimiko, and Pyrrha were all sipping water while trying to think of a conversation to have. After everything they had been through, it was hard to think of where to start.

Eventually, Kimiko spoke up, running her finger around the rim of her glass. "So, um… y'all wanna knoo' how big Kaito Momota's dick is?"

When the three women stared at her, with something other than keenness in their eyes, the biker gang leader laughed. "Oh come on, I had to think of something to start a conversation with!"

"That's not exactly something we should discuss," Hikari said, shaking her head.

"Oh, I don't know," Pyrrha said with a sly smile. "There's something terribly romantic about astronauts. It's a very under-appreciated genre and profession, one that involves such bravery and skill!"

"We're not having this conversation," Crystal said rather sternly. "I'm sorry, but I'd rather try to focus on getting through the night. I've been seeing things in the shadows since I got here, I swear…"

"Yes, this place is awful, I cannot believe I agreed to stay here," Hikari admitted, swallowing down her water nervously. "But Kimiko and I promised Ishiku…"

The military adviser raised an eyebrow at her. "And what would that be?"

"Odelios is somewhere in here, but he and Fannie are in the arcade tonight since it's the last safe spot they haven't tried. He asked the two of us to find him, and see why he's staying hidden."

"Oh no," Pyrrha exclaimed. "That's right, how could we forget? Crystal, we have to look for him too!"

Crystal sighed, shaking her head. "More distractions… you're all lucky I rather like that clown. Very well, I'll assist you. It shouldn't be too hard, because after all…"

She stood up and flipped her blonde hair back, adding with a grin, "It'll be like looking for a madman in an asylum."

"That's the spirit," Pyrrha said. "Come on, you and I can look together! We'll find him first!"

After saying good-bye for now, the two left Kimiko and Hikari to themselves. The two ladies stared at each other for a minute, before the biker gang leader said, "We should probably look for him too. It's that or sitting around in an asylum."

"You honestly want to go walking around all the floors of an asylum?"

Kimiko chuckled, standing up and cracking her knuckles. "I knoo' I've bin a bit emotional during my time in this too'n, but I'm still a daredevil biker bitch. Let's go exploring, shall we?"

"While we have time, darling."

* * *

 **Day 16, 1:03 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Third Eye Psychic's Tent**

Fiora giggled excitedly, setting up the projector that had been used for the opening and closing ceremony. All of her experience with movies and projection allowed her to use her phone as a source for material.

Souma, who was slightly unnerved with the tent's bizarre objects, watched her set up the projector on the psychic's table, and then the light from it showcased the opening credits for a movie.

"Yay! I made it work," Fiora cheered. "Now we can watch my movies!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Souma stammered, glancing nervously at her.

"Oh, I have all of my work on my phone, it's specially made so I can watch them and better myself! I haven't had a chance to show anyone here my movies yet, and I thought you'd like to do so. I'd love to knoo' what you think, Souma."

Clapping excitedly, Fiora used her phone to circle through her filmography. "Which sounds best to you right now: _Siberian Tigers in a Ski Lodge, Star Clasher-Blaster Master, Dusk of the Evil Undead, Holy Crap the Eye Boogers are Back, Missionary Tribadism Compilation 3_ …"

Fiora's eyes went wide, and she giggled nervously, blushing profusely. "Oh, um, ehehe… that's not one of mine, it's, um, a private video fur me. Joo'st forget I said that, eh! Now, um, let's see…"

She moved through her filmography more. "I also have: _Gal-Axing, I Am a Teenaged Wendigo, The Soda Can, The Soda Can Recycled, The Soda Can: Energy Slam_ … that's the prequel to the first one, haha! What do you think?"

Souma stared at her, glancing outside as if he was considering making a break for it. "I think… I'm wondering if Monokuma will sleeping gas us sooner rather than later."

"Oh yeah, that'd be really bad if you fell asleep during a crucial part of a movie. We'd have to watch it a'geen!"

She went back to listing off her movies. Souma listened silently, constantly glancing at the tent entrance as he considered his options, very few of them involving watching one of her movies.

* * *

 **Day 16, 8:55 PM**

 **Western Plaza**

The hours went by, rather fast for the graduates inside of this ghost town. The mists swirled around the buildings and down the paths, still aggressive compared to its normal, drifting flow.

Inside of the asylum, almost everyone was wandering around the gloomy hallways and peering into the sinister rooms. Odelios was still nowhere to be found, and it was making them more concerned by the hour.

Yitro stayed in the medical room that had, surprisingly, fixed Blake's leg perfectly. There wasn't even a scar where the bone had broken through his muscle and skin, though the skin was bright pink as if it were brand new. The pyro was unconscious due to the anesthetic, and so the swordsman was able to read a book as he "watched" him.

The motel was active at first, with Shuuya, Futaba, and Ken exploring the building on both floors. Saiko was taking advantage that Crystal had left her Nintendo Switch in her old motel room, and thus she was teaching Eisei how to smash; she would be rather surprised at how fast he picked up on it, and how he made all the adorable characters very dangerous.

Fiora was leaning back in the beanbag chair at the psychic's table, giving director's commentary to Souma as they watched another movie. Souma was mentally praying harder than ever for Monokuma to bring the sleeping gas and bring him into the nightmare realm of torture and possible death, over this.

Inside of the arcade, Hara was sitting down, leaning against the door to the maintenance room. She smiled as she spoke, because despite not being with her lover, she still felt calm when talking to him.

"Tell me, Isaac," she said, "after this horrid town is finally behind us, will you take a vacation?"

"I feel that might be your area of expertise, finding a far-off place we can hike and have only ourselves as company," he said with a chuckle, also seated with his back to the door. He was watching the screens, which gave him a view of inside the arcade. "But you know, I think you'll still want some action."

"Isaac Bellamy, how well do you know me?"

"You live for the thrill of seeing places that very few eyes have seen, Hara. It's how I persuaded you to come with me on this."

"Heh, maybe I came because I love you, and I didn't want to be too far away from you for so long."

Isaac laughed, shaking his head in amazement over this woman who cared so much about him. He glanced up at the screens, and noticed some movement. "So it looks like Monocrow is talking to Anzu again."

"I wish she wouldn't be so affectionate over that bird. We don't know how sinister it truly is."

"She's also in the same room as Fannie, someone else we don't know we can trust."

"Yes, but Fannie is a person. Monocrow is a robot, or is it an animatronic?"

"No, I think that's what we call those machines on the stage. Why won't they stop moving? Damn it, why doesn't technology just work when we need it to?"

He glared at the monitors, which were broadcasting feed all over the arcade: at the front entrance, the main room on the left, the kitchen, the center arcade room, the cafeteria on the right side, the computer room, the stage, behind the stage, and in the small hallway that Hara was in.

He could see her, leaning up against the door to the maintenance room, from that feed. The reporter could also see the animatronics moving around on the stage, still acting like a robot band that were forever recklessly playing one song.

"At least you managed to get the entire soundtrack playing, sweetie," Hara said, glancing up at the speaker on the ceiling in the small hallway. The variety of music, fitting for a pizzeria/arcade, was still rather distracting and fairly loud. "Don't blame yourself, you did what you could."

"No one wants to stay in a room with those things jerking around. You know you can join the others, talk to them instead of sticking around this door."

"I want to be with you, Isaac. I know I sound a little clingy and needy, but after everything, I just want to be with the man I love as much as I can. Even just hearing your voice makes me feel like I can make it through this, that we can accomplish anything."

Isaac took a deep breath, and exhaled while a calm, sad smile formed on his face. "I love you so much, Hara Pathik."

"The feeling's mutual, my reporter sweetheart."

At the other side of the arcade, Anzu was carrying on her conversation with Monocrow. Fannie and Ishiku were trying to two-player Uno, because the actress was apprehensive about playing the game again.

" **Are you three going to limit yourselves to this room?** " Monocrow asked, scanning the area. " **Granted, it has a lot of the pizzeria's best functions…** "

"The kitchen, the ball pit, the jungle gym, arcade games, and more, so yeah, we'll be fine!" Anzu assured the bird. "We kind of have to, Fannie's utterly freaked out by the animatronic of her bear self. She doesn't want to be anywhere near that, or the others."

" **And Ishi?** "

There was an indignant gasp from nearby. "HEY! Only I get to call him that!"

A few Uno cards were thrown at the bird, with a Skip stuck to his face. Monocrow sighed, and muttered, " **Ever the outspoken and emotional one, that one.** "

"So you knew the cubs before we arrived?" Anzu asked.

" **Yes, I did, though they weren't cubs when I knew them. I cannot say what they were, it's a bit too complex for me to go over.** "

"Can you give us a hint?"

" **All I can say is, their personalities are the key to what they are. Over time, they developed more from their basis, and then they became the rapscallions you know, even if they are all a little off.** "

"Aren't we all." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "By the way, can't you tell us anything about the powers these buildings grant us, or however it works?"

" **No, I'm not allowed to.** "

"Well, can you give us any information on this power stealing ability you have?"

" **Not really, except that I can tell you when it will be available next.** "

Anzu blinked in shock, and then leaned forward. "Wait, 'next'? What do you mean?!"

" **My apologies, but you are allowed to make reservations, which will delay any other requests until the ones reserved happen at their designated time,** " Monocrow said, smirking as he covered his beak with one of his wingtips. " **I am afraid I didn't get to elaborate the details with Ishiku and Fannie when they were asking me, and you were all so frantically trying to get into these buildings and find everyone once you were all awake…**

" **I mean, I barely had enough time for myself, but luckily, I did get to talk to some people who were interested in working with me, with what little Monokuma left me.** "

Now Fannie and Ishiku were over by Anzu's table, rather stunned and shaken by what they were hearing. "There's more to this ability swap!?" Fannie asked.

" **If you want to know the complete details, someone can reserve the right to do the power swap with themselves and others. Someone already has made multiple requests, and I'm just SO overjoyed.**

" **After being cooped up by Monokuma for so long, this bird's going all out! Hahaha! What a joy to finally do what I was made to do! It almost feels like…** "

"Wait, calm down for a minute," Anzu balked. "Monocrow, what you just said… I'm begging you to tell me, did this person swap with… with…"

The actress bat her eyes, which were starting to roll up in her head. She flopped down on the table's seat, struggling to keep her increasingly dizzy self upright. Fannie and Ishiku moved over to help her, but she was fading fast.

"Ugh… so sleepy," she moaned. "The sleeping gas… already?"

" **Indeed it is. Sorry, Anzu,** " the bird said, spreading his wings, " **but part of the pact I made with this second person was that it was to be activated when the sleeping gas was released.** "

"Huh? What?" Fannie asked, clutching Peko's sword in its scabbard. "You mean it's going to be now?"

"Damn it, why are all these things announced at the literal last minute?" Ishiku shouted, clenching his staff. "I cannot… believe…"

The magician felt an incredible dizziness overwhelm him. He saw that Fannie was falling down next to him, but he was out of strength and consciousness within seconds. Monocrow waited a few seconds, and then flapped his wings.

Taking off through the window, the white 'n black bird soared overhead Penjar's western plaza. His gleaming red eye scanned the area, and he let out a dark laugh, then a deep sigh.

" **Good night, Penjar, and… good-bye.** "

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

…

"I won't allow this…"

"Od… io… s…"

"If I could…"

"Y… un… mah… stir?"

"… end you as well."

" **You mean you still don't know who you truly are?** "

…

" **Naw, I don't really feel like telling you now.** "

" **Hehehe… upupupu-** "

 _CRACK!_

…

…

…

…

…

…

* * *

 **Day 16, ? ?**

 **?**

There was a sudden burst of static from multiple sources, loud and sharp enough that it, noise-wise, resembled a high-powered chainsaw ripping through the screen. Isaac flinched, as the sound was enough to shake him out of his daze.

The reporter glanced around the room, then saw that the monitors in this maintenance room were all broadcasting static. As he stood up, shaking his groggy head, he muttered, "What the hell is going on? Did I pass out or something?"

Then, much to his surprise (and consternation), Monokuma appeared on all of the screens with the music of his theater playing. Though Isaac didn't really want to watch it, there was something different about it, and it started to unnerve him…

* * *

 **(Day 16 is JUST BEGINNING!)**

 **(Monokuma's Eulogy Presentation)**

* _Monokuma is plummeting down a lengthy mineshaft, holding onto a lantern as he flails helplessly._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "It's 9:30 PM, do you know where your children are? Upupu, I love using that quote, despite not really knowing where it came from. Well, I know where my children are. Two of them are dead, one of them decaying and one of them scrap metal."

* _Monokuma is now in what looks like a gigantic, underground city. You can see the 'sky' is actually solid rock, like inside of a huge cave. The city is full of Kumas who are all wearing raggedy clothing, scraps of leather, masks, goggles, and mining equipment._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "My favorite son is right now rummaging through some girl's clothing, possibly hoping to find panties! Oh the scamp, oh the little perverted rapscallion! I do love him so! My other favorite son is, well, I don't actually know what he's doing right now. Who can tell with that one?"

* _Monokuma is now running from a lot of these underground versions of himself, as they are all baring (har!) their sharp claws and sharper teeth and the sharpest of pickaxes._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "And my least favorite daughter in the whole wide world…

…

…

…

"Oh dear, that is SO much blood and viscera where she be. What _has_ she been up to? I'm sure when some of you find out, I'll get the rest of you up to investigate. Damn youths nowadays!"

"Thank you, everyone, for paying attention to this special version of Monokuma Theater. Though really…

"I just mean you, Isaac. Only you get this nice little message.

" **SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS!**

 **AHHHH HA HA HA HA HAAAA!** "

* * *

The monitors all clicked off, and the room was flooded with light from the ceiling. Isaac flinched, and then noticed that the camera feed for the arcade was back on. He scanned them, trying to figure out what was going on.

Hara was not in the small hallway leading up to the maintenance room. He scanned the other screens, and then his eyes rested on one of them.

…

…

…

 _No._

Isaac clutched at his chest, his heart skipping several beats as he almost blacked out. Before he could get a grip on himself, the screens buzzed out, all replaced with footage of Monokuma standing in front of Town Hall.

" _A body has been discovered! Please report to… oh, half of you are still asleep, aren't you? Okay, give the antidote to the sleeping gas a couple minutes to settle in, and I'll do this again. It's only fair that way, isn't it? Upupupu…_

" _ **AH AHAHAHAHAAHAHA! HAW! HAW HAW HAW!**_ "

Isaac ran away from the cameras and slammed against the door to the maintenance room. "LET ME OUT," he bellowed, crashing into the door with all of his strength again. He pounded on it, so furious and desperate that he was damaging his scarred arm, but he neither noticed or cared.

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!"

" _ **HAW HAW HAW! UPUPUPUPU! AHAHAHAHA!**_ "

"SHUT UP, YOU GODDAMN BEAR!" Isaac had tears spilling from his eyes, slamming his fists repeatedly against the door. "Please God… don't let this happen… please… please…"

As he started to slump down, he could hear someone fiddling with the door handle. Isaac almost fell forward, catching himself on the floor as he stared forward to see…

Shuuya standing in front of him with the door in hand, the motel's second floor hallway sprawling out behind him. "Isaac?!" the bounty hunter blurted out. "Wh-what the hell! How… but you're-"

Isaac sprinted forward, almost shoving Shuuya out of the way as he made his way down the hallway, down the stairs. He almost tripped over something in the lobby, nearby the front door, but nothing would stop him.

The reporter felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest, but he kept running. The distance between the motel and the arcade felt like a hundred miles, and the mists were swirling around aggressively as if trying to push him away.

When he made it to the arcade, he sprinted inside, to the right side of the building, and hurried towards the stage…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Isaac couldn't fathom it. He couldn't register it. He stumbled forward, his whole body numb as he had to fight to keep himself from falling down.

There was so much blood on the stage, blood that soaked through a dark cloak and morph mask. Blood all around an executioner's axe, but none on the blade…

Blood was running down the side of the Monophanie animatronic. The precious life fluid was dripping down the blade of Peko Pekoyama, which was impaled inside of the machine and the body pinned up against it.

Isaac took a step forward, and could now see everything. Hara Pathik, the Ultimate Explorer, his fiancé and lover…

…

…

…

… was cradling the bloody, mutilated body of their best friend, Saiko. The sword's handle was protruding from the short woman's chest, a fatal wound amongst other deep cuts in her body, including her stomach and neck.

Saiko's eyes were cold and faded out, blood dribbling from her mouth. She seemed to be staring, almost accusingly, forward, at the person holding onto her.

Isaac flinched when there was a loud sob from nearby. Across the cafeteria, Fannie and Ishiku were staring at the scene, both thunderstruck in horror of what they were seeing. Hara also flinched at the noise that pierced through the cacophony of moving animatronics and music playing overhead; she turned, almost as stiff as the robots around her, until her eyes rested on him.

"I… saac?" she slowly said, peering up at him with tears free flowing from her eyes. She was completely covered in blood, even on her face as it mixed with the tears. She struggled to speak, her voice raspy and shaking, but she managed to say one more thing…

One more thing that made Isaac feel like he was going to fall into a black hole of despair and never see the light of day again.

"Did I kill Saiko? N-no… I… I did… no…"

Hara slumped down, and Isaac managed to catch her in time. He held her close, as she was shivering hard enough to equal a seizure. Isaac clutched Hara, as he felt himself crying too and unable to stop.

Saiko Kobayashi, the Ultimate Forensic Investigator, was dead. She was impaled through the heart with Peko's sword, just like the last victim that this blade had claimed. And all the while, the animatronics moved about, pretending to play their instruments, as if to celebrate another victory for despair.

* * *

…

 **20 Survivors remain in Penjar now…**


	36. Chapter 5-4: Case 5 Investigations

**Chapter 5-4**

 **Street to Suffering**

* * *

" _I didn't think I would be fitting for Hope's Peak Academy, which kind of seemed a bit like a celebrity status over talent. I'm a simple gal in a lot of ways, enjoying food, games, more food, and my career. A forensic investigator isn't exactly someone who needs a glamorous lifestyle._

 _"However, when I became part of this academy, I found more purpose in my life. It sounds cheesy, corny, even like a farfetched tale, but I discovered parts of myself that I didn't even know I was missing. My now close friends, Isaac Bellamy and Hara Pathik, mean more to me than anything. My career is now a part of my life, not the only thing._

 _"This has truly been eye-opening, and I have a much better outlook on life. When I leave here, I know that I'll be a better woman, and I believe that many others will too. Thank you, Hope's Peak Academy, my teachers, my classmates, my friends... just thank you, from the bottom of my heart._ "

-Saiko Kobayashi's Graduation Speech

* * *

 **Day 16, 9:36 PM**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

 **Stage 'n Cafeteria**

Isaac couldn't stop himself from shaking, even as he held onto Hara. None of this felt real, he felt so numb and unsteady, as if this was a nightmare he couldn't wake from. The smell of blood and death, he was barely breathing to prevent himself from smelling them.

Though no matter how many times he had the faintest of hope that it was all fake, he would look up again and see her. Saiko, his close friend, impaled on a sword against a twitching animatronic, was there.

Eventually, people were coming into the arcade, horrified gasps and whimpers escaping from most of them. Isaac didn't want to hear them, he didn't want to acknowledge that what was there was the truth. He clenched Hara to him, who was holding onto him amid her shivering.

There was one person's reaction who he couldn't ignore, however.

Eisei sprinted into the arcade, a frantic expression removing any resemblance to his stoic norm. He froze when he saw Saiko, his mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Eisei began quivering, extending a hand towards Saiko's body.

"N-no," he whispered, then he screamed, "NO!" and sprinted towards her. Souma, who was already at the scene, managed to grab him. Eisei struggled, as tears started running down his eyes. "Saiko! NO!"

"Eisei, stop," Souma cried out, holding him back. "You cannot help her, you shouldn't see her like this!"

"There's still hope! There's so many cases of patients who had a faint bit of life and were resuscitated," the dentist shouted, struggling still despite his petite body nowhere near strong enough to break free of Souma's grasp. "Saiko could still be alive! Let go of me! Please... please let me... let me..."

Eisei grabbed ahold of Souma, sobbing miserably as he clutched at his friend's clothing. Almost everyone had gathered in the arcade by now, and could see Eisei breaking down in Souma's arms, a bloodstained Hara being held by Isaac, and Saiko's grisly fate on the stage.

The last person to step into the arcade was Blake, who took a long look at the forensic investigator's body. He ran a hand through his hair, scoffed, and then noticed Hara.

"So she killed her friend with the big mouth and bigger tits?" the pyrotechnician said, then laughed aloud. "Well, that'll make the trial so much easier."

There was a flurry of movement a few seconds later. When those words registered in Isaac's brain, he let go of Hara and charged at Blake, a murderous look in his eyes. Shuuya, with lightning-fast reflexes, managed to get in-between them and prevent a fistfight by holding Isaac back; Blake didn't help with how he laughed and taunted the reporter.

"Aww, what? Cannot handle the truth?" Blake asked, scoffing as he waved at them, stepping out of the arcade. "Whatever, no need to investigate what is so damn obvious. I'll just wait for Monokuma to announce when the trial starts, and get ready to vote for your killer fiancé."

As he walked away, Isaac fiercely fought against Shuuya's grasp, but the assassin was just as strong as one would imagine him to be. "Stop letting him get to you!" Shuuya hissed.

"He can't say that," Isaac strained out, heaving in fury. "He can't talk… like that… about them!"

"Isaac, you think beating him up will help you out now? FOCUS! Focus, damn it!"

Shuuya pinned Isaac up against one of the walls in the arcade, staring him down. The bounty hunter's eyes were gleaming red, but not the malicious kind, the kind that showcased he was quite serious about what was happening now.

"Saiko has been murdered, and we need to conduct an investigation," the bounty hunter declared. "And I need you and Hara to cooperate with me on this, or it's going to be impossible to find the truth."

Isaac panted, gasping as he still gripped onto Shuuya's arms. He stared back into Shuuya's eyes, and growled out, "I'm supposed to trust you? The killer, the one who turned on Hara last trial? You probably think she did it!"

"Isaac, we cannot rule anything out right now. But you starting a fight with that asshole won't help anyone!"

The arcade was still noisy with music playing overhead, and the animatronics jerking about as if playing a tune on their instruments. All eyes were on Isaac and Shuuya, though some were glancing at Hara. The explorer had stood up, watching her fiancé with horror and concern.

"Isaac," she softly spoke, breaking Isaac's furious panting, "please. I… we need to find out who did this. Who killed Saiko… even…

"Even if it was me."

"NO," Isaac cried out, hurrying over to Hara when Shuuya let him go. "Hara, look at me. You didn't do this. You couldn't have, you wouldn't have."

"We don't know that," Hara whimpered, shaking her head as he gently cupped her face. "The horrible things that have been happening, we don't know what Monokuma and this town is capable of. I might of… I seriously could have done this."

"Hara…"

Everyone in the arcade could only stare as Isaac and Hara looked into each other's eyes. The only sound, besides the music and robots moving around, was Eisei's soft crying. All of the graduates were quiet, trying to think of what to say or do in this terrible scenario.

" **You know, it always seems to be the fifth case that really hits home, doesn't it?** "

Monokuma appeared, from out of nowhere as usual, on the stage with the animatronics of his kids. He was leaning up against the Monokid one, glancing over at Saiko's dead body. "Wow, whoever did this was a real psycho to Saiko! Hehe, get it?"

"Would you kindly," Ishiku snapped, "just announce the investigation and get the hell out of here?"

" **Now now now, we'll get to that! After all, the investigation has rules too! Though you should know that all buildings are now open to everyone, though not every room inside.** "

"Yes, we're aware," Futaba commented, shaking her head. "That's how most of us were able to get in here, I imagine."

" **My adorable cubs can tell you the rest.** "

"RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!"

Monodam and Monokid popped out from behind their own animatronics, waving their metal paws in the air. Monokid glanced at Saiko's body, and burst out laughing.

"Fucking metal way to die," he declared, pumping his fists in the air. "Hell yeah!"

"STOP-THAT," Monodam said, then turned towards the graduates. "THE-INVESTIGATION-WILL-BEGIN-SOON. YOU-WILL-HAVE-AN-AMBIGUOUS-AMOUNT-OF-TIME-TO-INVESTIGATE, THEN-THE-TRIAL-WILL-BEGIN."

"Monodam, please," Drake pleaded, walking up towards the green cub, "can you answer any questions we have?"

"ONLY-THE-ONES-I-AM-ALLOWED-TO-ANSWER. I-WILL-REMAIN-HERE-FOR-THE-DURATION-OF-THE-INVESTIGATION. MONOKID-WILL-HELP-ALL-OTHERS-OUTSIDE."

"What about," Anzu spoke up, "Monocrow?"

The green Kub didn't say anything, even though he turned to glance at Anzu with his lifeless eyes. Monodam simply turned back to Drake, and asked, "IS-EVERYONE-ACCOUNTED-FOR?"

Drake glanced around the cafeteria, taking everyone into consideration. "Um, there's a couple of us missing. Blake, and Odelios…"

As if summoned by saying his name, the clown sprinted into the arcade, gasping and panting. His face paint was crusty and smeared from sweat, and he looked quite disheveled; his exasperated expression warped into horrified realization when he saw Saiko's body.

"N-no," he gasped, covering his mouth. "Oh my God, did… did…"

The clown glanced over at Anzu, who gasped when she realized it was her he was looking at. While everyone was confused by this, Monodam spoke up again. "MONOKID-CAN-GO-TELL-BLAKE-THE-RULES. GO-NOW, MONOKID."

"Go fuck yourself, fuck-face Fuckodam!"

Monokid scurried out of the building, chuckling as he flapped his arms around. They all watched him go, with Fiora closest to the door. The movie maker tilted her hat up, her eyes narrowed as she observed the body. "So what else do we need to know about the investigation?" she asked.

"AS-FATHER-SAID, ALL-BUILDINGS-ARE-OPEN, BUT-YOU-STILL-CANNOT-GET-INTO-LOCKED-ROOMS-WITHOUT-PERMISSION. YOU-ARE-WELCOME-TO-INVESTIGATE-ANY-PART-OF-PENJAR-YOU-WANT-NOW. AND-FINALLY, YOU-CAN-ASK-ME-ANY-QUESTIONS-YOU-HAVE, JUST-KNOW-I-CANNOT-ANSWER-THEM-ALL."

"Then where's Monocrow?" Anzu asked again, stepping forward. "Where is he?"

"Saiko is dead," Crystal snapped at her, "and you care about that stupid bird?"

"Monocrow knows where everyone is, and was," the actress fired back. "If we ask him the right questions, we could find out who the killer was."

"Sounds like the perfect way to catch our killer," Ken agreed, clapping his hands together. "We should split up to look for the raven!"

"HE'S-OUTSIDE," Monodam said. "YOU-SHOULD-PROBABLY-SPLIT-UP-AND-INVESTIGATE, THIS-WILL-BE-A-VERY-TRICKY-CASE."

Eisei, having stopped crying, gently stepped away from his friend. "I… I want to stay here and help with investigating-"

"No, my friend," Souma responded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I said, you shouldn't see her like this."

"I'm the only one with medical training now."

"Dentistry never covered sword wounds through the chest. Please, let people who have dealt with this kind of stuff before do this part of the investigation."

Eisei reached into his pocket, pulling a lollipop from it. As he unwrapped it and placed it in his mouth, he started shivering so bad that it fell from his mouth. Against every bit of his character, he reached down, picked it up from the carpet, and tried to put it back into his mouth.

"Don't do that," Souma said. "It's filthy now."

"I don't care," was the sullen response from the hygiene-conscious dentist. "I don't care about that anymore. I don't… I can't…"

Souma, very tenderly, led Eisei out of the building. As the others watched them go, Shuuya turned to Hara and Isaac. "You two should come outside with me."

"What?" Isaac shouted. "No!"

"I don't," Hara stammered, staring over at Saiko, "I can't… leave her like this."

"You two are far too close to this case. If you're guilty, you cannot be allowed to investigate the body. If you're innocent, you shouldn't see her like this, just like Eisei. This isn't how you should remember her."

"It's far too late for that," Isaac replied. "But I suppose you're not going to take 'no' for an answer, Mr. Killer?"

"Isaac," Hara whispered, staring in concern at how furiously he was glaring at Shuuya.

"No, I'm not," Shuuya responded coolly. He glanced over at Futaba, and asked, "You'll carry on the investigation here for me, will you?"

Futaba nodded, then glanced around at everyone present. "Who's going to help me here?"

"I will," Yitro said, staring grimly at Saiko. "This is… all too familiar territory for me. I believe I can help."

"It happened under my watch," Ishiku said, shaking his head in shame. "I'll try to inform you of everything I know."

"Me too," Fannie said, wincing as she glanced at Saiko. "Oh the poor lady…"

" **Aww, it's so cute,** " Monokuma spoke up, " **that my least favorite daughter has a heart now… well, quite literally, since you're human. Guess you're going to help your new friends conspire against your dear, hard-working Dad!** "

"You're not," she shouted, glaring at him, "my father! You were never my father, you evil, mean, awful robot! I hate you, I hate you so much for causing all this to happen-"

"Hey, wait a minute," Ken spoke up, interrupting Fannie's rant, "wasn't it Ishiku who had that sword that is now in Saiko? The sword of Peko Pekoyama?"

"Huh? N-no," Fannie stammered, her fury replaced with worry. "I… I had it last night."

"YOU did?!" Isaac shouted. "You, the former Kub of Penjar, an avatar of Despair, had the weapon that killed Saiko?!"

Fannie started to quiver at the suspicious glare that Isaac was now casting at her. Ishiku held her close, protectively, while Shuuya moved in-between Fannie and the reporter.

"We're leaving," the bounty hunter said, pointing at the reporter and Hara, "now. We will conduct our own investigation outside."

As Shuuya led the two outside, Anzu hurried alongside them, keen to look for Monocrow. Futaba glanced around at the others, and asked aloud, "Anyone else who can help with the investigation in the arcade needs to stay. Everyone else, get out there and look around."

"Where else is there to look around?" Hikari asked, shrugging in confusion. "I mean, the asylum? The tent?"

"I doo'nt knoo' a'boot you all," Kimiko said, shaking her head, "but I got a bad feeling a'boot this. We should maybe stick together, get everyone's stories, instead of splitting up?"

"It's too late for that now," Fiora said, walking towards Saiko's body and staring down at it. "The group has already parted ways. If you feel it best, you two should go talk to everyone and gather alibis and whereabouts."

Kimiko stared at her fellow Canadian for a moment, then nudged Hikari. "That's probably the best idea. We should go, eh."

"Shouldn't we start here?" the steampunk model asked.

Futaba nodded, then glanced around the room. Drake and Ignatia had walked out a minute ago, with the mime tugging her friend as if needing to show him something. Odelios had, surprisingly wordlessly, stepped out of the building too, while Pyrrha had left, quietly sobbing.

Crystal and Ken were still inside, not appearing to be interested in going anywhere else. Futaba corrected her glasses, then glanced over at Monodam. "I believe we are ready to begin."

"GOOD-LUCK-TO-YOU."

 **INVESTIGATION START!**

Futaba approached Saiko's body, and sighed as she realized that the woman's eyes were still open. She moved in and slid them down, trying to give her a more peaceful look in death. "So it looks like our killer knew what they were doing. She's been stabbed through the heart, and hard enough to impale her through the machine." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"I wouldn't say they knew exactly what they were doing," Ken remarked. "She's been slashed several times."

"Her stomach, her neck," Yitro said, closely inspecting Saiko's corpse, "they've been cut pretty deeply, mostly likely by the same sword."

"Still, that's a lot of strength, to penetrate a metal monstrosity like this," Ken knocked on the animatronic of Monophanie, "with a katana."

"We should inspect her entirely," Fiora suggested, "see if she was carrying anything on her."

Crystal gestured towards the stage. "You mean like those?" she asked as she pointed at the cloak and axe that were there.

"Yes, but we don't know if anything's on her person. Allow me."

As Fiora started to go through Saiko's pockets, Yitro moved over to the axe and cloak. He picked up the axe, testing its weight. "This is a dangerous weapon, but I don't see blood on the blade."

Ken picked up the cloak, inspecting it as well. "There's something very odd about this garment."

Futaba took the cloak and held it up in front of the tall Novoselic man. "Yes, it's rather short. It would only go down to your waist. Also, no cuts in this cloak, just blood." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"That's not how it looked when we saw whoever was wearing it," Fannie spoke up. When everyone (aside from Fiora) glanced at her, she blushed, and continued on though nervous with the attention. "Ishi and I were chased by someone wearing a cloak and holding that axe!"

"Wait, what?" Hikari gasped. "You poor darlings! When was this?"

"Last night, in the asylum," Ishiku explained. "We kind of lost track of time, running from someone dressed up in that! Though, there was something odd about the encounter…"

"Something odd other than a hooded person wearing a black morph mask," Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow, "and carrying a battle-ax while coming at you?"

"Yeah, I know. Weird."

As Ishiku contemplated this, Fiora let out a small sigh. "She doesn't have anything else on her, except this." She held up a lollipop, which had a touch of blood on the wrapper.

Yitro sighed, then glanced down at the stage. "There's so much blood here. Wait, is there any elsewhere?"

The nine people inside of the arcade peered around, finding some blood in a puddle and trail nearby the stage. "Looks like someone," Kimiko deduced, "seriously wounded her near the stage, and then killed her." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Futaba sighed, then turned to Monodam. "Can you tell us when she died?"

"NO," he replied.

"Can you tell us how she got in here?"

"NO."

"Can you at least," the anthropologist said, grinding her teeth as she rubbed her forehead with her robotic hand, "tell us about the cloak and axe?"

"THOSE-ARE-SPECIAL-ITEMS-FROM-ELSEWHERE-IN-PENJAR. YOU-NEED-SPECIAL-PERMISSION-TO-TOUCH-THEM." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Futaba blinked in surprise, glancing over at the executioner's garb. "Wait, what? We never saw anything like that in all of Penjar. Were they in one of the locked rooms around here?"

"NO."

"What do you mean?!" Futaba blurted out. "Where else could they possibly come from?"

"Wait, Futaba, I have an idea," Yitro spoke up. He turned towards Fiora, and asked, "Could you join me, Fiora? I will most likely need a witness."

Fiora was staring at the sword inside of Saiko, analyzing the scene intensively. It took a couple tries before she realized that Yitro was trying to get her attention. "Very well," she conceded, "I don't know how much help I can be here."

"Wait, before you go," Kimiko spoke up, "could you tell us where you two were last night?"

"I was in the asylum, in the room that Blake was recovering in," Yitro said. "I fell asleep thanks to Monokuma's sleeping gas or whatever, but I woke up right when Blake did too. That machine they had in there, it fully fixed the bastard's leg; got up and walked around on it."

"Fascinating technology," Fiora said, pushing one of her fingers against the bridge of her nose for a second. She blinked, then shrugged and added, "Oh, I was in that tent across the road when I woke up."

"You were in there a'geen?" Kimiko asked. "Whatever for?"

The movie maker closed her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms as she said, "I'm afraid I cannot tell you that right now, I'm still uncertain as to whatever effect that place left on me. Now, we should hurry, we may not have as much time as we were led to believe." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Yitro and Fiora left the arcade, leaving the others slightly confused but brushing it aside from now. Kimiko turned towards Ishiku and Fannie, shaking her head as she tried not to focus on what was bothering her. "Alright, lovebirds," she said, "what a'boot you two, eh?"

"Oh, we were on the other side of the arcade," Fannie offered, grinning at the mention of 'lovebirds.' "With Anzu, that is! She was talking to Monocrow for a while, but when we were asking him some important questions about the benefit swapping that he could do, Anzu fell asleep, then we did."

"So the three of you fell asleep, and you," Hikari glanced at the white 'n pink-topped gal, "two had the sword that was used to kill Saiko?"

"Y-yes. I know that makes us look suspicious, but someone could have taken it from me when I was asleep!"

"No need to throw out accusations," Crystal spoke up, "it's too early for that."

"Even if the one who had the murderous weapon," Ken grumbled, "used to be an avatar of Despair!"

"Hey now, handsome," Kimiko said to him, frowning, "we won't get anywhere like that. And you knoo' as well as I do that when we had Taro on 'oor side, he was good to his dying breath."

Ken opened his mouth to say something more, but seemed to think twice about arguing with Kimiko, and sighed. "Very well, I'll concede, for now."

Fannie grinned happily. "Aw, it's so nice you two are still getting along since your time together at the love hotel!"

"Okay, stop pushing it," Kimiko snapped at Fannie, blushing too now. "Handsome, I mean... Ken, what's your alibi?"

"I was at the motel of Monokuma's, when sleep overtook me. When I woke up, we were being summoned to the arcade."

Hikari rubbed her forehead, then glanced over at Futaba. "What about you, darling?"

"Also at the motel, but I was upstairs with Shuuya in one of the rooms. We fell asleep, but woke up at 9:30. I know that," the anthropologist said, "because I checked my phone when I woke up. And Shuuya woke up at the same time, we woke up to the sound of someone pounding at the locked door at the end of the hallway; he decided to go check on it, I believed it was another trick of Monokuma's."

"Was it?" Kimiko asked.

"No, in fact, it was Isaac."

"What?!" all of the others shouted in disbelief. Several of them stared at the small hallway which led to the maintenance room, where they had all believed that Isaac was trapped in.

"Okay, how's that possible?" Ishiku asked, moving over to the door and trying to open it. When he failed to do so, he cried out, "What magic trick did he use, and how can I do it?"

Crystal turned towards Monodam. "Okay, can you explain anything about that?"

"I-CANNOT-TELL-HOW, WHEN, OR-WHY-IF-IT-INVOLVES-SOMEONE'S-ACTIONS-OR-ACCESSIBLE-LOCATIONS-IN-PENJAR."

"Well, how can we get into that room then?"

"… YOU-CANNOT."

As people tried to understand what he meant, Ishiku snapped his fingers. "Fannie, my sweet, can you stay here for a few minutes? I'm going to the hotel to check on something, stay near this door."

"Okay, Ishi-pudding!"

As Ishiku left the building, Hikari watched him go out of curiosity. Then she turned to the last person they hadn't questioned: Crystal. "And you, darling?"

Attention from the flirtatious model took Crystal by surprise, and she cleared her throat before she spoke. "I was at the asylum with you two, remember? Or rather, I was with Pyrrha the whole time."

"Did you wake up at 9:30 as well?" Futaba questioned.

"I don't recall ever falling asleep."

The anthropologist stared at her, then at Kimiko and Hikari. "What about you two?"

"No, we didn't fall asleep either," Hikari said.

"Were you all having," Futaba crossed her arms and huffed, "a very lovely orgy? Goddamnit, I cannot believe-"

"We were not," Crystal blurted out suddenly, "having sex! Pyrrha and I were not doing anything of the sort! I was against doing anything like that anymore."

"And neither were we," Kimiko said, glancing over at Hikari. "Seriously, in an asylum? You think we're that randy?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Futaba glanced to the side, and sighed heavily. "Fine then. But how is it that you four didn't fall asleep?"

"Maybe that has something to do," Fannie chimed in, "with the benefits of the buildings?"

"It quite possibly may be," Ken remarked. "We still are not certain of what those buildings do."

"Between the motel, the arcade, the psychic's tent, and the asylum," Crystal said, "I don't know who's been in which ones to follow that pattern." * **TRUTH BULLETS ADDED** *

"There's also the fact," Fannie spoke up, "that Monocrow could swap someone's benefits with someone else." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"And also," Ken said, "those of us who were dragged into the Killing Game Realm last night."

"So you mean to tell me," Crystal asked, adjusting her jacket, "that everyone who fell unconscious last night was having visions like we've heard some of us have been having?"

"It wasn't just a vision, darling," Hikari said. "It's a very real, very dangerous place with no rules, no mercy, and very serious consequences. We all could have died."

The steampunk model shook her head, as Mahiru's last words to her rang in her head. " _The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm sorry._ " * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"I wonder if the Queen was any bearing on this case," Futaba remarked.

Fannie shook her hips side to side, trying to take all of this in. "So who was in the Killing Game Realm? Ishi and I have no idea, we were awake all of last night."

"Most everyone was in the Killing Game Realm," Ken said, as he turned towards Saiko's body. "Including her." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Oh darling," Hikari said, staring sadly at the forensic investigator, "I hope we can find who did this to you. We need to hurry now, Kimiko, we have to talk to everyone else."

Kimiko nodded, and added to the four inside of the arcade, "Keep looking, we cannot afford to miss anything."

They nodded, though as the two ladies walked out, Fannie stared miserably at Saiko's body, and the animatronic she was pinned to. That pink robot that represented the bear version of herself, she hated looking at it.

"Did someone," she whispered to herself, "do that because of me?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

* * *

 **Day 16, Evening**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Central Area/Monokuma Statue**

Kimiko and Hikari stepped outside, and immediately saw Anzu squatting down in front of the Monokuma statue. Nearby was Shuuya, talking to Hara and Isaac, but the actress appearing very forlorn caught their attention.

"Hey there, Anzu," Kimiko said, trying to see what she was fixated on, something covered by the thick mists. "What's wrong?"

Anzu glanced over her shoulder at the two ladies, and sighed heavily. She lifted up something for them to see, and it shocked them both.

…

…

…

Monocrow's face, and just his face, was held up by the actress; his expression was one of shock. She also brought up one of his wings, and then let out a heavy sigh.

"Someone killed him," Anzu said, "or, I guess, smashed him. Whoever killed Saiko did this to cover their tracks."

Hikari nervously glanced to the side, not sure what to say. Kimiko pat Anzu's shoulder, and said, "I'm soo'ry. I know you liked that bird."

"Yeah, even though I know Saiko is the real victim here, and we need to find her killer." The actress picked up the pieces of Monocrow and put them on the base of the statue. Kimiko noticed there was a dented, scratched area on the side of the statue's base. * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"Looks like someone smashed him here," Kimiko remarked, tapping the scratched part of the concrete. "It's highly possible that it was to make sure we didn't ask him where everyone was last night."

"Could he even do that?" Hikari inquired. "I mean, did anyone ever ask him to say where someone was previously, rather than where they were currently?"

"Even if he coo'dent, Hikari, Saiko's killer woo'dent want to take that risk."

"I suppose that's true…"

Anzu sighed as she finished gathering up the pieces of Monocrow, placing them on the statue base. Kimiko scratched the back of her head, and asked, "Hey, so, Anzu, we're trying to gather alibis and such right now. Coo'd you?"

"I was at the left side of the arcade, with Ishiku, Fannie, and Monocrow," the actress said, leaning up against the statue and crossing her arms glumly. "I was talking to him, and I found out some things before I fell asleep thanks to that sleeping gas Monokuma gave us."

"Like what, darling?"

"Monocrow had the power to swap someone's building benefits with someone else, and people could reserve that power swap at specific times. Someone reserved it for when we would start falling asleep." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"Wait, what?" Kimiko said. "That can only mean one thing: one of the building benefits is immunity to the sleeping gas." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"It might be more than that, darling," Hikari spoke up. "Ishiku and Fannie said they were running from that executioner all of last night, but they didn't seem the least bit fatigued or sleepy when we saw them this afternoon."

"You noticed that too, huh?" Anzu remarked. "Not to mention neither of them were in the Killing Game Realm like we all were."

"But they fell asleep like you did a couple hours ago," Kimiko responded, crossing her arms in frustration. "So if they had immunity, why did they fall asleep?"

"Are you sure you saw them fall asleep?" Hikari asked, nervously staring at Anzu.

"Why, do we suspect them?" Anzu responded, equally as nervous. "I… I don't believe for a minute that Ishiku did this!"

"Wait, let's not fall into this digression, we cannot possibly deduce who did it with what we have," Kimiko said, holding up her hands. "Anzu, could you tell us anything else Monocrow said he could do with his powers?"

"He basically said you could reserve swaps, and that someone had done so already, blocking any other requests until after the reservation was complete. Also, I was trying to ask him, before I fell asleep, if someone was allowed to take more than one."

"You mean different building benefits?" Hikari asked.

"That, or the same benefit from multiple people. I had a feeling someone would do that when I realized that immunity to sleep may be one of those. However, Monocrow never got to tell me…"

Anzu felt something brush by her raven hair. She turned to see Monokuma, dressed as a maid, holding a broom and dustbin for a bear his size. He quickly swept all the pieces of Monocrow into his dustbin, then snickered at the three ladies staring at him.

" **What? I cannot allow garbage and litter to mess up Penjar,** " he cackled. " **Time to finally put this bird where he belongs, in the trash!** "

"I HATE YOU," Anzu screamed, and stormed off. Kimiko and Hikari watched her go, and decided it was best to leave her be for now. They approached Shuuya, Hara, and Isaac, none of whom appeared willing to talk right now.

"Is this important?" Shuuya asked the two ladies. "I'm trying to get their stories straightened out."

"There's nothing else to really say," Hara said, staring sadly down at the ground. "Please, we've gone over everything. I just… I want to see her. I want out of these bloodstained clothes. Please, Shuuya."

"Darling," Hikari said, walking up to the explorer as she gently caressed her arm, "please, maybe if you tell us, he could let you do those things."

She cast a glance over her shoulder, frowning at Shuuya. "Right, mister?"

"Don't get emotional over this, or we might all end up dead," Shuuya snapped. "I will be watching these two very carefully until the trial, we cannot allow them to be unsupervised. But I will agree to let her change out of those clothes after they tell you two everything, so we're on the same page."

Isaac let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead and adjusting his beanie. Hikari could see the worry lines making intense creases on his face, he looked ten years older with frustration and desperation. She couldn't help but pity him, though knew Shuuya was right as well.

"Okay then, could you two tell us everything?" she asked politely.

"I'll tell you my side," Hara said with a nod. "I was leaning up against the door in the arcade, the one labeled maintenance? I could hear Isaac on the other side, we talked until that sleeping gas put us to sleep.

"And when I woke up… I was h-holding that sword by its handle. I was over Saiko, I was… I am… c-covered in her blood."

Hara started shaking again, and Isaac held her tightly. Hikari bit her bottom lip, thinking that everything seemed so genuine here, but she couldn't let her guard down. "And… you have no idea how that could have happened?"

"I don't! I swear," Hara insisted, "though… maybe I was moving in my sleep again. Like we all did last night when we were in the Killing Game Realm…"

"You think you killed Saiko when being controlled a'geenst y'oor will?" Kimiko asked.

"That's not possible," Isaac barked out, then calmed down a little and looked into Hara's eyes. "Hara, the rules of these buildings is that so long as you are in any of them, you do not suffer the nightmares. No nightmares means no sleep walking or being controlled against your will."

"He's right, that's what I was thinking," the biker leader said. * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"What about you, Isaac?" Hikari asked. "I mean, we're extremely confused how you were in the hotel when everyone thought you were in the arcade!"

"Believe me, I'm one of the most confused," Isaac said, shaking his head, "especially because I don't know how I could have gone back into the hotel after leaving it and being told by Monokuma I wasn't allowed back in."

"Ishiku is investigating that room right now," Hikari said, "but could you tell us about it?"

"It was definitely a control room of sorts. There were control panels that turned on the music and animatronics, but I couldn't figure out how to turn them off; another stupid twist that Monokuma made this town to be. There were also security camera screens." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Do you have any idea when you woke up, darling?"

"9:30. Monokuma played one of his awful segments, announcing the time. After that, I saw on the security camera feed… something awful, and I started pounding on the door."

"That's where I came in," Shuuya said. "I could hear the thumping against the door, much stronger than all those little noises that wicked motel could produce. I opened the door, and there he was; he sprinted out of the motel before I could stop him."

"But that door was locked when we tried it last night," Kimiko commented. "It just opened for you?"

"Yes."

"Did you try opening it before then?"

"No, I don't think any of us did," Shuuya remarked. "We were told by Ishiku and Fannie that it was locked, so I don't think we even bothered; why bother with the only locked door of the building? In retrospect, it seems like we should have."

"I just wonder why you never heard Isaac," Hara spoke up. "Was that door soundproof?"

"Anyway, when I was running out of the motel, I think I tripped over something, but it hardly matters," Isaac muttered. "I just saw had to get to the arcade when I realized I wasn't in there to begin with."

Shuuya rubbed his chin, then eyed the couple. "Alright, if that's everything, let's see about getting you out of those bloody clothes, Hara. You'll have to accompany me, I need to make sure you two are as innocent as you claim to be."

Isaac glared at him, but sighed as he managed to pull himself together and take Hara's hand in his. The three walked off, with Kimiko and Hikari exchanging glances.

"Do you think she did it?" Hikari asked.

"After everything I've seen in this God forsaken too'n, I doo'nt knoo' what I think. Maybe we should-"

"You let me at him," a feminine voice shouted from afar, "you let me perforate this scoundrel until he needs that medical room again!"

"Aww, the little queer gonna try and throw a punch? That's fucking rich!"

Hikari and Kimiko recognized the voices, and hurried over towards the asylum. Nearby the entrance, Souma was holding Eisei back, as the dentist looked ready to do something extremely painful to Blake, without novocaine being administered.

Blake snickered, then saw the two ladies approaching. The pyro turned towards them, and said, "Oh, you two dykes looking to shag somewhere? Wait, does that mean Kimiko is actually guilty? You do like fucking the guilty person, if I recall, Fancy Tits."

Hikari lifted up her umbrella, fuming so hard that it sounded like a steam engine ready to burst. Kimiko grabbed her shoulder, and said, "Doo'nt acknowledge him, he's not worth it."

"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Hikari snapped, glancing over at her. "He's literally trying to be the absolute worst person he can be!"

"Yeah, that's how some people cope with bad situations. He's probably already made up his mind that Hara is guilty, or he's sure we'll get throo' this like the other trials."

"You know I can hear you, biker dyke," Blake snapped at them. "How 'a'boot' you go and properly blow your brains out this time, save us all some trouble? You are just about as useless as the other bitch who died, whatever that midget's name was."

Kimiko took a deep breath, eyes fluttering. She crossed her arms as she tried to keep all of her anger inside, noticing that Eisei and Hikari both appeared ready to snap. "Blake, where the hell were you earlier?"

"In the asylum, getting my leg fixed; Yitro can vouch for me, I don't have shit to do with this trial. Just get ready to kill what's-her-face, I wonder what kind of execution she'll get; hehe, maybe she'll get shipped back to whatever third world country she's from."

Kimiko felt like a tiny, fierce monster was trying to claw its way out of her temple, the kind of anger-induced migraine that was painful to hold in. She took another deep breath, and said, "You knoo' what? Joo'st stay the hell away from all of us if you're not going to be helpful."

"You don't tell me what to do, you half-breed cunt. I can talk about anyone and anything I want, and if you wanna throw down, well, I'm the one who's got muscles and experience, you probably only spar with other dykes by scissoring."

"Blake, I will break your leg again, and you can just suffer through the trial-"

"I said to try to, cunt-face! You won't do it! Ha ha ha! You aren't man enough, you're not even woman enough! Excuse me, I think I'm going to go somewhere else now, I'm rather tired of looking at you, and that faggot over there who thinks he can take on a real man."

The pyrotechnician walked away, laughing, flipping them off time to time. Hikari was trembling in outrage, and Kimiko noticed she was as well. Eisei was still being held onto by Souma, the public speaker the only one who managed to keep his calm throughout all of that.

"I guess," Souma said, "he's finally embraced his talent."

"What do you mean?" Eisei asked, as his friend let go of him.

"Someone who wants to master fire now just wants to see everything burn around him. It's not about despair or chaos, it's not about answers or questions, he's literally now just here to see how it all goes down. And he'll add fuel to the flames every step of the way."

Kimiko sighed, shaking her head as she tried to push her rage down. "You seem to have a good read on him. Who wood've thought the guy who was joo'st disagreeable at the start woo'd become the most antagonistic jackass there is?"

"Souma's right," Eisei said, his voice shaking a little as he tried to hold himself together. "Blake is, right now, coping in the only way he can. It's only logical, it's all he knows how to. Prison, upbringing, the Tragedy, he survived it all, so this is his only course."

"You don't have to defend him," Hikari said. "He's awful."

"I know he is. I just need to find some sense in all of this, because nothing makes sense now… nothing does… why."

Eisei slowly pulled another lollipop out, and this time managed to place it in his mouth without dropping it, despite his shaking hands. "Did… did you two need something from us?"

"If it's alright," Kimiko said, staring down at the cute, young man, "we need to ask for alibis."

"I fell asleep alongside Saiko earlier today, when we were playing video games together," Eisei said, blankly staring forward. "When I woke up, she wasn't there. The shower was running, so I thought she may be taking one, but when I knocked on the door and called to her, I didn't hear her." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Did you go in to check on her?"

"Walk into a room where a lady is showering? I thought that would be most improper, despite our relationship. She and I were just… it wasn't like…"

Eisei started stammering again, clutching at his shirt over his heart. Souma knelt down to rub his shoulder, and the dentist shivered. "She was gone, she wasn't in the shower. If I had checked, if I had… why was it even on? Why?

"I don't understand anything right now. Saiko and I knew each other only from the time in this town. We were only starting to really know each other for a week. A week isn't enough time to develop an entire relationship, is it?

"I'm not a romantic, I never engaged in any sort of chemistry-addled fornication beforehand. She was always grabbing me, arguing with me, confusing me with her choice of words and passionate actions. So why… why…"

Eisei clutched at himself, and sobbed out the words as his second lollipop fell to the ground and shattered. "Why does it feel like I'm in agony? Why can't I stop thinking of her? Why… why would anyone want to hurt her? Kill her? WHY?"

He feebly tried to pick up the stick of that lollipop, but Souma stopped him. Glancing up at the two ladies, he said, "I'm sorry, I'll take care of him."

"Of course, but Souma?" Hikari spoke up. "Could you just tell us where you were?"

"In the psychic's tent, watching a marathon of Miss Stenton's work. I fell asleep, thankfully, during it, but woke up when there was the announcement of, well, you know."

Hikari and Kimiko took this into consideration, and left, both of them heartbroken at the sound of Eisei quietly sobbing again. The steampunk model sighed, gripping the handle of her umbrella, as she said, "Saiko's death is hurting so many people. Why would anyone want to kill her, darling?"

"I have no idea," Kimiko mumbled, brushing at her green bangs, "and that just complicates things even more. How did Saiko even get into the arcade, since she had to have bin murdered there? And what's moo'r, why her? Why there? Why now?" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"Monokuma said that the nightmares would stop after a murder was committed, but that the benefits to the buildings couldn't be earned afterwards, I believe. Could someone be so desperate to make the nightmares stop?"

"Or was it someone who wanted to stop us from learning the truth of this place? Is this the work of the Seed of Despair, or the Entity of Chaos?"

"I don't know, darling, I really don't. We just have questions right now, and none of the answers."

* * *

 **Day 16, Evening**

 **Western Plaza**

 **Third Eye Psychic's Tent**

Pyrrha walked into the tent, examining all of the strange doodads around the edges of the main room. The crystal ball that was supposed to be in the center of the table was lying on the floor, as if knocked off and disregarded. She stopped when she entered the bedroom of this large tent, where she saw Odelios sitting on the side of the bed.

"What on Earth are you doing hiding back here?" she asked him, entering the room.

"Oh, you know how it is," Odelios said, his voice neutral and devoid of his impish teasing, "this is a very serious situation. When the situation gets serious, you shoo out the clowns."

"Nobody shooed you out."

"I shooed myself out. Saiko's death is too serious, no one will want me around."

"Odelios, you've been missing for almost an entire day," Pyrrha snapped, flicking her red hair behind her shoulders. "We were looking for you throughout the asylum once we were situated in there earlier today, all four of us."

"Huh? Four?"

"Crystal, Kimiko, Hikari, and myself. Yes, you had four women looking for you, use that as a bragging tool later. Now where were you?"

Odelios stared at her, and she could see in his eyes how much the humor had been sapped from him. It chilled her, making it feel like she was staring into a shell of someone she felt she knew.

"I cannot tell you," he said.

"No, you have to. Saiko's death has many of us wondering who could do it and why, and every detail is going to matter! Now tell me!"

"Pyrrha, if I tell you, it'll get so many people hurt! It's bad enough that my best buddy and his girlfriends were in the arcade where it happened, and how he always gets accused of something during the trials! If I say what I'm thinking, and it starts during this trial…"

Odelios rubbed his stomach, and she could hear his stomach rumbling. It was a rather deep and painful sounding rumble. Pyrrha was rather concerned, but she had to push that aside for now.

"I'm sorry, Odelios, but you need to talk to me. Saiko deserves that, we need to find out the truth."

The clown stared at the romance writer for a minute, then let out a long, heavy sigh. "Anzu tried to kill me."

"Excuse me?"

"We were in the asylum, exploring the rooms. We found this room that was like a torture room, you know how that place is. Anyway, we found this cabinet full of hammers, like big, thick, bash-in-a-railroad-spike hammers, and as I was looking around…

"She swung one of them at my head. She hit one of the cabinets, and busted that thing like it was balsa wood. Her eyes were like fire, she looked so furious, and then, like if a switch, she was normal again. She started muttering she thought she saw a spider, but…"

Pyrrha sat down next to him, taking his hand into hers. "You were hiding from her this whole time?"

"Anzu has always been a good person, and I know that Ishiku cares about her. I don't know why it happened, how, but yeah, I saw something so dangerous and terrifying in her that moment, I kind of hid from her."

"But you were missing for almost twenty-four hours!"

"I cannot explain that. I was in a room on the third floor, just trying to make myself as small and difficult to find, my circus training really paid off there! Heh, luckily, there was a bathroom nearby, but that's all I was doing. Hiding."

Pyrrha shook her head, trying to steady the confusion building up. "Wait, it didn't even dawn on you that an entire day passed by? How is that possible?"

"I honestly don't know, I literally don't remember anything until one of those damned TVs came on with Monokuma announcing there was a body at the arcade. Nothing happened, and I didn't fall asleep." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"You didn't fall asleep? And you're not even tired now?"

"Nope. I would have remembered that, trust me. I would have welcomed the gentle embrace of drifting off, or suddenly waking up when you've stuck yourself in a closet and don't remember why, or where you are."

Pyrrha sighed, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "Crystal and I were looking around for you all that time, and, to be honest, I don't remember her and I sleeping either. I was watching Shuuya and Futaba all night last night, when they passed out; I was wandering that damned asylum all of this afternoon too."

"How did any of us miss that?"

"I don't know, but you know what I do know?"

Pyrrha leaned over and smooched his cheek, then wrinkled her nose and pulled back. "I believe in you, my cute clown; however, you desperately need a shower, and a change of make-up and clothes. You totes smell."

"Don't sugarcoat it now, Pyrrha, give it to me straight."

"Heh, you know what? Let's get you cleaned up, then we'll go talk to Crystal. She's probably desperate to see you too, she just won't show it."

* * *

 **Day 16, Evening**

 **The Bears' Motel**

 **Second Floor**

Ignatia stood outside of the once formally locked room at the end of the dark, creepy hallway. She stared down indignantly at Monokid, who was staring up at her.

"I fucking told you," Monokid raged, "that you aren't allowed in here, mime woman! Don't make me get my guitar and teach you a lesson like I did when you first arrived here."

Knowing it was her who showed him on that first day, Ignatia rolled her eyes and glanced over at Ishiku. The magician shrugged, and muttered, "Well, looks like my plan has busted before it began. Can I at least handle the door? It's opened into the hallway, meaning I'm not going into the room."

"Huh? Sure, I don't think you need permission for that," Monokid admitted. "Though your friend here is stumped silent. How is that so hard for you to understand? Is it because you're a woman? Haw haw haw!"

The mime held out her cell phone, which had the typed message, [We were told the buildings were all-access during the investigation.]

"You can go in and out of all the buildings, but not all the rooms!"

[So there are rooms only those with all-access can enter?]

"Man are you thick! Yes, you dumb dumbass ass!"

Ignatia merely smirked, and then walked down the hallway, stopping midway. Drake was investigating the room that Eisei and Saiko had been in, recognizing the two's belongings. The mime moved towards him, and communicated in that unique way only she could.

[I think I managed to trick Monokid into admitting one of the perks,] she wrote on her phone, [is that you gain all-access in Penjar.] * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"Oh dear, I hope he doesn't realize you did that. Good work!"

[Thanks. But what's seriously confusing me is which building it could be? Which one has Ishiku not been to as well?]

"He was here the first night, we were at the arcade. And we were both at the asylum, but he was saying how he and Fannie had to leave when that executioner chased them."

[You think the hotel grants all-access to those who stayed here?]

"We need to find out. Who else has been at this hotel?"

[Kimiko and Hikari. You know, the two women who haven't done it yet but are obviously aching to? Honestly, with all the shit going on, they need to do that.]

Drake blushed at reading this, staring at Ignatia with an unspoken curiosity if this was some kind of hint or joke. The mime merely stared back at him, pursing her lips as if to dare some kind of reaction from him. The cartoonist tried to think of an answer, then something more important came to mind.

"Wait, Kimiko and Hikari were with us when Yitro took Blake into that fancy medical room. Those two couldn't go in that room, just like us."

[Yet Yitro was allowed to, and I believe Monodam said since Blake was a patient, he was allowed in as Yitro's plus one. He's been in the asylum and the arcade?]

"We were in the asylum and the arcade too! It makes no sense."

[Yes, I think we're going to have to confer with everyone over this contradiction. Damn it, these cases are getting so confusing.]

Drake nodded, sighing heavily as he tried to get the image of Saiko's body out of his head. "I don't know why someone would hurt her. She was a good person, even if a little harsh."

[Yeah, I liked her. I don't like a lot of people, but I admired her fighting spirit. Still, we needn't mourn right now. Did you find out anything?]

"Just that the shower is still running, even when I turned the knobs. I think it's stuck running."

[A shower running nonstop? Monokuma really wants that Psycho feel.]

"I never watched it, so I'll take your word for it." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Ignatia shook her head, then headed back out of the room alongside Drake. She watched Ishiku knocking on the door, and even speaking into it as if it were a microphone. The mime was baffled, but then Drake walked on over.

"You think that there is a microphone of sorts in that door?" he asked the magician.

As soon as he said that, Fannie's voice could be heard from the door, the side that would face inside the control room. "Oh, is that Drake? You sound so clear, it's like you walked right on up to me from the other side of this door. Hi, Drake! How's Ignatia?"

"She's fine," the cartoonist said, realizing he was talking towards a door. He confusedly tried to check the front side of the door. Fannie's voice was much quieter, but he could still hear her asking about their relationship.

"Fannie, don't pry too much on that," Ishiku said to the door, tapping it. "Now wait a minute, I need to test something loud, okay?"  
"Okay, Ishi~"

"Drake, stand on the other side of the door, if you could, good sir?"

Drake stood on the side of the door that would face the hallway, and then Ishiku pounded his fist on the door. He did this several times, then said, "Okay, Fannie, did you hear those thumps?"

"Yes, I did!"

"But did you feel them?"

"Um, what did you mean?"

"If someone hits a door, there's shaking, vibrations. You would be able to tell if someone was pounding on a door rather than just hear it."

"Oh, I see! Well, I didn't."

Ishiku smiled in triumph, then turned to Drake. "But you could tell someone was pounding on the door rather than just the sound, right?"

"I would think it would be different when closed, but yes," the cartoonist said.

"Hot damn, I think I solved that mystery!" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Ignatia snapped her fingers, catching their attention. She showed Drake her phone, and he read from it. [You solved one part of it, yes. But how did Isaac get in there last night? And if he had all-access, why couldn't he leave the room when he woke up this morning?]

Ishiku scratched the back of his head, pocketed the chocolate coin he procured from there, and then turned to Monokid. "Yo, blue Kub, does all-access mean that all doors are unlocked to you?"

"Who said anything about all-access? You think because you're banging my sister, you get mad-crazy all-access knowledge, fatso?"

The magician stared at him in utter confusion, stared down at his lanky frame, and then tried again. "Can you tell us why Isaac wasn't able to leave this room, even though he had permission to open the door?"

"I can, yeah."

There was a moment of silence, and Ishiku rubbed his forehead. "Alright then, _will_ you tell us-"

"No, fuckface!"

Ignatia rolled her eyes, then knocked on the door, gesturing to Ishiku. It took a little bit of time, but eventually Ishiku caught on to what she was implying.

"Fannie, could you do me a favor?" Ishiku called through the door.

* * *

 **Day 16, Evening**

 **Monokuma's Arcade District**

 **Main Stage and Cafeteria**

"Yes, my Ishi?" Fannie asked, standing directly in front of the door and speaking to it as if a person was there. It looked slightly odd to the four people inside of the arcade.

"Could you ask Monodam the questions we're trying to ask Monokid?"

"Fuck you, sister-fucker! I oughta kick your ass so hard!"

Fannie nodded, and walked over to Monodam, who was still on the stage. "Hey there, brother," she said, waving at him.

"HELLO-FANNIE."

"So, why couldn't Isaac get out of the room he was locked in, even though he had permission to be in there?"

Monodam glanced side to side, then stared up at his human sister. "ISAAC-PRESSED-ONE-OF-THE-BUTTONS-THAT-LOCKS-THE-DOOR-FROM-THE-INSIDE. THOSE-WITH-PERMISSION-COULD-OPEN-IT, OR-HE-COULD-PUSH-THE-BUTTON-AGAIN."

"What was the point of that?"

"YOU-KNOW-HOW-FATHER-IS-WITH-THE-COMPLICATED-CONTROL-PANELS."

"He's not our father," Fannie stubbornly said, crossing her arms. "I know you cannot say otherwise since you're stuck in that body, but you know it's true."

"There is little point," Ken remarked, "to arguing with an avatar of Despair."

"Let's not start an argument," Crystal pleaded. "So long as Monodam is answering questions, we'll be fine."

Futaba adjusted her glasses, and asked, "Monodam, you said earlier that we cannot get into that room. What if someone has special permission?"

"YOU-CANNOT."

The anthropologist growled in frustration, then Fannie spoke up. "Is it because there actually isn't a room there?"

"THAT-IS-CORRECT." * **TRUTH BULLET** *

Fannie beamed in pride, and turned towards the others. "You gotta understand how he talks."

"Understand _nothing_!"

Ken's booming voice made everyone in the room jump. The cavalryman approached Fannie, grabbing her shirt by the collar. "You knew about that being a falsehood room, a trick! You know more than you're letting go!"

"Ken, stop it," Crystal cried out, approaching them as she ignored the Novoselic's misusage of words. "Let her go."

"I will not! This harlot of Despair," he continued, shaking the very intimidated and scared-looking Fannie, "is probably deep within this horrendous murder!"

"He is right," Futaba remarked, calmly watching the altercation. "Fannie should never be trusted, a lot of you just let her do as she wanted."

"I-I-I don't know what to say," Fannie stammered as tears leaked from her eyes. She glanced over at Saiko, her eyes widening at the cold reminder of how she was dead, murdered, with the sword she had been holding when she fell asleep. The white 'n pink-topped girl shouted, "I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie! That sword was in your possession! And you knew of the falsehood that was that room, who is to say you didn't know about the rules of the buildings? The timing of Monokuma's tricks and deceit?

"Why should we trust an avatar of Despair?!"

Futaba approached the two, adding in, "You need to answer our questions, now that we have you here. You haven't given us any reason to trust you."

"Now wait a minute," Crystal spoke up, "I'm one of the toughest bitches there is, but even I'll say she's been helping us. She gave us insight on Monokuma's plans!"

"There's no verification to what she's said," the anthropologist countered the military adviser. "Keep in mind, this murder happened in the building she was in, with a sword she and Ishiku had, and it was done to someone who, technically, shouldn't be in this building to begin with!" * **TRUTH BULLET** *

"I don't have special access," Fannie shouted desperately. "I don't have anything like that! You all heard Monokuma, I'm the same as you all now."

"You say that, but you have no proof," Ken snarled. "We need you to prove it."

"F-fine, I'll do that. I'll try to go into one of the rooms you need access for. They won't let me in."

"You think I'll trust the fact that your bear allies will just say it, and it'll be so?! How foolishly foolish do you think I am that you can fool me, tramp?! They'll just say it, but that proves nothing to us!"

"But I cannot go into one of those rooms without being punished!"

"Then let's see," Ken let go of her shirt with one hand, but clenched it with the other, "what that punishment will be."

Fannie's eyes widened, and she squeaked out, "He might kill me."

"A fitting way for you to prove you aren't in league with him. Come now, I'll watch this with my own eyes."

"NO! NO, STOP!" Fannie pleaded as she was pulled towards the arcade entrance. "Monokuma wants to kill me, he will use any excuse!"

"Ken, let go of her," Crystal shouted, moving over towards them. "You cannot do this-"

She was seized by Futaba, who had her strong, robotic hand grasping the blonde's arm. The anthropologist had a cold, steel look in her eyes. "We need to do this, she's far, far too dangerous."

"Please stop, I beg of you!" Fannie struggled, but was no match for Ken's strength and grasp on her. "He'll kill me! I know he will!"

"I will not," Ken shouted, "let Despair win once more! Too many innocents were lost during the Tragedy! No more blood, no more slain individuals, no more distractions like a pretty face and evil mind like yours!

"Now come on, I will-"

 _ **THWACK!**_

Ken was sent sprawling back, clutching his face where something had hit him rather roughly. He immediately unsheathed his sword, the blade gleaming in the arcade's lights, to counter his attacker, though he was stunned to see who it was.

Ishiku, holding his staff in both hands, glared venomously at Ken. As Fannie scurried behind him, he spat out, "Don't you ever, EVER, touch her again, you bastard."

"Ishiku," Ken balked, flabbergasted at this turn of events. "Don't you see? She's poisoning your mind! She is a member of Despair."

"I can see a member of Despair for who they are, and she is not one of them."

"You do not know that! No one knows Despair until it is too late! My family, my country, wiped out because anyone and anybody could become infected with despair!

"You endanger us all because of her pretty face and large dish rack and willingness to give outside to you! She is the prime suspect in all of this!"

"Indeed," Futaba said, glaring at Fannie and Ishiku as she let go of Crystal. "Ken is right, we never should have trusted her. I know better than anyone that a woman can be capable of sadistic evil."

She traced the scars from the corners of her mouth, and then spat out, "I won't ever allow that kind of mistake to happen again."

"And you think killing her will solve everything?" Ishiku shouted. "You're crazy, that's not only pure madness, it's malice!"

"There is no other way for her to be trusted," Ken announced, though he sheathed his sword. "You should not take part in this conversation, you are corrupted by her."

"You all were shouting loud enough for me to hear it from the door. I could hear you threatening her, and I came here. So I was part of this, and it's over."

"It is not over," Futaba insisted.

"Yes," Crystal, nearby her, insisted, walking in-between Ken and Ishiku. "It's over. There's nothing more to say to them, so Ishiku, Fannie, get out of here. Just go."

When Ishiku and Fannie wordlessly left the building, Ken and Futaba glared at Crystal. "Why do you interfere?" the Novoselic cavalryman demanded. "Surely you, a military tactician, know that it is folly to allow her to be part of our ranks."

"There is nothing we can do to prove Fannie's innocence or guilt where we are now," Crystal said defiantly. "Even if she is a member of Despair, Monokuma would kill her for trespassing as much as he would any one of us. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

"That seems incredibly hackneyed at this point," Futaba said with a frown. "Crystal, do you not understand that-"

"What on Earth is going on here?"

The three of them turned to see Pyrrha and Odelios walk into the arcade. The clown had freshened up, and was looking much better now, though he still lacked the mirthful spring in his step, or the twinkle in his eyes. The two of them approached Crystal, who blushed a little at the sudden attention.

"Listen," Futaba spoke up again, "Fannie is the odd one out here. No one else had a reason to kill Saiko, while every other murder at least had motivation or a reason behind it."

"What about the nightmares ending?" Odelios inquired.

"We were all in safe buildings, save for the ones who didn't want to be. No reason at all to panic over that, so that cannot be a reason."

"'No reason to'," Pyrrha repeated, then she sighed heavily as she spoke up more firmly. "There may be a reason."

"And what would that be?" Ken inquired.

"Yesterday, Blake forced several people out of the motel along with him. And there was a very, very heated argument between him and Saiko. She was saying how she'd kill him, and that she had… killed someone before."

"While that is concerning," Crystal remarked, "that isn't enough to trigger someone, unless she said something pertaining to a specific death?"

"No, she didn't. But she was threatening Blake, maybe he took it seriously?" * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

"That cad had a broken leg," Ken responded, "and fell asleep like the rest of us, I'm sure. He cannot be the culprit."

"He's going around saying the most awful things! That bastard is _enjoying_ this!"

"That doesn't mean he's guilty, Pyrrha."

Futaba sighed, and shook her head. "I'm afraid we're letting emotions override us now. Saiko's murder is going to be deduced with logic and reason, not a hatred for one person or the other. We may have become too forceful back there."

"It sounded like pandemonium was erupting in here," Odelios said, crossing his arms. "Ishiku was so pissed off, he didn't even acknowledge me when Pyrrha and I came by. What the hell did you two that my friend didn't even notice me when I had been gone for so long?"

Ken groaned in exasperation, rubbing his forehead. "We seriously do not need to answer the questions of a missing court jester right now. We need to find out anything else about this murderer."

"Hey, I can be of help!"

"Can you now? Do you know everyone's whereabouts since yesterday? Do you have any insight towards the benefits these buildings give us? You weren't even part of the Killing Game Realm vision most of us went through last night!"

"Hey now," Crystal spoke up, "not all of us were part of that either, but how does it relate to the case?"

"Maybe someone saw something in that evil realm," Futaba speculated, "that gleamed them some insight on Saiko. Perhaps it was in the nature of the Queen's true identity?"

"What?" Pyrrha stammered, highly perplexed. "How is that possible?"

"Unless someone was asleep and in the Killing Game Realm," Ken said, narrowing his stare at Odelios, "and was actually that unholy abomination slaying innocent people like they were Jason Gorehees."

"It's Voorhees, and also," Odelios protested, "I was awake throughout the entire night! And a guy!"

"In a nightmarish wonderland such as that world, the idea of hiding one's gender can be as easy as finding sand on the beach. And you have no one to verify your consciousness."

"Hey, Crystal and I were awake too," Pyrrha protested.

"But you two can verify each other, as you were looking after some unconscious people?"

"Y-yeah, her," the writer pointed to Futaba, "as well as Shuuya and Fiora."

"Did someone say my name?"

Almost everyone in the room jumped when they saw that Fiora was standing nearby them. The movie maker glanced around at them all, her eyes focused as if trying to find a weak point. "What were you discussing?"

"The, the Killing Game Realm, Fiora," Pyrrha admitted. "Do you remember anything that could point to our killer that you saw in there?"

"No."

"Oh, okay. Um, where's Yitro?"

"Behind me."

As soon as she said that, Yitro walked in, appearing beleaguered. His normally stoic expression was rather pale and frazzled.

"What has you so consternated, my friend?" Ken inquired.

Yitro glanced at him, at the others, then let out a heaving sigh. "There's a new portion of town, a southern plaza."

"What?!" everyone in the arcade shouted in astonishment.

"Impossible!" Futaba balked. "We would have known about that!"

"Wait, like what happens after each trial?" Pyrrha asked. "That's not possible!"

"Shouldn't Monokuma have told us about this?" Odelios demanded.

"OH-TECHNICALLY-HE-DID."

Everyone turned to Monodam, who stood ever motionless on the stage. Fiora approached him, causing him to slide his head to meet her stare. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded to know, her voice calm and cool.

"FATHER-SAID-YOU-ARE-ABLE-TO-EXPLORE-PENJAR-DURING-THIS-EVENT. HE-SAID-YOU-ALL-WERE-FREE-TO-SEE-THE-TOWN-JUST-THAT-YOU-WOULD-HAVE-NIGHTMARES-IF-YOU-WEREN'T-IN-THE-SPECIAL-BUILDINGS."

"That doesn't explain," Yitro shouted, "how a new part of the city came to be!"

"YOU-MEAN-LIKE-ALL-THE-OTHER-TIMES-IT-HAS-HAPPENED?"

"But… but none of you said anything about a new section of town opening!"

"WASN'T-IT-SAID-THAT-YOU-COULD-SOLVE-THE-MYSTERY-TO-PENJAR-WITHOUT-ANY-DEATHS?" Monodam stated. "YOU-ALL-WERE-ALLOWED-TO-ENTER-THE-NEW-AREA-AT-ANY-POINT. FATHER-ASSUMED-YOU-WOULDN'T-BOTHER-LOOKING-FOR-ANYTHING-ELSE-SINCE-YOU-WERE-SO-FIXATED-ON-THESE-BUILDINGS.

"IT-APPEARS-HE-WAS-RIGHT." * **TRUTH BULLETS ADDED** *

Silence from all of the graduates made the room feel suffocating. The sound of animatronics creaking and the music overhead playing were the only noises for a short while. It was Fiora who finally broke the quiet.

"When was the new portion of the town added?"

"LAST-NIGHT, AFTER-THE-SLEEPING-EFFECT-HAPPENED."

"And could anyone access the buildings there?"

"YES, EXCEPT-FOR-THE-ARMORY."

"The what now?!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "You're kidding!"

"No," Yitro remarked, shaking his head. "No he is not, because that's where Fiora and I were."

"A warehouse-like building," Fiora stated, glaring down at Monodam as she folded her arms, "filled with guns, blades, explosives, and more. All kinds of weapons, primitive to high-tech, all very real."

"ONLY-THOSE-WITH-SPECIAL-ACCESS-CAN-ENTER-THE-ARMORY," Monodam explained. "I-BELEIVE-EVERYTHING-ELSE-IN-THE-SOUTHERN-PLAZA-IS-OPEN-TO-THE-PUBLIC."

"That's horrifying and all," Ken muttered, "and this is a very shocking revelation, but what does it have to do with our case?"

"There was a section featuring medieval weapons and clothing," Yitro said, "and it was missing a cloak, a morph mask, and a large executioner's mask."

They all turned to look at the battle-ax and the garb that was on the stage nearby Saiko. Odelios wandered over towards them, reaching out for the axe. "So this came from the distract that none of us were aware about?"

"DON'T-TOUCH-THAT," Monodam instructed him. "YOU-ARE-NOT-ALLOWED-TO-TOUCH-IT."

"Huh? Hey, it's part of the investigation, when can I touch it?"

"ONLY-THOSE-WITH-SPECIAL-PERMISSION-MAY-TOUCH-IT. FOR-YOU, THAT-WILL-BE-NEVER. A-DEATH-MEANS-THERE-ARE-NO-OTHER-CHANCES-FOR-YOU-TO-GAIN-THE-BUILDING-BENEFITS."

"Wait, seriously?" Crystal inquired. "What about the ones we were in tonight?"

"NO. THE-RULES-WERE-YOU-STAY-IN-THE-BUILDING-OVERNIGHT."

"But there was a murder!"

"DO-YOU-THINK-FATHER-MONOKUMA-ALLOWS-EXCEPTIONS? THE-ONLY-BENEFIT-YOU-ALL-GAINED-TONIGHT-WAS-FOR-AS-LONG-AS-YOU-WERE-IN-THAT-BUILDING. ONCE-YOU-LEFT, ANY-BENEFITS-THAT-DON'T-STICK-TO-YOU-PERMANENTLY-ARE-GONE." * **TRUTH BULLET UPDATED** *

Ken cursed in his native tongue, and muttered, "Every time, every time I think that Despair cannot sink lower, it becomes like a devilish lawyer!"

"You mean a regular lawyer?" Odelios offered.

Before anyone could comment on anything else, the televisions in the room buzzed to life as the music from the overhead was muted. The vision of Monokuma, seated on the front steps of Town Hall, greeted them all.

"AHEM!" came his high-pitched, taunting tone. "Ahemy hemy hemyoo! Attention, guests of Penjar and my least favorite daughter! The time for investigation is now over. Please report to the front steps of Town Hall, within ten minutes. Anyone not there within ten minutes may be subject to termination by the Guardian!

"And please, don't keep me waiting! You don't want to see me when I'm a psycho! Do it, for Saiko! Upupupu!"

Everyone in the arcade exchanged glances, realizing their time was up. Before they could head out of the building, they could see Hara and Isaac almost running towards the arcade.

"Let us see her," Hara shouted, and the group could tell that Shuuya was right behind them. "Let us see her one last time, please!"

"The trial is going to start soon," the bounty hunter called out. "There's no time! Come now, this is not-"

"Shuuya!" Pyrrha declared, getting in-between him and the two. "Just let them go see her."

"Hey now," Futaba said, watching Hara and Isaac run inside. "We shouldn't let them do that. After all-"

"We're already leaving," the writer assured them. "What, you're worried they'll mess with the crime scene? We're leaving, there's nothing else they could do…"

She glanced back at them, as the two slowly approached Saiko's body. "Except to say good-bye."

The group exchanged glances, then started to head out, towards Town Hall. Only Pyrrha and Fiora stayed back, both watching intensively at this last farewell.

Hara approached Saiko's body, started to reach for her, then recoiled. "No," she whimpered, "no I cannot see her like this! Especially when I… I might have-"

"No, you didn't do this," Isaac assured her.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good with death, you know."

She sniffled, and glanced hopefully at Isaac. "Could you… for me?"

"You don't have to even ask."

Isaac moved up towards Saiko's body, and placed his hand on her shoulder. He moved to adjust her gently, closing her mouth and trying to make her look as dignified as possible. Though as he tried, he started to shake in grief, and then sobbed.

"I'm sorry," he said, tears rolling down his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. We should have left this evil town, we should have gotten the hell out of here. And taken you with us."

"Saiko, I still remember when you and I first met, you were as stubborn and fierce and compassionate as you are now. You would eat half of my lunch, tell me to stop being a dumbass, and make the same silly joke about my being a reporter every time I asked you a question in class.

"I hope wherever you are now, you're happy. You're with your family, you're in a better place, that's all Hara and I can hope for. We'll… we will miss you… every damn day, we will miss you.

"I wanted more than anything for you to be there at our wedding. You were our family, and we loved you."

Isaac could hear heartbroken sniffling behind him, but not just Hara. He turned to see Eisei had come into the arcade, staring at Saiko's body before glancing at Isaac.

"I'm sorry, I know," he stammered out to the reporter, "I have no business here. I'm not a long-time friend, I just-"

"No," Hara blurted out. "You cared. It's alright."

Nearby, Souma had joined Fiora and Pyrrha. The three were quiet, before the movie maker walked into the room. She spoke, quite calm as she eyed Saiko's body.

"If you want, I can remove the sword from her," she offered. "She shouldn't be left like that."

Isaac glanced at her, then at the sword in Saiko's chest. He put his hand on the handle, but the thought of trying to tug it out was too much for him to bear. He stood up and silently gestured for her to do so. Fiora walked over, wrapped her hands around the sword's handle, and pulled hard.

The metallic scrapping sound as well as the blade cutting through the body echoed around the room. Isaac caught Saiko before she slumped down, and lay her gently on the stage. Posing her in a more dignified manner, like if she were to be placed in a coffin, the deed was done.

Fiora inspected the katana, and grabbed one of the napkins that was on the cafeteria tables. "We should bring this to the trial too, but you needn't see her blood. Come now, we must hurry, or Monokuma could eradicate us.

"I am… so sorry for your loss. Now let's go."

* * *

 **Day 16, Evening**

 **Central Plaza**

 **Town Hall**

" **Cutting it close, are we?** " Monokuma called out as the group of six graduates appeared out of the mist and in front of Town Hall. " **But hey, you came on time. I shan't complain.** "

Pyrrha sighed heavily, glancing over at the ones she had defied. Futaba and Shuuya were at the side of the group, surveying everyone; they were occasionally glancing at Fannie and Ishiku, who were at the other side of this group. The magician and his girlfriend were staying as far away from Ken as they could.

Anzu was sweating, her eyes darting towards Odelios multiple times. Hikari and Kimiko were close together, whispering to each other. Everyone seemed incredibly tense and occupied, which was why he was the only one to notice the addition Fiora had brought.

"Wait a minute," he called out to her, alerting everyone's attention, "you took that sword out of Saiko, Fiora?"

"Yes," the movie maker responded, finishing cleaning it with the napkin and then tossing it to the floor. She then sheathed it in the scabbard, as she added, "Also, I retrieved the scabbard from where I assume it had been left behind."

"Wait, seriously?" Kimiko asked. "You did all that?"

"It felt appropriate, how often do you get to bring the murder weapon to a trial?"

"We're gonna let her do that?" Blake grumbled. "Psycho bitch gets a sword for this trial?"

"She is not the only one," Ken spoke up, patting his own sheathed sword. "And I shall not surrender mine, you fiend; not after all the horrible occurrences that have happened."

"Yeah, I'm with them," Yitro said, wrapping his hand around his sword's handle. "Anyway, since we're all here, can we go in?"

"RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!"

Monokid and Monodam appeared on opposite sides of Monokuma, both of them posing like they were getting ready for a photo op. Monokid also had his guitar, strumming it like the rock star he thought he was.

"Let's kick this trial into high gear," the blue Kub hollered, "and then, maybe then, we'll find out why it all has to end in a church!"

"I-WISH-YOU-ALL-LUCK," Monodam said. "INCLUDING-YOU, SISTER."

"I refuse to acknowledge her relation to me!" Monokid holllered.

" **Oh, your adorable sibling squabbles really do make your proud papa chortle,** " Monokuma declared, rubbing his belly as he laughed. " **But let's do this then, and Fannie? You get your dead brother's position in the trial room! UPUPUPUPU!** "

Town Hall's doors opened, and the bears ran into the building. The inside of the building seemed to unleash a chilling burst of air, and as the graduates shivered, they could hear something in the distance…

The sound of bells, loud and strong, echoed from the southern area of the town of Penjar. Every clang was an intense noise, like the Grim Reaper was calling for the living's final destination.

"Never ask for whom the bell tolls for," Pyrrha whispered to herself, "it tolls for thee."

"Since when are there bells in this damn town?" Kimiko spat out.

"Looks like the new district decided to enhance our trials," Ken muttered bitterly. When some of the others stared at him in befuddlement, he said, "Sorry, we'll explain during the trial. Let's go now."

The group of twenty survivors entered Town Hall, walking across the littered, dusty floor of the building. They reached Monokuma's freight elevator, climbed in, and it started to move down.

Down…

Down…

Down to this hellish trial room of dark humor and darker hearts…

Down to where the truth would freeze and chill…

Everyone was grim-faced, as this trial felt so different, so heinous, and so very personal. Several of them, those closest to Saiko, were shivering and breathing heavily. Suspicion was abound, and it took all the willpower to stop themselves from shouting accusations there and then.

At long last, the elevator stopped. The door scrolled open, and a trial room of a different color greeted them once more.

The floors, ceiling, and walls were striped with metallic blue, gray, and silver all around, almost appearing like dancing steel. The floor was almost like an artistic version of a blender, the ceiling a gigantic fan frozen in motion. It was almost as if the walls were a steel fence instead of a solid material.

The statues that Monokuma somehow had ready for every trial were there, and each one was a female samurai. The firm armor, with face masks, shoulder guards, gauntlets, leggings, belly armor, were part of every statue's gear. There were no helmets, allowing their hair to flow free with lengthy ponytails. And, much like all the other statues, the female samurai couldn't afford proper chest plates, which were more like metal push-up bras that showcased that warrior women are definitely well-endowed.

Each statue was posed as if for combat, all holding katanas and ready to strike. They were a fierce collection of grim-faced ladies, and it fit the mood for the metallic coloring the place had gone over.

As the survivors moved towards their positions, Monokuma sat on his throne, though he was wearing a traditional samurai helmet on his head. Monokid and Monodam stood on their platform, next to the memorial pictures of Monosuke and Monotaro.

Fannie found that she was positioned next to Ishiku, with a memorial picture of Taro where she was to stand. She took her place, trying to put on a positive smile for her boyfriend. Ishiku waved at her, and squeezed his emerald staff tightly in anticipation.

Hara and Isaac shared a long hug before parting ways, and stood at their designated spots. They both happened to glance at the memorial picture of Saiko, who had a cruel **X** painted across her face.

" **Alright, is everyone ready?** " Monokuma called out. " **Surely by now, you've gotten the hang of this!** "

"Haw haw haw! Maybe their necks snapped when they were dropped like the doomed dumbasses they are," Monokid cackled.

"…" subverted Monodam.

Before any of the survivors could speak up, there was a burst of laughter from one of them. They all turned, and saw Blake cackling and pointing towards something.

"What the hell," Kimiko shouted, "is yoo'r problem?"

"What could possibly," said Fiora, glaring coolly at him, "be so funny?"

Blake wheezed, and pointed more upwards, until they realized he was drawing their attention towards the statues of female samurai. "Did you all notice?"

"It's impossible to miss those," Hikari scoffed, "inappropriate decorations."

"No, stupid, look at their heads," the pyro snickered, before glancing over at the explorer nearby him. "They've all got Hara's hairstyle!"

Everyone took a moment to look, and it was quite apparent once they surveyed the statues. Blake burst out laughing again, as Hara tried very hard not to burst into tears over this.

"Monokuma knows who did it, HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!"

As Blake's sadistic laughter echoed around the trial room, with Monokid joining him, the room felt a terrible combination of sweltering hot like rage, and frigid chills like a deadly scare. How sinister and convoluted this case could be, they could only imagine…

This heartbreaking trial with a victim stabbed through the heart, breaking the spirits of those that cared, and broke the unity that had almost kept them all together…

* _Jin glares forward, three fingers correcting the rim of her owl-themed eye mask._ *

* _Yejoon stares through the eye holes of his fox mask._ *

* **Crystal stares downwards, as if surveying a map or field.** *

* **Isaac is leveling a studying stare straight forward with a hand extended, as if wanting an answer.** *

* **Fiora is glancing to the side, staring with an analytical gaze towards whatever has caught her attention.** *

* _Aka has a hand on her skiing goggles perched on her head, looking bravely forward._ *

This was going to be the trial for Saiko Kobayashi, the Ultimate Forensic Investigator. However, she was so much more than that to several people. She was a friend, or a partner, or she was family.

* _Saiko has her hands on her hips, glaring downwards at someone or something._ *

* **Drake is nervously glancing to the side, while holding his sketchpad up and close to his chest.** *

* **Souma has an arm raised as he is apparently in the middle of delivering a speech.** *

* **Hara has her hands clasped together, staring anxiously forward.** *

* **Shuuya is glancing over his shoulder, with his arms crossed defiantly.** *

* **Eisei has a lollipop in his mouth and looks half-interested in whatever is going on.** *

She could be argumentative, abrasive, and even dismissive at times. Her hobbies and desires were an odd combination, and she led with her heart more times than with her head; however, she was compassionate, caring, honest, and protective of those she cared about more than anything in the world.

* **Blake is cracking his knuckles and growling in frustration.** *

* **Ignatia is glancing from the side, seemingly uninterested.** *

* **Hikari is taking a confident pose with a smile, hand on the brim of her hat and her chest stuck out with pride.** *

* _Shinobu is holding a finger up, trying to prove a point about something or other._ *

* **Odelios is holding up a rubber chicken and pointing at it, as if to accuse it of the crime.** *

* **Yitro has his arms crossed and eyes closed, scarf pulled up slightly over his mouth.** *

Who would kill Saiko? Why? How? There were so many questions about her death, and even more pertaining to all of the mysteries the town enshrouded in its fog-like mists. Though, like Saiko, the survivors and graduates were not going to give up until they found out the truth!

* **Ishiku is grinning and holding up one of his signature chocolate coins in-between two fingers.** *

* _Samson glares forward from underneath the brim of his hat._ *

* _Takeo pumps his fist into the air with gusto._ *

* _Emanuel gives a tired stare from the side as he is holding his favorite flask close to him._ *

* **Ken salutes and stands proud, staring up to the sky.** *

* _Angelique has her hands over her heart, silently praying._ *

Even if it is heartbreaking, even if it is difficult, there is only one path to take. One road, one way towards victory and living for another day. To stray off the path would mean death, and down this pathway towards the truth!

* **Kimiko is pointing forward while shouting defiantly.** *

* **Pyrrha is making a heart with her hands, a sad but sweet smile on her face.** *

* **Futaba has a finger touching her glasses, narrowing her eyes.** *

* **Anzu stares forward defiantly, her frown and posture confident and ready.** *

* _Taro crosses his arms as he stares forward, using his red eye more prominently, as he joins the debate._ *

* **Fannie clasps her hands together in front of her chest, staring forward with a slightly confused tilt of her head.** *

And thus, it is time to begin the Town Trial of Penjar!

* * *

Truth Bullets for Case 5:

* * *

 **Saiko's Autopsy** – Saiko Kobayashi was found impaled through the heart with a katana formerly belonging to Peko Pekoyama. She had deep cuts on her stomach and neck, with most of the blood on the stage with her though a puddle and trail nearby leading to it. Her body was pinned up against the Monophanie animatronic. Precise time of death is unknown, but her body was found at approximately 9:30 PM.

 **Saiko's Location** – Saiko was in the Mononkuma's Arcade District building, on the stage which is located in the right section of the building. As it is not allowed to access the four buildings if you weren't in one to begin with, it is unclear how she made it into the Arcade; however, from the amount of blood found on the stage, there can be no doubt she was murdered there.

 **Motive for Murder** – Monokuma promised that the dangerous nightmares, which caused people to sleepwalk, do harm to themselves, and/or develop injuries or rashes, would stop if a murder was committed. Several people also heard Saiko threatening Blake, adding that she killed someone before.

 **Executioner's Garb** – A cloak, morph mask, and a large battle-ax were found at first in front of the plaza statue, but then next to Saiko's body. The cloak, which is slightly smaller than the norm, has no cuts, but is soaked in her blood. Ishiku and Fannie were chased by someone wearing these the previous night, but swear that the person was fully covered. Ishiku also seems to recall something being off during that encounter, but cannot remember what exactly.

 **Monocrow** – The crow version of the Mono-family was a new addition to Penjar that everyone met yesterday, but apparently had known all about Penjar and the Kubs beforehand; he claims Monokuma was not part of the original design of Penjar. Monocrow would come when requested some of the time, though he fancied Anzu. He was found destroyed at the base of the plaza's statue, smashed to pieces against the side of said statue.

 **Monocrow's Powers** – Monocrow was able to, if asked when alone with no other witnesses, swap benefits in-between people, even without the person who would be losing their benefit's knowledge or permission. These could be put on request, and one was made for right when Monokuma's sleeping gas came into effect the third night. Anzu believes there are more details to Monocrow's abilities, but never had a chance to ask.

 **Building Benefits** – For spending the entire night and morning inside one of the four buildings of the western plaza, guests would be granted secret benefits for their stay in Penjar. No one quite knows which building gives what, but there are theories that one of the benefits is all-access to Penjar's locked rooms and areas, and another is possibly an immunity to sleep and fatigue.

Now that a murder has happened, there can no longer be any benefits gained. Apparently, staying in one without "permanent" benefits during the third night means they lost them when they left their building. No expections were given due to the murder.

 **Monokuma's Arcade District** – The building in the bottom-left corner of the plaza, in which the murder was committed. This place had computer games, arcade games, and a stage where animatronics of the Monokubs pretended to play instruments. There is a maintenance room that turned out to be a fake room.

 **The Bears' Motel** – The two-story building in the top-left corner of the plaza, a stone's throw away from the arcade. It creaks and makes haunting noises of someone moving about the building at night at all hours. The locked room turned out to be the control room for the Arcade, and Isaac was trapped in that room due to accidentally locking himself him with the control panel.

 **Enoshima Asylum** – The three-story building in the top-right corner of the plaza, and the most imposing. This derelict asylum was made up to cause tricks of the eye and hallucinations, where people saw all sorts of awful creatures and heard terrifying sounds of things that weren't there. It had many dusty rooms with awful medical tools, including weapons that could be used for murder, but also a highly advanced, state-of-the-art, self-operating medical table/chair. The usage of this room is restricted.

 **Third Eye Psychic's Tent** – The large tent made into a small building in the bottom-right corner of the plaza. This was the one place that Monokuma informed the guests of Penjar that wouldn't shield them from the nightmares and body controlling/damaging that would happen. A large amount of trinkets and doodads lined the inside, a crystal ball on a table in the center, and a smashed robot of Yasuhiro Hagakure at the front.

 **Door Trick** – The door to the control room of the Arcade, hidden in the Motel, was soundproof, though it had speakers built on the inside that transmitted any noise coming from outside of the fake maintenance room in the Arcade. Therefore, everyone thought Isaac was inside of the arcade room, but he was actually in the motel. It was only revealed where he was when Shuuya could sense someone physically pounding on the door, and opened it.

 **Secret Motel Room** – The control room for the Arcade was located on the second floor of the motel. It had a large control panel, capable of controlling the music, cameras, animatronics, and doors at the arcade, as well as the door to the room itself. There were multiple screens showcasing the camera feed inside of the arcade, which was where Isaac saw something terrible after he was personally awakened by Monokuma. The control panel isn't labeled, and is impossible to navigate, leaving the music to play indefinitely and the animatronics moving about.

 **Running Shower** – The shower in Eisei and Saiko's room was running when he woke up. When investigating, Drake attempted to turn off the water, but the flow didn't stop despite turning the knobs. Some of the survivors believe this is to be an homage to the horror movie the motel is meant to copy.

 **Isaac's Location** – After everyone awoke from the second night, Isaac was supposedly inside of the arcade; truthfully, he was trapped in a room on the second floor of the motel. However, either scenario should be impossible, as Isaac left the motel yesterday and thus banned from any of the buildings by Monokuma, as were the rules. How he managed to get in there, no one knows, not even him as he claims.

 **Eisei's Alibi** – Eisei woke up from the sleeping gas, to find Saiko missing from their room. When he heard the shower running in the bathroom, he assumed she was in there, though she did not answer when he called. He left the room when he heard the Body Discovery Announcement.

 **Odelios's Alibi** – The clown had been hiding on the third floor of the asylum ever since the second afternoon, when Anzu suddenly and uncharacteristically attacked him. He claims he didn't fall asleep, and has been awake and alert, but time passed by incredibly fast. Odelios was made aware of when things were wrong when the Body Discovery Announcement played on the TVs located throughout all of Penjar, including the rooms in the asylum.

 **Monophanie Animatronic** – Saiko's body was pinned up against the animatronic modeled to look like Monophanie, Fannie's previous robot-bear form. The animatronics are held in place on the stage, though they are moving about with their heads and arms, sometimes in the dead of night.

 **Suspicion on Fannie** – As a former Kub, several members of the group are suspicious of the white 'n pink-topped young lady. Ishiku had given Peko's sword to Fannie after they entered the arcade, so she was the one to have it last. Due to this, being in the same building as the murder, and the lack of confirmation to what she has told the graduates, there are those that don't believe she can be trusted.

 **Sleeping Gas** – On the second night, Monokuma used a sleeping chemical in the air to make many people pass out right after his Monokuma Theater at 9:30 PM; this caused everyone who fell asleep, allegedly, to fall into the Killing Game Realm. Only some people claim they never fell asleep.

On the third night, the sleeping gas went off at 8:30 PM, earlier as Monokuma said it would be. When Saiko was found dead shortly after 9:30, everyone who had fallen asleep was awakened by Monokuma; however, some people claim to have awakened at 9:30 PM precisely, which was when Monokuma Theater played on the TVs.

 **Southern Plaza** – During the second night, the Southern Plaza, a previously nonexistent area of the town, came to be. Everyone was allowed to go down to this plaza, but seemingly no one knew of its existence until it was discovered by Yitro and Fiora. It has been implied that this was the path the graduates were meant to take after they were done with the western plaza, but they had become too caught up in the rotation and building benefits.

 **Armory** – One of the buildings in the Southern Plaza is a large, warehouse-like storage area. It is full of all kinds of weapons, from primitive to high-tech modern day weapons. The executioner's garb and battle-ax came from this building. One needs special access to enter this building.

 **Killing Game Realm** – The alternate realm, where the Killing Game involving Hope's Peak's students, where several graduates have found themselves in, became a place for everyone knocked unconscious due to Monokuma's combination of sleeping gas and truth serum gas on the second night.

Inside this realm was an ever increasing body count done by the Queen, a figure enshrouded in shade that could steal someone's talent in the process of murdering them. The Queen wanted something or someone, and appeared to be an embodiment of Chaos and malice. Only one person knows the true face of the Queen, but whoever that is hasn't said anything; Hikari was seemingly successful in killing the Queen, though her shrieks could still be heard amongst the small group that were in the area where she was impaled with one of her own self-created spikes.

Hikari was in the body of Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist, due to wearing a bikini that looked much like the deceased artist's, and a swimsuit from Hope's Peak Academy. Kimiko was in the body of Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, possibly from holding onto Hikari in her unconscious state. Items belonging to members of Hope's Peak seem to be gateways into this realm.

The following graduates were inside of the Killing Game Realm during the second night: Hikari, Anzu, Souma, Shuuya, Ken, Yitro, Futaba, Saiko, Blake, Eisei, Fiora, Ignatia, Drake, Hara, and Isaac.

 **Mahiru's Last Words** \- " _The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm sorry._ " This was whispered to Hikari, when Mahiru Koizumi realized she was about to die once more in the unending cycle of Killing Games.

* * *

…

THE TRIAL WILL COMMENCE SHORTLY!


	37. Chapter 5-5: Case 5 Trial, Part 1

**Chapter 5-5**

 **Trial and Trail Through Turbulence**

* * *

 _ **LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!**_

* * *

Monokuma adjusted his samurai helmet before he began his usual intro. " **Now then, everyone, allow me to briefly recap the town trial. We have a Deviant Tourist amid our guests! You all need to work together, if you can, to find out who this Deviant Tourist is, and if you do…**

" **I will subject the Deviant Tourist to an execution, where they will be tested to see if they are truly worthy of being a citizen of Penjar! However! If you vote for the wrong person, everyone besides the Deviant Tourist DIES! I won't even let you commit seppuku.**

" **Will you find the path to the psycho who killed Saiko, or will your psychopath go off on the lone path after ending Saiko's path in life? Upupupupu! AHAHAHA! Oh I slay me. Anyway! Let the fifth Town Trial... BEGIN!** "

The twenty members of the trial glanced around the room at each other, unsure where to start. That is, all of them except one knew where they wanted to start.

"Is this even necessary?" Blake said with a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders. "We all know that dumb bitch," he pointed at Hara as he spoke, "is the one who killed the midget with the big tits. Shame, I never got to pork that piece of a-"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Isaac, losing all control of his temper, shouted as he started to run around the trial room towards Blake. Yitro managed to grab him and hold him back.

As people desperately tried to calm down Isaac by calling out to him, and Blake was laughing a great deal (with no one next to him due to memorial portraits being on both sides of his podium), Monokid snickered at the madness.

"Man, wouldn't it be funny," he said as he started to drink from a flask that suspiciously looked like Emanuel's, "if a murder happened during a trial?"

"…" acquiesced Monodam.

"Please refrain from killing each other during the trial," Monokuma called out.

It took a minute, but Isaac's white-hot rage died down and he managed to get a grip on himself. Returning to his podium, he wiped his brow, and winced as he saw Hara's terrified expression. "I'm… I'm sorry, everyone. I lost control, I won't let that happen again."

"You'd better not, you cuck," Blake spat out. "I have enough trouble with the dumb cunt who blames me for her parents' death. But either way, let's move on to voting for your bitch."

Isaac gripped the podium in fury, controlling himself but only just. Blake snickered as he watched the reporter struggle, and then said aloud, "Oh come on, we're all thinking it, there's no denying it."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"Hara was found at the scene of the **crime** , right?" Blake argued, smirking as he shrugged his shoulders. "From what I heard, she was holding the **sword** , and even **admitted** to killing the midget.

"She was in the **building** where that midget with big bazookas was, and hell, we also know that her pussy of a fiancé is suffering from **nightmares** , so she has a **reason** to stop them before he pisses himself to death or something.

"Case closed! You all see how it's **true** , right?" the pyrotechnician grinned victoriously, snapping his fingers to accentuate his point. " **Riiiiight**?"

"…" responded Shuuya, crossing his arms and frowning at the pyro.

"…" replied Anzu, clenching her fists in outrage.

"…" stated Eisei, who stared miserably down at the floor.

"…" retorted Ken, who brushed off his shoulder.

"What? You all cannot come up with a response?" Blake asked, snickering even more. "Guess I'm right."

" _No,_ " Pyrrha shouted, " _you're wrong!_ "

* * *

"Listen, you stupid, mean, awful, prick of a person," the redheaded writer shouted, pointing at the pyro, "we're not closing this case until we get the right answers. Like, how did Saiko get into the arcade? And how could Hara commit a murder when we were all knocked out by sleeping gas?"

"Oh, those hardly matter, cinnamon tits," Blake said. "So why don't you go back to writing jerk-off material for lonely housewives, and-"

"HEY, EVERYONE!" Pyrrha shouted, loud and sudden enough to cut off the pyro's insult. "Hands up if you agree with Blake that we should just end the trial now and go with what he says."

An incredible amount of hands to showcase agreement with the suggestion did _not_ shoot up into the air. Quite the contrary, no one but Blake raised their hand. Monokid did as well, but no one was paying attention to him.

"So then," Pyrrha stated confidently, crossing her arms as she glared at Blake, "you are the only person who seems to think that way."

"How about before you get us all killed," Blake sneered at her, "you let me pound your pussy until it is as red as your-"

"HEY, EVERYONE!" she shouted again. "Who here isn't interested in listening to another word this asshole has to say, say aye!"

"Aye!" Isaac, Hikari, Kimiko, Yitro, Ishiku, and Fannie all shouted immediately.

"Aye," Anzu, Futaba and Shuuya said.

"Aye aye, Captain Pyrrha," Odelios cheered.

"Aye," Drake meekly said. Ignatia snapped her fingers, pointed at herself, and raised her hand as she nodded.

"Aye," Hara and Eisei said softly.

"AYE," Monodam spoke out.

"Aye," Crystal, Souma, and Ken agreed.

"Aye," Fiora said with a flick of her hand.

" **Aye,** " Monokuma announced.

"I forgot what we were voting on," Monokid shouted, waving the flask in his paw around, "because I already got drunk! Are we ending the trial now?"

"No we are not," Pyrrha said, as she eyed Blake, who was seething now. "Now you shut up, the adults are talking."

Blake snarled viciously, then crossed his arms and leaned against his podium. "Fine, get us all killed, bitch."

The redhead flicked her hair behind her shoulders, and said, "Now then, we should-"

"Hold on there, Pyrrha," Ken spoke up. "As much as I loathe that fiend, maybe it is important to discuss if Hara was capable of this."

"What?" Isaac blurted out. "You… you think she did this?"

"I would simply like proof that this is not a clear-cut case to begin with."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"I ask you," Ken continued to speak, "to showcase at least one point that proves this is not a **clear-cut case**."

"What about that Saiko was in the **arcade**?" Pyrrha spoke up. "She couldn't enter there, she was at the **motel**!"

"That only brings up confusion in the case of Saiko's location," Shuuya replied, "not that it's impossible for **Hara** to have killed her."

"We were all **sleeping gassed** ," Ishiku said. "Hara was in the same building as us, she'd be **asleep**."

"Wasn't she **alone** and away from the rest of you?" Futaba inquired. "You sure she fell asleep like the rest of you?"

"What reason could there be that she didn't fall asleep?" Isaac declared. "How could she be **exempt** from that?"

The anthropologist adjusted her glasses, and added, "There does seem to be a fair amount of people not falling asleep at night when **Monokuma** gasses us."

"You think this is a building benefit?" Drake asked. "But which **building** would it be?"

" _Excuse me,_ " Eisei spoke up, lifting his head as he summoned his strength, " _I believe I can clear this up._ "

* * *

"I have spent the last couple days with Isaac, Hara, and Saiko," Eisei remarked, shivering slightly when he said her name. "For the first and second nights, they could not gain any benefits. We were frightened out of the asylum the first night, and forced out of the hotel the second.

"It's simply impossible for Hara to have a building benefit, so there's no way she could be exempt from the sleeping effect Monokuma placed upon us."

The dentist took a deep breath, and then surveyed the others. "Is this enough to temporarily suspend the persecution of Hara?"

"My friend," Souma spoke up, as he adjusted the hippie clothing he had on still, "what about a trade with Monocrow to gain immunity to sleeping? If there is that."

"Monocrow was with me most of today," Anzu spoke up. "And when he wasn't, I was in the same room as Hara, as were Ishiku and Fannie."

"That's right," Fannie said. "There was never a point where Hara could communicate with Monocrow. The exchange required Monocrow and the person requesting it to be completely alone."

Ken growled as he watched Fannie speak, but rubbed his face as he contemplated what had been said. "Okay, yes, I am satisfied. This is not a clear-cut case, so let us continue."

"Despite the fact," Futaba said, eyeing both Ishiku and Fannie, "that we have some dubious witnesses."

Fannie nervously tugged at her white 'n pink hair, while Ishiku glared at Futaba. Most everyone was puzzled by this exchange, but Pyrrha spoke up once again.

"I think what needs to be discussed most right now," she said, maintaining a more calm tone now, "are those building benefits. If we don't find the answer to that now, we'll never know who could do what, especially our killer."

"Except that she's," Blake muttered, pointing at Hara, "right there."

"Shut up! Now, let's try to deduce this, shall we, people?"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"We know there's **four buildings** ," the redheaded writer said, "as well as **four benefits**. Do we have any idea what they could be?"

"Ignatia and I are fairly certain," Drake said, "that one of the benefits is all-access for around **Penjar**."

"I will second that," Yitro spoke up.

"From what we've seen and done, Pyrrha," Crystal said, "what could be described as an **immunity from sleep** and fatigue is one of those benefits."

"Yes, we haven't fallen asleep for two days now," the writer admitted, and I'm not even tired!"

"I'm also fairly certain," Yitro spoke up again, "that the **special medical room** in the asylum is something only those with a benefit can use."

"Are you sure that's not just another part of **all-access**?" Souma inquired.

"No, you need all-access to get into that room, but you apparently need another benefit to use the machine, and to bring in a **patient**."

"What about the **fourth one**?" Hikari inquired. "Do we have any idea what else could be involved?"

"Nothing's really stood out yet," Kimiko remarked.

"Alright then, how do we figure out which building," the steampunk model asked, "gives which benefit?"

" _Hold on a minute,_ " Pyrrha declared, " _I have an idea._ "

* * *

"Crystal and I have been working together for the past two days," the writer proceeded to explain, "and we've been without need of sleep. The first two places we've were was the motel and the arcade.

"And Odelios," she smiled over at the clown, "also says he didn't fall asleep at all either! He was with us at the motel, so I think that confirms it."

"The motel gives you an immunity to sleep?" Ken inquired. "That's a fascinating prospect, but how is such a thing possible?"

"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma giggled. "Never underestimate the powers of my fair city!"

"So you admit it?" Crystal asked. "That the motel's benefit is to make someone immune to sleep?"

"I admit to nothing!"

Ishiku raised his hand as he let out an uncomfortable noise. "Pyrrha, I really hate to break it to you, but there's a problem in that theory."

"Huh? What would that be?"

"Fannie and I fell asleep earlier today, when the sleeping gas affected us all. And we were at the motel on the first night too."

Pyrrha flinched, then drummed her fingers together. "Okay, it's not perfect, but how could it be any of the other buildings?"

Hikari rose her hand. "This calls for us to deduce via reason, not going back and forth like a debate. Allow me…"

The steampunk model opened up her umbrella and twirled it on her shoulder, posing with flair as she started up a different form of debate.

* * *

 **SUSPECT COMPACTOR!**

* * *

"Now, we know that it is possible someone stole benefits from others," Hikari reasoned, "so let's argue for the sake of argument that the motel is the source of sleep immunity. Who here was at motel but still fell asleep?"

"Fannie and myself," Ishiku remarked.

"And you and me, Hikari," Kimiko added. "It was during the second night."

"That was different, darling, we were in contact with something that was meant to transport us to the Killing Game Realm. From what we've seen in this town, those items are powerful."

"That is true," Anzu mumbled.

"Yes, I concur," Eisei remarked.

"Now before we digress, has anyone," the steampunk beauty called out, "anyone else stayed up since the second night?"

No one else spoke up for a few moments. It was Drake that spoke, "Weren't most of us in the Killing Game Realm?"

"Yes, but that was a result of us falling asleep," Futaba remarked, "due a combination of sleeping gas and truth serum gas, apparently."

"And you know who wasn't in the Killing Game Realm with all of us?" Anzu spoke up. "The five people who stayed at the motel the first night!"

"Exactly!" Hikari said. She spread her arms, as if tossing away a great deal of items, all to be discarded into a compactor that would destroy them entirely. "Therefore, the only people with sleep immunity are those that stayed at the motel!"

"Solid deduction," Shuuya said, nodding at the model. "Now, what about the other benefit we're all aware of, the all-access?"

"Is it the asylum?" Drake asked. "Because that's how Yitro was able to get into the medical room?"

"I was at the arcade the first night," the swordsman pointed out. "It has to be one of those two."

"Wouldn't the asylum's benefit be the room in the asylum?" Anzu inquired. "That makes the most sense."

"Nothing makes sense," Ken remarked, "when it comes to Monokuma and his twisted ways."

"True," Futaba spoke up, "but who else can prove they had all-access?"

"Crystal was able to go into that room too," Pyrrha said, "and I could as well, though I didn't really want to. We had only been to the motel and arcade!"

"But Ignatia and I," Drake said, "don't have all-access, and we spent the first night in the arcade!"

"Yes, but didn't you spend the second night in the asylum?" Yitro asked. "It seems like there's a contradiction there."

"Maybe, like Ishiku and Fannie," Pyrrha inquired, "Drake and Ignatia are exceptions? They had their benefits stolen?"

Isaac held out both hands, as if weighing something in both. "Even if that's true, how do we know which gives all-access: the asylum or the arcade?"

Hikari drummed her fingers on her umbrella's handle, and whistled out like a steam train. Contemplating everything, she asked, "Okay, who here spent time in the asylum but not the arcade the first two nights?"

Odelios, Ishiku, and Fannie raised their hands. The model then asked, "Did any of you go anywhere you needed special access?"

"Me," Ishiku said, "Monokid wouldn't let me in the control room that was in the hotel."

Hikari nodded, twirling her umbrella around. "Can anyone tell me if they spent a night at the arcade but not the asylum?"

The group was silent for a while, until Pyrrha spoke up. "Fiora, dear, you were at the arcade the second night, remember?"

"Hmm?" Fiora asked, peering at the redhead from under her hat. "I suppose I was."

"Well, you were unconscious for most of it, I guess it's okay you forgot. But you were never at the asylum, correct?"

The movie maker put her hand on her hip, resting the palm of her other hand on Peko's sword's handle. "I do not believe so."

"And I know," Yitro spoke up, "that you have all-access, because you went into the Southern Plaza's armory with me."

"Hang on a minute," Isaac declared, "the what now?!"

The swordsman winced when he realized how many people were staring at him, entirely perplexed. "I know you have questions, but we may need to stick a pin in that until we're done with this."

"Yes," Hikari affirmed. "And we can also confirm that the arcade must be the source of all-access!"

She once again spread her arms, as if discarding all the other ideas into a compactor in the center of the trial room. Giggling victoriously, she added, "Oh, and this also proves that the asylum is, indeed, where we had to stay to use the healing machines in that room of the asylum!"

"Yes, I was only ever in the asylum as well as the arcade," Yitro said, "so it's impossible for it to be the psychic's tent."

Hikari laughed as she swept her arm out, and then said, "I think we settled all of that, darlings. We know the three benefits that we're aware of, and the buildings they're associated with."

"But what about the psychic tent?" Ken inquired. "Did anyone who spent time there come to realize they had something no one else did?"

"No," Anzu admitted rather quickly, her eyes darting towards Odelios for a moment before she spoke more calmly. "I don't feel different."

Odelios crossed his arms and glared at her, while Pyrrha narrowed her eyes as well. Anzu started to sweat at the two looking at her, and added, "I mean, Fiora woke up throwing up, I wasn't physically different!"

"I just got a massive rash over my body," Hikari admitted with a sulk. "And no one spent time in there on the second day, if I recall correctly."

"No," Souma said. "And I didn't feel any different during my time in there today."

Hikari sighed and closed her umbrella. "Okay, I think we'll have to abandon that for now, but we made incredible progress! We should be happy, we seriously compacted that difficult problem!"

* * *

As Hikari leaned up against her podium in triumph, the others took all of this new information into account. They were quiet for a few seconds, which didn't really sit well with Hikari.

"Not even applause?" the model sulked. "A clap? Come on, I showed such flourish there."

"We're trying to find Saiko's killer, Hikari," Isaac stated, frowning at her. "While we appreciate you finding the answers, it's not a show."

"But I'm such a performer," she grumbled at first, then sighed and shook her head. "Okay, I'm sorry. So then, what is the next step from here?"

Shuuya drummed his fingers on his crossed arms, and said, "I suspect that we should debate what the killer would need, in terms of the benefits."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"So our killer had to be able," Futaba theorized, "to be **immune to sleep** and have **all-access** around Penjar."

"Why does the killer need all-access?" Ken asked. "Does Saiko being in the **arcade** mean she had all-access?"

" **Saiko** was never in the arcade," Eisei spoke up, unwrapping a new lollipop. He stuck it in his mouth, with a look of relief on his face as he finally could steady himself with a treat again. "She was in the motel with me when we fell asleep."

"Wait, does having all-access," Anzu asked, "mean you can take someone without it into one of the **buildings**?"

"No it does not!" Monokid shouted. "There are no plus ones to anything in Penjar!"

"What about the **healing machine** in the **asylum**?" Yitro pointed out. "I was allowed to bring in Blake despite him not having all-access."

"… Alright, there is ONE plus one scenario! But only that!"

"Monodam," Drake spoke up, "is that true?"

"YES. ALL-ACCESS- **DOES-NOT-GRANT-GUESTS**."

"So if Saiko were brought into the arcade," Shuuya asked, "she would be **punished** for going somewhere she couldn't?"

"What are you saying?" Hara balked. "Saiko **didn't have that permission**!"

" _There's no other way about this,_ " the bounty hunter countered.

* * *

"Honestly, I know you're confused and upset," Shuuya said, "but there's no denying that Saiko had to have all-access. She couldn't be in the arcade otherwise."

"But," Hara protested, "if someone forced her into the arcade, then Monokuma would have killed her! That's murder!"

"Is it?" the bounty hunter asked, staring at her. "Remember, these trials are for when one of us personally kills someone else in town. If Saiko was pushed into a building without permission, then the one who kills her, ultimately, is Monokuma."

"But… but if someone forced her into a building, then they-"

"Not according to Monokuma's rules! Remember, it is a very literal definition of the words 'responsible for their death.' That's why he considers whoever sets off a booby-trap to be responsible for the death, not the person who set up a booby-trap."

Hara shook her head, and clenched her fists as she cried out, " _No, I won't accept this as the truth!_ "

* * *

 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

* * *

Hara and Shuuya's platforms moved into the center of the trial circle, with everyone else now outside of the conversation. The cool and collected assassin stared at the emotional and desperate explorer, but neither backed down.

"I understand you're hurting, but you cannot deny that Saiko stole someone's all-access benefit. That's how she was in the arcade."

"She couldn't have known about that! I… I don't care how it looks, my best friend wasn't the conniving type!"

The two stared at each other more, and then the debate increased in tension tenfold around them.

" _How else can you explain how Saiko was in the arcade?_ " Shuuya pried. " _She was killed in the arcade, the amount of blood there proves it._ "

" _Saiko was never alone to get in contact with Monocrow the last two days,_ " Hara said. " _She was with our group throughout all of yesterday!_ "

" _And today?_ "

" _Today we found her in the pool, luckily she was… alive at the time. Then she was with us again, and when she left, she was with Eisei at the motel!_ "

Shuuya rubbed his chin, and stared at Hara. " _But you don't know where she was this morning, before you found her in the pool?_ "

" _Shuuya, she was **sleepwalking** then, inside of the **Killing Game Realm**! We all woke up around the same time when freed from that awful place!_"

" _I won't deny she was in that realm with us,_ " the bounty hunter pressed forward, lunging at a weak point in the weakness, " _but there is still a time when Saiko was away from you all!_ "

* * *

"Your group was out and about Penjar during the second night, if I recall," Shuuya reasoned. "Then you were all gassed and were sleepwalking, waking up in various places.

"That means there was a time that Saiko could have been alone, and for a rather long period of time."

"Wait a minute," Souma argued, "are you saying Saiko made the request from Monocrow when she was sleepwalking?"

"As in, talking in her sleep?" Odelios asked. "That's crazy!"

"Is it now?" the bounty hunter said. "I suspected that this might be the case after that night when you all woke up to self-inflicted injuries. If Monokuma has the power to make you injure yourself, possibly kill yourself or other people, is it really so farfetched that he can make you talk in your sleep?"

"But Saiko was in the Killing Game Realm," Hara insisted. "Her mind was someplace else!"

"All the more reason to believe," Futaba said, "that she could be made to speak when unconscious."

Isaac, Hara, and Eisei all appeared rather sick at this point. They gripped their podiums, as the others watched their distraught reactions to this news. Eisei slammed his hand down on his own podium, and spoke up.

"There's a contradiction in that idea," he declared, clenching his small fists. "We need to debate it now."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"If you're saying that Saiko **talked in her sleep** to Monocrow," Eisei said, "then how do you explain **tonight**?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Shuuya said.

"She was in the **motel**! With me, and that means that she **wouldn't suffer nightmares**. No nightmares means no possibility of sleep walking out of the building."

"Then maybe it wasn't her sleepwalking that led her outside," Fiora stated, crossing her arms. "Maybe her killer **kidnapped** her."

"But… but why?" Isaac shouted in disbelief. "Why kidnap Saiko and take her to the **arcade** to kill her?"

"It was a highly elaborate set-up," Crystal commented. "I mean, it leaves the possibility of who it was up in the air."

"But why **Saiko**?" Hara exclaimed. "Why go out of their way to murder her?"

"We don't need to solve ' **why her** ' right now," Ken remarked. "We need to settle ' **how her** '."

"Grammar correctness aside," Crystal said, "is it impossible for someone to kidnap Saiko from her room?"

"We deduced that the motel gives us an **immunity to sleep** ," Eisei said, "and Saiko was at the motel. So our killer, who knew that the motel granted sleep, was going to try and enter a building that gave us sleep immunity? Absurd!"

" _Wait, everyone,_ " Anzu shouted, " _I can solve this problem!_ "

* * *

"Monocrow told us that someone reserved the ability to take someone's building benefits," the actress explained, "for right when Monokuma would put us to sleep. So our killer obviously was going to time this so that they could sneak into the hotel, kidnap Saiko, and leave without anyone waking up."

"Wait, what?" Ken asked. "How would our killer know when they would wake up?"

"I mean, the hotel has to eventually give the benefit, right?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Monokuma said he was going to put us to sleep earlier this time, which I personally assume means before the effects of the building come into play?"

The trial room was quiet for a few seconds, as Anzu nervously glanced around to see if anyone had any agreement on their faces.

"The problem with that," Shuuya remarked, "is that we're using knowledge of what already happened today rather than knowledge previously. How was our killer to know that they would not encounter anyone awake at the motel?"

"Monokuma did say that the sleeping gas would come earlier," the actress insisted. "And for all we knew, the benefits wouldn't come to us until after we spent the entire night in the motel."

"Again, this is a mighty big assumption," Futaba remarked, crossing her arms. "However, we can only assume our killer went off the same assumptions, since none of us were privy to the details."

"Are you sure about that?" Ken said, staring right at Fannie.

"Will you cut that out?" Ishiku snapped. "You've been going at her so fervently, you were trying to kill her!"

"Wait, what?!" Kimiko shouted, staring aghast at Ken. "You tried to do what?"

"I was merely attempting to see if she was true to her word," the cavalryman replied, holding his hands up. "She keeps saying she's one of us, but how are we to know for sure if we cannot test that?"

"Wasn't Taro's sacrifice enough?" Anzu shouted indignantly. "Wasn't the fact that he died for our sake a sign that the Kubs, when human, aren't part of Despair?"

"Taro died ensuring someone else died too," Futaba said, crossing her arms. "You can see it as noble, but it was just more death, more blood. We have no way of trusting if the rules apply to Fannie."

"Well I told you they did," Monokuma declared, his samurai helmet tipping forward to mostly hide his eyes, though the red gleam could still be seen.

The anthropologist glared up at him. "Oh, and we're supposed to trust your word? The avatar of Despair, the mayor of this evil town, the one who is being controlled by someone who loves all the misery and death going on? We are to take your word for it?"

"Let us debate this," Ken declared. "Here and now!"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"So your argument that the culprit is **Fannie** ," Isaac said, dubiously glancing around the room, "is that **the rules don't apply** to her?"

"We have no way of knowing if they do," Ken argued. "She could be like one of those rich celebrities, the rules don't apply to her."

"Your methods of explaining things," Odelios said, "really need work."

"Please wait," Fannie shouted, shaking her hands in front of her. "How can I prove they do, when breaking the rules means **death**?"

"I saw her fall **asleep** before I did," Ishiku argued. "The sleeping gas worked on her too."

"She could have faked that," Futaba said. "Plus, didn't you have the sword with you when you passed out?"

"No," Fannie interrupted before Ishiku could answer, "I had it. He gave it to me."

"You had the **murder weapon** ," Souma declared, "you were in the **same building** as the murder, and we cannot verify that **the rules** don't apply to you? I'm beginning to think they have a point."

"N-no," Fannie stammered, "I couldn't kill someone… it's evil."

" _Stop accusing,_ " Ishiku hollered, " _my girlfriend!_ "

* * *

"I have proof! Proof that Fannie cannot be the corrupt source you're all claiming her to be."

"Oh really now?" Futaba said, staring at the magician suspiciously. "And what, pray tell, is that?"

"Monocrow," Ishiku spat out, clenching his staff tightly as he returned to the stare. "If Fannie is still on their side, if Despair is all lying to trick us (which, may I add, goes against every other trial), then why would Fannie destroy Monocrow?"

"Because Monocrow would tell us where she had been," Yitro commented. "And if she left the arcade to kidnap Saiko, he would be able to tell us that."

"Yes… if the rules apply to her," the magician said with a confident smirk. "But if they don't, then why destroy one of your allies who could, much more helpfully, lie for you?"

"Monocrow could have been destroyed," Ken pointed out, "because that would throw us off! She would know the trial would lead to this!"

"Really now?" Odelios spoke up. "Because if the rules don't apply to Fannie, and thus Monocrow could lie for her, this trial would be a hundred times more difficult."

"Especially if," Pyrrha spoke up, "Monocrow could say someone else was moving around instead of her. Ishiku is right. This goes against everything we've seen and experienced."

"Monokuma, Monocrow, and the Kubs all follow rules," Isaac insisted. "That's how Despair works, it needs to obey its own rules, because only then, can a victim feel truly, truly lost. Or, if they fail, they fell that despair themselves."

"As much as I hate Despair," Crystal said, "I fail to see how this line of thought will get us anywhere. We cannot go off on the belief the rules all changed on us."

Ken and Futaba sighed heavily, as Shuuya rubbed his forehead in disbelief. "Fine," the assassin said, "but we need to get back on track. It is our belief that the killer had immunity to sleep and an all-access pass, and used that to kidnap Saiko, bring her to the arcade, and kill her.

"But how did our killer know that Saiko had the all-access too?"

There was silence in the trial room, as everyone contemplated this. Drake raised his hand, and suggested, "Maybe we need to debate this too?"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"How did our killer know," Shuuya repeated, "that they could bring Saiko into the **arcade** without her being killed upon carrying her in?"

"Maybe they killed her **outside** of the arcade," Souma suggested, "and brought her in?"

"There was no **blood** out in the plaza," the assassin countered.

"Nor was there any," Eisei said, "at the **motel**."

"There was far too much blood on the **stage** for the murder to be anywhere else," Yitro commented.

"Maybe they saw," Odelios suggested, "when Saiko was **sleep-talking** to Monocrow?"

"No, the request from Monocrow," Anzu replied, "needs to be done with **no one else around**."

"Coo'd they have seen her go into some **place** she wasn't normally allowed to go," Kimiko asked, "when sleepwalking?"

"We found her in the pool," Hara replied. "And weren't most of us asleep and in the **Killing Game Realm** at that point?"

"Wait, so the only people who could have known Saiko had that **all-access pass** ," Yitro inquired, "were the ones who were awake?"

"The ones who were awake," Crystal commented, "were **myself** , **Pyrrha** , **Odelios** , **Ishiku** , and… **Fannie**."

"Her again," Souma commented, glancing over at the white 'n pink-topped woman.

"Eeek! It's a coincidence, I swear," Fannie shrieked. "Ishiku and I didn't know anything about someone possibly being like that!"

" _That's not true,_ " Futaba declared, " _and I can prove it!_ "

* * *

"You two said that someone," the anthropologist said, "dressed up in a cloak and morph mask, and carrying a battle-ax, chased you around the asylum on the second night."

"Well, yeah," Ishiku said, glancing to the side. "But we didn't know who it was, or if they had that all-access pass."

"The only way someone could have gotten that stuff was if they had the all-access pass!"

"Again, we didn't know that, Futaba," the magician countered, "at the time! We didn't even know that's where that stuff came from until now! And we're still not entirely sure about that."

Yitro sighed, then raised his hand. "Okay, I'll briefly explain: sometime during the second night, Penjar developed a southern plaza, much like all the ones we've been to, popping up overnight. I had a thought that something like that may have happened, since that executioner's stuff couldn't have come from anywhere else."

"Monokuma was in the southern plaza," Fiora said as she crossed her arms, eyes peering at the others. "He told us since the two of us have special access, we can go into the armory, which is a building with a lot of weapons of all sorts. And there was a section dedicated to medieval weapons, including an executioner's clothing and unique weapon, though those were missing."

"So someone went to the southern plaza last night," Hikari said, "procured that gear, and then terrorized Ishiku and Fannie?"

"Then left it in front of the statue for everyone to see," Drake commented.

"And then our killer brought it into the arcade," Isaac growled, clenching his fists, "and left it in front of her."

Futaba tapped her glassed, then stared at the reporter. "Are we sure it was the killer who did all that?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Because if you think about it logically, there's a pattern forming up. Saiko had all-access, Saiko was sleepwalking, and most of all, we're trying to figure out how someone knew that Saiko had that all-access pass."

"Wait, what?" Hara shouted, covering her mouth in horror. "You cannot be serious! You're accusing Saiko of being an axe-toting murderer?!"

"She was sleepwalking, if you recall," Futaba countered. "She wasn't aware of what she was doing, anymore than any of you were when you were doing it."

Eisei folded his hands into his pockets, having been staring at the floor for a while now. He spoke up passionately, "The nightmares are all attuned specifically towards what we dread, what we fear. This is all extremely complicated and convoluted."

"Not to mention," Ishiku spoke up, "that the executioner who chased Fannie and I was very tall! Saiko was, my apologies, a short woman; we would have known the difference in height, trust me!"

Futaba stared at Ishiku again, then smirked. "Oh really now? The cloak that was found was made for a short person. There's no way that a tall person could wear it and cover themselves like you claim they did."

"Well then there were obviously two cloaks, one for the killer, and one left there with Saiko!"

Fannie drummed her fingers together, then glanced over at her boyfriend. "Honey, I think there may be something you're forgetting."

"Huh? What's that?"

"You said there was something off about the executioner when we encountered him. Maybe you've forgotten an subtle detail of it?"

"Maybe, but how do I remember it?"

"Here, come here and let me help you…"

Fannie cupped Ishiku's face, smiling at him as she caressed his face tenderly. Everyone watched with various degrees of intrigue as Fannie closed her eyes and massaged his cheeks…

Then she pulled her head back and slammed their foreheads together! "WHAM! Truth headbutt!"

"Ahhh, what the hell!" Anzu shrieked.

"You crazy psycho bitch," Futaba hollered.

"I knew it," Ken shouted. "I know all this time-"

"Whooooooa," Ishiku said, flapping his arms around as he balanced on one leg, then stood up straight and grinned. "That worked perfectly!"

"Huh? It does?" Odelios asked. "I should headbutt you more often!"

"Yeah, buddy, it does! Because I recall that encounter so much better now… and…

* * *

 _Fannie tossed the chocolate coin at the executioner. She giggled, until the coin bounced off the stomach of the executioner, and rolled back towards them._

 _There was a moment of silence, as the executioner rubbed at their stomach with two fingers gently. Then they started to walk towards the two, scrapping their axe on the floor._

* * *

"When something hits you in the stomach, you don't use a couple fingers to rub it," Ishiku said, showcasing this with his own stomach and fingers. "You use your whole palm! However, you know what you do use a couple digits to rub if something tics against it?

"Your forehead," the magician said triumphantly, rubbing his forehead in the way he mentioned. "So I think I know what happened! The asylum was giving us hallucinations, like some of you said it could."

"Yes," Isaac remarked, "it certainly does that. You think the hallucinations made the executioner look worse to you?"

"Well I mean, they do tend to work against us, huh? We would have known instantly it was Saiko if we could see her height…"

Ishiku stopped talking, as what he was saying dawned on them. The trial room was silent for a moment, then Eisei slapped his hand on his podium.

"No, this doesn't confirm anything," he insisted. "Remember how I said everyone's nightmares are a reflection on their fears? Saiko dressing up as an executioner is ridiculous, she did not fear death to the point where it was a phobia."

"But she _was_ a murderer," Blake said with a cruel grin on his face.

Eisei turned towards the pyro, opening his mouth to try and speak, but he froze. Blake cackled, and said, "Oh, sorry, I figured I would speak since her friends are going to lie about this. But Saiko was saying yesterday how she killed someone, and she'd do it again.

"Sounds like someone was an executioner in real life!"

"N-no," Eisei stammered. "Stop that, that is not true-"

"Eisei," Hara said gently, "we… we shouldn't lie about this. If we don't tell the truth, we could all die because we'll never find out who did this."

"What are you talking about?" Souma asked.

Isaac, Hara, and Eisei exchanged glances, and it was Isaac who silently volunteered to speak up. "Some time ago, Saiko was coerced into fabricating evidence to put a man away, and it led to him being executed. He was a member of a Yakuza gang, the Kuzuryu clan. Someone from a rival gang kidnapped Saiko's sister, and told her to do it or they'd kill her sister."

"So she was like an executioner," Shuuya remarked, stroking his chin. "And then, in her sleeping state, she became one again, and hunted down the person that left the Monokuma family: Fannie."

"Huh?" Fannie squeaked out. "Me?"

"It makes perfect sense," Crystal admitted, shaking her head. "The nightmares made manifest, just like Eisei said, and why she went after you in particular."

"Wait, please," Hara spoke up, "Saiko was forced to do those things! Please don't judge her! Besides, the person she had to frame for the crime was already a murderer!"

"It matters not, in this trial," Yitro said, shaking his head. "Look, Saiko is the victim here, we are going to find out who her killer is, not drag her name through the mud. However, this is very important to know."

"Yes, because now we know that Saiko was going around with her all-access pass," Fiora remarked, "and someone could have seen her."

"And there's only five people who were awake during that time," Ken declared. "One of whom is the person Saiko was trying to kill!"

"Wait wait wait," Fannie sputtered out, "I told you already, we had no idea that the executioner was Saiko!"

"So you claim," Blake said with a snicker.

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"Ishi and I," Fannie insisted, "had no way of knowing that was **Saiko**! We ran throughout the **asylum** , then left it, and hid in his house until morning!"

"You were moving **all night**?" Kimiko asked. "How is that possible?"

"We were in the hotel the first night, remember?" Ishiku said. "We had **sleep immunity**."

Fiora spoke up, speaking sternly. "Are we sure it's one of those two? What about the other three?"

"No one saw **Odelios** since yesterday," Ken remarked. "He could have seen it was Saiko."

"The **cloak** , **morph mask** , and **axe** were left at the statue," Hikari remarked.

"Yes, which one could see," Eisei commented, "from the windows of the **arcade**."

"Wait, are you accusing **Pyrrha** and **myself**?" Crystal asked. "We were watching three unconscious people nonstop."

"Really? Neither of you needed a **biological break** once? You were sleep immune, but not biologically immune."

"The restrooms are on the same side as the stage, where we were looking after the unconscious," Pyrrha explained. "We wouldn't need to walk across the building."

"Hmm…"

"Hang on, everyone," Hikari protested, "I brought up the location of the items at the statue because I thought someone could have looked through them for **clues**."

" **Monokid** wouldn't let us touch them," Anzu remarked. "We realized then it was because **only the owner** was allowed to, remember?"

" _No,_ " Yitro shouted, " _that's wrong!_ "

* * *

"When we were examining Saiko's body, I picked up the axe," Yitro explained. "But when Odelios tried, he was told he needed permission. So we were wrong when we assumed that only the owner of those items could touch them, it was people who had the all-access pass who could."

Anzu slapped her hand against her face. "God damn it, I don't have that access pass, so I helped make the assumption."

"Well we didn't really expect much," Blake remarked, "from a cock-guzzling fuck-slut."

"More than anyone ever expects from you," Anzu responds. "At least people want to go near me, unlike the man so repulsive, it's like he's radioactive."

"Alright calm down now," Souma pleaded, noticing the two staring venomously at each other. "Back on track, what does the executioner's gear being outside and touchable prove?"

"That someone could have found out it was Saiko via that," Hara insisted. "Someone who could touch them and look for clues!"

"So it wouldn't just be the five who were awake?" Futaba asked. "Why are you making it more complex?"

"I'm… I am not trying to do that! I'm trying to find the truth, and we need to explore all avenues!"

"And how exactly would we do that?" Shuuya asked. "The cloak cannot have anything on it to prove it was Saiko, neither would the axe."

"But there was the morph mask," Isaac commented. "Whoever put that over their head would leave hairs in there. And Saiko is our only bluebell now."

Kimiko hummed in thought. "That's true, but we'd really need to see it to prove that. If only we thought to bring it…"

There was a flicker of movement, and the biker gang leader noticed Fiora had pulled something out of her pocket. It was a napkin, with splotches of blood soaked into it, though when Fiora unfolded it, she revealed the morph mask inside.

"You mean this, correct?" she smoothly asked.

"Gaaaah," Monokid shouted amid the other startled cries from the graduates, waving his fists in the air, "why do you have that?!"

"I brought it in case we needed more of the evidence. It makes sense, does it not?"

"Fucking sicko, taking stuff off a dead person!"

"It was not on her person. Anyway, the cloak was too big to bring and far too soaked in blood. But this…"

Fiora turned the morph mask inside-out, and then plucked a couple hairs inside of it. "Blue. Just like we theorized."

Hara let out a shuddering breath, then said, "So Saiko was the executioner, and there's more people who could have ascertained this."

"Great, you just made it more complex," Futaba scolded her, glaring at the explorer then at Isaac. "We need to find out who the killer is, not widen the suspect pool!"

"We wouldn't have gotten anywhere with the five who were awake anyway," Isaac declared. "Ishiku and Fannie aren't more or less guilty with everything that's been said and done, Crystal and Pyrrha can verify each other's whereabouts, and Odelios is…"

The reporter trailed off, and then he glanced over at the clown. Everyone did too, and he stared back, wide-eyed and nervous. Then he pulled out his rubber chicken, and snarled at it, "This is all your fault, in a way I haven't figured out yet but I will."

"No jokes, court jester," Ken shouted at him. "Where were you all this time?"

Ignatia loudly snapped her fingers, then beckoned Odelios to "bring it forward." The clown swallowed nervously, glancing between the graduates, then at Anzu, at Pyrrha, at Rubarrow, then at everyone again.

"Um, please allow me," he said, "to explain everything."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"I," he declared proudly, holding up his rubber chicken in the air like a trophy, "was hiding! Like a wimpy little **coward**!"

"… What," Souma responded.

"Totally **hiding**! Curled up in a **ball**. Think I **wet** myself too."

"Odelios," Pyrrha spoke up, but the clown started waving his hands wildly.

"No no no, it's okay! I was hiding because of all the **scary shit** that was going on in the asylum! You know, hallucinations, **wicked critters** , images of **scary clowns** …"

"You ARE a scary clown," Shuuya snapped at him.

"Oh, thank you, the bounty hunter/assassin is spooked of me!"

"No, not me personally, you dimwit, I'm not scared of-"

"If you woo'd all stop bickering," Kimiko said, "there is the important issue that Odelios was completely **alone** , which is how **Monocrow** did his deals."

"And he was already able to stay up all night," Eisei commented, "due to being in the **motel** first off."

"We have no idea where you've been," Drake blurted out, though he looked ashamed to say it. "Odelios, you were gone for **all that time** , and you only showed up now."

"Wait, the clown did it?" Blake said cheerfully. "Hot damn, we get to see the clown get **executed**?"

"Odelios!" Pyrrha shouted. "Say something!"

"Something?" the clown repeated, grinning sheepishly.

"…" Anzu gripped her podium, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"Look, Odelios," Isaac spoke up, "the asylum's **hallucinations** are meant to scare people **out** of the building, not keep them **in** it! Your story is not adding up."

"You could have taken **Drake** and **Ignatia's** benefits," Ken pointed out, "used it to move around freely, and then killed **Saiko**!"

"What other **reason,"** Souma commented, "would there be for you to hide yourself away from all of us for so long?"

"Odelios," Pyrrha called out to him again, "if you don't tell them, then I will-"

" _STOP IT,_ " Anzu shrieked loudly, slapping her palms on her podium, " _stop it, everyone! It's my fault!_ "

* * *

"It's all my fault! Stop accusing Odelios, he has a perfectly good reason to have hidden away," the actress said, clutching her hands together and rubbing at her right pointer finger. "Could you all please… give me a chance to explain?"

Everyone stared at her, rather befuddled for the most part. Pyrrha was relieved, while Odelios was staring at her with concern. "Look, Anzu," he said, "we don't need to play the blame game-"

"I tried to kill Odelios," Anzu said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't know why, I don't know what came over me, but when we were looking through the asylum on the second night, we found a bunch of hammers. I took one in my hands, and then… there was this blinding, overwhelming fury that suddenly possessed me. I swung at his head, he managed to move in time…

"But if I had hit him, I would have killed him. When I dropped the hammer, he ran the hell away from me. It's my fault, please don't blame him."

Anzu sobbed, clenching the podium as she stared down at it, unwilling to see how the others were looking at her right now. "I… I don't know what's wrong with me. I've been losing myself more and more. I'm a porn star who has started freaking out over intimacy, I have nightmares of groups of people torturing me, I tried to bash in the head of one of my friends for no reason…"

Anzu buried her face in her hands, her elbows on the podium as she cried. Everyone was flabbergasted, unsure of what to say or do; everyone except for one person who no one asked.

"So the slut did it then?" Blake asked. "I mean, if she's randomly killing people…"

"Shut the hell up," Pyrrha snapped, glaring at him. "Anyway, I'm sorry, Anzu, truly I am, but we needed that to come out. Odelios was hiding from you, and there are side effects to the immunity to sleep that we haven't addressed."

"Wait what?" Eisei spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone who has it doesn't have a concept of time passing by," Pyrrha said. "I know this because Crystal and I stayed up all night watching three unconscious people, but never once did we say, 'hey, we're up late, don't you feel sleepy'?"

"That is true," Ishiku remarked. "Fannie and I were hiding in my house, and we had literally no thought to the passing of time until the morning announcements played!"

"So being sleep immune means you have no idea how much time you've taken doing something," Hikari remarked, "or even, if you're doing nothing much? Like how Kimiko and I were searching the asylum for hours?"

"Exactly!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "Odelios started hiding, and because of this benefit's hidden downside, he had no idea how long he was in there!"

"What about the morning announcements?" Drake asked. "He saw the Body Discovery Announcement, there are TVs and such there."

"I, um," Odelios said with a nervous chuckle, "may have hid myself in cabinets and such to keep myself hidden away at some point. Those can be rather soundproof."

"There were multiple people looking for you," Crystal said with a roll of her eyes. "You hid yourself far too well."

"That's the point of hiding, my blonde battle bestie!"

Crystal's eyes widened, then she blushed slightly. "Oh stop it."

Ignatia face-palmed, loud enough to alert everyone's attention to her. She handed Drake her cell phone, and he read it out loud. [We forgot that since he didn't leave that asylum, he couldn't possibly have known anything going on outside. Especially not who was at which building tonight.]

"She's right," Fiora remarked, holding her hand near her face. "Odelios wouldn't know about the locations of the victim, the murder weapon, or who else would be in the arcade. He could be walking into a place with people wide awake like he was."

"Unless," Blake spoke up, "someone told him."

Isaac growled in frustration. "Why would anyone do that? Help him commit a murder? That's just condemning yourself to death!"

"Haven't we seen enough people lose it here, being on the side of Despair or Chaos or for the fun of it, dumbass? People don't care about dying, they're trying to fulfill a purpose!"

"No, we haven't seen anything to indicate we have multiple people here that fanatically suicidal! There is no point to delve into that!"

"Really now? Sounds like something you would say, since you and your bitch were already part of something like that last trial."

Isaac glared daggers at Blake, who snickered back at him. "I don't know why I'm bothering to say this," the reporter shouted, spit flying from his mouth, "but we weren't guilty of anything, you dickhead! Aka committed that murder!"

"There was still the case," Yitro said, "of the writing in that hall, done by the Entity of Chaos. The one who knew something about all of us, or was just trying to goad us."

"I still," Ken scoffed, "have no idea what they meant by painting 'scarlet' on my portrait."

"Hey, um," Drake stammered out, gaining their attention, "we're kind of digressing here. But I think we should proceed like Isaac said, we don't want to go into this acting like there has to have been two people."

"It's just convenient for him, that's why," Blake shouted angrily. "He and his bitch could have done this!"

"You know, no one is listening to you," Pyrrha snapped. "At the start of the trial, you said it was Hara. Then you said it was Anzu, then it was Odelios, now it's both Hara and Isaac. You're just a pathetic person, a pyro who wants to add more fuel to the flames."

"And you're going to get us all killed," Blake shouted, "if you let emotions run this instead of the obvious truth!"

"You want the obvious truth?! Fine, let's go down that route! We all know one thing is for certain when it comes to the killer, and that is that they scheduled a benefits transfer for when the sleeping gas was deployed!"

"She's right," Isaac said. "Who else would do that but Saiko's killer?"

Blake scoffed, as he eyed Hara. "Who indeed."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"So let's try and think this thoroughly," Hikari said, holding up one of her hands in a calming gesture. "Our killer requested the **transfer** at some point, but when?"

"It obviously had to be after the **last person** ," Souma said, "who would be Saiko, did it. So anytime since last night?"

"Wait, keep in mind," Eisei said, "that Monokuma told us that the sleeping gas would come out **early**. It had to have been after that, or Saiko's killer wouldn't request it at that specific time."

"Yes, I agree with that," Shuuya remarked. "They would want to make sure that everyone else would be **asleep**."

"Everyone else who would interfere with the **kidnapping** and the **murder** ," Pyrrha said. "So they had to make sure all witnesses were asleep?"

"Wait a minute, are we going under the pretense," Kimiko asked, "that our killer **knew a'boot the sleep immunity**?"

"They would have to," Fiora said as she clenched her fist near the sword she was wearing, "because in order to steal the sleeping immunity for themselves, they would have to know about it, and **who had it**."

"…" Pyrrha was rather silent, staring at the movie maker with a questioning look in her eyes.

"Hmm? Am I wrong?" she asked the writer. "I feel it makes the most logical sense."

"No, you're right, dear. Just that it… it's a bit of a shock, knowing that our killer was ahead of us all this time, having figured it out."

" _Wait a minute now,_ " Futaba shouted, pointing at Fiora, " _what did you just say?_ "

* * *

"I said," Fiora repeated, "our killer would have to know about the sleep immunity, and who had it."

"And what makes you think they took sleep immunity, and not the all-access pass?"

"Because there were two people in the arcade who had the sleep immunity," the movie maker said, crossing her arms as she coolly spoke to Futaba, "as we have all deduced from those who stayed at the hotel."

"So you're saying that Ishiku and Fannie had to have been innocent, Fiora? You've already decided that for us?"

Fiora closed her eyes, turning her head to the side as she continued to speak. "I wish you wouldn't make such assumptions. I was merely going where the logical process went; especially since our killer stole the sleep immunity at the time it would be essential."

"Look, we all knew who was staying where, and who had been where," Crystal said. "We had been keeping good track of each other. So yes, if someone were to plan this murder, they'd know who and what would be at the arcade."

"But it's still making a grand assumption that it was sleep immunity stolen at that point and time," Futaba argued. "What if our killer already had it? Monocrow wouldn't allow someone to have more than one of the same benefit, right?"

She stared at Anzu, who was still covering her face in shame. The anthropologist called out, "Hey, Anzu! We need you, so stop crying and join the debate!"

Anzu lifted her head, face wet with tears. She took in several shuddering gasps, and wiped at her eyes. "Um, s-sorry. What did you need?"

"Monocrow cannot take two of the same benefit and give them to the same person, right?"

"I… I don't know. He never told me that, and I never got a chance to ask him."

Futaba's eyes widened, and she turned towards Fannie. "What about you? Do you know?"

"I know just as much about Monocrow's abilities as you all do," the white 'n pink-topped woman admitted.

The anthropologist ran a hand through her silver hair and growled in frustration. "You do all realize how much not knowing this little detail complicates things, don't you?"

"How so?" Anzu asked.

"If Monocrow was capable of taking away two peoples' benefits and giving them to one, our killer could have put both Ishiku and Fannie to sleep so that no one would be awake in the arcade; however, if Monocrow cannot do that…

"Then who did the killer give the other sleeping immunity to, if they needed to put Ishiku and Fannie under?"

Everyone exchanged glances, trying to figure out what this meant. There was finally a loud scoff, once again from Blake. "Duh, Hara and Isaac got it for themselves."

"Will you STOP!" Pyrrha shouted, pounding her fist on her podium. "You cannot prove that!"

"Oh, can I now?"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"It's simple. Isaac requests the transfers for **sleeping immunity** for **him and Hara** ," Blake said, all the while grinning towards Isaac, "and then **she kills Saiko** for him! Easy."

"That's ridiculous," Isaac shouted.

"Oh yeah, cuck boy? Prove it's impossible."

"I didn't know anything about this **benefits transfer**! No one ever told me!"

"Like your bitch couldn't overhear the professional cocksucker over there," Blake pointed at Anzu, "and then given you the details? Ha!"

"That control room doesn't have windows, and the only door was locked," Ishiku argued.

"That's never stopped the robot animals from getting any room or place in this stupid town!"

"Monocrow only did his deal when the person was **alone** ," Souma said. "Isaac had Hara nearby the **door** the entire time."

"Oh, she couldn't have stepped away from the door for five minutes?!"

"Hara didn't have the **all-access pass** ," Ken argued, "so she couldn't have… oh, wait, that could have been transferred too."

"Ha! Thanks for proving my point, muscle head!"

"I'm not trying to help you, you disgraceful-"

" _Cease the bickering,_ " Eisei declared, " _because I have an answer to this!_ "

* * *

"You claim that Hara was given the all-access pass along with sleep immunity, Blake?" Eisei said. "Then tell me, who did she steal it from?"

"Duh, anyone who had been in the arcade!"

"Who, precisely?"

"I don't fucking know, it's not important!"

"It is important if you're going to argue that Hara is guilty of this crime like you keep saying. That's the only way our killer could take Saiko from the motel."

Blake dismissively waved his hand towards Eisei. "I don't have to answer a little queer like you over something like that."

"You will if you want us to take your answer seriously," Crystal snapped. "Now who did Isaac steal the all-access pass from, if he did?"

"How am I supposed to know?! It's not like you can prove who has it still!"

"Actually…"

Fiora held up the morph mask in her hand. "This is an item from the armory, an item you can only hold if you have that all-access. I can do a test and see who here can hold it, if you'd like."

"When the fuck did you get to be so smart, B-movie maker?!" Blake hollered at her. "Did you grow some brain cells after Emanuel smacked you enough times?"  
Fiora ignored him entirely as she glanced around at the members of the trial. "Should I begin?"

"THERE-IS-NO-NEED-TO-WASTE-TIME-ON-THAT," Monodam said aloud. "SINCE-YOU-HAVE-THE-MEANS, I-WILL-TELL-YOU-ALL-WHO-HAS-THE-ALL-ACCESS-PASS-RIGHT-NOW."

"Thank you, Monodam," Drake called up to him.

"YOU'RE-WELCOME, DRAKE. NOW-THEN, THE FOLLOWING-HAVE-THE-ALL-ACCESS-PASS:FIORA, SHUUYA, CRYSTAL, YITRO, KEN, FUTABA, PYRRHA, AND ISAAC."

"Ha! See?!" Blake shouted, pointing accusingly at Isaac. "He has it! I told you all!"

"Yes, he has it," Eisei calmly replied, "but Hara doesn't. And she's the one you are claiming murdered Saiko."

"Then she transferred it away after she was done murdering Saiko!"

"Then how did she," Shuuya snapped at him, "get back into the arcade? Monocrow was destroyed out in the plaza, and Hara was inside of the arcade. She couldn't have been outside to make that transfer and then go back into the building she wouldn't have permission to enter!"

"What the hell?" Blake turned towards the bounty hunter. "I thought you were on my side, taking down these two."

"I'm on the side of discovering the truth, and it is impossible for Hara to have done what you're saying."

The pyrotechnician scowled and muttered, "She still could have had the sleep immunity and done it."

"There is no way for us to test that like the all-access pass."

"Excuse me," Drake spoke up, raising his hand up again, "but there's something I want to ask."

Shuuya turned towards the timid cartoonist, curious about this. "What would that be?"

"If we go off of the idea that the killer kidnapped Saiko and brought her to the arcade to do so, does that mean that the people who have the all-access pass are the only suspects?"

The graduates stared amongst the eight people who had said pass, wondering if Drake's question spoke the truth. Was one of them their killer?

"You all really need to not listen," Blake scoffed, "to the guy so much of a pussy that I doubt his balls have dropped yet. The four people in the arcade could still have killed Saiko."

Ignatia snapped her fingers, gaining the others' attention as she had Drake read her next note. [None of the four people inside of the arcade this night had the all-access pass, they couldn't kidnap Saiko.]

"They don't need an all-access pass," Blake shouted, "to jam a sword in her chest!"

"What he's getting at has a ring of truth," Souma spoke up. "Perhaps we should discuss that, if just to discover if it is possible or not."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"Why," Pyrrha argued, crossing her arms in a huff, "are we even listening to that prick right now?"

"Because his point could be valid," Yitro said, though he sounded quite upset by saying so. "Did the person who **kidnapped** Saiko **also kill her**?"

"A person with the **all-access pass** ," Crystal admitted, "could have kidnapped her, brought her to the arcade, and someone inside could have killed her **instead**."

"And that someone," Blake triumphantly declared, "is **Hara**!"

"That's utter nonsense," Isaac shouted. "She didn't have the **sleeping immunity**!"

"You could have bargained with **Monocrow** ," the pyro remarked, "and then smashed the bird **after** you were done with him!"

"But Isaac was locked in the **control room** ," Ishiku argued. "He couldn't get out!"

"He says he couldn't get out, but he could easily be **lying** about that. It was all staged so they could kill the bitch."

"Monodam said that it was next to impossible for him to get out unless someone with all-access opened the door from the outside!"

"And next to impossible still ain't impossible, mate. There's absolutely no reason to believe that Isaac would be trapped in that room against his will except for his benefit!"

" _I can prove you wrong,_ " Isaac shouted, pointing defiantly at Blake.

* * *

"You know how we deduced why Saiko was the executioner in her sleep?" the reporter said, rubbing his scarred arm for a second before ceasing and standing with more confidence. "My being trapped in that room was exactly what Monokuma wanted. It was not for my benefit, it was for trying to break me."

Hara gasped slightly, staring wide-eyed at him. "How do you figure that, Isaac?"

"You all know I lost my family to a serial killer, thanks to Monokuma. You know I watched them die when I hid from her, where I could only watch? That's exactly where my sleepwalking took me…

"Into a room where I could only watch, where I would be forced to see someone horrible happen to those I care about, thanks to the camera feeds. Monokuma wanted me to feel that helplessness again, to drive at my guilt, just as I'm sure he wanted Saiko to feel should she discover the truth about what she was doing."

Isaac shot a side glare at Monokuma, to which the bear laughed. It was a tense moment, though it was interrupted by Ishiku.

"You all realize that the trick door was meant to make everyone believe that the person was inside of the arcade, not the motel? And that goes especially for someone who was inside of the control room without any knowledge of how they got in there!"

"Which would be," Crystal spoke up, "the main reason why such a set-up would be there to begin with! It was all Monokuma's plan!"

"Wait, are you certain a'boot that?" Kimiko asked. "What if the point of that was fur someone at the hotel to mess with those at the arcade?"

"Yeah, like," Blake said with a suspicious glance at Isaac, "to control the animatronics? You could have one of them take the sword and kill Saiko yourself!"

"Wait a minute now," the biker shouted, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"I don't think," Anzu spoke up, "we can 100% prove that was the point of the trick door and the control room, but since that is how it was set up, it is likely that Monokuma planned it like that. And thus that's how it worked."

"Wait, are you serious?" Hikari asked. "Darling, you think that Monokuma was specifically targeting Isaac?"

"We know he was, we know he's going after all of us in ways we cannot see coming," Odelios interrupted. "All of us have had cruel reminders of the darkest moments of our past with the nightmares we've been experiencing, and more. You couldn't possibly forget everything we've been through since we arrived in this town."

Kimiko paused for a moment to look down at her bracelet of dog tags. Ignatia rubbed at her head where she had driven her forehead against a wall when sleepwalking. Yitro clenched his hand around his sword, grinding his teeth.

Most everyone in the trial room was recalling something that had been shoved into their face, or worse, by Penjar. Shuuya ran a finger over the scar on his face that Emanuel had left, and spoke up for them. "I think we can agree that the evil in this town plans to break us, not aid us. Plus…

"There were five of us in that hotel, I think one of us would have noticed if Isaac came out of that room down the hallway."

"No, you cannot confirm that," Blake shouted. "You have absolutely no evidence that completely backs up his innocence, just emotions!

"He gave himself and his bitch sleep immunity! He took the smaller bitch from the hotel and dumped her at the arcade! He smashed Monocrow and let his bitch do the dirty work!"

"Oh really now?" Crystal said. "You seem to have a pretty good idea of how it went down. Why exactly didn't Isaac just kill Saiko himself then?"

"Because…"

Blake paused for a moment, went wide-eyed, and then sadistically grinned. "You think that's how it happened? Did Isaac do it and frame Hara?"

"Son of a bitch," Isaac shouted, gripping his beanie so hard that his knuckles almost turned white. "I thought we agreed not to listen to him!"

"Actually," Shuuya said, staring at the reporter, "I think you need to prove it wasn't you at this point. There's too many puzzle pieces fitting for you to have a clear pathway."

"Especially since," Futaba remarked, "we don't know if the killer could take more than one of the same benefit, but for it to go to two people…"

"Wait a minute!" Anzu shouted desperately. "Why would Isaac or Hara kill Saiko? She was their close friend! They wouldn't-"

"THIS TRIAL!" Blake roared so fiercely that it startled everyone, like an explosion bursting from his podium. "HAS NO PLACE! FOR EMOTIONS! We will all be dead if we run on emotions!"

Everyone froze, letting this sink in for a few seconds, before someone who had been rather nervous bravely spoke out. "That's exactly what Emanuel said," Drake said, "before we found out he let Shinobu die."

"This is completely different, you little pussy!"

"No it isn't," the cartoonist fired back. "Right now, the only motive that you've given Hara or Isaac to have killed Saiko is that they knew her. Somehow, this is enough for some of you to believe Isaac planned out a murder from inside of a room he was trapped in, a room that no one knew was in the motel to begin with…

"Because if he did know all of this, how was he supposed to escape the control room when he did?"

Shuuya stared at the cartoonist, and then replied, "I let him out when I could hear him slamming against the door."

"And how did he know you would hear him? Or even be awake?"

"We were in the hotel, that's where you get sleeping immunity."

"And how would Isaac know that?"

The bounty hunter opened his mouth, then closed it. He rubbed his lips in confusion, and muttered, "He could have found out from… from…"

"From Hara!" Blake shouted. "She was communicating with him through the door!"

Ignatia slammed her fist on her podium, and pointed at Hara. Staring questioningly at Blake, the pyro ignored her until Pyrrha picked up on it. "So how did Hara know then?"

"She… she found out, that's all!"

"How?!" Isaac shouted. "Who did we figure out the sleeping immunity from?"

"Ishiku and hot tits in the same building as Hara," Blake hollered. "They had been up all night!"

"We never mentioned any of that while in the arcade," Ishiku admitted, glaring at him. "In fact, we gave Hara privacy for most of the afternoon, because we felt it was appropriate; she and Isaac were, we thought, just talking to each other with a door between themselves."

"You fucking idiot, you had to have talked about how you stayed up all night!"

"It wasn't obvious to us at the time, remember, dumbass?" the magician shouted right back. "The sleeping immunity makes the passage of time feel like something out of sight, out of mind! Even when we brought up that executioner, we didn't say we never slept!"

"YOU HAD TO! YOU HAD TO, YOU STUPID RETARDED SON OF A-"

"Enough," Shuuya declared, glaring hard at Blake. "The point has been made, and I must say, I'm ashamed I didn't realize it. There was no way Isaac or Hara could have known about the sleeping immunity benefit that comes from the hotel!"

"There had to be! There had to," Blake snarled relentlessly. "He had to have been the one…"

"Will you let it go?" Ken demanded. "Isaac couldn't have known about the sleeping immunity!"

"Monocrow could have told him!"

"Monocrow," Anzu snapped, "was not allowed to give away secrets."

"He's in league with them! Him and his bitch! They have to be!"

Everyone merely stared at Blake, perplexed and disgusted with how much venom he was spitting, degrading into nonsense. Ken frowned at him, and remarked, "Why are you so insistent that it has to be Isaac right now? I thought you were certain it was Hara who did it."

Blake, who had leaned down and hidden his face from everyone else, then peered back up at them. They were horrified to see that his eyes were practically radiating malice, as a feverish grin spread across his face. "She still could have done it, you stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID man!"

"Okay, I've heard enough of this," Pyrrha remarked, dismissively waving her hand. "We all have. He just wants attention."

"You cannot deny I'm right. Hara could have murdered her."

"Who else would be Hara's partner-in-crime," Fiora remarked coldly, "to assassinate their friend?"

"What about," Blake shrieked, pointing at Eisei, "HIM!? He had access to Saiko, being in the same room as her!"

"Oh good grief," Shuuya muttered. "Eisei doesn't have an all-access pass, and he was with Saiko all throughout today. So he couldn't-"

"SHOWER!" The word came spewing out of Blake's mouth like venom from a predator of sorts. "He did it there."

"You know, I think we just need to impact him with one more cold truth," the dentist said, eyes narrowed on the hysterical pyro, "to shut him the hell up."

"Never thought I'd live to see the day," Souma said with a half-hearted chuckle, "when I heard you talk like that, my friend."

"He's making light of Saiko's death," Eisei spoke over Blake's frantic, insane combination of laughter and heavy breathing, "I won't have it."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"Eisei plotted with Monocrow in the **bathroom** of his room with Saiko," Blake cried out, saliva running from his mouth, "and then **Hara killed her**!"

"Do we need to even counter him at this point?" Drake asked, staring fearfully at Blake.

"It all makes sense! It had to have been people she trusted!"

"And why is that exactly?" Hikari asked. "Why does it have to be **someone she knew**?"

"Because that's how they **get ya**! That's how **Despair** works, it **stabs** ya in the **back** and gets your **heart** , mate! You're all **fucked** , you're thinking with your **heart** , that's where Despair GETS YA!"

"This is ludicrous," Futaba remarked. "He's totally lost it."

"I'm the only **sane** one! You all want someone else to be the killer because it's nicer that way, but you're **wrong**! YOU ARE FUCKING **WRONG**! **WRONG**!"

"For the record," Eisei spoke up, "when I woke up, the shower was running, and I could hear it through the bathroom door. There's no way to have a private conversation in there."

" **WRONG**! **WRONG** **WRONG** **WRONG**! **WRONG** … **wrong**... wroooong wrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrong…"

"Wait a minute," Fiora asked, staring at Eisei, "why was the shower **running**? Would our killer thought to have done that?"

"I tried turning off the shower when investigating the room," Drake spoke up. "It didn't turn off, I suspect it was just another **creepy feature** of that building."

"I said you all were **wrong** , I said you were **wrong** … and you're **WRONG**! Why won't you **listen** , why won't you **obey** … you're going to **fuck** us all over, you're going to get us **killed** …"

"Hold on," Odelios asked, "why would the shower do that, at that particular time? It's like the building was **intentionally misleading** Eisei!"

"Or it could be that our killer," Anzu remarked, "turned it on to mislead Eisei when he **woke up**?"

"Either is possible," Odelios said, "but maybe we should switch to-"

" _FUCKING WRONG, YOU SELFISH BITCHES!_ "

* * *

"You all are running around, having sex, fucking each other senseless," Blake screamed, saliva shooting out from his mouth with every other word. "I have had to put up with you all being a bunch of irresponsible twats and hoes, and now you all are sad because waaaaah, one of your pussies died!

"Well, not today, mates! I'm going to prove you all are wrong, and that dumb bitch with her cuck are responsible for everything!"

The trial room couldn't think straight at this point, it was impossible to drown out the screaming that he was producing. Odelios tried to clean his ears with his rubber chicken, muttering, "Man, you'd think we were on a talk show or something. Will the DNA results come in soon, proving he is or isn't the father?"

"Why are we paying him any heed?" Shuuya grumbled. "All he's doing is talking about sex and women's private parts while saying we're wrong."

Anzu was about to speak, but then froze up. She gasped, then glared at Blake until he eventually settled down enough for her to get a word in. "That's what this is all about, Blake? Sex?"

Blake hammered the podium several times, before staring at Anzu. "Of course that's what this has all been about, you professional cocksucker! I did my bit, I paid my time, and what do I get out of it? Fucking nothing, when I literally should be getting fucking something!"

Isaac rubbed his forehead, growling as he tried to fight a migraine of irritation. "You're saying you are owed sex now?"

"You all are fucking each other, even you, you minty cuck," Blake pointed at Isaac, then at Eisei, "and this crossdressing, feminine faggot, you're getting sex! It ain't right! The women here are even fucking each other, but not me! I've had it, I had to fight to keep my ass safe for years in prison, but now someone like her denies me…"

Kimiko was the most surprised when the pyro pointed at her. "What the fuck? Denied you? You never even approached me, though I woo'd have denied you, of course!"

"Heh… hehehehe…" Blake cackled, staring down at his hands. "I had your tits in my hands, Kimiko. So soft and warm and nice, something finally nice… then it turned out to be Jeremy, the man who killed my brother in prison. This town had me beat the shit out of that bastard again…

"When I was in prison, I fought that raging homo bastard again and again, him trying to get me, and he never got anything! Then the Tragedy came, and he kills my brother as revenge for all the beatings I gave him! And here is now, in my nightmares, plaguing me while all the hot women are fucking every guy but me…

"IT AIN'T RIGHT! I'VE FUCKING HAD IT!"

The trial room was silent for a moment, then Crystal spoke up as she crossed her arms. "You aren't 'owed' anything, Blake. The nightmares, the hallucinations, you should have known that Monokuma and the town was preying on you. Though at this point, I daresay you fell right into it."

"Is that what your attitude is about these last two days?" Ishiku asked. "You groping Fannie, you taunting those who cared about Saiko? You're just jealous and horny?"

"You violently pushed your way out of the motel," Souma argued, "you even fought us to get out. I wondered why that was, but now I feel like that the creepy place must have reminded you of prison."

"And now you're determined to prove it was Hara," Pyrrha added in, "because you're just jealous of her love with Isaac! And you even tried to blame poor Eisei, because of his relationship with Saiko. You… you're worse than a cad, you're just a pervert and a coward!"

Blake breathed in heavily, eyes darting around at everyone. His spiky hair was drooping, as if wilted or heavy, and he still had a venomous look in his eyes. "You think I care at this point, what any of you think? There's nothing left for me to work forward to, I've seen that. So you can all just burn with me! BURN!"

"Monokuma," Fiora said, eyeing the bear of despair, "are there any rules to knocking someone out?"

" **Hmmm? Well, I mean, I normally discourage that, but we aren't going to get anywhere if we let him ramble on, are we?** " Mononkuma said with a laugh. " **Hoo boy, did I do a number on this guy with just a couple nightmares!** "

Blake turned towards Fiora, who was walking right to him. "Oh really?" the pyro snarled, bringing up his fists. "You can't take me, you stupid bitch! I ain't afraid to hit-"

 _WHUMP!_

Fiora swung her arm faster than most of the graduates could keep up with, upwards into Blake's stomach. The pyrotechnician's breath caught in his chest, as his eyes went wide for a couple seconds. Then, like a sack of potatoes, he hit the floor out cold.

The movie maker dusted off her palms before returning to her podium, then noticed everyone's astonished stares. "What? We weren't going to progress unless someone did it."

"D-damn, girl," Kimiko declared, "when did you get to be such a brawler?"

"Yeah," Pyrrha remarked, staring rather intensively at Fiora.

"I just got tired of him making the trial," the movie maker said, "a platform for his stressed rants. Now, where were we?"

The nineteen conscious trial members exchanged looks, as they all attempted to rack their brains over what their debate was about.

"Um, is it bad," Ken admitted, "that I'm not particularly sure?"

"We've been trying to get a proper conversation going," Futaba lamented, "but we kept getting distracted by that asshole screaming at us."

"Why'd we even let him have the floor?" Isaac asked. "Are we sure he's not the killer?"

"He was being medically treated," Yitro said, folding his arms and sighing heavily, "and I was around him for his recovery, most of which was unconscious. It's not possible for him to have done it."

"So where do we go from here?" Crystal asked.

The trial room was silent again for a few moments. Fannie raised her hand, nervously glancing around the room before she spoke. "If I may? I believe the problem was that we became distracted with the idea that Hara had a partner, but it is more likely someone is trying to frame her."

"And hurt her in the process," Isaac growled, clenching his hands on his podium. "I'll never forgive them."

"But what's the next step from that?" Eisei inquired. "Do we see who could have kidnapped Saiko, and killed her?" He held a hand over his heart, to calm the heavy beating.

"To do that, let's just lay out how the killer," Shuuya said, "could do such a thing."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"So first off, we know our killer has to have had the **all-access pass** ," Fubata said, "which would be anyone who stayed at the **arcade** the past two days."

"Oh, except for **Ignatia** and **myself** ," Drake commented. "We **lost** our all-access pass somehow, we found that out earlier today."

"That must have been," Isaac said, "because of **Saiko and myself** in our **sleepwalking** state."

"So after making a deal with **Monocrow** ," Anzu said, "they went to the **motel** , and kidnapped Saiko from there."

"Wait, are we sure about the deal for the killer?" Hikari asked.

"Yes, Monocrow said that the deal was **reserved** for when the sleeping gas came out, so it had to be for them."

"Even though we don't know if our killer already had **sleep immunity**?"

"They had to ensure everyone else at the arcade would be asleep," Fannie said. "The ones at the arcade were **myself** , **Ishiku** , **Hara** , and **Anzu**."

"I imagine our killer," Fiora said, "knew that the **sword** would be there, and used it to kill Saiko."

"Afterwards, they **smashed** Monocrow," Yitro commented, "and then I guess returned to whichever building they were staying at."

"How **long** would that take?" Crystal asked, rubbing the back of her head. "An hour? A half-hour?"

" _Wait, stop, please,_ " Hara pleaded, " _I think I know where we need to focus!_ "

* * *

"I believe that we need to focus on the one thing that the killer had to have," Hara said, "and that is the all-access pass. After all, not only would they need it to move around, but earlier, we proved that they couldn't trade it back with how Monocrow was destroyed."

Shuuya rubbed his chin, and nodded at the explorer. "I believe you are right. It is impossible for the killer to operate without that benefit, as that is the only way Saiko could be in the arcade."

"If I may just be devil's advocate real quick," Souma piped in, "are we sure that Saiko didn't go to the arcade by herself?"

"I was with her all of today," Eisei spoke up, his voice more emotional than normal. "We were in the same room, the sleeping gas knocked us out when we were lying down. She couldn't have left on her own, she simply couldn't have…"

"Okay, I'm sorry, my friend," the public speaker said, an apologetic look on his face. "I just want to make sure there aren't any loose ends, we've been struggling with that a lot."

Hara stared at Eisei for a moment, and saw the pain in his eyes, the grief that had changed him. She took a deep breath, and spoke out with a voice now steady. "So who are the people who have the all-access pass?"

"Crystal, Pyrrha, Fiora, Futaba, Shuuya, Yitro, Ken, and Isaac," Drake spoke up, reading off of a note he had made on one of the sketch pad papers. "Also, I added that Ignatia and I lost ours, but you all know that…"

"It's not Isaac," Pyrrha said, shaking her head. "We went over that again and again because of Blake, he couldn't have left that room."

Odelios gaped at the romance writer, and said, "Little Red Writing Hood, you're one of the people in that list! You should be defending yourself!"

The redhead blushed slightly at the nickname, then giggled. "I like that, it's cute! But I was with Crystal the entire time, we were aware of our location every minute since last night."

"Yes, about that," Futaba spoke up, "can we be sure you two didn't work as a duo?"

Crystal raised an eyebrow at this, and replied, "We did occasionally meet up with Kimiko and Hikari."

"After 8:30 PM, when the gas affected everyone besides those who are sleep immune?"

The military adviser sighed, glancing to the side. "It's hard to say, we did not have a good sense of time, and I wasn't checking it; there was no point to do so."

"That seems unlikely," Fannie spoke up, "for two people to work together on something so violent."

"You would know," Ken growled at her.

"Hey, you stop that right now," Ishiku shouted, pointing at the cavalryman. "She's not a violent person."

There was a barking laugh from the Kubs' stand, and Monokid was strumming on a guitar. "She usually violently pukes!"

Fannie tugged nervously at the collar of her top, and muttered, "Um, well, I don't know if we need to talk about that."

"Why don't we leave Crystal and Pyrrha alone for now," Odelios spoke up, "since it's highly unlikely it was both of them?"

Isaac glanced around at the other people who were on that list. "Shuuya, Futaba, Ken, Yitro, and Fiora are the only other people with the pass. Three were at the hotel as well, one at the asylum, one at the psychic tent. Can those at the hotel alibi each other at all?"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"The three of us were looking around the **hotel** for hours," Shuuya remarked. "Futaba and I worked together for the most part."

"Well, we didn't spend every minute together," Futaba admitted. "I took a **shower** at one point."

"So did I, but I must say, they really went with the **Psycho** theme. Every minute, I thought I heard someone coming towards the bathroom."

"I worked alone for the most part," Ken said, "though I did see the two when I was searching around. Sometimes **separated** , sometimes **married**."

"Dude," Odelios spoke up, "we really gotta work on your terminology."

"Was it 'separated' or 'married' I got wrong?"

"I'm afraid I cannot confirm or deny anything," Eisei said. "I was with **Saiko** the entire time, learning how to play **video games** she liked."

"Well where did you all fall asleep?" Kimiko asked, glancing around at the three before settling on Ken. "Handsome, you got any idea?"

"I believe I passed out in the **lobby** , thanks to the sleeping gas."

"Futaba and I were in the **same room** at the time," Shuuya admitted. "We were, ironically, discussing when we should lie down before the sleeping gas would be released."

"And we know this happened around **8:30 PM** ," Ishiku said. "And then you all woke up at **9:30 PM** was when, we theorized, the hotel's benefit kicked in?"

"Yes," Futaba said, "so I don't think any of us have anything in concrete."

" _Wait a second,_ " Fannie cried out, " _there's something bothering me here!_ "

* * *

"So we all believe that at 9:30 PM, the benefits for being in the building kicked in?" the white 'n pink-topped gal said. "Well, there's something very odd about that."

"What exactly are you referring to, darling?" Hikari asked.

"It's just that, Ishiku and I woke up early, at around 9:30 as well, we were awake before Anzu was. And Monokuma woke everyone up after the Body Discovery Announcement, so why were the two of us awake first off?"

Ignatia face-palmed, risking running her make-up due to her frustration over this complication. As Drake tried to calm her down, Kimiko let out a long groan. "Seriously? You need to bring this up now?"

"But I think it's important! I mean, we fell asleep because the killer needed us to be asleep, but we still work up earlier than everyone else. That's when we found out the sword was gone, and then we started to search around the arcade. That's when we found poor Saiko."

Isaac glanced to the side, trying hard to remember to what he could during that terrible time. He pulled off his beanie, rubbed his mint hair, and struggled to recall all the details.

"If I recall correctly," he said, "wait… wait! I was looking through the camera feed, when I saw Hara slumped over Saiko's body. That was when the Body Discovery Announcement played, and that plays after three people find the victim."

"But what does that prove?" Crystal asked. "How's it prove anything about the people at the hotel having alibis or not?"

"It may not be about that, but I have a theory," Anzu spoke up. "Monocrow was destroyed after the murder, and Ishiku and Fannie had their sleep immunity benefit returned to them…

"Is it possible that by killing Monocrow, the deal that the killer worked with him inadvertently reversed it?"

Everyone glanced around, as Drake turned to the Kubs' platform. "Monodam, is it possible to learn the rules of Monocrow's abilities now?"

"…" responded Monodam.

"Haw haw haw! No fucking way are we spilling our guts over that bird," Monokid shouted. "You're just going to have to trust your own guts! All your guts!"

"I think we have more than enough to showcase that the theory is correct," Fiora said, glancing up at the blue Kub. "Just because you are not forthcoming doesn't mean we cannot prove it."

"However," Pyrrha said, staring at the movie maker, "how does it limit our suspects?"

"Doesn't it prove that Shuuya and Futaba cannot be the killer?" Drake asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Wait, what?" Futaba spoke up. "I mean, I don't want to argue with that, but I'm curious how you arrived at the conclusion."

"If the two of you woke up at the same time, that means you didn't leave the hotel; otherwise, you would have woken up after the Body Discovery Announcement like the rest of us did."

"He's right," Isaac declared. "It took a few minutes for everyone waking up afterwards to get up, correct? Shuuya, you opened the door for me right after the BDA, you had to have stayed in the hotel."

Shuuya nodded slowly, then remarked, "Well, that certainly is nice to know. Futaba and I are verified."

"That is a relief, indeed," Ken said with a smile towards Futaba. "But I do think it's a bit complicating on my part, as I have no one to back me up."

"Yes, but neither does Yitro," Futaba responded. "Nor Fiora, or Crystal and Pyrrha as a team."

"Hey wait a minute," Crystal shouted, "why are we under suspicion as a team? That's ridiculous, we had the sleeping immunity already, we wouldn't ask Monocrow for it!"

"Then we'll just have to debate that," Fiora said with a piercing stare at the military adviser, "shall we?"

"…" Pyrrha shook her head, clenching her teeth as she appeared quite strained.

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"Our killer had to ensure that **Fannie and Ishiku** were asleep," Anzu spoke up, "so they had to have their **sleeping immunity stolen**!"

"Yeah, but what a'boot that theory," Kimiko said, "that **Monocrow** couldn't grant someone more than one of the same benefit?"

"No one else woke up suddenly," Souma remarked, "at least, no one has spoken up about such a thing."

"The killer wouldn't want to risk waking someone up," Fiora reasoned, "if someone else was nearby them. If they worked **alone** , that is."

"Wait, are we going off a theory now?" Crystal argued. "We cannot verify anything about Monocrow's powers because the bears won't tell us-"

"HAW HAW HAW HAW!"

"Screw you too, Monokid. So does that mean we are reasoning that the bird could give **more than one of the same benefit** to another person?"

" **Two people** lost their sleeping immunity," Anzu said, "and **no one** has confessed to waking up early."

"What about **Blake**?" Drake asked. "What if he woke up early? He cannot talk to us right now."

" **I** do not regret doing that," Fiora responded. "He wouldn't have cooperated with us anyway."

"Yes, you are correct there," Hikari said. "But what do we do about **Crystal and Pyrrha's** predicament? Can we prove anything?"

"You all do realize that if those two worked together," Souma remarked, frowning in concern, "we cannot possibly prove **which** of them did it."

"That's rubbish," Crystal declared. "If one of us made a deal with **Monocrow** , then the other one would have smashed the bird to ensure the deal didn't **reverse**!"

"That kind of information," Isaac said, "was only discovered by this **trial** , our killer couldn't have possibly known that!"

"Really now? Because seeing that the killer knew the **building benefits** , to **stack more than one** of the same benefit with Monocrow, and where **everyone** and **everything** has been, I'd say this killer has been three steps ahead of us all the time!"

"Hey now," Kimiko shouted, "someone who is in the hot seat shouldn't be saying such things!"

"You should be verifying Pyrrha and myself, biker woman! Why can't you remember **seeing us**?!"

" _ENOUGH! STOP IT,_ " Pyrrha shrieked, gripping her hair as she tried to contain her emotions. " _I have something I need to say!_ "

* * *

Everyone turned towards Pyrrha, who grabbed ahold of her podium, shaking hard and sniffling. All were rather confused by this, Crystal most of all as she stared in perplexity at her.

"Wait, what are you saying?" the military adviser asked. "We're innocent! Can you prove it?"

"N-no, I can't. I cannot prove our innocence, but there's something that has come to my attention. I think…

"I think someone has been lying to us this entire time. I think there's someone who is hiding something massive, and I believe that this person is our killer."

"What?!" Hara and Isaac cried out.

"What?" Crystal balked.

"Well don't just stand there hyping it up," Ishiku declared, pointing at her. "Tell us who it is and why!"

Pyrrha took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, but you all need to follow my lead. Let me say my piece before you all interject, alright?"

The graduates nodded in agreement, though the befuddlement was all over their faces. Fannie nibbled on her nails, Odelios twisted the neck of his rubber chicken, Fiora stared out from under the brim of her fedora.

"Because the person I think could be our killer is…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

…

… you, Fiora Stenton!"

"WHAT?!" almost everyone, human and bear, shouted at the same time.

Fiora stared at Pyrrha, and crossed her arms as she responded. "I'm not the killer."

"Is that _all_ you have to say?"

"I don't have a way of proving it, if that's what you are asking."

"No, that's not what I am asking! What do you have to say to being accused, damn it?"

Fiora continued to stare at the redhead, her eyes narrowed as her body and tone remained calm. "I said already, I'm not the killer."

"That's all?" Ishiku cried out. "But… but… you cannot possibly be this underwhelmed!"

"What reason do you even have for suspecting me?"

"THAT!" Pyrrha almost shrieked out the word in desperation. "Your attitude, your posture, how you're remaining super calm and controlled and not upset in the least that you're being accused of being the killer for the _fifth_ time in our five trials!"

Fiora's eyes widened slightly, and she glanced away. "It's a very serious trial. I don't believe in acting out, that's not what these trials are about."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kimiko shouted, pointing at Fiora too. "Where's your accent? I knew there was something off a'boot you, but I didn't realize it until now, eh!"

Fiora closed her eyes, remaining quiet now. She didn't speak, she just stood there with her arms folded.

"You _act_ different, you _talk_ different, you are _completely_ different," Pyrrha shouted. "And it's been going on all evening!"

"Yes," Yitro said, staring intensively at Fiora, "I didn't want to say anything, I didn't think it right, but I have noticed that about you too, and we've spent most of the investigation together. Especially since you hold that sword like a pro, and you pulled it out of the of machine with one try…

"You're not the Fiora I know. And I don't believe for a second the Fiora I know and care about is a fake personality or some shit like that. Who are you?"

"Yes, who are you?" Pyrrha demanded to know, pointing fiercely at Fiora. "Does this have something to do with the psychic tent? Where's the real Fiora?"

"…" was the response from Fiora, who remained totally still.

"Don't just stand there," Isaac hollered. "If you're the one who killed Saiko, you're going to pay for what you did!"

"Where's Fiora?" Anzu pleaded. "What did you do with her?"

The movie maker unfolded her arms, and let out a long sigh. She stared down at the ground, and then up at the other people in the trial room. "I suppose there is no point in this act anymore; it was foolish of me to think I could pretend to be someone else, I am no actress."

"What?" Hara asked, wringing her hands nervously. "What are you saying?"

Fiora took her fedora off, placing it on her podium. She ran a hand through her black 'n white hair, the ahoge bouncing almost playfully, as she formally stood before everyone on her platform.

"My name," she said, "is Peko Pekoyama. I was the Ultimate Swordswoman at Hope's Peak Academy, and the private bodyguard for my master. I know that I died in that school, executed after I unintentionally murdered my classmate Gonta Gokuhara.

"The only thing I care about now is knowing about my master's safety, and his whereabouts." She griped the handle of the sword, her own sword, as her eyes flashed with the kind of intensity that could cut through the air. "So if you would please tell me about Master Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, I will cooperate in your trial. I have nothing to lose, I am already dead…

"So kindly assist me with my endeavor, or things will end very badly for you all."

* * *

…

 **TRIAL INTERMISSION!**


	38. Chapter 5-6: Case 5 Trial, Part 2

**Chapter 5-6**

 **The Leading Lane of Lies**

* * *

* **Monokuma Family Trial Intermission** *

* * *

* _Monokuma and the two Monokubs are standing on the steps of Town Hall, the main bear at the top and the two cubs three steps down._ *

 **Monokuma** \- "Things certainly are heating up in the trial! I mean, we rarely ever get people who aren't visitors of Penjar joining the cast!"

 **Monodam** \- "THIS-IS-THE-THIRD-TIME-ACTUALLY."

 **Monokuma** \- "Oh, you know what I mean, you annoyingly adorable little bastard! I miss my obedient children, those who would agree with me and say I'm right with whatever I say."

 **Monokid** \- "I'm obedient as shit, Dad! Why don't respect me for the shit that I am? Shit!"

 **Monokuma** \- "For one thing, you swear too much! You should stick to bear puns and impish laughter to be your calling cards, not four letter words that any dumb bastard can use!"

 **Monodam** \- "FATHER, YOU-KEEP-SWEARING-WHEN-YOU-SAY-SWEARING-IS-FOR-LESSER-BEARS."

 **Monokuma** \- "And YOU keep arguing with me! You're right, Monokid, I do respect your shit! But sometimes, I wish I could hibernate until you're mature enough to understand the big picture."

 **Monokid** \- "Whoa Dad, if you hibernate too much, you'll miss the trial! I mean, what would we do without your fucking awesome leadership skills?"

 **Monodam** \- "GET-THINGS-DONE?"

 **Monokuma** \- "Upupupupupu! Oh, you witty little bastard! Now then, let's get back to the trial, and see if our visitors can survive the fifth Town Trial of Penjar!"

 **Monokid** \- "HELL YEAH! You hear that, visitors? Your asses are grasses, and grasses are 'wackes'! Speaking of whacks…"

* _Monokid takes his guitar out and hits Monodam on the back of the head, knocking him down on his face._ *

 **Monodam** \- "OW. I-MISS-MONOPHANIE. AND-MONOTARO…"

 **Monokuma** \- "And now, on with the show!"

 **Monodam** \- "AND-MONOSUKE. AND-MONOCROW…"

 **Monokid** \- "Maybe you wouldn't miss them so much if you'd just die like they all did!"

 **Monodam** \- "MONOPHANIE-IS-NOT-DEAD."

 **Monokuma** \- "You know, you're gonna be dead yourself if you don't stop correcting us, young cub!"

* * *

 **LET THE TRIAL RECOMMENCE!**

* * *

The eighteen conscious members of the trial stared in utter bafflement at Peko Pekoyama, though she was in Fiora's body right now. Her stance, the way her eyes peered into them all, the way she had spoken, there was no denying it. The Ultimate Swordswoman was back from the dead, and threatening them all.

"O-okay then," Souma stammered out. "Let's not get carried away, Miss Pekoyama. Our interests do align."

"Do they?" Yitro challenged, staring with the same kind of steely look as Peko. "Because it seems she wants to use us all."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Futaba said, "talk trash with her right now. Let's just find out what she wants, okay?"

Peko flicked Fiora's hair behind her shoulders, and let out a sigh. "Should I give you my demands then? You all seem highly confused."

"Confused?" Hara repeated, leaning forward on her podium before she pointed accusingly at Peko. "You… you killed Saiko, didn't you?!"

The swordswoman in the movie maker's body turned towards her, a stern but calm expression on her face. "No. I had nothing to do with that."

"Pardon us for not believing you," Eisei spoke up, "but it is quite hard for us to find you credulous in this state."

"Yeah, I mean," Odelios spoke up, "how in the hell are you possessing Fiora right now? Are you an evil ghost or a demon?"

"I am not a monster," Peko responded, crossing her arms. "I was called here and am being channelled by the lady Fiora."

"But she's not a spirit medium," Anzu shouted, pointing at Peko as well. "She's not a clairvoyant or psychic or anything like that!"

Peko stared at Anzu, longer than she did with anyone else. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then glanced to the side. "There is something about you that confuses me. I wish to gain information on my master, but I must admit, I am confused how I am here if Fiora Stenton is channelling me if she is not a medium. Perhaps we should discuss that to avoid further confusion."

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"I believe you all said that Fiora was a **movie maker**?" Peko asked, holding her hand up near her face as she flexed her fingers in thought. "Are you sure she isn't a **medium** too?"

"That **loudmouth** keeping something secret?" Crystal remarked. "She couldn't, and wouldn't, keep a **second talent** like that hidden."

"She never mentioned anything about the **dead** ," Yitro said. "Though I believe it was the subject with some of her **movies**."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Souma remarked. "I had to watch a lot of those earlier today in the **psychic tent**."

"Peko darling," Hikari said, clenching her umbrella handle tightly, "are you aware of where you are? Do you know about **Penjar**?"

"I know as much as you all do, possibly less."

"Why you, in particular?" Pyrrha asked, crossing her arms. "Why would Fiora **channel** you? We've been in constant contact with **Mahiru Koizumi**!"

"What? My classmate?" Peko was visibly unnerved. "She was the first person to perish at **Hope's Peak**! How are you in contact with her?"

"Don't change the subject!" Shuuya snapped. "We're talking about you, not the other people from Hope's Peak."

"I know as much as you all do, as I previously said."

" _Hold on a minute,_ " Drake called out, " _I have the answer!_ "

* * *

"If you all recall," the cartoonist said, peering around at his peers, "we never found out what exactly the benefit to the psychic's tent was. Is it possible that the benefit is the ability to channel spirits?"

Everyone glanced around, curious if such a thing were even possible. Anzu sighed as she coiled one of her blue bangs around in her fingers. "Drake, our little cinnamon roll, you do realize that Hikari and I were there, and we're not channelling anyone?"

"Hasn't Fiora been in the psychic's tent twice? Maybe that's the key?"

Ignatia rocked back and forth on her feet, contemplating this. She snapped her fingers, then typed out a message for Drake to read. [It could be true. I have heard rumors that learning how to spirit channel takes a great deal of physical and mental strain. Were you under strain after your night there?]

Anzu froze up, gasping as her pupils shrank in fear. "Oh… you mean how I attacked Odelios?"

"And how I had a terrible rash all over my body the following day?" Hikari admitted, blushing slightly. "Also, Fiora threw up when she woke up, the poor darling."

"She thought she was pregnant, the goofy goober," Yitro said, chuckling lightly, then the humor was gone when she stared at the woman she was talking about, though it wasn't her at the moment. "So, for lack of a better explanation, we can say the reason Fiora is channeling you is because she was granted that via Penjar's powers."

"Spirit channeling is supposed to be extremely taxing to the one doing it," Futaba said, crossing her arms. "All of my research on the subject says that it is extremely taxing, and takes years, if not decades, of training and the right bloodlines to do it. Are you telling me Fiora Stenton is so gifted, or this town is so powerful, that she can channel a spirit for hours?"

"Apparently," Peko said, flexing her fingers more before lowering her hands. "We have an answer. I'd like my answers now."

"No, you hold on there," Ken shouted. "You don't get to possess one of our comrades, control the trial, and get what you want when you are looking mighty guilty."

Peko stared at him, then sighed. "What are you talking about? I did not kill Saiko. I have no reason, nor the ability."

"Saiko was killed by a sword," Isaac snapped, "the same sword you have on your hip right now! How can you say you don't have the ability?"

"There are a lot of other factors. I had no idea how anything worked until I overheard you all talking about them."

"Like the building benefits?" Fannie asked. "Oh, and who was staying where? I mean, since you technically only came around tonight, I don't know how you could catch up on everything."

"Yeah, I'm having trouble imagining," Ishiku admitted, "that Peko somehow was channelled, knew how this damn city works, and then murdered a woman she doesn't know!"

Hara and Isaac were staring hard at Peko, who noticed the couple's intensity. She said, "I believe we should discuss this further then?"

"Yeah, that would be best," Kimiko said. "Come on, let's get this settled, then we can calm doo'n our ghost gal."

"I would appreciate not being called that."

"…" Pyrrha clenched her hands together, her green eyes becoming blazing emeralds as she gazed extensively at Peko.

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"Futaba, does your research into **spirit channeling** ," Shuuya asked, "say anything about how much information the spirit has on **the one channeling** them?"

"We're talking about a subject that has never been fully documented, and incredibly rare and protected," the anthropologist said. "There are people who spent their **entire lives** trying to learn more."

"Wait a minute, wasn't there another classmate of yours," Crystal asked, "who had been affected by spirit channeling? **Korekiyo**?"

"The serial killer of women?!" Anzu cried out in astonishment. "What does he have to do with this?"

"If I recall," Isaac said, "Korekiyo Shinguji stated that a **séance** led to him being possessed by his deceased sister, and together, they killed many women to become her friends in the **afterlife**."

"Saiko was a **woman** ," Hara said softly, staring intensively at Peko.

"I am not Korekiyo," Peko responded. "I was appalled by the violence he had taken, and aghast by the lives he took."

"That bastard," Ken shouted, "murdered my **princess**! Why are we even talking about him?!"

"We're trying to see if Peko has **Fiora's knowledge** ," Kimiko said to the enraged Novoselician, "on this city, eh. If she didn't, she had no way of **killing Saiko**."

"Even if she did, what possible **reason** would she have," Fannie argued, "for murdering Saiko?"

"Yeah, Fannie's right!" Ishiku spoke up. "Maybe we're just reading too much into this, and it's another red herring in our case-"

" _Stop arguing this,_ " Pyrrha shouted, " _because I have the answer to it all!_ "

* * *

Peko stared at the romance writer, more curious than stern now. "You seem to have a lot against me, Pyrrha. I'd like to know why."

"Why? You want to know why I suspect you so much?" the writer shouted, pounding her fists on the podium. "I was wondering for so long how one of us, when we were finally getting along and working together, would murder one of us!

"And that's because you're not only not one of us, but you also have a reason to kill Saiko. A very personal reason!"

The swordswoman shook her head. "I'm afraid I am not following you."

"You cannot deny it, we discussed it during the trial! Saiko was forced to frame a member of the yakuza Kuzuryu clan, leading to his death. And YOU are an enforcer of the Kuzuryu clan!"

The trial room was silent for a moment, before Hara gasped in shock. "That's… that's right! She told us that! Oh my God, you…"

"You killed her out of honor for your clan!" Isaac shouted in fury, his eyes burning with hatred towards Peko. "You murderer!"

Peko noticeably flinched, as a bead of sweat ran down her forehead. She closed her eyes, and said, "I have no love for the Kuzuryu clan, only for my master."

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu was set to take over the clan," Souma remarked, crossing his arms. "As a member of the Future Foundation, I know all about those who took part in the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game."

The swordswoman gaped at him. "'W-was'?"

"You're answering our questions now," Shuuya snapped.

"No! Please! Tell me," Peko's stern visage was gone, a look of utter desperation crossing Fiora's face. "Fuyuhiko lived, didn't he? He made it?"

"DON'T TALK BACK!" Isaac bellowed, startling everyone as he fiercely pointed at Peko. "You murdered Saiko, didn't you?"

"I didn't kill your friend!" Peko shouted, gripping her podium tightly. "I swear! Please, I need to know!"

"You'll get nothing out of us," Eisei said, glaring at the lady in another person's body, "until you tell us everything we want to know. Saiko's dead, and you're looking very responsible."

"Y-young master," Peko started to stammer, as tears leaked from her eyes. "Is he… is he really…"

" **Upupupupu! Well if they won't tell you, Peko,** " Monokuma spoke up, " **I should inform you that there are no living Kuzuryu anymore. Ah-HAHAHAHAAAA!** "

Peko locked up, then slumped down against her podium. "No… no you're living! Young master Fuyuhiko would survive the Killing Game, he'd survive anything!"

" **And yet, the Kuzuryu are no more! UPUPUPUPU!** "

"NOOOOOO!" The swordswoman heaved in desperation, staring up at the trial members. "Tell me he's lying! Please, I'll do anything!"

Isaac took a deep breath, as he peered at her. "Did you kill our friend?"

"I didn't kill Saiko! I…" Peko stood up, glancing around as she uncharacteristically panicked. "But I don't have any way to disprove it!"

"That's probably because you," Ken snapped, "are responsible for this odious crime."

"You're the only one with a motive," Pyrrha said. "Saiko was responsible for one of your yakuza members being executed."

"So if you'd kindly pull yourself together," Yitro said, staring the most intensively at Peko, "and tell us what we want to know, we tell you what happened to your master!"

"I… I don't," Peko stammered, attempting to calm her breathing but failing, "I don't know how-"

"Stop it! Stop it all of you!"

Anzu's shout startled everyone in the trial room, even herself. The actress gripped her podium, as she continued, "You're railroading this poor girl into confessing what you want to hear! Can't you see she's desperate?"

"Anzu," Isaac growled, "she's most likely the killer!"

"I don't think so. Isaac, I know you're suffering," she glanced between him, Hara, and Eisei, "God knows you three are hurting so much, and you want to find Saiko's killer more than anything in the world. But she's not a villain, she's a scared and confused girl right now."

"Was she a scared and confused girl," Hikari bitterly remarked, "when she murdered Gonta Gokuhara?"

"Was she a scared and confused girl," Shuuya commented, "when she was an enforcer for a yakuza gang, a blade that would draw blood at a moment's notice? The yakuza are not to be admired, they were ruthless killers."

There was a pained groan from down on the ground, and then an arm reached up to an empty podium as Blake pulled himself up off the floor. "Was she a scared and confused girl," he said, "when she plunged that blade right in Saiko's big chest?"

"Oh God, not you," Pyrrha cried out. "We don't want to hear this coming from you!"

"Hey, I'm on your side, cinnamon tits," Blake commented, wheezing out several breaths. "I think this bitch is totally guilty, and I'm all for voting her to get sentenced to death!"

"Wait a minute!" Odelios shouted desperately. "We cannot do that! If Peko gets executed, Fiora dies!"

"Oh God," Kimiko shrieked, "yoo'r right! Everyone, slow doo'n a minute! We cannot rush this!"

The members of the trial room were horrified at the prospect of this, except for one of them. Blake let out a laugh, and said, "Oh big loss, the B-movie maker finally gets offed like we've been trying to do since we all first got here."

"Shut the hell up," Yitro shouted at him, "before I come over there and knock you out again!"

"I think you're wrong, Odelios," Shuuya said. "Monokuma's rules are about who committed the crime, and the culprit is clearly Peko Pekoyama. Fiora is not the killer, therefore he isn't allowed to harm her."

"Don't be so sure."

Peko had managed to pull herself together, as she wiped her brow and then surveyed the others. "Monokuma, Despair, it's obvious the way they work from now. Though I am not Saiko's killer, I believe that you need to slow down right now."

"Then just leave her body," Isaac shouted at her. "Go on, do it!"

"I… I cannot. I do not know why, but I feel bound to her right now, as if this was my body now. I don't understand, is Fiora Stenton a trusting soul?"

"What do you mean?" Fannie asked. "She's very friendly and outgoing, but how do you figure trusting?"

"I don't know where I was before she summoned me, there is just a void in my memory, like I am not meant to recall it; however, I do remember a voice calling me, asking me to help."

"Help? You?!" Hara shouted, gripping her hands together. "You're the last person who could help, you're the only being who would want Saiko dead!"

"I didn't," Peko started to say, wincing as she almost lost her cool. She took a deep breath, then started again more calmly. "I did not murder your friend. I am sorry, I am not a good person, I'm barely even a person. I'm more a tool for my master, one to use as he saw fit. And a tool, a weapon like me, only knows how to be what it was trained to be. I'm sorry, my actions were crass and thoughtless, but I know no other way to go around it.

"I was just trying to help, and I believe it hurt you all in the process. I apologize."

Something inside Isaac clicked at those words. He gripped his scarred arm, and then stared intensively at the sullen swordswoman. "Wait, you wanted to help?"

"I figured it was the right thing to do, I had to be brought here and now for a reason. If it were something about how the sword was used, or something else I knew-"

"We've already seen your work, you yakuza sex-toy," Blake interrupted, gaining a rather fierce glare from Peko. "Why don't you just shut the hell up, and let us kill you off again?"

"You can't do that," Peko shouted. "I didn't kill Saiko, you'd only be leading to Fiora's death, and yours!"

"Are you using her life as a bargaining chip now?" Hikari cried out fiercely. "You refuse to leave Fiora's body, and thus we have to kill her if we vote for you?"

"Sly as ever, yakuza," Shuuya growled. "You're lucky we didn't meet on normal terms."

"Wait, stop," Anzu cried out. "Please!"

"We haven't even debated this," Fannie insisted. "We don't know how she carried out the plan!"

"Yeah, I mean," Odelios remarked, "how the hell could possibly know everything about the town?"

"She's a damned yakuza spirit," Crystal yelled. "What isn't impossible about what she can do right now, Odelios?"

"Who else but her would murder Saiko?" Ken asked. "The only person who'd care about a gang member like that being executed would be her, a member of that gang!"

"She pulled that sword out of Hara's body like it was nothing," Hara said, her voice slightly ragged from the intensity of the situation. "Peko's just too cruel."

"I… I don't know about that."

Drake's statement was rather startling to everyone there. The cartoonist was nervous at all the attention, but he continued on. "Peko, I don't think you remember me, but I met you once, at Hope's Peak."

"I apologize," Peko said, "but I honestly don't. My memory is very hazy about my time at Hope's Peak, just as it was when I had amnesia during that Killing Game."

"Well, I do remember you, and I don't think you be this brutal, to kill Saiko in cold blood."

"Drake, you cannot seriously be using memories like that," Crystal said, "to defend her. This is completely different, and it's obvious now!"

"I… I don't think so."

Everyone was shocked to hear those words come from Isaac's mouth. The reporter had one of his hands on his beanie, almost covering his eyes as he had been so deep in thought. "Maybe we rushed too fast into judgement."

"Isaac!" Hara cried out, clutching at her shirt over her heart. "You… you cannot be serious! She killed Saiko!"

"You were the most fervent just a minute ago," Shuuya declared.

The mint-topped man sighed hard, then looked up at everyone. "Yes, I was so furious that I couldn't think straight. However, now that I'm thinking about it, we're not even debating it."

"You may be right," Souma responded, crossing his arms. "If we don't discuss this, it could be fatal."

"Yes, I'm having second thoughts too," Futaba muttered.

"She fits the profile over everyone else," Pyrrha objected. "Who else but her?"

"But but but," Fannie stammered wildly, "we haven't even debated-"

" **I'M JUST GONNA SCRUM SCRUM SCRUM IT OFF!** "

Monokuma rubbed his paws together gleefully. "I'm sure some of you saw this coming! It's more appropriate now than ever! We even have an even number of trial members, maybe it'll be an even team!

"Now get ready to select your side! Just remember, if the team that believes the suspect of debate guilty wins, the trial is over! Now choose wisely..."

"I fucking love the music that plays during these," Monokid shouted, strumming on his guitar. "Let's get ready to fucking rumble! I'm gonna prove you all wrong, and then security will drag you off kicking and screaming like the jokers you are."

"YOU-ARE-NOT-PART-OF-THIS," Monodam commented.

Most everyone was ready to select a side, though Hara hesitated as she watched Isaac. "Isaac, honey," she called out to him, "I… I don't agree with you, but I don't want to argue. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hara, when we did the debates, Saiko was sometimes on the other side. I believe we can debate this on opposite sides, and find the truth."

He smiled at her, and added, "I have faith that in you, and everyone else, that we can find the truth. Trust me."

The explorer took a deep breath, then managed a smile as she nodded. The two picked their choices, and being the final ones, the decisions were all made.

"Yay," Fannie cheered, "I've always wanted to be part of a Scrum Debate!"

"You all have just lost your damn minds," Blake shouted, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'm not backing down," Peko said as she folded her arms. "I'm not the killer."

Monokuma lifted the large Key to the City, as the equally large lock popped up in front of his throne. He inserted it and twisted, and thus power ran through the floor and into the platforms the trial members stood on.

The platforms lit up at their bases, and then lifted up into the air. Most were used to this by now, and Peko and Fannie kept their balance. As they lifted up into the air, the ceiling opened, and the Scrum Debate Hall was set up.

This was their fifth Scrum Debate, and none of them could have foreseen one being this emotional, this personal, and involving a person they never thought could be involved now being the subject of debate.

* * *

 **SCRUM DEBATE!**

 **Team Erza Scarlet** ( _"Peko Pekoyama killed Saiko Kobayashi!"_ )

 **Members** : Eisei, Shuuya, Crystal, Blake, Yitro, Hikari, Ignatia, Ken, Pyrrha, Hara.

…

 **Team Saeko Busujima** ( _"Peko did not murder Saiko!"_ )

 **Members** : Drake, Peko, Souma, Odelios, Ishiku, Futaba, Kimiko, Anzu, Fannie, Isaac.

* * *

Everyone was now situated in the Scrum Debate Hall, and without any hesitation, the hyped argument began.

"You cannot seriously believe that Peko is innocent," Pyrrha shouted. "She's the only one with **motive** , means, and opportunity!"

"When it comes to **motive** , she's the only person with a clear motive," Drake replied. "Let's not forget that in the past, we've been shocked on who killed someone and **why**."

"But the **why** is the most important," Shuuya said, crossing his arms. "She's the only person who would have a reason to exterminate someone who killed a **Kuzuryu clan** member."

"I don't care about the **Kuzuryu clan** ," Peko responded. "The reason I killed Gonta was because I hallucinated he was someone of the Kuzuryu clan, threatening to harm **Fuyuhiko**."

"You thought **Fuyuhiko** would be the head of the clan," Crystal snapped. "You would do anything for him, we know that. I don't know why any of you over there are even **defending her** , she's a cold killer."

"I'm **defending her,** " Kimiko responded, "because I fear you all are getting too emotional a'boot this. Have you forgotten that if we find Peko guilty, we sentence **Fiora** to death? I won't just let my friend die without a proper debate!"

"There are people here who care about **Fiora** too," Yitro said, staring at Peko in Fiora's body. "But Peko's involvement in this case is too deep. It's her sword, and Fiora had the **all-access pass** to allow Peko to go anywhere she'd want to go."

"You bring up the **all-access pass** , but how would Peko know about that?" Odelios cried out, pointing his rubber chicken. "How would **Peko know** about any of the things that have been happening in this town?"

" **Peko may know** everything that **Fiora knows** ," Hara said, quiet but still able to find her strength to argue. "That cannot be disproven, we know so little about spirit channeling. She could know everything Fiora was privy to."

"Hara," Isaac responded to his fiancé, " **Peko didn't know** Fiora had an **accent**!"

[Peko is not an actress or a voice actor,] Ignatia had the electronic dictation read from her cell phone's notes. [She isn't capable of feigning an **accent** , she just had to pretend to be Fiora, all the while retaining **her knowledge** of this town and the rules.]

"The accent is only part of it," Anzu responded. "If she has all **the knowledge** Fiora does, why didn't she know Fiora has been accused every trial? Why doesn't she know anything about **our movie maker**?"

"It could be that Peko," Ken said, "doesn't retain knowledge about **our movie maker** , just on the town. What she knows seems to be on everything else but Fiora, which makes her the **perfect suspect** for this crime!"

"Listen, handsome," Futaba remarked, "she is far from the **perfect suspect** when you realize how spotty our knowledge is on spirit channeling. How can you claim she knows everything about something, but nothing on something else? It feels like you're **molding** her to be the killer."

"Well if the **mold** fits," Blake retorted with a triumphant grin on his face, "then the bitch did it! You all don't have any **proof** she isn't the killer, you just have emotional arguments."

"We want to find **proof** as much as you do," Ishiku remarked. "But the same can be said for you all, you don't have anything **solid** to prove it was Peko!"

"What's **solid** for me were that Mahiru's last words were something along the lines of this," Hikari said, clenching her umbrella. "She's never steered us wrong before with her warnings, so what have you got to say that can actually give us **doubt**?"

"Isn't it **doubtful** that Peko would resort to murder," Fannie said, "when all she wants to do is find out about Fuyuhiko? If you claim that she knows everything about this town, she'd know not to do such a thing or she'd never **leave** this town!"

"She doesn't have to **leave** to gain information from us," Eisei responded. "Again, that is not proof, that does not lead to doubt. If you don't have anything better to disprove how Peko had motive, **means** , and opportunity, your argument falls flat."

Futaba tapped at the ground with her walking stick, deep in thought during this debate. Something clicked in her head, and she repeated, " **Means** … of course! What about the fact that the building benefits come around at 9:30 PM? I know this because they did at the motel with the sleep immunity, so Peko _couldn't have been channeled until 9:30_ , **AFTER the murder**!"

"That sounds reasonable," Crystal replied, slightly shaken but still going strong, "however, the psychic tent is different than the others. You don't know if she was channeled **after the murder** because she could have been channeled since **the first day** Fiora was in the tent!"

"No, that's not possible," Isaac countered. "After **the first day** , Fiora spent time with our group. She was herself, accent and all; plus, the other two who were in the **tent** aren't channeling anyone."

"That wretched **tent** is an anomaly we cannot explain," Hikari furiously stated. "How do we know Fiora didn't unintentionally start channeling when she was in it the **second time**?"

"I was with her during the **second time** ," Souma responded. "I would have noticed, especially since we were watching her filmography right up until we **fell asleep**!"

"You **falling asleep** is where things fall apart," Shuuya said. "That's the point in time where you have no idea where Fiora, or rather Peko, was. That tent's benefits are much more different than any other building, and thus we cannot say the same rules apply to it too. So she might have been **unintentionally channeled** the moment you fell asleep, Souma."

"WAIT," Fannie shrieked, her white 'n pink eyes wide in shock. "You think that Peko was **unintentionally channeled** the moment Souma fell asleep? But that's impossible, the killer made the **deal** with Monocrow to steal Ishi and I's sleep immunity! _Peko couldn't have made that deal_!"

"She could have made that **deal** if she was channeled **earlier** ," Pyrrha fired back.

" **Earlier**? While I was in the tent the whole time with her?" Souma shot at the romance writer. "Monocrow's deals must be done in secret, and that tent offers no **privacy**!"

"Well what if Peko stepped outside to gain that **privacy**?" Ken asked. "With the all-access, she could go right back in and you wouldn't have been the wiser, **Souma**."

"Didn't you hear **Souma** before," Isaac declared, "that the two were in the tent the entire time? That's **not possible**."

Blake scoffed and muttered, "Maybe it's **not possible** for Peko, but it's possible if those two assholes were **conniving** to begin with?"

" **Conniving**?" Drake balked. "Are you accusing Souma and Fiora of being **complicit** in this murder?"

"Well why not?" the pyro responded with a cruel grin. "Maybe they were **complicit** in planning a murder together, and Peko being **channeled** was an unforeseen happening."

"Oh you'd like that, woo'dent you, you hateful bastard?" Kimiko snarled. "But if Fiora left the tent to make the deal with Monocrow, she woo'dent receive the spirit **channeling** benefit that made this all possible to begin with!"

"And how could I have known about the benefits to make the deal?" Souma commented. "I wasn't ever part of the building groups the first two days, and we were all rushed into a building after our sleepwalking adventures last night; Fiora couldn't have known either, now that I think about it."

"I'm afraid this debate is over," Ishiku said. "You cannot counter Fannie's point, because there's no way Peko could have been channeled before the deal and the plan to kill Saiko was made!"

"THIS IS OUR REASON!" Team Saeko Busujima announced in unison, pointing at the other team.

" **Woohoo! First blood, last blood, and team kill goes to Team Saeko,** " Monokuma announced. " **Looks like the trial carries on!** "

* * *

The platforms lowered back down into the trial room, with everyone on the losing team of the debate rather unnerved. Hara and Eisei were the most thunderstruck, gripping their podiums as they were so overwhelmed.

"I… I had completely forgotten about that," Eisei admitted. "The deal, the channeling, the times disprove her involvement."

"I was so sure," Hara whispered, staring at Peko. "I thought you killed my best friend. It seemed like too big of a coincidence."

Peko lowered her head, her eyes closed as if deep in thought. She sighed hard, and then spoke. "I don't blame you, it might have been Monokuma's intentions. Maybe that's why I am here, because I would appear the most suspicious.

"But I did not kill your friend, and I'm sorry that it happened. I will do everything I can to help you discover who it was."

"Heh, I thought as much," Drake said, smiling at Peko. "I knew you were a good person."

"You'll have to forgive me, but I still don't remember what you're talking about," she responded. "My memory of my time at Hope's Peak is still lost."

The cartoonist had been busy sketching, and then he showed her, as well as everyone else, what he had been drawing: a picture of Peko Pekoyama smiling, holding a fluffy cat in her arms. While most everyone was confused by that, Peko audibly gasped.

"That," she stammered, gripping her head. "I… oh my goodness, I remember…"

* * *

 _"Thank you, Miss Pekoyama, for agreeing to pose for us," the art teacher said to the swordswoman, who had been holding a stance with her sword drawn. "This will be great for people to practice the action poses with their work."_

 _Peko nodded, her expression as stern as ever. The teacher and the students all shuffled out of the classroom, except for one. Drake Flare nervously approached the swordswoman, who glanced at him curiously._

 _"Excuse me," he said, "but I was curious if you could do me a quick favor, Miss Pekoyama?"_

 _"Which would be?"_

 _Drake showed her his sketch, which was of Peko but with two noticeable features: she wasn't striking an action pose, and she had no face. The cartoonist blushed slightly when she quirked an eyebrow, and admitted, "I don't really want to draw anything aggressive like combat, and I think that you'd look better if you were smiling."_

 _"Smile?" Peko repeated, glancing to the side. "I rarely ever do it, I don't know if I could give you a genuine one."_

 _"Is there something you really like? Like someone, or doing something, like your talent?"_

 _"Yes, but I do not smile for those, I trained myself to be neutral when doing what I do."_

 _"Is there nothing you really like as well?"_

 _Peko crossed her arms, and took a deep breath as she considered this. "I must admit, I do love animals, cute animals. However, I don't really get a chance to see them, they are normally very scared of me."_

 _The swordswoman noticed Drake was drawing on his sketchpad, his hand moving fast enough to rival a master of the blade. Before she had a chance to ask him what he was doing, he showcased the improved picture of her. The sketch of faceless Peko was holding a fluffy cat in her arms, as little 'purr' noises came from the creature._

 _Peko stared, her eyes widening for few moments. Then a smile spread across her face, and she even giggled at the sight of it. "Oh my. That's rather nice. You really captured the fluffiness of that cat."_

 _Drake took his sketchpad back, and then went to work again. This time, he finished the sketch with Peko smiling down at her fluffy kitty. The swordswoman stared at it, and smiled again. "You have talent, it makes me happy to look at this."_

 _"You can keep it, if you'd like."_

 _"No, I'm sorry, I cannot accept that, but I appreciate it. Take care of it."_

* * *

Peko's mouth was gaping, before she swallowed and then stared at the cartoonist. "I couldn't keep that drawing you did, because nothing was ever mine in my life except for my sword. I was brought up to be nothing but a tool for my master, a sword for his bidding.

"But Fuyuhiko was too good of a man, his heart was not into the death and crime his family expected him to fulfill. I just wish things had been different, that I had controlled my emotions back then."

The trial room was silent for a little bit, with everyone focused on Peko. She was hanging her head in shame, arms crossed as she contemplated everything that had happened. The moment was ruined when Blake let out a barking laugh.

"Didn't stop you from lezbo-fucking that assassin chick," he shot out, slapping his podium as he chortled. "And then that sword of yours was used to penetrate her in a different way than what you wanted Fuyuhiko to do, but he was too busy fucking the cosplaying bitch when he thought she was you!"

Peko glared at him, her blue eyes blazing in fury. "You really are a bastard, you know that?" she spat out. "Does my pain give you that much delight?"

"Haw haw haw! You know what? Yes, yes it does," the pyro responded. "Shame that your lezbo-fling is dead, bitch, as is your sex master!"

"No he isn't," Pyrrha shouted, then turned towards Peko. "Peko, I'm so sorry, I'm so very, _very_ sorry I accused you; you should know, that Fuyuhiko is alive. He escaped the Killing Game."

Peko covered her mouth, her eyes wide for a few seconds. "But… Monokuma said the Kuzuryu are no more."

"The yakuza clan is no more," Souma spoke up. "As a member of the Future Foundation, and the head of human resources, I know about all of the survivors of the Hope's Peak Killing Game. Fuyuhiko officially disbanded the Kuzuryu clan, what little there was left of it, after the Tragedy.

"He lives with his girlfriend and sister, in an establishment they constructed. They are doing quite well, I assure you."

"G-girlfriend?" Peko repeated, stunned at the word.

"HAHAHA! Used and replaced," Blake cheered. "Well, not even used, what a terrible shame for you, dead bitch!"

Before anyone could tell him to shut up, Peko let out a small laugh. "So it was genuine between them," she said softly. A smile crept across her face, as a single tear came down from her eye. She wiped it away, as she laughed again. "And Natsumi is alright too, oh thank goodness.

"Young master is alive, happy, and is living the life he wants to?" she asked, her sad but happy smile radiant. "Th-thank you. Thank you all."

"I'm so sorry we misled you," Pyrrha said, clutching her hands over her heart as she appeared ready to burst into tears. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"No, you should have," Peko responded, staring at the romance writer with a gentle expression on her face. "I was most suspicious, and you all have everything to lose. And now that I know that Master Fuyuhiko is alright, I will do everything I can to help you all out."

"Oh great," Blake said with a roll of his eyes, "the dead girl who hasn't a clue what's going on is going to help us. Maybe you should just leave, give us the incompetent bitch you're controlling right now, go back to fucking the resting bitch face assassin in the afterlife."

Peko sighed, frowning as she was visibly losing patience with the pyro's crass words. "I never thought I could meet someone this abrasive and difficult. You are worse than Nagito Komaeda, Kokichi Ouma, and Byakuya Togami combined! Do you not care that if you don't find the culprit, you will die?"

"Not really, because I really don't care about anything else right now, I just like seeing other people burn. You fucked with this trial enough, we're probably all dead anyway. So why don't you-"

"You know," Eisei spoke up, "she could always knock you out again. I would welcome it at this point, the risk of concussion is no longer any concern with me. But if you're right about one thing, we don't have time to waste. If Peko is not the killer, we need to discuss who is."

"Yes, let's ignore that bastard," Isaac remarked "and get back on track."

"Who could have killed Saiko," Hara softly said.

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"With Peko, and by extension, Fiora," Isaac said, crossing his arms, "not being our killer, where were we when it came to who could be our killer?"

"We know our killer had to be able to make a deal with **Monocrow** ," Hikari stated, "and that they had the all-access pass in order to kidnap **Saiko**."

"There was a list of people we were whittling down," Ishiku said. "Who were they again?"

" **CRYSTAL** , **PYRRHA** , **YITRO** , AND- **KEN** ," Monodam announced.

"Oh, thank you, Monodam," Drake said, waving at the Kub.

"YOU-ARE-WELCOME-DRAKE."

"Are you all still accusing Pyrrha and me?" Crystal asked, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "Do you really think we planned out a vicious murder **together**?"

"You don't have any **proof** it wasn't either of you," Shuuya remarked.

"Shuuya, please," Pyrrha implored, staring down at the ground in shame. "We cannot **disprove** it, what can we possibly do?"

"There's still Yitro and Ken," Odelios said. "I don't like thinking it was any of you, but those are the only **all-access passes** remaining."

"We have a murder by **sword** ," Crystal argued, "and two men who are highly experienced with swords! Someone strong enough to jam a sword through Saiko's body, and into a **metal robot**!"

"You make it sound so difficult," Monokid scoffed. "Why don't we stab Monodam and see if it is?"

"While that may make Ken and myself look bad," Yitro argued, "it's **not proof**."

"Don't we have anything," Ken spoke up, "that can help us **clear this up**?"

" _Oh, I may have something,_ " Hikari declared.

* * *

"By this point, all of us are highly aware of the warnings that Mahiru Koizumi has given us in the Killing Game Realm," Hikari said, "and she said something to me when I was in there."

"Wait, what is this about Mahiru?" Peko questioned. "I don't understand, she's dead."

"Peko, long story short," Drake said, "there's something about this town that sends us to an alternate realm, and in this realm, the Killing Game happens over and over again. Mahiru gives messages to the people who have been in there, and her words have always assisted us."

"I was you once," Anzu said, staring at Peko. "I was in your body, after I held onto a… a camera."

"Wait, what?" the swordswoman asked, crossing her arms as she stared in confusion. "What does a camera have to do with me?"

"Actually, that's a good question," Eisei said. "For everyone else, what they held onto transported them to the Killing Game Realm in the body of whoever the object belonged to. Could Mahiru have given you a camera, Peko?"

Peko shook her head, frowning in uncertainty. "I'm sorry, I'm still hazy on all this. If I saw this camera, maybe I could remember?"

"It turned into dust when I woke up," Anzu said remorsefully. "It was so weird too, being in your body… oh, but then again, you're in someone's right now, so you probably know how I felt!"

"Um, excuse me," Hikari spoke up, crossing her arms in a huff, "remember how I said that Mahiru warned me? I was going to say what she was going to say, we need to get back to that."

"Ever the attention seeker," Souma remarked. "Alright then, what were her words, Miss Tetsuhime?"

"'The affiliate of the coterie is the start, the antilogy of tribulation is the weapon. I'm sorry.' That's what she said to me. The problem is, I was certain that the affiliate of the coterie was talking about Peko and the Kuzuryu clan. I don't know what the other part can mean."

"'Antilogy' is a noun that means a contradiction in terms or ideas," Eisei said, "and 'tribulation' means a cause of great suffering or trouble."

"A contradiction of great suffering is the weapon?" Isaac repeated. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Is it possible," Peko said, "that the first part of that warning still could be about the yakuza member that Saiko was forced to frame?"

"You mean, someone else wanted to kill her over that?" Hara asked. "But why?"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

Shuuya let out a sigh, and said, "We have a military official, a cavalryman from a noble country, and a man wrongfully accused as three of our four suspects."

"You think one of them wanted to kill Saiko over her **miscarriage of justice**?" Futaba remarked. "That's certainly possible, but it begs the question of how they **knew about it**."

"Saiko never told anyone but **Isaac** and **myself** ," Hara said, "about the **details** on what she did!"

"She also told **me** ," Eisei admitted. "She was so ashamed, but it wasn't truly her fault."

"She was shouting that **she killed someone** yesterday," Souma argued, "in the **plaza** , at **Blake**."

"But she didn't say who it was or her involvement in the **trial** ," Isaac pointed out. "She was just saying that she killed someone. That's not entirely uncommon after the **Tragedy**."

"Yes, a lot of us have **blood** on our hands after that," Ken remorsefully said.

"Still, even if most of us do," Kimiko remarked, "if we're taking **Mahiru's** warning seriously, that means someone who overheard that could be our killer."

"Did any of our four suspects **overhear** that?" Fannie asked. "Were any of them there?"

" _Hold up now,_ " Souma announced, " _I believe I have the answer!_ "

* * *

"Now, I remember that day, it was quite an eventful afternoon," Souma said. "I recall there were people watching from the asylum and the arcade, though I could only see one of them. In fact, they were talking to Fiora, who would have been able to tell us if she were here."

"Really now?" Peko asked, quirking Fiora's eyebrow. "Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

…

… you, Miss Poole!"

"Huh?" Pyrrha shouted, covering her mouth in shock. "What? But… I didn't-"

"Bitch got caught, what a shame," Blake said while laughing. "You know, I'm pretty sure I saw your red head sticking out watching us like a peeping tom. Shame, I'm going to miss calling you cinnamon tits to your face, since you're gonna be dead soon!"

"Now wait a minute!" The romance writer shrieked, holding up her hands. "I am not going to deny I overhead that argument happening! But I didn't murder Saiko!"

"You were the only one of the four suspects to overhear it," Shuuya pointed out.

"But… but… Shuuya, you suspect me?" Pyrrha asked, the pain in her voice evident. "You think I would do something so terrible?"

"That's no defense," Futaba remarked. "You have to have something more than that, Pyrrha."

"Hey, you bastards!" Crystal furiously pointed at the anthropologist and the bounty hunter. "If you're accusing her, you're accusing me too! You don't have any proof it was us, just speculation!"

The military adviser stared down the two, and it appeared like there was going to be a shouting match any moment. Pyrrha was about ready to cry. Monokuma was eating popcorn from his throne.

"Everyone, please," Hara called out, holding up her hands, "we mustn't devolve into yelling and screaming at each other. I beg of you, that won't get us anywhere."

"Hara's right," Fannie spoke up. "What we have now are leads, but nothing solid enough to make a firm accusation."

"Cinnamon tits is the only suspect," Blake reminded the trial members, "who overheard the bitch bragging about killing someone."

"But Souma said someone was watching from the asylum," Pyrrha argued. "That could have been someone else! Who was it, Souma?"

"Alas, I do not know," the public speaker lamented. "The distance and the mists were too much of an obstruction to see who it could be. I recognized you because it's hard to mistake that shock of red on your head, Miss Poole."

"D-damn this stupid hair of mine!"

"DO-NOT-HAIR-COLOR-SHAME," Monodam scolded the trial members. "NONE-OF-THAT-NOW."

"However, if I recall," Souma remarked, "both Yitro and Ken were in the asylum yesterday. It could have been either of them."

"Wait, are we back to square one?" Ishiku asked. "I mean, now it sounds like we still don't have a way to discern who it could be!"

"Have we gone over everything?" Anzu lamented. "We keep getting distracted, we maybe didn't go over one or two of the points?"

"Did maybe someone forget something?" Odelios asked. "Do we have to review everything, see if there's one of those points?"

"We may not have time for that," Shuuya commented. "We've spent a lot of time discussing everything already."

"Well we have to do something," Drake insisted. "Please, everyone, can you think of something that stuck out with you all?"

The trial room was quiet for a minute, everyone contemplating what they had seen, experienced, and thought of. It was Peko who spoke up first, drumming her fingers on her katana's handle.

"There is something that I thought of at some point," she admitted. "Something about the murder scene that caught my eye, but I didn't want to admit because it had to do with things I did for the yakuza clan."

"It's not like we can punish you," Anzu said, smiling at the swordswoman. She coiled her blue bang around her finger, and said, "Just come out and say it, Peko."

"If the killer had impaled Saiko against the robot, I am confused about the additional slashes to her neck and stomach, and the blood that was off of the stage. If you recall, not all of the blood was on the stage, which suggests there was a deep cut made before the final blow."

"Wait, that is true," Shuuya remarked. "And now that I think about it, it doesn't make sense. If the killer was carrying Saiko, how did the blood get on the floor like that?"

"Sounds like something to discuss," Isaac said, crossing his arms as he glanced around at the other people in the trial room, in particular the four who were most suspect.

Could one of them really have brutally murdered his close friend? It felt like the answer was getting closer, though the way forward felt darker all the more.

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"So Saiko was deeply **cut** before she was **murdered**?" Hikari asked. "But why? Why the sadism?"

"I'm more concerned about how it was **physically possible** ," Shuuya said. "Especially if the killer was concerned about the **blood spray**."

"The killer could have worn the **cloak** ," Futaba said, "to prevent the blood from getting on their clothes. And then thrown the cloak in the pool of blood on the stage."

"That cloak was rather **small** ," Kimiko remarked. "They'd have to wear it backwards unless they were Saiko's size."

"He's the only one small enough to fit properly," Blake said as he pointed at Eisei. "Hehe, he totally did it-"

" **Shut up** ," Pyrrha snapped at him. "But wait a minute, are we saying that the killer slashed at Saiko **on the floor** , then picked up her bleeding body and murdered her on the stage? That's so horrible!"

"Yes, that makes absolutely no sense," Souma remarked. "Could the **blood on the ground** have shot from the fatal wounds when Saiko was murdered?"

"No, not at that difference or the way it was **splattered** on the ground," Peko said. "I'm not a crime analyst, but I do know what I'm talking about here."

"Wait, was Saiko **fighting** back?" Hara asked. "Was she trying to **escape** her attacker?"

"She was **asleep** ," Futaba countered. "She couldn't have done that, I'm sorry to say."

" _Wait a minute,_ " Fannie shouted, waving her hands in the air, " _I think I have the answer!_ "

* * *

"Futaba is right that Saiko was asleep," the white 'n pink-topped gal said, "but I think Hara may be right too, in a sense. We forgot a detail about this kidnapping, and that is that the kidnapper took Saiko out of the motel."

"Yes, that's obvious," Shuuya said with a roll of his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"The moment the kidnapper took Saiko out of the motel, she would start suffering the effects of the nightmares, which we know include sleepwalking."

Ishiku gasped, and clapped excitedly. "Honey, you're brilliant!"

"Aww, shucks," Fannie said, cupping her blushing face. "You flatter me, Ishi~"

"This is fucking weird," Blake muttered.

"Shut up!" Pyrrha shouted at him, as she had been cooing over the flirting that had transpired. She collected herself, and then asked, "Wait, so Fannie, you think that Saiko started sleepwalking, disrupting the killer's plan?"

"Thinking about that, it makes sense," Peko remarked. "I can only imagine that Saiko was standing when she was cut, possibly to stun her."

"Our killer placed her down," Anzu said, "and then she got back up due to sleepwalking. After all, she had lost the benefit, even if she was in the arcade then."

"I have to ask," Hikari intrepidly piped up, "but what exactly does this change? So the killer cut Saiko before putting her down on the stage and then murdered her?"

"Hang on a moment," Kimiko said, "are we reading too much into this?"

* * *

 **DEBATE YOUR CASE!**

* * *

"We cannot afford to waste time," Kimiko reasoned. "I mean, it feels like we're just discussing step-by-step of what we knoo'."

"Except that it begs the question," Peko said, "why would our killer **cut her** and risk **blood spray** all over their clothing? The only two areas Saiko was cut besides her fatal wound were her **neck** and **stomach** , both of which would spray blood at the attacker."

"The only answer is that the killer **panicked** ," Isaac said, "because they had to strike Saiko there and then."

"She was a **sleepwalking** , **five-foot** , **unarmed** woman," Futaba argued. "No matter how fierce she was awake, she is not intimidating physically."

"Yeah, you could punt that midget," Blake cackled, "like an overinflated football that she was-"

"Peko!" Hara shouted to interrupt Blake. "If you want to knock him out again, you can."

"Okay okay, I'll shut up."

"I still might do so," Peko offered.

"There's no reason for the killer to **hasten** the murder," Anzu said, "that I can think of."

"But the **blood on the floor** proves that something happened to make things go out of schedule," Drake reasoned.

[Yes, but what?] Ignatia's phone spoke for her. [And how does it **prove** anything useful?]

" _I've got it,_ " Isaac shouted, clapping his hands together.

* * *

"Our killer placed the executioner's gear next to her on the stage," the reporter reasoned. "What happened if Saiko reprised her role, and picked up the battle-ax when her killer's back was turned?"

"Wait, wait wait wait," Shuuya chanted, wiggling his fingers as he mentally reconstructed the murder scene in his head. "Our killer carries Saiko in with that executioner stuff, sets them all down on the stage, and then goes to get the sword that Ishiku and Fannie have."

"But then they hear something," Odelios reasoned, "they turn around, and bam! Saiko's holding a battle-ax and is closing in on them!"

"Saiko was capable of moving fast when sleepwalking," Fannie spoke up. "She ran after Ishiku and I when in the asylum last night."

"Someone coming at you holding a battle-ax," Anzu remarked, "you'd have to defend yourself immediately!"

"But wait," Eisei remarked, "that would mean they cut Saiko before they took the sword from Ishiku and Fannie."

"Isn't this a large leap in logic?" Kimiko asked, peering around the trial room. "I mean, we're basing this all off of a blood splatter!"

"We have two people very knowledgable about these things," Futaba said, pointing to Peko and Shuuya. "It is the only lead we have right now, and it follows a logical path."

"But, if we follow that logic, then 'oor killer had a bladed weapon to start off with!"

"And two of our suspects," Isaac remarked, eyeing Ken and Yitro, "have swords on them."

"I'm pretty sure if it were one of them," Hikari reasoned, "they would have cleaned the blood off of their own sword."

"Irregardless, I know for a fact that Ken's sword is clean," Futaba said. "He unsheathed it during the investigation."

"If that's true, then Yitro," Shuuya said, "should have no problem showing us his sword."

Yitro glanced at the bounty hunter, at the rest of the trial room, then shrugged and smiled. "Sure, I don't see a problem with that." He unsheathed his sword and held it up for the trial room to see.

…

…

…

There was a small coating of blood on the sword's tip, covering the edge of the blade.

"Oh my God," Anzu shrieked.

"What is that?!" Ishiku hollered.

"What the hell!" Yitro shouted, horrified. He held the blade's edge near his face, sniffing it. "B-blood? How did-"

"I cannot believe this," Kimiko cried out. "After Angelique's death, you… you woo'd… murder someone?!"

"No no no," the swordsman shouted, glancing between his sword and the trial room. "I don't know how it got there!"

"You don't know how blood got on your sword?" Souma remarked dubiously. "Looks like the theory about Saiko's crime being the catalyst for this murder turned out to be true, you were enraged that injustice happened again?"

"I knew nothing about that! I didn't murder Saiko! You have to… you have to…" Yitro gripped his podium with his free hand, eyes wide, breath starting to come in and out heavy. "I… I didn't… my blade…"

"He must have forgotten to clean his sword," Futaba remarked, "due to everything that happened."

"Wait a minute, please," Drake implored. "What if this is a set-up?"

"A set-up?" Crystal asked the cartoonist. "Do you know how farfetched that sounds? Our killer did the deed, then decided to smear blood on Yitro's blade to frame him?"

"When Yitro told some of us what happened with his brother, he explained that he woke up to find him impaled with his sword. Our killer could be exploiting his past in the hope that we'd think it's something the same!"

"Or maybe," Shuuya growled, "Yitro is simply guilty. He meets all the criteria, and there's blood on own weapon."

As the trial room exploded with accusations and protests, Isaac stood completely still. He was lost in thought, trying hard to concentrate during all of the shouting.

" _Think hard about this,_ " he mentally coached himself. " _Is this truly the end of the trial? You need to make sure, because not only does everyone die if we get this wrong, but you'll have to meet Saiko in the afterlife and explain how you messed up._

" _Heh… she'll lecture me for all eternity if that's the case. Alright, Saiko, this is for you._ "

* * *

If Yitro is the culprit, if he killed Saiko, then everything should be settled right here and now. Yet I need to make sure there are no loose ends.

…

If not Yitro, then there's only one person it can be…

…

…

…

Ken.

…

Ken has a sword as well, Ken has the all-access pass, and he could have overheard Saiko's confession yesterday.

…

But that's not to say he HAS to be guilty.

…

Is there anything that disproves it was Ken? Because if it was him, he also set up Yitro to take the fall by applying blood on his sword.

…

The pathway that the killer took seems rather straight-forward, kidnapping Saiko, taking her to the arcade, and setting it up for Hara to look like she did it.

…

Where would it have all gone wrong?

…

…

…

Saiko's sleepwalking.

Saiko, taking up the axe as the executioner again, is where it went wrong. That's why there was blood on the floor where the killer "defended" himself, that's when they had to use their own weapon.

…

If it was Yitro, the idea is that he forgot about doing this, and now he's caught red-handed.

…

If it was Ken, he realized that the trial could lead to this, and set it up so that we would all think it was Yitro.

…

But the problem is, both are equally believable. I don't have any reason to suspect Ken over Yitro, but I have no reason to believe Yitro is innocent.

…

And no matter how I think about it, there's nothing that proves either man would be more suspicious than the other with everything I've gone through.

…

…

…

Maybe I need to continue on with the murderer's path.

They cut Saiko's neck to stun her, then brought her back onto the stage.

…

After injuring her more to ensure she didn't have the strength to get back up, they hurried to retrieve Peko's sword from Ishiku and Fannie.

…

Then they murdered Saiko, left the executioner's stuff around her, and left the arcade.

…

Now, at this point, what else was there to do?

…

…

…

Destroy Monocrow.

If Monocrow lived, we could have asked him where everyone had been, one at a time. We would have found out our killer immediately.

…

So they called for Monocrow, being alone out in the plaza, grabbed him, and smashed him against the statue base.

…

Then they walked back to whichever building they were staying at, and pretend to wake up with everyone else.

…

…

…

No.

No WAIT.

…

There WAS something we had started to go over before we got distracted.

…

That was that Ishiku and Fannie woke up before everyone else, and thus they discovered Saiko's body. I saw her shortly after, which triggered the Body Discovery Announcement, since there were three people who hadn't committed the murder.

…

What we had been discussing before we realized Fiora was channeling Peko's spirit was that in destroying Monocrow, the killer's deal was undone prematurely.

…

That means that whoever the killer was lost their sleep immunity right then and there.

…

And that sleeping gas would still be in their system, if it wasn't still in the air because Monokuma is thorough like that.

…

Once they found themselves starting to fall asleep, they would have to make a break for it towards where they were supposed to be last.

…

But that means they would wake up after the Body Discovery Announcement, which means…

…

…

…

Okay, I don't think I have everything yet, but I'm going to have to find out fast.

If what I'm thinking is true, I'll know for a fact who the killer is.

Saiko, I promise…

I WILL find out who murdered you!

* * *

The trial was full of fervent arguing, most of it directed at Yitro. The swordsman was still overwhelmed, gripping the podium as he stared aimlessly at the floor. The reporter rolled his eyes, and put his fingers in his lips.

The sharpest of whistles alerted everyone, causing the shouting to stop. Isaac spoke once he had everyone's attention. "Everyone, there's something we need to discuss that we forgot to finish, due to getting distracted.

"Ishiku and Fannie woke up before everyone else, and discovered Saiko's body. The only explanation we could think of for this is that when the killer destroyed Monocrow, the deal to steal their sleep immunity was reversed, returning it to them.

"This means that our killer had to make a break to whichever building they were supposed to be in, before the sleeping gas took effect. However, there's no way to prove it was either Ken or Yitro with that knowledge alone."

"Hang on a moment, what?" Kimiko shouted, glancing over at Ken. "What a'boot Ken? Why do you bring him up?"

"Ken isn't a suspect," Futaba said.

"He's also has a blade, and one was used to critically injure Saiko when she was sleepwalking as the executioner. We deduced that, and it led us to Yitro's blade, but the suspicion on him hasn't lifted yet."

Ken sighed, but shrugged nonchalantly. "I understand, you aren't fully convinced it was Yitro. You want to be sure, this is a good friend of yours we are talking about."

"Yes, you're not making a lot of sense, Isaac," Shuuya remarked. "I mean, the part about Monocrow and the sleep immunity actually does make sense, but you also said you cannot discern who it could be just from that."

"W-wait!"

Yitro snapped out of his thousand yard stare, and turned desperately to face Blake. "I woke up in the medical room with you, Blake! You were coming to at the same time as me, you asked me what was going on. If I was making a mad dash to the asylum from the plaza, there's no way I could have made that distance when drugged.

"The medical room is fairly far inside of the asylum's first floor, so according to what Isaac deduced, you're my alibi."

Blake stared at Yitro, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know what you're going on about, mate, I don't remember seeing you in that room when I woke up."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU DID AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Yitro's hysterical, enraged shouting reverberated around the trial room. He was heaving in fury, face red as he stared over at Blake. The pyro shrugged again, and remarked, "Oh what are you going to do? Threaten me to lie for you now?"

"Haw haw haw! He cannot do that," Monokid cackled. There was a second of puzzlement, then he turned to Monodam. "Wait, can he?"

"Looks like you proved it rather well, Isaac," Eisei said. "Yitro appears to have exposed himself."

"I still cannot believe it," Kimiko sorrowfully said.

Yitro faced them, the color quickly draining from his face. "G-guys, you cannot believe Blake. He was literally talking about how he wanted all of us to die! He's lying!"

"He said that, but I'm pretty sure he was exaggerating because of how fervent he was getting," Souma remarked. "He's calmed down now, he wouldn't consciously lie in an attempt to kill us all when we're this close to finding out the truth."

"Yeah, I mean," Futaba remarked, "if getting laid is all he cares about, that's more likely to happen if we survive."

Blake snickered, and shrugged once more. "Yeah, you guys are right. I don't have a reason to lie now."

"You… you evil, stupid, son of a bitch," Yitro snarled.

"I don't want this to go on any longer," Hikari mumbled. "This trial has been far too emotional. Can we end it now?"

"Wait a minute now," Isaac spoke up, "I never got to my point."

"You seem to have proved it already," Crystal remarked. "Yitro is undeniably guilty."

"If you all would just let me," the reporter started to emphatically state his words, trying hard to not lose his cool, "say what I was going to say!"

"Isaac, come on," Kimiko implored, "what moo'r needs to be said?"

"I already proved that Yitro is lying," Blake pointed out, smirking at the reporter. "What, you wanna be the big strong hero who proved who killed Saiko? Wanna be a man for your sheila?"

"You shut up," Pyrrha snapped at the pyro. "Saiko was his friend, we should at least hear what he has to say. Isaac hasn't steered us wrong yet."

"Yes, please," Hara pleaded, clasping her hands. "Give him a chance."

"I want to be one hundred percent sure," Eisei remarked, "of who killed Saiko. I don't believe in overdoing it in this case. Isaac, please."

"Thank you," Isaac said, smiling to those who stood up for him. "However, I must admit, I cannot do it alone. You see, I cannot remember a crucial detail to what happened tonight, but I know someone who can help me…

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **SELECT A SUSPECT!**

…

…

…

…

…

…

… Fannie, I need your help."

"Huh? Me?" the white 'n pink-topped gal asked, staring in confusion at Isaac. "How can I help?"

Isaac let out a small laugh. "I cannot believe I'm saying this, but could you give me a truth headbutt?"

"What?" Hara and Eisei blurted out.

"What?!" a great deal of the trial members shouted.

"Okay~" Fannie cheerfully said, as she rushed over to Isaac's platform. She cupped the reporter's face, staring into his eyes. "Now think hard about what you're trying to remember, and you have to hold still for this to work, okay?"

"How exactly does this work?" he asked, still slightly concerned.

"Hahaha! I have NO idea!"

"Now really, Isaac," Shuuya called out, "this is incredibly ridicu-"

 _ **WHACK!**_

…

…

…

* * *

 _Isaac felt like he was floating, almost like an out-of-body experience. He was back in the control room, with the door wide open, a stunned Shuuya holding it._

 _His body took off running, but now Isaac could actually see what his eyes had seen during this time. His panic, desperation, and fear were no longer blinding him. The hammering heartbeat, pounding pulse, and frantic breathing were all still there, but Isaac could recognize what he had missed during this horrific point of his life._

 _Isaac sprinted forward, almost shoving Shuuya out of the way as he made his way down the hallway, down the stairs. He almost tripped over something in the lobby, nearby the front door, but nothing would stop… him…_

 _No…_

 _Not something in the lobby…_

 _SomeONE._

 _Someone nearby the front door, someone lying on the floor, sprawled out as if they had passed out upon walking through the front door._

 _Someone he knew, someone they had all trusted…_

* * *

Isaac flinched, grabbing his head and breathing frantically as the rush of emotions from that period had also come back temporarily. He was wide-eyed, gasping for air for a few seconds.

And then that desperation turned into anger. He ground his teeth as he was ready to roar with a kind of primal fury he didn't even think he was capable of.

"KEN KISHI!" He thundered, pointing at the Novoselic cavalryman. " _YOU_ MURDERED SAIKO!"

Everyone in the trial room flinched at the power at which Isaac had declared those words. Ken himself appeared rather startled, and crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the reporter.

"You are mistaken, Isaac," he replied. "If you would allow me to respond-"

" **Allow nothing!** " Monokuma shouted, standing up on his throne. " **This trial has gone on long enough!** "

"Aww, but Dad!" Monokid shouted, "we barely got a word in! It's been so dead serious about the dead and deadly swords and deathly executioners."

"PERHAPS-WE-SHOULD-ALLOW-ONE-FINAL-DEBATE," Monodam suggested. "THAT-IS-THE-ONLY-WAY-THEY-CAN-REACH-A-PROPER-CONCLUSION."

" **Hmmm, I see your points, and I gotta agree with Monodam. Thank you, my second favorite son.** "

"NO-PROBLEM-FATHER-YOU-BASTARD."

" **WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU LITTLE-** "

The bears shouting at each other wouldn't distract Isaac, Ken, Yitro, or the members of the trial room. This would be their final debate, and it was absolutely crucial at this point.

Isaac narrowed his eyes at Ken, and clenched his fists. He was going to have to convince everyone, and with only a little time left.

* * *

 **LEAP OF FAITH PERSUASION!**

 **ISAAC, BEGIN!**

* * *

"You were there, sprawled out inside of the motel's front entrance," Isaac declared. "I almost tripped over you, but I didn't recognize it was you in my desperation to get to Hara and Saiko. Everything about what we discussed about the case showcases that the pathway the murderer took would lead to where you ended up.

"You murdered Saiko!"

 _KEN!_

"No, you are mistaken, Isaac," the cavalryman said, shaking his head. "If you remember, I fell unconscious when searching the lobby. I just happened to be near the front door, but I had not left the motel. You are misremembering, mostly because you only recalled it when that woman…"

He pointed at Fannie, who had returned to her platform at this point. "Did whatever she did to you. Slamming her head against yours to help with memory? That's why all your bases of argument are belong to you?"

 _FUTABA!_

"We really need to work on your expressions, handsome," Futaba remarked, as she corrected her glasses. "But you are right, Isaac is overreacting. There's no chance that someone like Ken would commit a violent murder like this."

 _KIMIKO!_

"Isaac, I knoo' yoo'r hurting, and I'm so very soo'ry," the biker gang leader said, scratching the back of her head. "However, Ken is an honorable gentleman, and he is highly keen on restoring his country's honor. Please, calm doo'n for a minute and think a'boot it."

 _BLAKE!_

"Yeah, listen to the two women thirsty for the Novoselic slab of man," Blake said with a chortle. "Or are you forgetting that I also said that Yitro was lying about his alibi? I didn't see him in the medical room when I woke up, and therefore, he's the lying, murdering son of a bitch."

 **YITRO!**

"You're the one who is a lying son of a bitch," Yitro shouted, pointing fiercely at Blake. "If I were the murderer, why would I try to use you as my alibi? Would I expect you to lie for me? You've just given up and want to die!"

The swordsman looked down at his blade, and then shook his head as he tried to calm himself down. "I don't know how blood got on my blade; however, if Ken is the killer, he must have wiped blood on it."

 _CRYSTAL!_

"No, that is absurd," the military adviser said. "With the amount of blood on your sword, it would have to come from a cut. If Ken had committed the murder, he would have to transport blood from the arcade, to the asylum, and smeared it on your blade.

"Now tell me what he used," she said, flipping her blond ponytail behind her shoulder. "A cloth soaked in blood? That would leave a smear of blood completely different than the way your blood is on your sword."

"Indeed," Ken remarked. "The way blood is on your sword, Yitro, is formed only by cutting into someone, not a bloody rag rubbed against it. That's exactly how we deduced, with the killer cutting Saiko's throat."

PEKO!

"This is true," the swordswoman said, staring at Yitro's sword, "they are all correct about this. I would know better than anyone.

"However," Fiora's face had the keen stare of the swordswoman, contemplating hard, "I'm not fully convinced. Isaac, you've proved a great deal, can you explain how Yitro's blade was stained with blood in a way that only happens when you cut someone if he is not the culprit?"

Isaac took a deep breath, as he racked his brain with possibilities. " _So the blood on Yitro's blade was made by cutting into someone, that's the only answer. Did Ken cut someone with Yitro's sword? He wouldn't cut Yitro, or himself, so who could he…_ "

"Wait! He had Blake!"

"Are you shitting me?" the pyro snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "You're saying that meathead cut me when I was sleeping?"

"Yes, you were unconscious due to the sleeping gas! You wouldn't wake up!"

"I'm not cut, you fucking moron! I'm perfectly fine, which is quite amazing considering my bone was protruding through my leg earlier today!"

 **ODELIOS!**

"Yes, how incredibly bizarre," the clown said, narrowing his eyes at the pyro, "that your leg miraculously healed while on the medical table that miraculously healed your leg earlier!"

"You dumb fucking clown, the only reason it worked was because of Yitro's usage of his asylum benefit," Blake hollered. "It wouldn't work again, you have to have the benefit!"

"Yes, that's true. And you know who has that benefit?" Odelios said, as he pointed his rubber chicken towards Ken. "He does!"

 **ANZU!**

"Wait a minute, Odie," the actress spoke up. "Are you saying that Ken walked into the medical room in the asylum, cut Blake with Yitro's sword to make the correct type of bloodstain on the sword, then used his own benefit he gained yesterday to heal Blake so that he wouldn't notice when he woke up?"

"Well… yes."

Anzu stared at him, then smiled and shrugged. "It's entirely valid, so I believe you and Isaac. It's more likely that Ken did this."

"Wait, you too?!" Kimiko shouted in disbelief. "Anzu, you aren't serious, are you?"

 _SHUUYA!_

"Anzu is apparently still feeling guilty over what she did to Odelios previously," Shuuya remarked, shaking his head. "Isaac, you need to stop this overreaction."

"I'm overreacting, am I?" Isaac retorted. "What part of what I said can be disproved?"

"Your entire argument is based off of what you 'recalled' when Fannie headbutt you! You are accusing a noble warrior over a fallen swordsman, not to mention Yitro's reason for killing Saiko is far more credible than Ken's!"

 _HIKARI!_

"I've known Ken for a long time," the steampunk model said. "He's very kind and noble, despite being strong-willed and stubborn as well. The fall of Novoselic hurt him, and he was willing to sacrifice his life to find out how to solve that.

"Isaac, you were there, by our side defending him and me when people thought we were guilty of murdering Angelique. Why would he turn around and murder Saiko? It makes no sense!"

The reporter shook his head, and said, "It doesn't make sense for Yitro either, if you think about it. It doesn't make sense either way, and I know it hurts, but I refuse to relent."

HARA!

"Honey…"

Hara took several deep breaths, then stared at her fiancé. "You asked me to trust you when I disagreed with you over Peko. What would you tell me to do now?"

"Hara, you are free to think what you want; I don't tell you what to do, you are a woman with a mind of your own. Just please," he placed his hand over his heart, and said, "if you find what I'm saying credible, trust me. I know I am on the right track."

The explorer took a deep breath, and then smiled back at him. "When have you ever steered me wrong? I trust you."

 **EISEI!**

"I trust you too."

Eisei took a deep breath, as he stared at one of his lollipops. "I know everything about my relationship with Saiko made no sense, but it was something, more than I felt about anyone in my life. And I must admit, this entire trial, I have been distracted by emotions and thoughts of her, I am not myself.

"It has come down to either Yitro or Ken, and I don't know how to believe in my judgement, I feel only… regret right now. You knew Saiko better than anyone, and you two, you've been right so often while we've been in this awful town."

The dentist pocketed the sweet, and managed to smile up at Isaac. "Lead the way, I figure this is my only path now."

SOUMA!

"I am so very sorry for your loss, my friend," the public speaker said, "and I wish I could remove your pain. However, I must say, I'm still perplexed on how it could be Ken over Yitro. The only thing Isaac has is his befuddled memory to prove one over the other."

"And not to mention," Ken shouted, "Blake said that Yitro wasn't where he said he was."

"You're going to listen to that bastard?" Isaac said, surveying those in the courtroom. "Blake has been trying to sabotage this trial since we started! He admitted he's given up!"

"You really think he's at the point of suicidal?" Souma asked. "That he would lie at this critical point and kill us all, including himself?"

"I know there has to be something else," the reporter stated, clenching his fists. "There has to be."

FANNIE!

"Uuuuugh," Fannie moaned, wobbling on her feet as she gripped her podium. "That last truth headbutt was really hard on me…"

"Are you okay, honey?" Ishiku asked.

"I… I think I'm remembering something too. When I headbutt Isaac, I was also trying to remember something. Something important… and…"

* * *

 _"I-I-I don't know what to say," Fannie stammered, crying as she glanced over at Saiko, then back at Ken, who had gripping her shirt and shaking her. "I didn't do anything!"_

 _"Don't lie! That sword was in your possession," Ken hollered at her. "And you knew of the falsehood that was that room, who is to say you didn't know about the rules of the buildings? The timing of Monokuma's tricks and deceit?"_

* * *

"I was so scared when Ken was yelling at me, that it slipped my mind," Fannie said, as she rubbed her temples. "But now, now that I am thinking more clearly, I recall something he said when he was accusing me.

"As he was telling me not to lie and that I knew too much, he said I had the sword in my possession; however, how could he know that?"

"If I recall," Isaac said, "we all thought that Ishiku had the sword?"

ISHIKU!

"Y-yeah, I was holding onto it when we were all outside," the magician said, "before we chose our buildings for this tonight. In fact, everyone seemed to think I had it before we told everyone… during this trial."

"Yeah, you were a bit hesitant to admit that," Fannie said with a giggle, "but I don't blame you; people would be mad if they heard you gave me a weapon like that."

"Fannie, honey, the problem here is not that," Ishiku declared, "it's that Ken knew _you_ had the sword, not me! And how could he know that if he wasn't the killer?!"

There was an audible gasp, and the members of the trial room realized it came from Crystal. The military adviser was covering her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. Nearby her, Futaba let out a loud scoff.

"Oh please, I was there during that argument," the anthropologist said. "He said you had it 'in your possession,' that is not the same thing. It was in your possession, you were with Ishiku the entire time.

"So stop this, you're accusing a good man of-"

 **CRYSTAL!**

"No, _you_ stop this!"

The military adviser slapped her hands on her podium, as she breathed in and out hard. Her eyes stared down at the floor, then up at Ken. The Novoselic man said, "Ma'am, what's gotten under you?"

"When you were shouting at Fannie, and saying that you were going to make her prove herself to us, there was a moment. A moment where I thought, 'Why is he trying to kill her too?' I pushed it away, I thought it was beyond ridiculous…

"Because I trusted you. I trusted you, but I also trusted," Crystal gasped as she collected herself, "Samson. You are an honorable, reasonable man who hates Despair more than anything, I figured you hated Fannie because of how suspicious she is. If there was anyone you'd kill at this point, it would be Fannie.

"But you couldn't do that because we'd suspect you, right?" She gripped her podium as she heaved out a massive sigh. "Is that why you tried to kill her afterwards? Is that why you kept trying to blame her for all of this?"

"Ma'am," Ken protested, holding his hands up, "I may have overreacted with her, but the death and horror has become too much! We've lost a lot of people, and she is an avatar of this town!

"Why are you trusting her word over mine? I have no reason to kill Saiko, I wish for only Despair to be destroyed! You're trusting someone who is responsible for this evil town over me! I don't want it to be Yitro either, but after everything we've been through, who is more likely? I have a country to save, a duty to fulfill! You cannot deny that, even with the coincidences that Isaac has created."

"I didn't create anything, Ken," Isaac snapped. "I know you did it."

"You only have your unreliable memory, and the word of that woman," Ken snapped, pointing at Fannie, "who is working with the enemy."

"And you have the word of a man who said earlier that he wants us all to die because he cannot get laid," Isaac retorted. "I guess in this final confrontation, it's not just you or me, it's Blake or Fannie that people are going to have to trust."

" **You got ten seconds now!** " Monokuma shouted. " **Isaac, you started this argument, you finish it.** "

Isaac glanced around the trial room, noting how many people hadn't spoken up or sounded undecided: Drake, Peko, Souma, Ignatia, and Pyrrha. Had he convinced them? Or did they believe it was Yitro?

"I'm sorry, everyone," he said, "but Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman, is undoubtably our killer! The guilty knowledge, the positioning of where he was after the murder, it adds up. Trust in me, trust in Fannie, and most of all, trust in that it's how the murderer's path makes the most sense!"

"THIS IS OUR ANSWER!" Isaac, and everyone who agreed with him up to this point, shouted as profoundly as they could.

" **Aaaaaaaaaaand time!** "

* * *

" **Now we don't have time for a Closing Argument, mostly because you all aren't unified on a certain suspect,** " Monokuma explained, " **and you know what? I have a feeling you could be wrong… dead wrong! Upupupu!**

" **The trial time is over, so everyone, focus your attention on the touch screen tablet at the center of your podiums! There's pictures of every person in Penjar there, so select who you think the Deviant Tourist is, and select the Confirm button!**

" **Will you make the right call, or the dreadfully WRONG one? Upupupu, let's find out!** "

* * *

Twenty fingers poked the touch screens, the Confirm button sound effect ringing twenty times. Heated glances and glares were being shot across the room, as the gigantic screen came down from the ceiling over Monokuma's throne.

The digital blackboard with the pixel representations appeared once more, though it zoomed in towards one particular row. The only two icons there were Ken Kishi and Yitro Stana.

" **The votes are in,** " Monokuma cheerfully announced. " **Let's see who got the most, shall we?** "

Tally marks drawn by invisible chalk started to form, very fast at first with several appearing for Ken and Yitro. It crossed the minds of some that Monokuma was adding the votes in real-time, with those sure having voted first, and those who had been conflicted coming in one at a time.

It took thirty seconds, but it felt like an eternity to the survivors of Penjar.

…

…

…

…

…

…

 **Yitro Stana** – 6 votes.

 **Ken Kishi** – 14 votes.

"And with that, let's see if you were correct!" The despair bear host started to giggle, then cackle. "Oh, I feel GOOD about this one!"

The blackboard disappeared from the screen, and was replaced with the digital roulette wheel. The pixel representations of the people in Penjar included Peko and Fannie, though those weren't the ones that were being watched. The wheel spun at an alarming fast route, with sparks shooting out at the base as if it were going to malfunction or catch fire.

The latter happened, with flames shooting out from underneath the rim of the roulette wheel; it was like an stovetop someone had cranked too high. Though it was a digital representation, the flames and sparks and the screeching noises the wheel was making were intense enough to make those watching wince.

As the edge of the wheel charred, the spinning gradually slowed down. Slower, slower, and then it finally rested on Ken's portrait.

The sound effects of fire burning, sparks spraying, and the roulette music slowing down to a ghastly groan, they helped make every second feel like one's last. There were no lights, no confirmation noises, just the sound of flames roasting the suspect wheel…

…

…

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…

 _ **BLAM!**_

The wheel exploded off of its base, flying off and away from the screen. A pixel version of Ken's face was on a screen that had been underneath the roulette wheel. Flames roared as confirmation music played, and Monokoins started pouring out of the slot machine. They kept flowing out, even as the machine itself caught fire.

* * *

Another explosion engulfed the suspect wheel, and when smoke was all that could be seen, the screen pulled up and out of sight. Monokuma adjusted his samurai helmet, chuckling darkly.

" **Upupupupu… AHAHAAHAHAA! WAHOOO! Didn't I tell you all I felt good about this one? I cannot wait to see what comes next!**

" **You WIN! The Deviant Tourist in this murder is our very own Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman!** "

Ken was hanging his head, his hood covering his eyes, his hands in the front pocket of his garment. He had been like this since the number of votes had been collected, unmoving, unresponsive.

"Goddamnit," Crystal growled out, gripping her podium. "Why? WHY?!"

"Ken," Kimiko's hurt voice echoed around the trial room, the normally tough woman so fragile that she sounded ready to break, "how… how coo'd you?"

"I don't understand," Futaba muttered, grasping her head. "You, of all people…"

"…" Ken didn't say a word.

"You murdered Saiko," Hara sobbed, clasping her hands together as she hiccuped in her grief. "You murdered her…"

"Why?" Eisei demanded, slamming his fists on his podium, as tears came from his eyes. "Why would you do this? To her? You… you horrible cretin!"

"You set me up," Yitro growled. "You murdered an innocent woman!"

"…

…

…

"'Innocent'?"

There was a rush of movement, then the sound of a sword unsheathing from a scabbard. Ken held his weapon with both hands, the swift action had been so sudden that his hood had fallen off. His black bangs draped around his dark eyes, which were darting around the room in fierce, wild movement.

"Do not kid yourselves, she was not innocent," he snarled viciously. "None of you are. Don't any of you deny your foul, odious, true selves now, because I will end this evil one way or another.

"Despair, your sins, this entire wretched town, I will destroy it. All in the name of my new queen, my new hope, my mission for my homeland!"

…

…

…

"You know, we really oughta make it a rule not to allow weapons in the trial room," Odelios muttered. "Maybe stop and frisk too, this is getting out of hand. Seriously, with how many times this has happened, we're starting to look predictable and stupid…"

No one was listening to him, he wasn't even paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth. Odelios's quiet rambling was the only noise in the trial room along with Ken's heavy, furious breathing. The shock was too much for everyone, they didn't know what to say or do right now.

How had it come to this?

* * *

…

 **THE TRIAL HAS CONCLUDED! STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL RESULTS!**


	39. Chapter 5-7 Case 5 Trial, Aftermath

**Chapter 5-7**

 **Direction to Death**

* * *

If you are reading this, my name was Ignatia Nazario. In case this trial goes sideways, I am texting the explanation to everything that happened during our fifth case in Penjar. The victim was Saiko Kobayashi, the Ultimate Forensic Investigator, who was found dead in the arcade.

…

Penjar had four buildings that gave those who stayed the night in them, and that was key for this murder. Our killer spent a night in the arcade, which gave them an all-access pass to the town, and a night in the asylum, allowing them to use a healing machine inside of the asylum.

…

The killer made a deal with Monocrow, who was allowed to take other peoples' advantages and give them upon request. Monocrow was told to transfer the sleep immunity advantages Ishiku and Fannie had when the sleeping gas came on at 8:30 PM to themselves. At 8:30 PM, our killer was immune to that sleeping gas, and left everyone in the arcade asleep.

…

Traveling to the motel, our culprit kidnapped Saiko from her room, carrying her outside and to the arcade. Grabbing the executioner's gear that was left outside, they set Saiko up on the stage with the gear; it was possibly to make us think that she was had been killed when she was sleepwalking as the executioner again (nightmares in this town cause sleepwalking).

…

When the killer put Saiko on the stage, they left to take the sword that Fannie had on her person, possibly to frame her. However, before they could do so, they got a nasty surprise.

…

Saiko, having been taken out of the safety of the building that prevented nightmares, was sleepwalking again. She grabbed the axe and came towards them, to which our culprit had to use their own sword, cutting her throat. Dragging her back as she no longer had strength to move, the killer was able to retrieve the sword, and stabbed Saiko to death.

…

Our killer placed Hara, who was unconscious, on the scene, making it look like she had murdered her friend. Hara had been set up, just as Fannie had been, and yet our killer wasn't done. Cleaning off their blade, they moved to the asylum, and found Yitro, the only other person with a sword of our group, and also asleep. They took Yitro's sword and cut Blake, who was on the healing table and unconscious.

…

Cutting Blake to make a proper bloodstain on Yitro's sword, the killer used their benefit of getting to operate the medical machine. Healing Blake so he and no one else would be the wiser, our culprit headed back towards the arcade.

…

Calling forth Monocrow, who could also tell people where someone had been, the culprit took the bird and smashed him to pieces. Upon doing this, they accidentally cancelled their deal, with Ishiku and Fannie's sleep immunity returning to them. Our killer felt the drowsiness start to sit in fast, so they sprinted back to the motel. Falling asleep upon entering the front door, their position making it obvious they had just come inside.

…

Though something didn't go to the killer's plan: Isaac's location.

…

Isaac had been sleepwalking last night, and found himself in a room that looked like the control room for the arcade. With a combination of soundproofing, microphones, and speakers, all the sounds Isaac made could be heard inside of the arcade, when he was really in the motel!

…

When Isaac saw Saiko was dead through the cameras, he banged on the door in desperation to free himself, to which Shuuya let him out upon hearing the heavy thudding of Isaac's attempts. Isaac fled the motel, and tripped over the culprit, but he didn't remember it at first because of his desperation.

…

The sleeping gas effect lifted up shortly after the Body Discovery Announcement, to which the killer was awake enough to move before anyone noticed their position. Thus they joined everyone else at the arcade, and it had seemed like the perfect murder.

…

After all, they had framed so many people, and with the surprising addition of a lost spirit being channeled, who would suspect them out of everyone there? We surely would have missed this, had it not been for Fannie helping Isaac remember what his panic and fear blocked in his memory.

…

The culprit who murdered Saiko, the one who set up so many others, the person we truly didn't suspect until we were forced to see the truth…

was **Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman**!

…

I'm afraid of what's going to happen next. The dread I feel is almost overwhelming, like I know that this is going to go wrong, and that's why I am leaving this message. Just in case some of us don't make it out of this alive…

* * *

Ken clutched his sword as his eyes darted around the trial room, showcasing how ready he was to attack anyone who came anywhere near him. Both Peko and Yitro had their hands around their swords, but dared not draw them in fear of making the cavalryman lash out.

"I'm starting to think we're asking for it at this point," Odelios continued mumbling, gripping at his hat and hair. "Did we really drop our guard because of Aka? Why does this keep happening?"

"Shut," Ken growled viciously, "up, you goddamn court jester!"

Odelios didn't even react to the shout. He continued mumbling, though quieter, as he turned around and waved his hands around. It looked like he was trying to rant to someone invisible.

"Clown," the Novoselic warrior snarled, "I said to-"

"Please, calm down," Anzu pleaded, holding her hands up as she stared in horror at Ken. She was on the platform next to Ken, shrinking back up against the side as far from him as she could get. "Look, he's not joking, he's just lost his sense with how shocking this is."

Ken glared over at Odelios, who was still muttering to no one in particular with his back to the trial room. He rolled his eyes, and muttered, "He barely had a mind to lose to begin with, this is not so surprising."

"Why?" Isaac shouted, grasping Ken's attention. "Why did you do it, you… you bastard?!"

The reporter and cavalryman glared at each other, both of them ready to fight, even if Isaac was unarmed. Ken was quiet for a few seconds, then barked out a laugh. "And why should I tell you?"

"Ken!" Kimiko shouted, eyes wide in shock and desperation. "Please, tell us! None of this makes any sense!"

"Oh, you think I'll answer you," he responded, "because you and I slept together? You believe that earns you answers, harlot?"

"We all deserve an answer! You murdered a good woman, you wanted to kill us all! After all we've bin throo'," the biker stammered as she tried to contain her emotions, "what woo'd make you do such a thing?!"

"Is that how it's really going to be, handsome?" Futaba snapped. "You lied to us, you killed an innocent person, and then you're going to go off to your death without an explanation?"

"Please," Hikari begged, staring at Ken with misty eyes, "I still cannot believe it, Ken. Why will you not tell us?"

Ken glanced around at the room, noting everyone staring at him, some of them crying, some furious beyond words. The Novoselic cavalryman let out another bitter chuckle, then burst out in humorless laughs.

"Do you think I care the least bit about your feelings?" he spat out suddenly, abruptly ending his laughter. "Why would I care about those who fell so far from grace, that you deserve an explanation from me? It's been sickening, utterly loathsome, to have kept my calm around you sinful, odious monsters.

"Whether you are wantonly engaging in sex," he glared at a startled Hikari, "your violent pasts of blood spilling," he glanced between Yitro and Shuuya, "or consorting with Despair…"

He pointed his sword towards Ishiku and Fannie, who flinched at such a motion. "You think I have any interest in explaining myself to you fiends? You collective packs of murderers, whores, manipulators, and dumb jesters?!"

"Oh really now?" Isaac snapped at him. "You've been having as much sex as anyone else, you goofed around too, and now you've murdered our friend!"

"How c-could you do it?" Hara sobbed, tears coming from her eyes but she kept her eyes on Ken. "Saiko, she…"

"You have no right to take the moral high ground," Eisei shouted, crying as well but he managed to find his assertive side through the emotions. "However, if you wish to give us no explanation, I shall take that as a confession that you are an addled, dishonored, waste of a man who shames his country and honor!

"You are no knight of Novoselic! What do you have to say about that?" Eisei pointed accusingly at Ken, the dentist's high-pitched voice shrill with anger. There was a tense silence as the warrior glared daggers right back at him.

Ken then glanced between Eisei, Isaac, and finally at Hara. As he stared at the sobbing explorer, the tension in his body lightened slightly. "Very well," he said, surveying the room. "I suppose it would be the work of despair to leave this without a valid reason; however, I feel like I already told you all."

"You didn't tell us anything," Hikari shouted, her eyeshadow leaving dark streaks on her face from her tears. "Ken… you, how… I don't understand anything! We've been friends for so long, we faced death together in this town! Why would you do this?"

"Hikari," he responded, frowning at her, "I don't consider you a friend anymore. Maybe beforehand we were, but you show your true colors by bedding with a fiend wantonly, by trying to seduce more into your bed. You are too selfish and sinful for me to ever address again."

There was a clatter, as Hikari dropped her umbrella. It was as if the steampunk model had run out of steam herself, and powered down. Her eyes almost lost all color as she slumped against the podium, staring down at the floor with an expression of shock and pain on her face.

"You bastard," Kimiko shouted, red-faced as she shook her fist at him. "She cared a'boot you, she risked being accused because of you! Yoo'r going to tell us NOW!

"Or are you going to tell me off because I'm under yoo'r standards now?!" the green-haired gal snarled as she rubbed at her nose, clenching her fists. "If you think I'm not willing to come over there and insert your sword right up yoo'r ass…"

"You are outnumbered," Crystal pointed out, her breathing heavy but her tone steady. "You will not hurt anyone else, so it is pointless to resist."

Ken scoffed, rolling his eyes at them. "I don't owe any of you anything. I came here for one thing only, and that was to exterminate the source of Despair. I will do that by any means, and of course, I'll destroy any other evils that come across my path.

"I would have destroyed Yejoon, before the female dog did it to get her stones off. I ended a murderer's life, and most of you are acceptable loses, a bunch of sinful degenerates that work alongside Despair or refuse to take action because you want to engage in frivolous behavior!"

"Why do you keep saying that?" Hara blurted out. "Saiko was a good person, she was not a murderer!"

"I heard her yesterday, bragging to all of you in the plaza. She openly challenged Blake, declaring with ease with how easy it was for her. A forensic investigator, a person whose career and life is dedicated to helping enact justice, was a cold-blooded killer?"

"She was forced to do that," Isaac shouted. "And it was a yakuza gang member!"

"I did not know those details, but it matters not," Ken said with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders. "I knew then that something had to be done, because I am tired of you all, especially the clowns and the members of Despair!"

He glanced between Odelios, Ishiku, and Fannie. "Playing a card game inside of the asylum? That was the final straw. I knew then and there that no one in this town could be trusted, though I am really not interested in going over each and every one of you.

"After all, you know what you did. It's time to purge the world of useless trash like you, and burn Despair at its roots."

"Heh, I like the sound of that," Blake snickered.

"You don't get a place to talk, you are the most wretched of them all!"

Ignatia snapped her fingers, gaining Ken's attention. She held up her phone, and it spoke for her. [There's no way that hearing Saiko killing someone is what caused all of this. After the Tragedy, it is not so uncommon. Something else had to have drove you to do this.]

Ken laughed, staring incredulously at the mime. "Think you're clever, don't you?"

[You see the guy standing next to me?] Ignatia glanced over at Drake as her phone read her message. [He never killed anyone, he never engaged in the frivolity you're now lecturing us over. And you tried to kill him with this plan. I'm pissed as all hell at you, and I want a valid answer.]

"I may not have been here long," Peko said, staring fiercely at Ken, "but I have seen my share of people who lose their minds to madness. There is more to it than your sudden desire to exterminate people you think are beneath you."

The cavalryman scoffed at the swordswoman. "I don't believe you have a right to critique me, murderer."

"You're a murderer too," Ishiku shouted. "None of us believe that you just killed Saiko because you're now suddenly an ultra-judgmental crusader."

Shuuya had kept his eyes locked on Ken, his arms folded as his red eyes burned. The bounty hunter had been quiet, until this moment. "It was the Killing Game Realm, wasn't it?"

"What about it?" Souma inquired. "Wait, when we found Ken in the Killing Game Realm, he revealed to us the body of Junko Enoshima."

"Yes…"

…

…

…

Ken's eyes morphed into the bubbling, bursting effect that Samson once had. The cavalryman chuckled deviously, then exploded in frenzied laughter. " **CHAOS! It is the answer! It is how I will save my country, my home!** "

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me," Kimiko sputtered.

"No way," Ishiku balked.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Fannie shouted, grasping her white 'n pink hair. "You based this off of that alternate reality?'

" **And why not?** " Ken shouted, pounding one of his fists on his podium. " **Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair, the creator of the Tragedy, the monster that ravaged the world and plagued my country, dead at the hands of Queen of Chaos! Slain like a pig in a slaughterhouse amid the other corpses, as easy as ABC!**

" **I knew then that Despair could be conquered by Chaos. Monokuma mocked me by feeding me a lie when I played his game, but now I see that he, and all of Despair, fears Chaos! If that is the antidote to Despair, then I welcome it with the most open of arms!** "

Drake, clutching his sketchpad to his chest, stammered a great deal before he got the words out. "But… Hikari killed the Queen in that vision!"

" **The Queen didn't die.** "

"I saw her do it! She plunged one of those spikes into the Queen, and she melted!"

Ken turned his bubbling, boiling eyes of Chaos towards Hikari, who was still staring blankly at the floor. " **'One of those spikes,' you say?** "

"Y-yes, it was a spike that the Queen created with her powers."

" **The vision, our time in the Killing Game Realm, ended when I heard the screams of my new Queen. Your words mean nothing, especially because I know how much Despair fears Chaos!** "

"Wh-what are you saying?" Anzu stammered, her face deathly pale and sweat beading on her forehead. "You turned into a follower of Chaos simply because of that vision?!"

" **I lost faith in all of you being able to do something about Despair, with the world being able to help Novoselic,** " he remarked. " **What good is staying in this town, where I am constantly mocked by those who do not wish to actually take this seriously?** "

"You let your desperation turn into fear and anger," Crystal spat out. "You have become the thing you swore to destroy!"

" **Your words ring hollow to me, because I feel that they are like those from a movie. Movies are fictional, scripted, brought to us as a distraction from the reality of the world. And reality is cruel, uncaring, and unrelenting…**

" **Reality is chaotic. I shall take Chaos, now that I know its powers, and destroy all of evils of the world with it, especially Despair!** "

A high-pitched 'ahem' echoed around the trial room. " **It's not exactly our kryptonite,** " Monokuma said, tilting his head to the side. " **You think it is as easy as pouring salt on a snail?** "

" **Despair follows rules that you set up yourself,** " the cavalryman declared. " **Chaos does not. I know now how to exploit your evil plans, and destroy you!** "

Monokid smashed a guitar, roaring in fury. "I'd like to see you fucking try, honor boy! Bring it on!"

"YOU-MAKE-NO-SENSE," Monodam responded. "YOU-FOLLOWED-THE-RULES-OF-DESPAIR-TO-COMMIT-THIS-MURDER. HOW-DOES-THIS-MAKE-YOU-AN-EXPERT-OF-CHAOS?"

Ken rolled his eyes, or at least it appeared he did since that bubbling madness in his eyes had no pupils to speak of. " **I know how Despair works, right down to how you mechanical monsters behave whenever something does or doesn't go your way. Your little bird proved that.** "

* * *

 _Ken briskly walked towards the Monokuma statue in the center of the plaza, having finished his impromptu addition to his plan. When he reached the statue, he stood by the side facing the arcade._

 _"Monocrow," he called out, "I wish to make a deal!"_

 _There was a slight pause, then the fluttering of wings as Monocrow perched on the base of the statue. He peered at Ken, and asked, " **What is this deal?** "_

 _Ken approached Monocrow, and then seized the bird in one of his strong hands. Gripping the white 'n black crow tightly, squeezing with an iron grasp, the cavalryman snickered. "So very predictable, you Despair followers. You should have known that this would be the end of you, to ensure they don't prod you for answers."_

 _Monocrow made strained noises, as if he were a living creature. " **Urgh… ehehehe… I guess so. That is Despair's biggest weakness.** "_

 _"Before I end you, I want to ask you something. You know where everyone was, at all times, so who was it that was in the Hall of Fame building the night of Yejoon's death?"_

 _" **I only know the movements from when I first showed up yesterday. Monokuma had me disabled until then.** "_

 _"Damn it. I wished to confirm the Entity of Chaos' identity, but it seems I have to go on my assumption."_

 _" **Confused on that message they left you?** " Monocrow said with a snicker. " **Yes, I know about that.** "_

 _"Then tell me, you odious bird!"_

 _Monocrow stared up at Ken, his lightning bolt eye gleaming from behind Ken's palm. " **You really don't know, do you? You mean you still don't know who you truly are?** "_

 _"I know exactly who I am! You shall not play me, now tell me! Right now!"_

 _Monocrow rubbed his beak with his wingtip, then let out a chuckle. " **Naw, I don't really feel like telling you now. After all, you plan on killing everyone here, including the Seed of Despair.** "_

 _"Oh, mark my words, I will find the Seed. All despair will be exterminated, and I will reclaim my homeland."_

 _" **Hehehe,** " Monocrow started to laugh, " **you don't realize what role you've just played in all of this, and what you've truly done. And that's why you are truly scarlet. Upupupu-** "_

 _Ken slammed Monocrow against the base of the statue, the first time not enough to break the bird. He kept cracking the small avian robot against that concrete, bashing it over and over until the white 'n black bird was a broken mess of metallic bird parts._

 _The Novoselic stared down at what he had done for a few seconds, before he adjusted his clothing and started to head towards the motel. He then noticed how drowsy he started to feel…_

* * *

"I will not be played," Ken stated, glaring at the people in the trial room; his eyes had reverted back to normal for the time being, as if recalling the past had restored his sense of stability somewhat. "Monocrow knew what the Entity of Chaos's message for me was, but he would not tell me. Like any odious monster, he deserved to be destroyed, something none of you would have the spine to do so."

Blake scoffed loudly. "Hey, I destroyed stuff here, you never gave me any credit."

Ken didn't pay the slightest bit of attention towards him. He merely continued, "It was so easy to find out what the buildings granted, but I'm sure you are all so foolishly entwined in other affairs that you couldn't see it. A simple search around the asylum led me to realize I could enter rooms that were clearly not meant for other people.

"Seeing people who had been at the motel not the least bit fatigued was obvious too, and I knew that the asylum had to be that special room's features. By the time I pieced it all together, I knew that my new queen would want me to spread Chaos around this despicable town, and so I did.

"The deal with Monocrow was sickening to have to do, but necessary. It was so easy, kidnapping Saiko and setting her up to be sacrificed. You know, since Monokuma gave us the go-ahead on murdering as many as we wanted, I actually had a different part of that plan.

"And that was to exterminate you," he turned to Fannie, glaring hatefully at her. "You are a willing, active member of Despair that everyone here gave a pass to because of a pretty face and a set of knockers. Your appearance is too similar to that bear robot, your unwillingness to tell us what is going on in this town."

"I," Fannie stammered, pale and even a little green with how much her worry was making her sick, "I cannot! You have no idea of how much Monokuma corrupted it at the core!"

"Monokuma is a puppet, an avatar of Despair! There is someone behind him, there always is! I should have run my blade through your chest, piercing your black heart…

"But I wanted to see if everyone here would accuse you. You, a Kub of Monokuma, a creation of the very essence of Despair, would surely be the one that everyone here would assume committed the crime?"

* * *

 _Ken walked towards the other side of the arcade, trying to find where Fannie and Ishiku could be. He was cleaning off his blade with napkins, trying to keep calm as he mentally planned out the next step of his plan. Saiko coming at him with the battle-ax had thrown him through a loop, but he wasn't derailed yet._

 _That's when he saw Ishiku, Anzu, and Fannie all lying on the floor in the game and play section of the arcade. He approached them, seeing the sword in the white 'n pink-topped girl's hands, and snarled._

 _"I won't allow this," he said as he took the sheathed blade from her hands. "I've had enough of Despair, of odious beings like you._

 _"If I could, I would kill you right here." His hands wrapped around the sword's handle. "I wish to God, and my country, I could end you as well. However, I need you alive, though the very sight of you sickens me."_

 _He turned around and walked away, back towards Saiko. The lady was bleeding profusely, struggling to breathe from the fatal wound to her neck. She wasn't able to do anything as Ken approached, and he glared down at her._

 _"Now it's time to finish you."_

* * *

"STOP!" Hara shrieked, covering her ears. "I don't want to hear this!"

"You bastard!" Both Ishiku and Isaac swore at Ken.

"I will help Novoselic recover from the bloodshed and destruction that the world ignored," Ken said, dismissively waving at them. "My princess is dead, Laris was disgraced across the world, it relies on me now. I will use Chaos to utterly decimate the Despair in my homeland, and Novoselic will recover!"

"What are you even saying?" Futaba blurted out. "You think Chaos is the answer? It will just lead to more bloodshed and death!"

"It is like curing cancer. Chemotherapy is about poisoning the body to kill the disease," the cavalryman responded. "I am no fool, I know that Chaos will have its own share of problems; however, it will exterminate the cancer, and then I'll handle the aftereffects."

"Good Lord," Souma declared. "You really think restoring your home will be as easy as that?"

"What would any of you know about the tragedy of losing your home, your country?!" Ken roared, pointing at them all with his free hand. "Japan, America, Canada, every country you all came from has recovered! Mine has not, it is stained so deeply with blood, it is saturated to the core!

"Monokuma's nightmares reminded me of its horrible fate, and all of you galavanted around this town as if you were on vacation!"

"We did no such thing," Isaac shouted. "Just because you cannot comprehend someone's coping mechanisms doesn't mean we aren't taking it seriously!"

Eisei shook his head, gripping his hair so tightly that he was in danger of pulling it out. "You're basing all of your assertions on the visions and manipulations of Monokuma and Despair to find a way to defeat Despair! We all came here to defeat them, and you… why would you do this? Why trust Chaos?"

"I told you all, Chaos is the answer to saving my home," Ken responded. "The Entity of Chaos knows how to outwit and outsmart Despair at its own game. And irregardless of the cryptic message she gave me, I know that my queen will bless me with the strength to save Novoselic."

"Wh-what?" Anzu stammered, clutching her sides. "Your Queen? But you said the Entity of Chaos just now."

"Of course, I am sure they are one and the same, or at least allies in this battle against Despair. Hehehe… ahahaha…"

The Chaos bubbles appeared in Ken's eyes, as he chuckled like a man losing his mind. Despite this, he spoke clearly when he added, "Why do you think I set up the murder scene the way I did?"

There was silence in the trial room, as the graduates tried to process all of this. Hara sobbed, as Isaac gaped and stammered in a combination of terror and outrage. "You… you think," the reporter tried to speak, pointing at Hara in his attempts.

"Who else could have left the messages in the Hall of Fame, the personal remarks left on each of our portraits?" Ken said, grinning wickedly. "I knew the Entity of Chaos would want to see my handiwork, and marvel at how much chaos of my own I could spread."

"You BASTARD!" Isaac hollered, so enraged that his voice was rather hoarse. "You think that Hara is the Entity of Chaos?! Or me?"

"I'd love to know what you meant by the comment of 'scarlet' on my portrait now."

The cavalryman grinned, eyes still foaming with the chaotic bubbles. "I told you why I did what I did, I'd like something in return now. The killer is dead, the reason was given, and I shall have to fight for my survival soon. Now tell me what it meant."

"I don't fucking know what it meant, because neither of us wrote it! You psychotic bastard, you murdered Saiko to please us? WAS THAT IT!?"

"There's no use in denying it," Ken said with a shake of his hand. "Though I suppose if you won't tell me what 'scarlet' means, I will have to just merely as inspiration to your cause."

"That stupid word was one of the reasons you did this?" Yitro shouted. "I cannot believe this, it was just a word! And you allowed it to drive you to this tragedy!"

Ken's chuckling echoed around the trial room, with everyone flabbergasted at what was going on. It wasn't until the soft sound of Drake setting his sketchpad down and speaking up that the conversation continued.

"I think I know what it meant," the cartoonist admitted, "though I'm terribly worried if I'm right."

Peko turned towards him, her normally steely stare much calmer with him. "Drake, you should not be afraid to propose an answer. Please help out your friends."

"Okay. Well, you see, you know how the arcade had that old computer game? One prominent thing in that game is that everyone's name is actually a play-on words. Outfit is an exercise buff that stays away from others, Wardrobe is about protecting others with his magic powers, and you see, as a magic-user, he has a robe on, and ward means to protect…"

"Drake, you're not making a lot of sense," Pyrrha said. "What's that have to do with 'scarlet'?"

The cartoonist squeezed his hands together, and took in a deep breath. "Ken's pain about losing his homeland, having to flee the carnage, the pain that it inflicted on him…

"I think 'scarlet' was the Entity of Chaos's way of saying that Ken would let the scars of his past justify his actions. Everything that happened, everything he did, he's doing it because of his shame and anger over that scar."

The trial room was quiet for a moment, before Blake started laughing harder than Ken was. "That's the dumbest bullshit I've ever heard! You're saying the Entity of Chaos predicted that?"

Drake started stammering, until Shuuya spoke up for him. "The Entity of Chaos left a message," the bounty hunter stated, "and Ken picked up on it. With just one word, the noble warrior from Novoselic became a desperate, fanatic follower of Chaos and a murderer.

"One word started that, like the first domino to fall, and now he believes fully in Chaos. And the clue to what it was right in front of our faces," he clenched his fists, crimson eyes glaring in fury, "and we missed it! And even worse… even worse than that…"

"Monokuma gave us that hint," Futaba finished that sentence for him. "Despair knew what Chaos was up to. Even as rivals, they understand each other."

Ken's sinister laughter mocked them. "And you wonder why I lost all faith in any of you degenerates getting anything done."

His cackling was drowned out by a louder, more sinister one from the back of the trial room. " **Okay then, you silly followers of Hope's Peak,** " Monokuma shouted, unsheathing a katana and pointing it upwards, " **I think I've let the newest member of my rival go on long enough! It's time to put him to the test.** "

"Wait a minute, Monokuma," Ken said, gripping his sword with both hands again. "I'm curious about something… does that rule change I made a while back still stand?"

" **Eeeeeeeh? Well, to be honest, I hadn't considered that, why?** "

"Oh, no reason actually. I suppose it'll be more fair this way."

Ken turned towards Fannie, and his eyes flared with the utmost contempt as he shouted, "No limit to murders, remember? It's time I finally take you out, avatar of despair!"

The Novoselic cavalryman sprinted towards her, and she locked up in panic. Peko was in-between Ken and Fannie, and drew her blade faster than most of them could follow. Steel clashed against steel, and the two masters of the blade stared into each other's eyes.

The trial room echoed with the metallic collisions, as the podiums around them were cut and destroyed. Peko was meticulous with her slices, Ken was unrelenting with his strikes.

Though as Ken pushed forward, he realized Peko's strength wasn't enough to match his; being in Fiora's body was complicating her combat skills. And so he slammed down his sword towards her, throwing her off-balance as she had to block rather than parry…

Thus he took the advantage and slashed at her torso when she wasn't prepared, and his blade slashed across her stomach. Blood sprayed out, and Peko's pupils shrunk as agony overtook her body.

The confrontation took only ten seconds, and most everyone was trying to comprehend what was going on. Yitro was sprinting over, sword drawn and ready to fight. Ken saw him coming up behind Ishiku, who was standing in front of Fannie holding his staff.

Ken kicked Ishiku, hard enough to send the lithe young man flying backwards and crashed into Yitro. As the swordsman struggled to get up, Ken stared down Fannie, who trembled in thunderstruck terror.

There was a flash of bloodied steel, as Ken drove his sword into Fannie's chest. The point protruded out her back, and she let out a pained gasp that came with blood dripping from her mouth.

Some of the others, even unarmed, moved in at the same time. Ishiku was screaming in horror, Fannie grunting in agony, as Ken grinned victoriously at his blade inside of her.

A metal clamp shot out from the wall, and clinched around the Novoselic cavalryman's neck. Ken didn't flinch, he didn't even blink his chaotic-charged eyes. He merely began laughing again.

" **Now then,** " Monokuma called out from his throne, " **I've prepared a VERY special punishment for Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman!** "

"Are you really going to do it now, Monokuma?" he called out. "You know what would happen?"

" **Eh? What are you saying?** "

"You know what will happen if you yank me away," Ken said, eyes peering around at everyone else; they were too apprehensive to move in, in fear of what the cavalryman said next. "My sword is now in a particular area of your daughter that is bad where the steel is now, but far, far worse if it comes out.

"You pull me away, my sword comes out, and you will most likely kill Fannie. Is that what you want?"

Five seconds passed by, each one feeling like an eternity for everyone present. Then the mechanism that was part of the metal clamp kicked in, and Ken was yanked right off of his feet. Clutching his sword with both hands, the blade was pulled from Fannie's chest and blood geysered out of her. She collapsed to the floor as her life fluid continued to flow from her.

The sound of Ken's laughter as he was wrenched away into the darkness was mixed with Monokuma shouting, " **Let's give it everything we've got!** "

"Fannie," Ishiku shrieked in terror as he crawled over to her and put his hands on her wound. "No no no!"

"Oh God, Fiora," Yitro was over by Peko, trying to hold the deep cut on her stomach closed, "hold in there! Hold still!"

"I'm… I'm sorry," Peko said, hissing from the intense pain, "I wasn't able… to stop him."

"FANNIE!" Ishiku called to her, as some of the others moved to help him. "Open your eyes!"

" **IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!** "

* * *

Monokuma spun his katana around in his paw, as a screen with a rusty bell atop of it popped up in front of him. He leapt up and swung horizontally, clanging the bell as well as slicing it in half. The moment the bell was severed, the screen lit up.

An 8-bit ghost town showed up on the screen, with black bars at the top and bottom. Ken's pixel art version was standing in the center, as a pixel version of Monokuma came walking up.

 **KEN HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

Ken was hoisted above Monokuma, and started walking off with the fretting pixel-art cavalryman. The two Monokubs followed behind him, celebratory animations from them.

 **TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

Inside of the trial room, five large screens came down from the ceiling, and everyone could see the western plaza from an aerial view. Though most were not looking, they were concerned with Peko and Fannie.

* * *

Hara was pushing her hands on Fannie's back, trying to stop blood from flowing out the cut there. "She won't last long," she cried out, glancing around at the others. "We have to get her out of here!"

"Keep applying pressure," Futaba instructed Ishiku, who had his hands on the wound on Fannie's chest. The white 'n pink-topped gal was gasping, whimpering in agony as blood continued to leak from her mouth. "We need to get her to that medical room."

A distressed hack came from Peko, as blood sprayed from her stomach wound. Yitro was trying to hold it closed, but it wasn't working out. He glanced over at the others desperately, and called out, "We need to go, someone help me!"

" **Ah ah ahhhhhh! No no!** "

Monokuma, standing over his destroyed bell, pointed at the graduates with his katana. " **No one leaves until the execution is finished! That elevator won't work until I say so!** "

Isaac was over by Yitro and Peko, trying to hold that stomach wound closed. The swordswoman shivered, holding back her cries of pain as sweat ran down her forehead. "I failed. I failed…"

"Please, just keep calm," the reporter said to her. He glanced up at the screens that displayed the execution, though there was nothing right now but the aerial view of the western plaza. "Peko, you did alright, you fought to defend us."

He looked over at Hara, who was still assisting Fannie. The two exchanged glances, and nodded as they both prepared for what would have to happen next. Peko noticed this, and let out a pained but wistful sigh.

"You look so fondly at her," the swordswoman said. "Heh… I had always dreamed that Mas... that Fuyuhiko would look at me that way."

"I'm sorry that you cannot see him, but please know," the reporter said to her, "that he's happy. When we get out of here, we'll tell him about you, if you want."

Peko gave a faint nod, then stared at Isaac. Fiora's body was shivering a great deal, as the woman possessing her struggled with the pain. "Earlier in the trial, you defended me despite everything. May I ask why?"

"I," he stammered, then he let out a sigh of his own and gestured towards his scarred arm. "When I was at Hope's Peak, I tried to save someone who was stuck inside of a burning building. I kicked down a door to get to them, and that was the last thing I should have done. Building came down, and the person died; my arm got this way because of it.

"I felt so upset, I was ready to leave Hope's Peak in my shame, but there were people who stood by my side: Saiko, and her."

Isaac glanced at Hara, and then smiled. "I just felt that with my past, I needed to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Peko nodded, her eyes starting to fade. She winced, and then murmured, "I… I can feel myself fading away."

"Stay with us," Yitro told her, cupping her face. "Don't fall asleep, okay?"

"N-no, I mean, I feel myself leaving Fiora's body. I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask Isaac that before I go back to… wherever I was in the afterlife. Thank you, Isaac… Yitro… thank Drake for me, will you please?

"And do please," she whispered, as her eyes closed, "say hi to Fuyuhiko for me. Let him know… I'm so happy for him."

Isaac held her shoulder as her body went slack…

…

…

…

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Fiora's shriek of intense agony made her start spasming, as Isaac and Yitro held her down. Pyrrha rushed over, trying to help as much as she could.

"What happened?! Where am I?!" Fiora screamed, then stared down at her bleeding stomach. "Gaaaaah, it hurts! It hurts, am I dying? I'm dying!"

"Fiora, calm down, you're making it worse," Pyrrha begged her.

"'Making it woo'rs?' I have a hole in my chest, how coo'd it BE ANY WOO'RS!?"

Fannie let out another hacking, bloody cough, a terrible mixture of pained cries from the two critically injured souls. She glanced up at those helping her, and managed a small smile. "Hey, Ishiku," she whispered, staring up at him, "just hold me, alright?"

"Fannie, stay with us."

"Hold me, I beg of you. Your warmth, your love… I want to feel it. It'll give me strength."

Ishiku stared at the others around Fannie, who were Hara, Shuuya, and Crystal. Shuuya nodded at Ishiku, and moved his hands onto Fannie's chest to slow down the blood loss. The magician held onto her, and she managed a smile.

"You should get near the elevator," Souma said, as he picked up Ishiku's staff and stood near them. "The moment we can go, we'll go up."

"When's the damn execution going to start?" Kimiko shouted, pointing up at the screens. "You haven't started it yet intentionally, you Goddamn bear!"

Monokuma covered his mouth with his free paw. " **Upupupupu! We are experiencing technical difficulties, transporting Ken to his designated punishment area.** "

"You bastard," Crystal cried out, pointing accusingly at the bear. "You're doing this to assure they die! You cannot do that, you cannot interfere with the murders!"

" **Yes, that's why I cannot allow you all outside right now, because this punishment is going to be incredibly dangerous for civilians of the town. We're going under lockdown until the punishment is over.** "

Monokid cackled as he strummed on his guitar. "Hell yeah! And it's not like you can make a deal to get your way out of it."

"Actually…"

Fannie's soft voice drifted out from her bloodied lips, but she still had an assertiveness that couldn't be ignored. "If you look under Code 137 of Penjar's Safety and Regulation, you'll see that in case of medical emergency, one person is allowed to escort an injured person to the nearest medical station."

"What?!" Monokid immediately broke his guitar into several pieces. "How do you know that, you stupid dumb former sister-woman of ours?"

" **That code,** " Monokuma snarled as he tapped his katana against the platform's floor, " **was specifically made to ensure that the Seed of Despair can be rescued by one of you adorable Kubs!** "

"And how do you even know that?!" the blue Kub hollered.

"YOU-DO-REALIZE-MONOPHANIE-HELPED-ORGANIZE-THE-CODES-OF-PENJAR, RIGHT?" Monodam asserted. "ENCOURAGE-OUR-CITIZENS, DISGUST-TOWARDS-LAW-BREAKERS, SHE-DESIGNED-THE-CODES-TO-PROTECT-EVERYTHING-FATHER-BUILT-HERE."

Fannie let out a fluttering laugh, as she nuzzled into Ishiku's arms. She was deathly pale now, breathing shallow. "I remember so little thanks to my transition to a human, but I remembered all of that. You have to allow someone to take an injured person to the closest medical station…

"You have to do that… or you know what happens… when Despair breaks the rules they set."

Monokid broke the broken pieces of his guitar, and shouted, "When's that damn execution going to start? I want to cut a bitch so bad right now!"

Monokuma stood perfectly still, then spat out angrily, " **Grrr, fine! Put yourselves at risk! One person to carry one of you injured souls!** "

"Okay then," Ishiku said, staring down at Fannie, "we gotta hurry."

"Wait," Yitro called out to him, "Fiora's bleeding out badly!"

"Fannie's injury is more serious!"

The magician pleaded with his eyes as he cradled Fiora. "Please, I'm begging you, she was stabbed through the chest. She's still losing blood, we need to hurry!"

"Ishi…"

Fannie reached up and caressed Ishiku's face, staring into his eyes. She smiled, and said, "Let them take Fiora."

"N-no! You'll die, you…"

"Ishi, I wanted to prove to everyone so much that I'm human, I'm not a member of Despair anymore. Fiora is dying too, and she deserves a chance…"

"But… but your wound! You're bleeding out your chest and back!"

Fannie nodded, her smile never leaving her face as she stared into her eyes. "As long as you're with me, I'll hang in there. You're my magic, Ishi, you just continue to believe in me."

She glanced over at Fiora, with Yitro and Isaac nearby. "Take her now, go."

Yitro nodded, and started to scoop up Fiora in his arms, until Futaba ran over. "No no wait," she called to him. "You used up your ability to use the medical device, you cannot take her."

"But," the swordsman stammered, as he looked into Fiora's pained, scared eyes, "but… no, no you're right."

"Let me or Shuuya take her," the anthropologist offered. "We have the all-access and the medical benefits."

Futaba's words were followed by the diabolical laughter coming from Monokid. He was wrapping his paws around his ruined guitar's strings, snapping them one at a time. When he realized everyone was suspiciously staring at him, the blue Kub barked out, "What do you all want? Can't a bear break a guitar in peace?"

"What's so damn funny?" Futaba demanded to know.

"Oh nothing!"

"Don't give us that, there's no way a sadistic brat like you just laughs like that over what I said. What do you know that we don't?"

"Oh nothing!"

Futaba crossed her arms, and then glanced back at everyone. "What's his problem? What could be wrong with what I said?"

"What if," Drake spoke up, "one of you doesn't have the medical benefit?"

"How is that possible, Drake?"

"Monocrow's deals, what if someone stole them from you and/or Shuuya?"

"But no one knew what the asylum's benefit was!"

"That didn't stop people from sleepwalking to take abilities… oh no."

Futaba's eyes widened at this realization, and many of the others gasped in astonishment. The anthropologist clenched her artificial hand, and grumbled, "God damn it, we need to know before we risk this! But how can we know who has it?"

Drake turned towards the Kubs. "Can you please tell us who has the asylum's benefit?"

"Haw haw haw!" Monokid shouted in laughter as he snapped the second-to-last string of his ruined guitar. "We didn't tell you any of those earlier, you think we'll tell you fuckers that now?"

"Actually…"

Fannie raised a finger to make a point. "According to Code 107 of Penjar's Safety and Regulation-"

"MOTHERFUCKER!" was Monokid's shout as he fractured the last string of his guitar.

"Drake," the white 'n pink-topped gal called out faintly, "ask Monodam who has them. He's allowed to tell anyone who wants to."

The cartoonist nodded, then pleadingly stared up at the green Kub. "Monodam, who amongst us has an available asylum benefit?"

"ODELIOS, IGNATIA, SAIKO, ISAAC, AND-YOU."

"The swaps were done during that sleepwalking time," Shuuya cursed out, shaking his head. "Damn it, Saiko's benefit is lost with her."

Isaac glanced around the room, observing how the others in that list were. Drake was shaking with dread, and Odelios was leaning against his podium with a look of absolute absence. Ignatia was also observing them, then exchanged glances with Isaac.

"Ignatia, you don't have the all-access pass anymore, remember?" the reporter said, as he adjusted his beanie. "I'll take her."

"Isaac," Hara called out to him. She opened her mouth to protest, then the situation registered fully in her mind. Instead, she nodded at him and said, "Okay, honey, please take care of yourself."

"I definitely will, my love. You come right after, okay?"

Isaac scooped up Fiora in his arms, carrying her bridal-style as he instructed, "Keep your hands on your wound, stop as much bleeding as possible."

"I deed not hand her, wood stop moo," Fiora deliriously slurred, her head slumping forward as she stared into Isaac's eyes. "Mitch blue dit, ass post Bob."

Isaac moved over to the elevator as Anzu pushed the button for them, her face scrunched with the utmost concern as she watched Fiora. "Please, please get her there on time, Isaac."

"You can count on it."

As the elevator opened and the reporter stepped into it, there was a loud buzzing of static. The graduates saw movement on the screens at last, as well as the sudden absence of Monokuma and the two Kubs.

Ishiku held onto Fannie, who gently nuzzled against his chest. Everyone's eyes were on the screens, and then they saw blood dripping down from the sky above the western plaza.

* * *

As the blood trickled down the steel blade, droplets falling down towards the ground, Ken was lowered down to the ground by a drone. He scoffed as he glanced around the plaza, and muttered, "Took you long enough to get me here, but why here?"

His answer came as Monokuma, wearing his samurai helmet and holding his katana still, hopped up on top of the large statue of himself in the middle of the plaza. Monokid and Monodam were on the base of the statue, next to its feet.

Monokuma was bouncing up and down as he laughed, and then he pulled a large scroll out from behind him. How the small bear could hide that, let alone hold up the metal rod almost eight feet long, were questions that Ken didn't care about at this point.

The banner sprawled down in front of the large Monokuma statue, hiding the stone version of the bear covering his eyes in 'shame,' rolling all the way down to its feet. The bottom of the banner flipped out, and struck Monodam, knocking him back.

In large, golden letters, on a banner that was the same colors as the Novoselic's flag, read the following:

 _Ultimate Cavalryman_

 _Ken Kishi's_

 _Execution: Commenced_

 **Stone Report Perforate**

Ken stared up at Monokuma, hate brimming in his eyes as he pointed his bloody blade up at the bear. No words were spoken, but the threat from both sides was clear.

The despair bear's grin intensified, as the red glow from his eye blazed throughout the dark plaza. With that, he dropped the long banner, and the Monokuma statue that was covering its eyes sheepishly wasn't doing so anymore.

With malicious glowing eyes on both sides, and an open maw full of razor sharp teeth, the statue was staring down at Ken as it, with the grinding sound of concrete chafing against itself, lifted its arms. A mechanical roar much like a rock grinder elicited from its mouth, and flames could be seen building inside of its maw.

Ken realized what was going to happen, and jumped to the side. Flames billowed out, scorching the ground where the cavalryman had been standing. The Monokuma statue with dragon breath growled, and lifted its large stone feet.

One of those feet punted Monodam as it jumped down from its pedestal, sending the green Kub tumbling on the ground and rolling into the psychic's tent. As the Monokuma statue landed on the ground, causing the earth to shake, it turned towards Ken.

The statue was almost twice as tall as him, with the incredible weight and stocky build of Monokuma being like a gigantic concrete pillar coming at him. With claws of sharpened concrete, each one as big as a person's head, it loomed over the Novoselic man.

" **Impressed?** " Monokuma called out. " **I like to call this my Monokuma Stone Dragon, mister knight man! Now, you think you can take this down with a sword?** "

"I'll cleave all of it in two," the warrior shouted. "You do not intimidate me, you monster of Despair!"

" **Upupupupu! Then try and slay my dragon!** "

Ken and the Monokuma Stone Dragon stared each other down, and the statue acted first. It swung at Ken, but the cavalryman managed to parry as well as dodge out of the way of the solid punch that the claw had as a follow-up. The statue swung its other fist, and when Ken jumped out of the way, he saw that the claws stuck deep into the stone pavement.

This thing was able to kill him with one blow, he knew that. And as it reared back, flames building up in its maw, he knew such a fiery attack would incinerate him.

With another swift leap to the side, Ken avoided a flame-broiled death. The dragon's fiery breath shot out and caught the psychic's tent on fire, engulfing it entirely with just the one attack. The mists swirled as smoke billowed up into the air, and the tent was charring immediately.

Monodam, with burning cloth on top of his head, scrambled out of the tent. Ken was dodging attack after attack from the statue, and tried to strike at the same time; the concrete material was too hard to cut through, he couldn't do any damage to the arms or paws.

Monokid was busy playing what he considered to be epic battle music on the empty pedestal, with a new guitar, as the fight continued. Despite all this noise and the heavy impacts of the statue punching the ground, Ken started to realize the earth-shaking wasn't only coming from the statue.

The Guardian, the building-morphing robot that lazily patrolled around Penjar, was marching towards the plaza. It stepped on dead trees and benches, crushing them entirely. When it arrived, it faced the statue, twice its height.

" **Oopsie, I hurt one of my adorable Kubs,** " Monokuma shouted, scratching his back with his katana. " **Oh well, guess that means the Guardian is going to take me out.** "

Ken's eyes darted between the statue and the robot, until he saw compartments in the shoulders of the Guardian open up to reveal missiles. He immediately started to run, but that was no good.

Primarily because the Guardian leaned back and fired missiles up into the air, smoke trails showcasing they were going all over the area, none coming down in the vincinity.

" **Oh lucky me,** " Monokuma shouted, " **the Guardian really has bad aim! UPUPUPUPU!** "

The Monokuma Statue Dragon turned back towards Ken, and charged for him. It pulled back its claws and swung at the cavalryman, who parried the blows with all his strength. Ken felt sweat build all over his body, the exhaustion of fighting an opponent of stone wearing on him.

One of the claws managed to catch his hoodie, and tore at it, cutting his side. He winced but did not slow down. At the elbow of the statue, he swung his blade down, and the Novoselic steel bit into the workings of the Monokuma statue.

As he attempted to cut deeper in, an explosion nearby startled him. One of the missiles had landed on the remains of the psychic's tent, obliterating it and sending burning debris everywhere. Another explosion happened in an barren area of the plaza, but the dirt and dust it kicked up were blinding.

Ken leapt away from the Monokuma Statue Dragon, and scanned the sky. When he saw one missile arcing downwards towards him, he sprinted away. The statue reached for him, and the missile struck its damaged arm instead.

The explosion was enough to propel Ken down to the ground, even though he didn't receive the brunt of it. As he pulled himself up, he was looking right at the Bear's Motel.

He blinked his eyes, and then it was engulfed in fire and exploding from within. A rush of wind, an impact like a full-body punch, came with the motel being obliterated by a missile attack. He was sent flying backwards, skidding across the concrete rubble that used to be the statue's arm; he could feel it cutting through his clothing and scratching his back.

The missiles soared off into the air, and started coming down all over Penjar. A few of the abandoned buildings were decimated by explosions. Ye Olde Taxidermy Shop was blown to smithereens, the animal statues scattering all over the rubble. The main plaza was bombarded with missiles, leaving craters and smoldering rubble.

Isaac could see all of this from Town Hall, holding Fiora in his arms. He dared not go outside, because every time he thought a mad dash would be enough, another missile would explode outside of the building, as if ordering him to stay put.

"Look, they're droppin' us presents," Fiora cheered, lolling her head back and laughing in celebration. "But why're they explodin'?"

"What the hell," Isaac shouted, "is going on over there?!"

The Guardian had settled down, as the missiles continued to pound down into the ground and buildings across Penjar. Ken got to his feet, and noticed that the Monokuma Statue Dragon was completely missing an arm. Monokid was still rocking out on his guitar, while Monodam crash-landed right beside Ken.

"OW."

Ken narrowed his eyes at the stone statue, trying to think of how to destroy such a thing. Then an idea crossed his head, as he glanced down at the upside-down Monodam, and he grinned.

"Hey Monokuma," he shouted at the bear. "I dare you to come and try to punt me!"

" **Ha! You think this bear will take the dare?** " Monokuma shouted from atop his statue ride. " **How about I just claw you to pieces with my statue's one good arm?** "

"Your mother was a gerbil, and your father smelt of wheat and malt!"

" **Whatever, Novoselic twerp! Now prepare to be smashed by my statue!** "

The Monokuma Stone Dragon pulled back its one remaining arm, ready to attack again in a way that was going to become increasingly difficult, and eventually impossible, for Ken to counter. He had to think fast…

"I have one question for you before you do that."

" **And what would that, Ken?** "

"Who is Mr. Beardsley?"

" **… MR. BEARDSLEY!?** " Monokuma screamed. " **Stop saying that GODDAMN name! That's it, I'mma punt a runt!** "

The Monokuma Statue Dragon sprinted, off-balance but still rather fast, right towards Ken. Though the cavalryman, with all his years of experience, was faster, and he leapt away from the kick…

Which resulted in the Monokuma Statue Dragon punting Monodam through the air, and the green Kub clanged off the head of the Guardian. There was a moment of silence, and then the missile compartments again opened up on the enormous robot.

" **Whoopsie-poopsie,** " Monokuma remarked. " **Did I do that?** "

The scream of missiles echoed throughout the plaza, most of them flew off into the air. The rain of death and destruction persisted throughout Penjar, with several more buildings being obliterated.

Monokuma scratched the back of his head with his katana, muttering, " **Huh, I guess I really did need to remodel. Alright then, Kenny Ken Kenneth, your time has… huh?** "

The despair bear couldn't see the cavalryman anywhere in front of his statue ride. Monokuma turned around on top of his statue, only to see Ken right behind his concrete creation.

Ken waved good-bye to Monokuma, who squinted in confusion. He turned back to see one of the missiles swoop down from the sky and come right for his statue. There was a terrific explosion, annihilating the front of the Monokuma Stone Dragon.

Monokuma pinwheeled his arms, trying to maintain balance, then looked up at the sky to see more missiles coming down, one right at him. " **Well,** " he muttered as he slumped down, " **fu-** "

The missiles pounded down on top of the statue, and also down on the Monokuma's Arcade District. The entire area was engulfed in flames, flying rubbing, and the impact of the missiles. Ken covered his face with his arms, as he felt the intensity burn, bite, and batter him from all angles.

The screams he let out to endure the pain were eventually engulfed by the noise. Inside of the trial room, everyone started to feel the nausea and light-headedness that comes from staring at something too bright.

"W-wait," Fannie cried out, "Ishi… Ishi, yo-"

The light became so overwhelming, radiating menacingly from the screens inside of the trial room. It became too painful to look at. Everyone closed their eyes, but the glare burned into their retinas, the ringing in their ears, as it felt like a nuke had nullified their senses.

They couldn't see, they couldn't hear, they could barely breathe with how paralyzing that excessive light was. Ishiku held onto Fannie, and he felt like she was trying to say something, as she clutched onto his tunic.

Isaac, still holding onto Fiora, watched as what looked like a nuclear blast went off in the western plaza. The missiles were still landing, blowing buildings apart and sending debris scattering across the main plaza. The reporter turned away from the light, as Fiora slurred from his arms, "Dun look inta tha light, Isaac-an…"

…

…

* * *

…

…

The western plaza was so enveloped in an overpowering glare, it lasted like an echo that wouldn't go away. Ken stood still, his feet planted on the ground, his clothing partially shredded with blood leaking from multiple cuts and jagged scratches all over his body. He let out a long exhale, lowering his arms as the tip of his sword clanged against the stone walkway.

He didn't even react when a samurai helmet came crashing down with a horrible clatter nearby him. The head of Monokuma fell down too, impaling on one of the horns of the helmet. Finally, Monodam came spiraling down, landing on his flat head.

Ken scanned the area, searching for any more threats. The Guardian was moving away, disengaging from the firefight that had just happened. The psychic's tent had burned to ash, the arcade and the motel were demolished and smoldering, the plaza had been ravaged by heat and impact explosions.

Monokid, scarred by the flash burns, was clutching his guitar as he also surveying the scene. He let out a cheer, pumping his arms into the air, and then slammed his guitar down on the base, smashing it to pieces.

"Now that's what I call an execution! Hell yeah! Fuck yeah! How you holding up there, survivor man?"

Ken took in a sharp breath, as the pain from his injuries came rushing in after the adrenaline left. He clutched his stomach with his free hand, wincing as his breathing grew labored.

"Internal injuries," he remarked, before spitting out blood from his mouth. "Had 'em before, I know how serious they are."

"Sounds like you need a medical station," Monokid remarked. "You ain't got three buddies with first-aid kits, so you gotta rely on your perks of this town. As a survivor of the execution, you get 'em all! Haw haw haw!"

The cavalryman glanced over at the blue Kub, and muttered, "Very well then, good to know you can keep your word on that. For a while, I thought you rigged the executions."

"Hell no! Now go on, go get patched up. We'll be waiting for you afterwards, official citizen of Penjar!"

"I refute that title, you slubberdegullion."

Ken started walking towards the asylum, sheathing his sword in the process. Every part of his body ached, he felt shooting pains inside as he moved. Cursing in his native tongue over how much agony he was feeling, he was already sweating and gnashing his teeth when he got to the entrance of the asylum.

Leaning on the outside to catch his breath, he strained to breath in without it feel like someone hit his chest with a sledgehammer. Once he steadied himself, the cavalryman walked into the asylum, towards the medical room.

"Damn it all," he cursed as he had to lean against the wall for support. It was only the first hallway, and he felt like something was dragging him down, like gravity was painfully pulling on his body.

He strained to glance down the hallway. It seemed to stretch in his vision, like if the building was supernaturally becoming longer. This was just one of three hallways to get to the medical room, and he was dreading the distance. The agony was becoming more acute with every step, but there was no other way but forward.

"Heh, you think you've beaten me, Monokuma?" Ken snapped out loud. "I will overcome this, and destroy your evil town, and you! And all of Despair!"

"Aren't you forgetting a few things?"

Ken froze up, as if the room hit absolute zero. That voice, he remembered it, though it was impossible. The cavalryman, slumped against the wall on his shoulder, was like a statue with wide eyes and holding an arm across his stomach.

He shivered, not out of pain, then he finally cast his eyes to the side, staring at the source of the voice in the hallway with him.

Saiko Kobayashi stood there, hands in her pockets, staring him down. Her chest was stained with blood, a deep cut in her top that showcased a fatal wound. There was no blood dripping from the cut, there was no agony in Saiko's stoic visage, there wasn't even any breathing coming from the woman.

Yet she stood there, casually looking over Ken as if she was awaiting a response. The cavalryman started to stammer in horror, but then he groaned and muttered, "Oh yes… the hallucinations of this asylum. You're not here."

He started to trudge down the hallway, slowly but surely making his way. The pain increased, but he didn't falter. Neither did Saiko, who walked alongside him.

"You cannot ignore me if I'm speaking what's on your mind," the forensic investigator said, shrugging her shoulders. "I would know what's on your mind better than anyone."

"Silence, you murderous harpy," he spat out. "I did the world a favor by getting rid of you, you were a shameless killer and a perverter of justice."

"What does that make you? You murdered me, you've probably killed Fannie and Fiora, and you were going to have everyone else die so you could survive."

"The majority of the people in that trial room were all guilty of something or another," Ken murmured as he turned the corner down the second hallway towards the medical room. He doubled over in pain, catching himself on the wall, huffing and panting as he tried to endure it.

"Do you really believe that? Did it feel good when you tore Hikari's heart out?" Saiko asked, crossing her arms as she watched him. "She trusted you, so many of them did. They were incredulous to the end."

"Heh… it's better that they see me as a monster, if they truly are innocent. As a weapon of Chaos now, I am not to have any restrictions."

Ken slammed his fist against the wall, and his eyes started to bubble with that chaotic powers that churned inside of him. "This was the only way, I saw the truth."

"You saw a path, one of many," Saiko said, leaning against the opposite wall. "It's so odd, how much you allowed Chaos to overtake you, like you didn't have any defenses to begin with."

"Despair ruined everything for me, destroying my home, killing the royal family. It still persists, you see it all over the news, another Killing Game, another atrocity, and Novoselic still hasn't collected itself. I…"

He stopped, then glared at over at Saiko. "Why am I arguing with a hallucination of a dead person? Be gone, I shan't listen to you."

As he stumbled forward, Saiko casually walked alongside him. "You cannot simply just see me as a murderer. You saw other sides of me, you saw how Eisei and I were happy together," she said, shrugging again. "I was a bit of an ice queen, never letting anyone near me because I felt like I didn't feel like I deserved it. My two friends were the only ones I cared about…

"I know how much it's bothering you. You're thinking right now if I truly deserved my death, if you truly did the right thing. You're not sure of yourself, you're second guessing."

Ken snarled as the chaotic bubbling in his eyes frothed, and he swung at her. His hand passed through her, like swinging through the wind. She merely blinked at him.

"Better save your strength there, Ken," she responded. "You haven't got much time left, and you know it."

"Yes," he growled, as he continued onwards again, "and I should definitely not be listening to you."

"Oh, I'm just what is on your mind, buddy," she replied. "You're so sure that Chaos is going to be the counter to Despair, you dove into the deep end. Though you know the problems that have come up now with your actions."

Ken scoffed, trudging forward to the dark hallway. He was almost there. "And what would that be, you mind reading harpy?"

"You used your medical benefit to heal the injury you gave to Blake. It's spent, you cannot use the medical room to heal yourself."

The Novoselic cavalryman froze up again, as he gripped onto the corner of the wall towards the dark hallway. He coughed up blood again, the crimson life force staining the floor. Spitting the rest out of his mouth, he glared at Saiko, then laughed bitterly.

"Yes, I had thought of that," he said as he turned the corner. The dark hallway, which seemed to be a tunnel enshrouded in sinister shadows, was now the final step. "But you know what else I know?

"That by surviving the execution, the town has granted me all the benefits that comes with it. I have full access, and I will use that machine too. Then, after I have recovered-"

"If you do."

Saiko was suddenly not beside Ken, but in front of him. He flinched, but move onwards with an annoyed snarl, passing through her like the air itself.

"The others know where you are," she said as he shifted through her nonexistent body. "You will have to be put under when you get on that medical chair, you require operations on your internal organs. What's stopping them from beating you, killing you even?"

Ken laughed again, his eyes frothing with chaotic bubbles. "Foolish woman, they cannot do that. I am a citizen of Penjar now, the bears told me so. If I am attacked, the Guardian will destroy them, and they all just witnessed the absolute power of that machine.

"So spare me your attempts to hinder me," he said as he gripped one of the doors for support. The hallway's rooms with their glass walls, showcasing the horrific manners of "medicine" in them. "I am going to fix myself, and then ravage Despair across the world."

"I see."

Saiko was by his side again. "So you've been granted all powers and benefits of Penjar, and you're protected by the Guardian from anyone who'd want revenge."

"Yes! And then, then I will use my knowledge and strength, and my newfound ally of Chaos to destroy Despair once and for all!"

"By relying entirely on Despair to keep you alive."

Ken was so startled by this statement, he slid down while clutching the door handle. It opened, and he fell into the room. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling. "Wh-what?"

"I said," Saiko, who was suddenly sitting down next to Ken, right where the door had been before it swung away, "you're relying entirely on Despair to survive right now."

"N-no. I'm not-"

"You became a citizen of Penjar, you require their tools and medicine to keep you alive, and you need it for your protection. Please tell me how that is not relying on Despair."

Ken was silent, wide-eyed, heavy breathing. He couldn't focus on one area in particular to look at, his pupils darted around frantically. Nonsensical words elicited from him, as if he were struggling to make words out of them.

"So you have immersed yourself in Despair, so far that everyone would say that you are its ally," Saiko continued, crossing her arms as she spoke in that matter-of-fact manner she was known for. "One could even say you are a follower of Despair."

"Sh-shut up… shut up! I am not thinking these things!"

"You murdered me, so you'd think I was bitter, but I'm merely speaking the truth. I am not sure why you're now so devoted to Chaos when now you're in it with Despair. Although…"

"Although what?!" Ken barked, before he violently coughed up more blood. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall, before he hacked and coughed, his life force spewing from his mouth. He glared at Saiko, blood coating his lips and chin. "You… you manipulative-"

"Don't you remember when it was discussed that Despair and Chaos are quite close together? They are rivals, eager to prove the other more triumphant. You think Chaos is your weapon, your ally?"

Saiko shook her head, her blue pigtails swinging back and forth. "Chaos used you. You know it deep down, but you let your anger and fears get to you. Your scars…"

"That… that word…"

"Drake was right, but it could also be implying that you'd stain your future with blood, drenching it in scarlet," the hallucination said, pacing back and forth in front of Ken. "Either way, you know what it means?

"It means Chaos corrupted you, and made you do what it wanted, with just one word. Just one word, and you did everything chaos would want: you killed someone no one would expect, you were the culprit no one would guess, you set up someone that people were dubious about.

"Now tell me, Ken Kishi, how is it different than anything Despair would have done? How are you any different than those fanatics, the ones who destroyed your home? Because you aren't a knight any more, you don't have honor…

"You just have blood all over your hands, because you thought that you could harness the power of Despair's sibling."

Ken hacked, coughed, and then held up one of his hands in front of his face. Blood had stained his fingers and palm, and though he knew it was from his own injuries, his mind flashed back to when he killed Saiko. He thought of his honorable fellow knights, he thought of his princess, his home, the ones he had attacked in the trial room…

And the bubbling, chaotic mess in his eyes faded away, replaced with tears running down his face. "What… what have I done?"

Saiko shook her head, sighing deeply before saying, "You need to do what you can now."

Ken stared down at his hand, then up at Saiko, though she was no longer there. The cavalryman, with tears streaming down his eyes, put his bloody hands on the ground, and started to push himself up…

* * *

 **Day 17, 1:03 AM**

 **Main Plaza**

 **Town Hall**

Isaac stared out at the plaza before him, then dared to peek out at the sky above from out of the doorway. There were no more missiles in the sky, no more dangers. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then carried Fiora down the steps.

"Just hang in there a bit longer, Fiora," he said, trying to support her as best he could. "I'm going to get you to the asylum, we're going to fix you up. Just stay with me, it's best you don't fall asleep."

"Buh _daddy_ , I dun wanna go to _skool_ tooday, _eh_ ," she slurred, holding up a bloodstained hand in objection. "I wanna _shtay_ home an' _bake_ _cookees_ wish _youuuu_."

"That's great, Fiora, stay with me."

"Urrrgh, tha _mists_ seem reelly _mad_ at us…"

Isaac, as he moved as fast as he could while carrying her, noticed that too. The mists in this forsaken town were swirling aggressively, almost as if they were trying to strike at those that waded through them. It had been like this for some time now, and he wondered what it could mean.

Though it concerned the reporter, he couldn't focus on it. Fiora had been in his arms for a while, and so they, as well as his legs, felt like burning lead. It hurt, it was incredibly sore, but he wasn't going to stop. Every step was necessary, and he willed himself to move forward.

"Fiora, talk to me. Tell me anything, even about your movies."

"Wha _happa_ , _Ishak_? Did… did shumwun _die_? Ish that why we _wur_ in tha _trial_ _rum_?"

Isaac took a moment to catch his breath, and nudge her while saying, "Keep your hand on your wound, Fiora, we're almost there."

* * *

 **Day 17, 1:06 AM**

 **Swordswoman Trial Room**

Everyone inside of the trial room stirred, finding themselves collasped on the floor. There was a ringing in their ears, and a blur in their vision, thanks to the overpowering light from the screens.

Said screens were retracting up into the ceiling. The graduates all tried to collect themselves, as some of them gripped the podiums and picked themselves up.

"Goddamn," Crystal groaned as she shook her head. "That'll teach us to look directly into a flash bang, or whatever that was."

"Is there any way he survived that?" Pyrrha asked, rubbing her eyes before looking over at the military adviser. "I mean, Ken… dear God, what happened there?"

Her friend shrugged, glancing around the room. The first thing she noticed was that the statues around the trial chamber were all decapitated. The heads were all missing, and rubble scattered across the floor around them.

"Monokuma blew the heads off of the statues?" she asked. "Why would he-"

"NO! FANNIE!"

Crystal whipped around to the shrill scream of Ishiku. The magician was clutching Fannie's body, shaking her and gently patting her face. "Wake up, please wake up!"

Anzu hurried over to them, and gasped in horror at how pale Fannie was. The terrible wound wasn't pumping out blood anymore, just a slight dribble as if there was nothing left. She covered her mouth in shock, as Ishiku tried to wake Fannie up.

"C-come on, don't fall asleep," Ishiku pleaded with the silent, unmoving woman in his arms. "We gotta get you out of here. Please, please…"

Shuuya moved in, placing his fingers against Fannie's neck. There were a few seconds, and then the bounty hunter sighed. "Ishiku, she's gone."

"N-no! She's not gone yet! Y-you know how people can cling to life, even after their pulse is gone! Please, help me!"

He struggled to lift up Fannie, but he was trembling too much. Pyrrha sobbed, covering her mouth as she struggled, and failed, to contain her emotions. Drake was also shivering and crying, watching Ishiku's attempts in horror and sorrow.

"Ishiku, it's no use," Shuuya said.

"Don't tell me to give up, Goddamn you! She can still make it!"

"Ishiku, she's bled out. I know the sight of someone who's bled to death, she's gone."

"She cannot be gone… she can't be. Fannie… FANNIE!"

Ishiku sobbed, burying his face against her shoulder. The white 'n pink-topped gal's head leaned back, her eyes closed in an almost content expression. The trial room echoed with his agonized crying.

Futaba let out a long, shuddering sigh. Kimiko punched her podium, kicking at it too in utter frustration. Souma, still holding Ishiku's staff, hung his head in mourning. Odelios and Hikari stared, unable to think of what they could say or do.

Blake, however, knew what he would say and do. "Aw, the vapid bitch with big tits died while we were all out of it?" he asked aloud, then laughed. "Well, no big loss, she wasn't to be trusted anyway!"

The graduates locked up, unable to fully comprehend what he had just said. Ishiku's sobbing turned into heaving gasps, as he glanced up at the pyro with the utmost furious glare, tears streaming down from his eyes.

"Oh what are you going to do, shrimp?" Blake snapped. "You gonna cry like a little bitch over that piece of ass? I told you before to man up, and-"

He was cut short when a fist collided with his face, knocking him down to the ground. It wasn't Ishiku who had done it, as the magician still clutched Fannie's body. The one who had slugged Blake was now standing over him, and punching him in the chest repeatedly.

"You _bastard_ ," Yitro shouted, his voice ragged with emotions, mostly fury. "You _fucking bastard_! I could kill you! I'm gonna-"

Shuuya's strong hands grabbed Yitro's shirt and pulled him back. The swordsman was almost too much for the bounty hunter to handle, until another person assisted in pushing him away from Blake. Eisei's hands, while small and not as strong, were clutching Yitro at his front, keeping him back.

"No, don't do this," Eisei implored, as Yitro struggled but eventually settled. "Don't make this worse, he isn't worth it."

"He… he tried to kill us!" Yitro shouted, gripping at the floor to contain himself. "He tried to make me look like the killer by lying to you all!"

"Wait a minute, that's right," Futaba cried out, furiously pointing at Blake. "You did try to get us all killed!"

"You evil bastard," Kimiko snarled, approaching the pyro as he was trying to pull himself up. Hikari stood in-between the two, holding back the enraged biker leader. "Are you really that… that crazy?!"

Blake was squatting, hands on his knees, spitting blood out. He laughed before responding. "You know what? Maybe yeah. Maybe I just hate you all that much, maybe I just wanted to see everything burn down."

Souma let out a frustrated groan, shaking his head before pointing Ishiku's staff at Blake. "You wanted Despair to win? You came to Penjar to destroy it, Mr. Shokyaku, but now you suddenly wish for it to be triumphant? What caused this unpredictable madness that took over your mind?"

"Heh, maybe I'm going to pull a Ken, and wish for Chaos to win."

Blake spat out the rest of the blood in his mouth, and then lifted his head. His eyes were bubbling, frothing, churning with the madness that Ken had, that Samson had, of Chaos.

" **I'mma gonna have fun with this town if I cannot burn it all down.** "

He strode over to the elevator, and pressed the button for it to be called. It opened immediately, and he rode it up, alone.

Everyone left in the trial room was so shocked, no one could speak or even move. It wasn't until Ishiku tried to pick up Fannie's body, failing to do so due to his sapped strength.

"Ishiku, don't," Anzu pleaded. "You won't gain anything by taking her back up there."

"I can't leave her here," Ishiku murmured. "Not here, in Monokuma's trial room."

"It matters not where you would try to put her to rest," Eisei said, approaching the magician and placing his small hand on his shoulder. "The bodies of the fallen are taken away, we cannot give them a proper burial. We can pay tribute to her…

"Just as we'll have to mourn for Saiko," he added, clutching his hand over his heart. "Just like everyone else we have lost here in this wretched town."

"Everyone," Crystal declared, waving her hand in the air to gather their attention with movement, "we have to get out of here now. Isaac and Fiora may need our help, and we need to keep tabs on Blake… not to mention how the town has been changed a great deal."

"No rest for the wicked," Kimiko said with a sigh. She pushed the button on the elevator, as it started to come down for them. "Let's go now, eh, we need to see what happened 'oot there. If Ken's still alive…"

"Yes, if he's alive," Futaba spoke up, crossing her arms, "what exactly are we going to do about it?"

The two women exchanged glances, both of them knowing what was going on in the other's head, and they didn't know what they should say or do. Shuuya approached them, standing in front of the elevator.

"Allow me to handle him, everyone else should stay the hell away from that new agent of Chaos," the bounty hunter said, cracking his knuckles. "If he survived that explosion, I'll handle him; we cannot allow him to leave Penjar, his misguided attempts to restore his home could scar the world."

"Goddamn, don't remind us of that 'scarlet' word," Yitro muttered, crossing his arms. "It's hard to believe that Chaos converted him over one word."

There was a soft gasp from behind them, and they turned to see Drake covering his mouth in horror. "Wh-what if Ken is going to the asylum to use the healing device?"

"Ken spent his one-time usage of that healing chair," Futaba responded, "when he cured Blake. He won't be able to use it."

"I'm more concerned about what will happen if he runs into Isaac and Fiora, if he still tries to use it!"

The graduates exchanged glances over this, eyes widening in fear of the possibility. Kimiko started frantically pushing the button to the elevator, snarling, "Hurry the fuck up, you bitch elevator!"

"That doesn't help," Eisei said, his matter-of-fact tone drained of emotion; it was like the dentist was running on auto-pilot now. He was holding onto Ishiku's shoulder, the magician refusing to release Fannie.

"We all need to get out there," Souma instructed the group. "Ken might be at the asylum, or he may be going to armory that's in the southern plaza; we cannot allow him to arm himself. We need to split up, and cover all the ground we can.

"Please take the utmost of care, we don't know what Ken is possible of, but we need to find out what our next step is. And we don't know what else Monokuma has in store for us."

"I'm going to the asylum," Yitro snarled, gripping the handle of his sword. "If he's there, he's not getting away from us."

"Allow me to retrieve some things from my house," Shuuya instructed him. "We need to take him alive, it's unknown if there are consequences for trying to kill someone who survived an execution."

Ignatia pat Drake's back, then gestured to some of the others. She held up her phone, which read out for her, [As many of us as possible should search the southern plaza. We need to find the armory, and everywhere else to see if Ken is hiding there too.]

Kimiko growled as she pushed the elevator button more. "We just need to get the hell 'oot of here! Goddamn, we shouldn't have let Blake go alone, why did we let that happen? Goddamnit, Goddamnit, Goddamnit!

"Argh! Soo'ry, everyone, I'm joo'st so frustrated," she apologized, shaking her head as she continued to push the button. The biker leader cast a glance at Hikari, who stood in place, staring down at the floor. "Hikari, doo'nt woo'ry, we're going to settle this with'oot any moo'r death. You okay?"

The steampunk model stared at her, and shook her head. As the elevator dinged, she muttered softly, "I'm getting the hell out of this town."

Kimiko balked at this, as the doors opened and everyone started to move in. Eisei gently pulled Ishiku, and the magician finally released Fannie's body. Placing her as dignified as he could, Ishiku walked into the elevator, a desolate look in his eyes.

Crystal was the last one in the elevator, but before the doors closed, she turned to the trial room once more. Scanning, surveying the entire room, her brain was burning with the thought of something wrong.

Fannie lay dead on the floor, the same floor stained with blood and rubble from the decapitated samurai statues. Monokuma and his two surviving Kubs were nowhere to be seen. Nothing else was out of place, though it still was nagging at her in the back of her head.

"Crystal?" Odelios spoke up, gently nudging her as she was standing in the doorway of the elevator.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I just," she muttered as she walked into the elevator, which allowed the doors to finally close, "I just have this terrible feeling we forgot something…"

* * *

 **Day 17, 1:15 AM**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

 **Main Hallway**

Isaac snarled as he moved down the faintly-lit corridor of this wretched place. He didn't stop for a moment, even though he could hear angry squeaks from fierce rats, hisses from snakes, and indiscernible noises that he could only guess were oversized scorpions and spiders. The asylum made him feel like he was walking through an infested hell.

As he made his way to the darkest hallway of the asylum, he could see dark shadows scurrying across the floor. It reminded him of scarabs, those dreadful insects that were like piranha when there was a dead body. Isaac felt a surge of adrenaline, determined to not be carrying one.

Pushing his hip against the doors to the medical station, he was almost blinded with how well-lit and bright the room was. Placing Fiora on the chair, he hurried over to the touch screen.

"Come on, come on, come on," he said, placing his hand on the scanner. Filling out the questionnaire that followed, he watched as the machine chair started to move, with all the medical gizmos came to life.

"Woohoo, I'm in the future," Fiora cheered, pumping her fists in the air.

"Fiora," Isaac started to say, before another voice cut him off.

"PLEASE-HOLD-STILL," Monodam, who was suddenly at the foot of the medical chair, called up to Fiora. "REMOVE-ALL-CLOTHING-THAT-COVERS-THE-WOUND."

Fiora blinked, glancing around and not able to see the green Kub. "Is that… is that my inner urges? Telling me to strip? Ooo, I'm more naughty than I thought!"

The movie maker moved to undo her vest, but then pain shot through her body. She winced, knocking her out of her goofy state and into the harsh reality she was now in. Glancing frantically around the room, she noticed Isaac, and asked, "P-please help me. It hurts to move."

Isaac nodded, and unbuttoned her vest for her, then her shirt. Pulling off her cravat and setting it to the side, she lay there with her clothing opened except for her bra, and the bloody wound near her stomach still leaking her vital life fluids.

"Oh God," she whimpered as she stared at that injury. "I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die, Isaac, I'm gonna die…"

"No, you're not going to die," he assured her, taking her hand and holding onto it. "You're going to make it."

"Isaac," she stared up at him with misty eyes, and then muttered, "who died? I joo'st woke up in the trial room… t-tell me…

"Did… did Shinobu die? Just tell me 'oor plan worked, we wanted to stop Monokuma from enslaving the cubs…"

Isaac stared down at her, still clutching her hand as he tried to find the words. Before he could, an oxygen mask was placed over Fiora's mouth and nose, and she went wide-eyed for a second before passing out.

"ANESTHETIC-WORKS-FAST," Monodam, standing on one of the contraption's arms, explained aloud, "WHEN-THE-PATIENT-NEEDS-IT."

"Monodam, she was delusional," Isaac blurted out, as he gently set down Fiora's arm. "Couldn't you have… wait no, never mind. She was in pain. Is she going to be alright?"

"JUDGING-FROM-SCANS-AND-THE-EFFECIENCY-OF-OUR-MACHINE-HERE, IT-IS-MOST-LIKELY-SHE-WILL-PULL-THROUGH," Monodam remarked. "WHICH-IS-BEST-FOR-ALL-PARTIES-INVOLVED-TO-GET-ALONG, ESPECIALLY-THE-BASTARD-THAT-STABBED-HER."

Isaac bristled at remembering who was responsible for that. He glanced at the doors to the medical room, which had swung closed at this point. "Wait, what if Ken comes into this room? What if he attacks Fiora?"

Monodam stared silently at him, then Fiora, at the doors, then just stood there. Isaac, knowing that trying to drag answers out of this cub in particular, heaved out a sigh as he crossed his arms.

"Guess I'll just have to stand vigilance here," he said, as he watched the machines move over Fiora.

The doors to the room creaked. Isaac glanced over at them, half-expecting Ken to come barging in, but they stayed only a couple inches open. He sighed again, and shook his head. "Wish I had a weapon with me right now. Damn asylum."

"Yes," said a voice outside of the room, through the small crack the doors were open, "it truly did suck for us, didn't it Isaac?"

Isaac almost fainted, he felt his heart skip a beat. He was still breathing hard and sweating from carrying Fiora all that way, but now he had a ringing in his ears that was like his brain trying to drown out the world to keep him sane.

"No," he whispered, then shouted, "NO! No no no, you aren't doing this to me, you Goddamn asylum!"

"Isaac, can I please talk to you?"

"No, you go away!" The reporter shouted, hurrying over to the doors and closing them, ensuring he didn't look through them. "I know this is just another game Monokuma is trying to play with me!"

"It's important that I show you something."

"GET AWAY FROM HERE!" Isaac hollered as loud as he could. "You're not Saiko! Saiko is dead!"

A soft laugh came out from the hallway, the kind that Saiko would always make whenever he told a silly joke. "I know, I really am dead. This is just a representation of me in your mind, Isaac."

The reporter stormed away from the doors, not interested in entertaining this notion anymore. He stood nearby Fiora, silently fuming

"IT-MIGHT-BE-FOR-THE-BEST-THAT-YOU-HEED-HER."

Isaac glared at Monodam. "And why in the lowest level of Hell would I want to let that hallucination of my friend use me? You just want me to suffer more."

"THERE-IS-SOMEONE-IN-THIS-ASYLUM-THAT-YOU-NEED-TO-SEE."

Glancing between Monodam and the doors, Isaac contemplated everything that could possibly happen. "How do I know this isn't a ploy to leave Fiora unattended?"

"CODE-173-OF-PENJAR'S-SAFETY-AND-REGULATION-STATES-THAT-WHOMEVER-IS-BEING-HELPED-BY-OUR-MEDICAL-CHAIR-CANNOT-BE-HARMED."

"That didn't stop Ken from cutting Blake when he was in this chair."

"BLAKE'S-TREATMENT-WAS-DONE. HE-WAS-RESTING-IN-THE-CHAIR. THUS-HARM-COULD-COME-TO-HIM; HARM-CANNOT-COME-TO-FIORA. ALSO-I-AM-HERE."

"It's still not something I wish to do-"

One of the doors swung open, slamming against the wall. Isaac spun around, and saw Saiko standing there, arm outstretched. During that moment, the fatal wound in her chest with the blood on her clothing were obvious. She tucked her hands into her pockets, staring at Isaac.

"Now come on, Isaac," she said, shaking her head as she chuckled, "I haven't got all day."

Isaac stared at her, shocked so badly that he felt like his chest was going to explode. He stared at her, a hallucination so realistic that he would've thought she was standing there if he didn't know better. The reporter walked over to her, and tried to put his hand on her shoulder…

It passed through her, and she laughed again. "Now now, you know I'm not here. I'm more or less a hologram that your mind is making, thanks to this damned place. I don't blame you for not trusting it, even if part of it comes from your head."

"I… I don't understand," he stammered, kneeling down in front of her to be eye-to-eye with her. "You're discouraging me now?"

"Isaac, you knew me better than anyone else, and I'm here as a collection of memories from you, and from myself when I was here that first day. Think of it like an AI, one built on your memories…

"And since I was always such a skeptical woman, of course I'm going to say it's foolish to trust this hallucination of me. I'm sorry, Isaac."

She took a deep breath, and let it out with a shudder. Her eyes were misty, like she was ready to cry. "It's actually quite awful, I have a sense of being, so I know I'm not real. I'm just a projection. At the very least, I hope it means that I cannot hurt you, my dear Isaac."

Saiko turned around, as if trying to hide her emotions. "Just follow me, please. It's not too far down this hallway, that thing you need to see. Fiora will be fine, nothing can stop that crazy girl."

Isaac watched the hallucination walk down the hallway, and stop in front of one of the rooms. She turned her head towards him and waited, as if she had all the time in the world to stay there until he came over. Mentally cursing his overwhelming curiosity, the reporter headed out into the hallway over to her.

When he moved up next to Saiko, she pointed into the room. It was so dark, he couldn't make out what was inside, mostly due to how shaded and dirty the glass wall was. He walked inside, and a terrible smell hit his nostrils.

He turned his head towards the source of the smell, down on the ground and up against the wall…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Ken Kishi was slumped against the wall, head hanging down. Blood had pooled around him and his hand was drenched in it, palm up and shining with the red life fluid coating it.

Nearby him was a message, written with his own blood:

 **I'M SORRY**

 **I WAS WRONG**

 **DON'T LET THEM WIN**

The Novoselic's penmanship, even with his own blood and using his fingers, was rather fine. Isaac couldn't see him breathing, couldn't see any signs of life.

He knelt down in front of the cavalryman, and checked for his pulse. Nothing. Isaac even studied his eyes, checked again for a pulse, and even for a heartbeat.

Ken Kishi, the Ultimate Cavalryman, was dead. Isaac, who had felt so much hatred for this man, stepped back and tried to collect his thoughts. He took several deep breaths, that smell of blood thick in the air.

"He could have headed to the medical chair, but his conscience got to him," Saiko said, standing nearby Ken's body. "With the last of his strength, he painted that message out for you all to see."

"Wh-what?" Isaac stammered. "How do you know that?"

"I was here. Well, the asylum was, it's like a massive information gatherer, Isaac. When Ken moved through this building, he was thinking of me. … Or rather, about Saiko.

"Sorry, I know it's upsetting that I keep referring to myself as the real thing. You should know that Ken realized how he had been manipulated by Chaos, and Despair. Another casualty in the war against those evils."

"He murdered you!" Isaac blurted out, turning towards her. "He killed you over a hodgepodge of ludicrous reasons and bullshit! Why are you defending him?!"

"I'm not. I told you before, I'm not Saiko; I'm just the memory of her that you have. And you know better than anyone that even though I came off as a snarky ice queen, you know I'm not spiteful…

"Just like I know you aren't either. Isaac, we both know you aren't capable of such hatred."

He was silent for a minute, just staring between the hallucination of Saiko and the body of Ken Kishi. The reporter slumped down on one leg, gripping his hair and beanie.

"We should have left," he said, trying to contain his emotions. "We should have gotten the hell out of this damn town."

"What's done is done, Isaac. I'm sorry that you have to endure this pain, just know that wherever Saiko is, she's watching over you.

"And don't name any future daughters after her, she'd hate that."

Both Isaac and Saiko laughed, despite everything. "That's definitely something she would say," he admitted. "She cringed when Hara suggested we do that. Oh dear…"

He laughed again, then he let out a long sigh. Standing up, he stared down at the short hallucination, and muttered, "I wish I could actually say good-bye to you, Saiko. Wish that more than anything in the world."

"I know, I'm not the real woman. But here, if you want to put your hand on my shoulder…"

She moved until she phased through the cabinets near Ken's body. Her shoulder disappeared inside of it, her body resembling a video game graphic clipping through a solid object. "Here, now you can."

Isaac intrepidly reached forward, and put his hand on the cabinet right where her shoulder was. She smiled up at him, and regardless of how off it felt, it still was as close as he could be to saying good-bye.

Tears sprung from his eyes, as he sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Saiko."

"I know you are. It's okay, Isaac, it wasn't your fault."

"I am going to miss you so damn much. I feel like I took our time for granted."

"Time with you and Hara was the best time of my life. I never regretted it, ever."

"I… I just…"

Isaac could hear heavy footsteps, sprinting down the hallway. There was a loud gasp, and people ran into the room with him.

"Isaac?" Shuuya said, squinting in the darkness. "What are you doing here? Where's-"

He stopped when he saw Ken's body. Nearby Shuuya were Futaba and Yitro, both looking ready to fight at first, then thunderstruck as they saw Ken too.

"So, he didn't make it," Yitro grumbled, sheathing his sword.

"Wait, what's this?" Futaba asked, kneeling down next to Ken's body. "A message?"

"Yeah, he," Isaac started to say, before staring at the cabinet he was leaning on; the hallucination of Saiko was gone. He groaned as he pushed away from it, and continued to speak. "It looks like he saw the error of his ways."

"Isaac, where's Fiora?" Yitro asked earnestly. "Is she in the medical room?"

"Yes, just follow me. She's under right now, but I'm sure she'd appreciate knowing you were there."

The reporter led the swordsman to the medical room, leaving Shuuya and Futaba to inspect Ken's body. Once Yitro saw Fiora, and the machine working on her injury, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness she made it," he said, placing his hand over his heart. "I honestly don't know what I would have done if she had died too."

"'Too'?" Isaac repeated.

"Fannie didn't make it. She bled out before we could leave the trial room."

Isaac shook his head, muttering, "Goddamnit. I feel like we could have trusted her."

"There's more I should actually tell you. Shuuya, Futaba, and I sprinted to this place, we were worried about you and Fiora. Some of the others should be here shortly, though everyone else went to that southern plaza to look for Ken. We'll have to catch with them later.

"Oh, and Blake's gone full Chaos too."

"Are you serious? That bastard."

Before they could speak more, Pyrrha made her way into the room, with Odelios nearby. She noticed Fiora, and let out a sigh of relief like Yitro had. "Thank goodness."

Odelios rubbed his forehead, watching the machine work on Fiora's wound. "There's definitely good news there. Fannie didn't die in vain, she was a good soul to the end."

He turned around, then stared in confusion. "Ishiku?"

Pyrrha turned around, and gasped. "Where is he? He was right beside us!"

"Everyone," Isaac spoke up, "spread out, we need to find him. I have a very bad feeling about this…"

* * *

 **Day 17, Several minutes ago…**

 **Southern Plaza**

Drake stood outside of the Armory, an incredibly large warehouse-like building. There was a huge sign on the side of the metal wall, a colorful lettering stating, "Self-Defense For Bears (and For Deviants Too!)" alongside a picture of Monokuma holding a machine with chains of bullets wrapped around him and the gun.

The cartoonist felt that the message underneath the building's title of " _Eat lead, rule-breaking motherf*ckers!_ " was definitely inappropriate and poor marketing. He glanced over at Ignatia, who was adjusting the brass knuckles on her fingers.

"Are you sure you should be using that?" he sheepishly asked. Her dark, serious stare back at him was enough of an answer.

Nearby the two of them were Eisei and Souma, the former still distraught; even his close friend couldn't reach him, though he was trying. Anzu was near too, pacing nervously back and forth.

"How long as she been in there?" she asked, looking at Drake and Ignatia. "I think we should search more of this plaza, split up more."

"That's not really a good idea," Drake said. "It'd be best we stay close together."

Anzu sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "I am sorry, but I cannot just stand around. If anything happens to me, it's my fault; gonna go check out more of this place."

The actress walked off, and at the same time, Eisei began to wander off as well. Souma was right behind his friend, though at a distance to ensure the dentist had his space.

A couple minutes later, Crystal emerged from the armory warehouse. She sighed, then saw Drake and Ignatia standing there. "Where's everyone else?!"

"They kind of dispersed," Drake admitted, as Ignatia rolled her eyes and gestured in every direction, including up in the sky.

"Disorganized to the end," the military adviser lamented. She rolled in her hand a can of spray paint, and said, "So he's definitely not in there, just a whole lot of weapons that I dread to think are in someone's hands."

"Why do you have that?"

"Oh, Monokuma has a sick sense of humor, there's a spray paint can section marked 'Gang Tagging Tools.' There's examples of the paint, and it's more of those Chaos sayings that were in the Hall of Fame."

She gently tossed the can to Drake, and said, "I figured the artist out of our group should have one, just in case. Or just maybe, your girlfriend there wants to return to her roots."

"Wh-what?" Drake stammered a great deal, peering between Crystal and Ignatia. The mime was glaring at the military adviser, the two women apparently sizing each other up now. "Um, what are you talking about? And she's not-"

"Drake, I did an extensive study on the surviving graduates of Hope's Peak after the Tragedy. Ignatia has quite a history with gangs, street life, and more, before she was accepted into Hope's Peak."

The cartoonist swallowed hard, then shook his head and defiantly stared at Crystal. "That's the past. What's important is now, who she is as a person at this moment. And she's been nothing but helpful to us all, you shouldn't disregard her as a gang member."

Crystal looked between the two of them, Drake's confidence and Ignatia's defiance both on display. She merely smiled, and said, "I guess I am a little leery of trusting people at this point. We should go round up the others, we cannot just them sulk and split up."

The three of them walked down one of the roads, until they noticed a hotel nearby with fading neon lights on the front wall and windows. The building appeared as old and decrepit as the ones that the town consisted of when they first arrived; however, something was off about this hotel.

"Why's the front door open?" Drake asked.

"I've got a bad feeling," Crystal said, as she pulled a pistol out of a holster on her hip; both Drake and Ignatia had missed her wearing it, due to the thick, swirling mists.

"Wh-what are you doing with that?"

"Drake, Ken may be alive and equipped with his sword, or worse. I am not taking any precautions at this point, so stay behind me."

As Crystal and Drake moved towards the open hotel door, Ignatia's eyes caught something. Further down the road that the hotel was on, she swore that something alongside the sidewalk. At first her mind had dismissed it, because of how common it would have been in the world.

Still, the mime could see in the thick of the angry mists of Penjar, those swirling clouds that threatened to obstruct everything, a car parked alongside the road. Ignatia approached it, confused about a car could be here suddenly.

A sharp cry of shock came from inside the hotel, startling the mime gal. She whirled around towards the hotel front door…

And then city exploded with flashing lights and blaring noises, loud and shrill, echoing across the city like a blinding banshee.

 **AWEEEO-WEEEO-WEEEO-WEEEO-WEEEO!**

 **ONHNN! ONHNN! ONHNN! ONHNN!**

 **BWOOOOOOOP! BWOOOOOOOP!**

 **EERNT! EERNT! EERNT! EERNT!**

 **BAAAAAOO! BAAAAAOO! BAAAAAOO!**

* * *

 **Day 17, Several minutes ago…**

 **Housing Area**

 **Hikari Tetsuhime's House**

Kimiko watched as Hikari was stuffing clothing and other items into her suitcases. She wasn't folding them, it was so disorganized that even the biker gang leader thought it was rather discomforting.

"Hikari, listen to me." Kimiko said, holding her hands up. "Leaving isn't going to do you or any of us any good."

"Oh really now?" Hikari bitterly responded as she threw more of her clothes into her suitcase. "I enabled Aka. I enabled Ken. I've been nothing but a bad influence, a distraction, and worst of all, an assistance to several killers in this town!"

"Hikari-"

"Saiko is dead because of me!" The steampunk model shouted as she grabbed her suitcase lid and tried to close it. "You heard what Ken said, he found us all unworthy to live, and I was one of the biggest reasons! I refuse to stay here any longer."

Kimiko sighed hard, and crossed her arms. "Are you really going to take all the credit on that? Doo'nt be vain."

"Excuse me?!"

The biker gal stared down the model, and spoke assertively. "You cannot say you were the reason Ken went doo'n that dark path, Hikari. He made that call, he is responsible fur his actions, not you.

"Or are you going to say that you encouraged Saiko's death? Did you ever say you wanted her dead, did you actively take part in her murder? Did you even tell Aka that someone needed to die, or encourage her to kill someone?"

"N-no," Hikari stammered out, clasping her hands. "But… but I-"

"But nothing, Hikari. I know you feel like you influenced these things to happen, but that's simply not true. Aka was a thrill seeker who desperately wanted life-threatening challenges. Ken was bottling his emotions over his home and country, until it triggered something in him that none of us coo'd have seen coming.

"And I slept with him, Hikari. I had sex with him, I spent time with him, and I even voted for Yitro when it should have bin obvious it was Ken. I knoo' how you feel, I assure you, but you cannot blame yourself.

"Once you go doo'n that road, once you start making everyone, even yourself, be the villain of a story except fur the villain themselves, it leads to one of the worst possible places there is."

Hikari wiped at her tears, smearing mascara on her face that she didn't want to bother cleaning just now. "Wh-what do you mean? What place is that?"

"It's a place where everyone and everything is responsible for another person's actions, and then the whole world becomes the villain. I've bin there, I knoo' what it's like, and you doo'nt want that. I…

"I won't let you go doo'n that roo't, Hikari. I'm soo'ry, but I'm going to be selfish like that. I'm determined to watch over you, and make sure you doo'nt go doo'n that roo't."

Hikari stared at her incredulously, then started to giggle despite it all. "It's just so… odd, hearing that Canadian accent coming from you."

"Is that really what yoo'r gonna focus on?"

"Anything to avoid thinking about all the horrible things that just happened. Saiko, Ken, Fannie… goodness gears, it feels like every time a trial ends, someone is so heartbroken after what happened, that… that…"

The steampunk model trailed off, her messy eyes widening in horror. "Oh no, no no no! Kimiko! We have to hurry!"

"Wh-what? What's gotten into you-"

"Ishiku! He went to the asylum, right? No one's checked up on him!"

Hikari sprinted out of her house and towards the asylum, with Kimiko close behind. The two were in such a mad dash towards the horrific medical building, the amount of mist, and dust from the destroyed buildings, was almost suffocating. The model kept her head up to avoid the thick mixture of dust and mist, and was tilting her head upwards as she headed towards the asylum.

Thus, she could see someone standing in an open window on the third story of the asylum, precariously leaning out.

The steampunk model skidded to a halt, and screamed in horror. She could recognize who it was, even at this distance. "Ishiku! Stop! Stop, oh please don't do it!"

Ishiku, standing on the window frame as he held onto it with one hand and his staff with the other, merely glanced down at Hikari and Kimiko. He took a deep breath, and called out, "I just wandered off and found this room, no bars in the window like all the others. It's like it was a fate."

"Ishiku!" Kimiko shouted. "I knoo' what you're going through. Doo'nt do this."

The magician humorlessly laughed, staring down the three stories. "Oh, a fall this high wouldn't kill me… unless I landed on my head or something. Doubt the machine could cure that."

"Fannie wouldn't want you to do this!" Hikari shouted desperately, clasping her hands together. "Please, you were the one who saw the good in her before all the others! She wouldn't want you to throw your life away!

"We don't want you to do that either! Please, Ishiku, we still care about you!"

Scanning the plaza from his perch, Ishiku saw the rubble and remains of the buildings that had been destroyed during Ken's execution. It felt very fitting to him, as he called back down to the two ladies, "Everything's destroyed. I lost her in such a senseless murder, just like I lost my parents, my friends… it's just always that way since Despair came into my life.

"Everyone I care about dies, and the world gets a big ol' laugh at the stupid magician. I've been blamed, framed, and hurt over and over, and when I took a chance on someone who people were saying was dangerous, she gets murdered and left behind as just another casualty."

He again humorlessly laughed, punching at the window frame; it made him dangerously teeter on the edge. "Just an endless roundabout of pain and suffering and despair! Go ahead and laugh, it's what the world wants! To laugh at people less fortunate, to make fun of others' pain!"

Kimiko and Hikari exchanged desperate glances. "What is he even saying now?" the biker leader asked.

"Darling, he's basically going over every reason why he wants to do it. He's declaring his last words, all of his frustrations that he feels cannot be resolved."

Kimiko grabbed her green hair, cursing. "What do we do, Hikari? Shit, what do we say?"

"I don't know, but I cannot give up on him. We cannot…"

The model froze up, as she watched Ishiku rock back and forth on that window frame. "NO! No no no, oh please, Ishiku, I beg of you! Don't do it!"

Ishiku glanced down at the two ladies, and he dropped his emerald staff. It fell down, and hit the ground with a small bounce; it did not break or bend, it lay there, discarded by its owner.

"It's over," Ishiku called out. "There's NOTHING left for me here on this Earth, just more mockery and sorrow. I'm sorry, but I cannot take it anymore."

"Damn it, Ishiku," Kimiko shouted, running over to where the staff was and opening up her arms, "I will catch you if I have to!"

The magician was snapped out of his anguish, and he stared incredulously at Kimiko. "You know that won't work. You could just get killed instead."

"That's the risk I'm willing to take, Ishiku! Doo'nt you dare throw your life away!"

Ishiku was quiet for a few seconds, staring down at the determined biker leader. He noticed Hikari was heading towards the main entrance, and he called out, "I'm sorry, but I cannot take this anymore. I'll just avoid you, Kimiko… don't look, please, either of you."

He stood up in the window frame as much as he could, gripping the sides, before he pushed himself off…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Though he did not go far, as someone seized him by his clothing from behind. There was a desperate pull, and Ishiku was yanked back inside the building. He crashed to the ground, gasping and straining from how close he was to taking his own life.

When he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around him, keeping him pinned down on the floor, he struggled for a few seconds. Then he lay there, gasping, sobbing, hands shivering as he tried to grab the carpet of this asylum office.

"Wha… I don't… why? WHY?"

"I'm sorry, my friend, but I cannot lose you."

Ishiku turned to see Odelios was the one holding onto him. He struggled again, but the clown refused to let go. "Stop it! STOP IT! My life is just a sick punchline for the sociopathic bastards out there. I don't want to suffer for their entertainment!

"Just let me die! Let me die and be with Fannie, with my parents, everyone who left me! Odelios, please… please…"

Odelios clenched his arms, ensuring he couldn't escape. "No, I'm sorry. I don't care that we've only known each other for two weeks, I don't care about monsters like Monokuma or Ken or Blake, I only care about one thing…

"And that is that you will make it out alive. You'll find someone else, you'll better yourself, and I'm here to ensure that you do. You aren't dying on me, Ishiku, I won't allow it."

Ishiku flinched, and started to shake. He whispered, "I cannot cry… crying is what they want, crying is what they feed off of."

"They aren't here. Let it out, my friend."

The magician gripped at the carpet, until he heard a soft sob coming from nearby. Looking up, he saw Pyrrha kneel down next to them, reaching out and grasping his hand. The redheaded writer was already tearing up, holding onto him as tightly as Odelios was.

Ishiku went limp, and collapsed onto the floor. He began to sob, the uncontrollable kind of spilling out all your emotions without concern for who was watching. Odelios released his grasp on him, moving to rub his back for comfort as his friend let it all out. Pyrrha held his hand, as Ishiku let it all out.

He cried so hard, he felt he was going to die of misery. His thoughts kept flying back to the deaths of everyone he cared about, from his parents, to the victims of this town, to Fannie. At first, all he could picture was their grisly deaths, the jokes and insults made at their expense…

But as he finally let out the emotions he needed to, he could remember the good parts too. The years his parents were sane and kind, how they helped him become the man he wanted to be. The compassion of Shinobu, the determination of Saiko, the heart of Fannie, the others innocent and lost, they still had done good by others.

And when Ishiku opened his eyes, he saw not only Odelios and Pyrrha, but Kimiko and Hikari nearby him. The steampunk model was holding onto his emerald staff.

"You're not alone here, Ishiku," she said to him, smiling as she offered him his beloved staff back. "We're going to be here for you, and we're going to defeat the evils of this town, together."

"Damn straight," Kimiko said with a grin.

Ishiku took back his staff, holding it in both hands. It was therapeutic, feeling it in his grasp once more. Heaving out one final, shuddering sigh, he stared at all four of them, and smiled.

"Thank you. Thank you all."

* * *

 **Day 17, ? AM**

 **Enoshima Asylum**

 **Medical Room**

Yitro sat in a common chair, watching the machines on the medical chair work on Fiora's ugly wound. The swordsman felt uncomfortable, since he had been here when Ken had taken advantage of him in his sleep, in this room…

But he would stay in a waste treatment plant to watch over Fiora during this operation. Yitro wasn't even going to take his books out and read one while waiting, he didn't want to take his eyes off of her. Though when he heard footsteps and movement, he stood up to see who was approaching.

Ishiku, holding his staff and surrounded by a large group of people, walked into the medical room. He stared at Fiora, and let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, she made it."

The four people who had supported Ishiku during his greatest moment of weakness also had Shuuya, Futaba, and Isaac with them. They had found the others, who had split apart in the asylum to find Ishiku, and had reunited before coming to this room.

"She's going to be okay," Pyrrha assured Ishiku. "Thank goodness, she's a real fighter."

"Yeah, we just need to stick together now," Isaac said, adjusting his beanie. "Once she's better, we'll get her out of this awful building. Then… maybe we should get some sleep and put this day behind us."

"It's already tomorrow," Futaba said as she glanced at her cell phone, "so to speak. Sorry, I'm that person, but yes, I agree with you, Isaac."

"Everything that happened is still so hard to believe," Hikari admitted. "Saiko's death, Ken's betrayal…"

"Wait a minute," Kimiko shouted, "what about Ken? Do we know where he is?"

"He's dead," Shuuya said, crossing his arms as he shook his head. Those who weren't aware flinched in shock, and turned towards him for more of an answer. The bounty hunter jerked his thumb to the hallway behind them. "He bled out, he's in one of the rooms back there."

Kimiko moved down that hallway, holding up her hand in front of Hikari to silently plead with her not to follow. After a minute, the biker leader came back, hanging her head as she combed her green hair; the color had left her face, she was so upset that she couldn't get the words out.

"So it's true?" Hikari asked her. "Just… just nod your head if it's true." When the biker gal did so, the model slumped against the wall. "Oh God. I know… I'm sorry, I just knew him for so long, it's such a terrible, terrible shock."

"Hikari, you shouldn't be ashamed if you wish to mourn him," Isaac said, glancing at her and the others in the room. "It was not a simple case, and no matter how much I am despise him for killing my friend, I… I understand why those who were close to him will be sad over his death."

"He left a message," Kimiko muttered, brushing at her green bangs. "He apologized with his last actions. That was him, right? No one is fucking with us."

"IT-WAS-HIS-LAST-ACTION," Monodam, still perched on top of the machines that were suspended over the medical chair, spoke up. "THERE-WAS-NO-FOUL-PLAY-TO-THAT."

The nine conscious humans in the room all stared up at the green Kub. Isaac crossed his arms and said, "And how can we take your word for it, Monodam?"

"KEN-KISHI-LOST-HIS-CHAOTIC-URGES-WHEN-CONFRONTED-BY-THE-THOUGHTS-IN-HIS-HEAD-PERSONIFIED-BY-THE-LATE-SAIKO-KOBAYASHI. IT-WAS-PERHAPS-THE-LAST-ACT-BY-MY-DEAD-SISTER."

"Wait, what?" Ishiku shouted, approaching Monodam as close as he could. "What do you mean?"

"I-BELIEVE-IT-WAS-SAID-BEFORE, BUT-THE-KUBS-OF-OUR-TOWN-ARE-A-PERSONIFICATION-OF-TWO-TRAITS. CONFLICTING-TRAITS-WHICH-IS-WHY-IT-IS-HARD-TO-FOCUS, OR-TO-DISOBEY-FATHER."

"Now that I think about it," Futaba said, rubbing her chin with her mechanical hand, "Monotaro and Monosuke had odd personalities that seemed to contradict themselves. Monotaro was highly forgetful but the most determined of you all, and Monosuke was all about getting things ready but also how to make things more awful."

"And when Fannie was Monophanie," Shuuya remarked, "she was always trying to encourage us, but when things were gruesome, she balked and threw up."

"MY-SISTER-WAS-A-COMBINATION-OF-ENCOURAGEMENT-AND-DISGUST," Monodam stated. "THAT-IS-WHY-I-AM-ABLE-TO-EXPLAIN-THESE-THINGS-NOW, BECAUSE-WITH-HER-DEATH, HER-TRAITS-ARE-INHERITED-BY-THE-SURVIVING-KUBS."

"You and Monokid," Isaac said, crossing his arms as he stared down the green Kub. "But she became a human, why would it still be triggered like that after her death?"

"WE-ARE-ALL-PART-OF-PENJAR. WE-WERE-CREATED-HERE, THERE-WILL-ALWAYS-BE-A-PART-OF-THIS-TOWN. WE-WEREN'T-ORIGINALLY-MEANT-TO-BE-REPRESENTATIONS-OF-FATHER."

"Wait, what?" Futaba inquired. "What were you supposed to be?"

"THAT-I-DO-NOT-KNOW. ALL-I-KNOW-IS-THAT-YOU-ARE-ALL-GETTING-CLOSE-TO-THE-ANSWERS-THAT-THIS-PLACE-HAS, AND-THAT-IS-WHY-THE-FORCES-AGAINST-YOU-WILL-BE-STRONGER-THAN-EVER.

"DESPAIR-MUST-FOLLOW-RULES. CHAOS-HAS-A-PLAN-THAT-IT-MUST-FULFILL. IF-YOU-STAY-THE-COURSE-AND-ENDURE-THE-HARDSHIPS, YOU-WILL-ARRIVE-WHERE-YOU-WANT-TO-BE-AT-THE-SAME-TIME-DESPAIR-AND-CHAOS-ARE-READY-TO-STRIKE."

Isaac stared in utter bafflement at the green Kub. "You're giving us so much information."

"I-AM-GIVING-YOU-ENCOURAGEMENT, LIKE-MY-SISTER-WOULD-HAVE-DONE."

Monodam stared down at Fiora, as the machines continued their work. He was silent, motionless, as if he had shut down and become decoration for this medical chair. The survivors glanced amongst themselves, as Ishiku shook his head in disbelief.

"It seriously makes me wonder," he said, "who these personality traits were based off of, and what Monodam's are."

"If he's telling the truth," Yitro remarked, "then we mustn't give up, even though it's been hellish. We've lost so much…"

The swordsman reached into his pocket, and pulled out Angelique's locket. Holding the damaged but precious item of his friend's, he concluded, "But we will not let those deaths be in vain."

"Indeed," Hikari said, glancing down the hallway, where Ken's body was. "I wanted to run from this place, so very bad, but I was told by a certain intelligent someone that we need to focus on the true villains, and not digress from that path."

Kimiko blushed slightly, glancing to the side. "C'mon, doo'nt make me sound like some kind of philosopher, Hikari."

Isaac chuckled, rubbing his beanie against his hair as he too glanced down the hallway. For one very brief second, he thought he saw the hallucination, that hologram-like visage, of Saiko; it wasn't there, and he mentally scolded himself for hoping so. "I just know that we can solve the mystery to this place."

"You've been a major help to all of us, Isaac," Pyrrha said, smiling at the reporter. "Don't doubt yourself, you can help lead us to the answers here."

"Thanks. I just need to make sure that I get Hara out of here too. Losing Saiko was hard enough, and…"

He stopped talking, as something dawned on him rather suddenly. The rush of everything that had happened had finally died down, and he realized who wasn't there. "Guys, where's Hara?"

Everyone in the room started glancing at each other, oddly silent and sporting expressions that confused the reporter. "What? She didn't come here with you all, did she go to the southern plaza? I mean, I'd understand, she doesn't have to come here…

"But why are you all looking like that? Did something happen to her? What's going on?"

Shuuya sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, she went to the southern plaza, Isaac. She wanted to stick by Crystal."

"Oh, I see," Isaac said, though his tone and confused stare at the bounty hunter showcased he didn't fully see. "I mean, she gets along well with her."

"Yeah, she does," Futaba said with a smile. "Don't worry about it, you'll see her after we're done here-"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone was shocked at Pyrrha's outburst. The redheaded writer clenched her hands, squinting her eyes shut as if she couldn't bear to open them. Isaac stared at her, and asked, "What is going on?"

"We cannot do this anymore," she said, finally opening her eyes and glancing around at everyone there. "Please, stop enabling this! It cannot go on any longer, and we promised Saiko!"

"Yeah, but," Yitro stammered, crossing his arms and glancing to the side, "I don't know how to do this."

"No one does," Odelios muttered, staring down at the ground.

Isaac felt his patience ebbing away. "Know what? What did you promise Saiko? What is _going_ _on_?!"

"Look, he's really upset now," Hikari said, wringing her hands. "Let's just-"

"No, I'm with Pyrrha," said Kimiko, as she crossed her arms and glanced around the room. "Enough of this farce."

"What," Isaac shouted, clenching his fists as he glared at them, "are you all going on about? I don't like this, and it's incredibly suspicious! I'm right here, and you're talking as if I'm not!"

"Isaac," Pyrrha spoke up, walking up to him and placing her hand on his chest, "please calm down. I'm sorry, but I need you to sit down."

The reporter stared into her eyes, eyes full of concern and sympathy. Isaac had a terrible feeling, like a dark hand was starting to grip his heart, his body involuntarily shuddering. He had no idea what was going on, and yet he couldn't shake this awful dread.

He sat down in one of the common chairs, as Pyrrha pulled up another chair and sat down in front of him. The others stood near the entrance of the room, some of them watching, some of them not able to.

"Pyrrha," Isaac spoke, slowly and his voice shaking, "what is happening right now? Did something happen to Hara?"

"Isaac, do you remember that fire that happened when you were at Hope's Peak Academy? The one you rushed in to help those trapped inside, how you got that burn on your arm?"

The reporter glanced down at his scarred arm; he had lost the sleeve to cover it so long ago, he didn't even know where it could be. Gently rubbing the scars left there by the flames, he replied, "Y-yes."

Pyrrha breathed hard, clenching her hands together, before taking one long deep breath as she stared into his eyes and said what needed to be said.

"Hara went with you on that day to help, and she… she…

"She died in that building, Isaac. You've been hallucinating she's still with you ever since."

* * *

 **…**

 **…**

 **17 Survivors remain in Penjar.**

 **Or so it would seem.**

 **For this chapter is not over yet.**


End file.
